John Anthony Wine & Spirits is a high-growth, privately owned company headquartered in downtown Napa, CA. Our portfolio includes Butter Wines—the brand that disrupted the wine aisle with quality, simplicity, and affordability—best known for its Butter Chardonnay, the #1 best-selling Premium Chardonnay SKU and a multi-year Hot Brand and Blue Chip Brand award winner. The portfolio also includes JaM Cellars, John Anthony Vineyards, Serial Wines, Weather Wines, and a growing presence in sake and spirits. Built on four core pillars—authenticity, craftsmanship, “Great Flavor First,” and innovation—John Anthony continues to expand into key growth sectors while anticipating where consumers are headed next.

We are seeking a Brand Manager to lead Butter Wines—the largest and most dynamic brand in the John Anthony portfolio. Reporting to the Marketing Director, this role drives brand strategy and full-funnel marketing across trade, DTC, and consumer channels. From national campaigns to innovation launches, this position plays a central role in Butter’s next phase of growth. This is a highly visible opportunity with two direct reports, meaningful budget ownership, and cross-functional influence across the organization.

Brand Management & Operations
•  Own the 12–18 month strategic brand plan, defining objectives, KPIs, and investment priorities aligned to sales goals, category insights, and evolving consumer behavior.
•  Serve as the enterprise-wide steward of Butter, ensuring consistent brand positioning, voice, and architecture across all touchpoints.
•  Partner with creative and design teams to evolve packaging and maintain strong shelf presence.
•  Collaborate cross-functionally to commercialize innovation, defining brand fit and positioning, supporting packaging development, and leading launch plans.
•  Own and optimize the full-funnel brand budget, continuously refining investment mix to maximize ROI.
•  Leverage Nielsen and syndicated data to inform strategy and strengthen sales storytelling.
•  Lead and develop direct reports, fostering accountability and high performance.

Integrated Marketing & Communications
•  Own the Butter brand voice, bringing strong hands-on copywriting expertise to creative briefs, campaign messaging, and key communications.
•  Set strategic direction for digital and social content (e.g., Meta, TikTok, YouTube, email, website), including influencer and UGC initiatives, ensuring all efforts ladder back to brand objectives.
•  Lead integrated evergreen and campaign strategy from ideation through brief and execution, ensuring cohesive storytelling across paid, owned, and earned channels.
•  Own paid media strategy across key platforms (e.g., Meta, Google), activating geo-targeted and digital display initiatives and optimizing performance with internal teams and agencies.
•  Lead owned channel strategy across web, email, blog, and search to drive discovery, engagement, and conversion.
•  Direct PR agency partnerships and earned media strategy across consumer, trade, and DTC audiences.
•  Inspire and guide the team to deliver insight-driven, commercially impactful execution.

Sales & Distribution Marketing
•  Serve as the strategic marketing partner to the national sales team, aligning brand initiatives with distribution and retailer priorities.
•  Translate national brand campaigns into high-impact in-market trade activation.
•  Lead and develop the Associate Trade Marketing Manager, setting direction for shopper programming and distributor materials.
•  Own the strategy and evolution of national trade and shopper marketing programs driving distribution growth, guiding execution across 4th tier advertising (e.g., Instacart, DoorDash), digital shelf optimization, POS, mass displays, couponing, sweepstakes, and retailer presentations.
•  Engage distributors and key retail partners through field visits and buyer presentations to refine programming and drive velocity.

Direct-to-Consumer Marketing
•  Set the strategic direction for DTC marketing in support of Butter’s presence at the JaM Cellars Wine & Music Studio in downtown Napa.
•  Lead and develop the DTC Marketing Coordinator, establishing clear priorities and messaging guardrails that drive traffic, engagement, and sales.
•  Guide integrated DTC initiatives across paid, owned, and earned channels to drive visits and sales.

What We’re Looking For
•  3–5+ years of progressive brand management experience, including direct ownership of a nationally distributed or high-growth consumer brand; CPG required, beverage alcohol or adjacent category experience strongly preferred.
•  Experience partnering with sales and trade teams to support national distribution and retail activation.
•  Proven success leading integrated campaigns from strategy through execution with measurable commercial impact.
•  Strong creative instincts with hands-on copywriting capability and experience developing insight-driven briefs.
•  Demonstrated ability to guide cross-functional teams and agency partners.
•  Analytical fluency, including experience leveraging Nielsen or syndicated data.
•  Bachelor’s degree required; MBA a plus.
•  Collaborative, organized, and self-directed in a fast-paced environment.

Location & Travel
•  Full-time, onsite in Napa, CA. Our in-person environment enables faster decision-making, stronger cross-functional alignment, and a culture built on collaboration.
•  Up to 20% travel to support in-market activity, distributor engagement, and key brand events.

Compensation
The expected starting salary range for this role is $120,000–$150,000 annually. Final compensation will be based on experience, qualifications, and business needs. This role is also eligible for bonus potential and world-class benefits.