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Wine Business Monthly Dec 1, 2024 Issue
WINEBUSINESS MONTHLY

The Industry's Leading Publication for Wineries and Growers

Winemaking Calculators

Pam Walton Joins T. Edward Wines & Spirits as French and Domestic Sales Liaison

Sep 24, 2014

“I’ve been so lucky to learn with all the companies I worked for,” said Pam Walton, who recently joined T. Edward Wines & Spirits as the French and domestic sales liaison. “Danny Myer is famous for his education program at USHG,” she said, adding that she taught the Champagne program there before moving into sales at Tempranillo and then to Polaner where she spent four years.

“Pam is someone who everyone in our business has known about for years through her high level of work, in so many different areas of the business,” said Peter Cassell, director of operations at T. Edward. “Her relationships and the respect that people have for her are unmatched. She’s a perfect fit for who we are and who we want to be as a company.”

Union Square Café. Gramercy Tavern. Blue Hill. Nebo Lodge. Pam joins T. Edward with a deep pocket full of relationships that have been cultivated over the years. When working as a buyer at Blue Hill, she met T. Edward’s own John Coyle and David Kaul. “I learned all I knew about wine from the reps,” she said, adding, “I never picked wine as a business. I found it interesting but then my resume told my story. “

After seven years in sales, Pam felt it was time to graduate and do something different. “I’ve always admired T. Edward,” she said, “knowing Coyle and Ryan Looper; meeting Peter Cassell and Tom Byrnes. I was charmed. It’s an amazing company. I was ready to leave New York because I wanted time with my son. I wanted to free-fall, but then this came along - the idea of graduating into something new and moving on and working with Brian Pilliod (domestic portfolio manager) and Patrick Burke (french portfolio manager).”

Beginning her tenure at T. Edward with a trip to France, Pam visited with a number of producers: Chateau des Rontets, Domaine Roger Belland, Chateau Maucoil, Chateau Coussin, Domaine Roger Perrin and Anne Pichon. “Fabio and Claire [of Rontets] are self-taught and have been making great wines for 20 years. The quality of their wine is outstanding,” she said. “It was so impressive.

“There are wines that you want to work with because they taste good and have a name, and there are wines you want to back because they have heart,” she said. “Of the six producers, they’re all very different, T. Edward works only with people that we want to work with, who have the potential to be friends, but there’s also an intellectualism to them.”

With Patrick Burke living in Lyon, France and Brian Pilliod living in Sacramento, California, Pam will work as a liaison to the French and domestic books. “I want to truly represent - to meet more of our producers, to present their wines and be a satellite for their businesses. I also love sales,” she added. “I look forward to sharing what I’ve learned with the reps; to mentoring and supporting them. Everyone has their own way. It’s personal.”
 

Companies mentioned in this article: