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Adam Lapierre MW joins Vint as director of wine
US fine wine company Vint has appointed Adam Lapierre MW as its new director of wine, as it starts to scale up the business.
Lapierre will head up the expansion of Vint’s network of producers, partners, and suppliers which sources fine wine and spirits at scale, as well as developing collection themes, exiting wine collections for optimal investment return, and creating new products for Vint’s partners, the company said.
He joins the company from Vinfolio, a Napa based online wine store that buys, collects and sells rare and collectible wines, where he was president and previously chief wine officer and director of procurement, fine wine. Prior to that he was director of purchasing at Lidl US, and national sales manager at fine wine importer Frederick Wildman and Sons. He became an MW in 2013 is one of only 57 people in the US to hold the title.
Vint was founded in 2019 by Nick Kings, its CEO and co-founder Patrick Sanders, who claimed there was a lack of options for wine investment on the market at the time and wanted to bring it “kicking and screaming into the 21st century”. It launched in May 2020, offering shares in SEC-qualified securities of wine and spirit collections for as little as $25. It claims to be the only SEC qualified platform for wine investment, with investors able to add their Vint portfolio to their individual retirement accounts (IRAs).
King said Lapierre’s deep roots in the industry would be instrumental in helping Vint to scale its networks and build new relationships as it entered a new phase of growth. “His technical expertise and broad experience in strategic sourcing and distribution will be an asset for both our partners and users,” he said.
Lapierre added that he looked forward to working with King and establishing new ways to deliver on Vint’s mission to bring accessibility and transparency to the market and support its growing presence.
“I have long been an advocate for solving the inefficiencies and inequities in the wine industry which is why I align so strongly with Vint’s mission,” he said.
Lapierre will also serve on Vint’s Investment Committee, which includes fellow MWs, Amy Christine, Kevin Sidders, and Miles Davis.
En primeur
Earlier this month the company launched its first ‘en primeur’ of US wine, comprising 50 cases of the 2021 Joy Fantastic Syrah from Santa Barbara produced by Christine and winemaker Peter Hunken.
“Over the last three years, we have talked to countless producers and one consistent challenge they have expressed is cash flow management,” King said.
“The top producers in Bordeaux have access to wine futures, but most producers in the rest of the world struggle to access capital, manage cash flows and market through new channels. We are excited to introduce a new wine futures product that allows producers to leverage their cellars to grow their business with non-dilutive capital while giving investors an opportunity to diversify into this asset class.”
Secondary market
King previously told the drinks business that the team were developing secondary trading market that would make it possible for people to trade their shares on the Vint platform, which is hoped to be operational by the end of the year.
The idea is that investors hold their shares in the wines for 3-7 years, after which time they can be sold and the investors receive their pro rata distribution of the proceeds.