The Country Vintner, a wholesaler and importer of fine wines based in Ashland, Virginia, announces today the appointment of Liz O’Brien Mathews as National Sales Manager for its national import division. O’Brien Mathews was most recently Managing Partner of Indigenous Selections of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, an Italian import company she founded with La Spinetta’s Giorgio Rivetti.

Started in 1980, The Country Vintner is the premiere dedicated fine wine wholesaler in the U.S. An import division was established in 2004 around a stable of Australian estate producers and supplemented with premium New Zealand brands since 2008. With the acquisition of Stacole Fine Wines of Boca Raton, Florida in 2010, The Country Vintner added a mature Bordeaux futures operation and a collection of highly-regarded winegrowers from France.

Tapped to focus and grow the division, O’Brien Mathews says: “I'm very excited about the new challenge and opportunity that lies ahead at The Country Vintner. We have an incredible opportunity to mesh Stacole's exceptional portfolio of fine French wines with TCV's premium and distinctive Australian and New Zealand selections and build upon the existing footprint, branding The Country Vintner as a top importer at the national level.”

“I watched Liz develop Indigenous Selections from inception to a nationally-recognized first rate importer, and I was looking for this knowledge base and skill set to apply to our national import business. Liz will no doubt bring a single-mindedness to our goal of providing seamless service to our wholesale partners and their customers around the country," said David Townsend, President and CEO, The Country Vintner.