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The Argentine Wine Specialist ®
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| Our People |
Alejandro Bonacalza
Agente de Representación, Buenos Aires
Ale, a certified public accountant, mans our Buenos Aires representative office.
Ale oversees bookkeeping and winery orders.
Ale is also in charge of all sales and marketing reports. Ale lives in Buenos Aires with his family.
Email AleBon |
Michele Burger
U.S. National Operations
Michele, a native of Northern California with over twenty years in the wine business, has been in
Sales, Operations and Customer Service. As one of the original employees of Central Coast Wine
Company (now Henry Wine Group), Australian Wine Producer Penfolds (US Operations Office)
and Epic Wines, she has much experience in building a solid operation and connections with her
customers. Michele lives on the Monterey Peninsula in California with her husband Mark where she
manages US Vino del Sol distributor operations.
Email Michele |
Alejandro Darago
Agente de Representación, Mendoza
Alejandro, an Argentine industry insider and the former Sommelier of the
Alvear Palace Hotel (the highest-ranked hotel in South America), forms
the heart of our Argentine selection team. Ale lives in Mendoza where he
oversees quality control and our logistics, as well as always looking
for the next Argentine Rising Star.
Email Alejandro |
Mark-Thomas Gavigan
Midwest Regional Manager
Mark-Thomas believes in authenticity: of wine, of place, of food
and of people. He
began his professional journey in '98, cutting his teeth in sales in
CT and Boston. Studying under two Masters of Wine in Boston, he completed the advanced certification of the WSET program.
He took the opportunity to manage the New England market for Domaine Select and relocated to
Chicago in '06, where he managed growth in the Midwest for Eric
Solomon Selections and Groupe Thienot.
Email Mark
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Matt Hedges
President
Matt splits his time between Argentina and the U.S., serving as the conduit between our great producers and great distributors.
Read how Vino del Sol began.
Email Matt |
Tom Jung
Southeast Regional Manager
Tom obtained an AOS degree from New England Culinary Institute in 1991. He then worked in the food service industry
before becoming a sales representative
for Vintage Imports. In 2002 he was hired as Key Market Manager for The Australian Premium Wine Collection and World Wine HQ.
Tom brings immense passion and experience for fine wine and food.
Tom resides in Raleigh, NC along with his wife Georgette, and their three children.
Email Tom
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Thane Prichard
VP Sales
Thane Prichard, aka "The Gaucho," is a writer, wine educator, horseman, and avid fly-fisherman
who travels between Argentina and Northern California. He has worked in
the wine industry for the past 20 years. He has represented
such wineries as Silver Oak, Dunn Vineyards, Geyser Peak, Bonny Doon, Cavit, Grgich Hills, and many others in international distribution.
In 2004, Thane co-founded Vino del Sol and is the national director of sales.
Email Thane |
Kent Smith
Western Regional Manager
With many years
of retail and restaurant experience under his belt, Kent moved to the
distribution side of the wine business in 1997 with Epic Wines. He first
worked in the California market before becoming Epic's Western Regional
Manager. Kent has represented Vino del Sol wines since 2005, and became Vino del Sol's
Western Regional Manager in 2010. Kent lives in San Diego.
Email Kent |
Rik Squillari
Eastern Regional Manager
Rik, a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, brings a passion for great food and wine to Vino del Sol.
After a decade of being a chef in some of the top restaurants in the DC area, Rik moved to wine distribution.
Rik was formerly the National Team Leader for Epic Wines before becoming the Eastern Regional Manager for Vino del Sol.
Rik lives with his family in Maryland.
Email Rik |
Scott Thomasen
Mountain West Regional Manager
Scott Thomasen has worked in the wine industry for over twenty five years in roles ranging from vineyard management to warehousing to retail/wholesale
sales.
During this time, Scott completed his undergraduate and graduate degrees, with emphasis on the international wine industry.
Scott previously managed the Southeastern region for Epic Wines.
Now employed by Vino del Sol, Scott and his family relocated to Denver, Colorado to further develop sales in the Mountain West region.
Email Scott |
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