Southern Glazer’s appoints wine education superteam

American drinks giant Southern Glazer’s has announced the creation of ‘the industry’s first national wine team’ to educate and certify the company’s employees across the US.

Southern Glazer’s new superteam of wine educators includes 14 Master Sommeliers

The team, which includes one of only 23 female Master Sommeliers in the world, is made up of eight of the industry’s most highly-trained experts who hold qualifications including Master Sommelier, Master of Wine or Certified Wine Educator.

The new national ‘superteam‘ of wine educators is being led by Eric Hemer, MS, MW, CWE, who is senior vice-president and Corporate Director of Wine Education for Southern Glazer’s.

“Exceptional education is a point of differentiation at Southern Glazer’s and what makes us the best at what we do in the industry,” said Eric Hemer.

“Our new wine education team will help ensure that we have the most knowledgeable sales organisation in the marketplace, with the expertise necessary to provide insights into the trends that impact our customers’ businesses.”

More news…

Demand for wine education rises
IMW appoints Meiburg as chair of education committee

In addition to overseeing wine education at Southern Glazer’s, Eric Hemer teaches at the Southern Wine & Spirits Beverage Management Center at the Chaplin School of Hospitality and Tourism Management at Florida International University in Miami. 

He is also involved in lecturing and examining nationally through the Court of Master Sommeliers, the Institute of Masters of Wine, the Society of Wine Educators, and the Wine and Spirits Education Trust (WSET.) He was only the fourth person in the world to be awarded both the MW and MS qualifications.

There are only 147 Master Sommeliers in North America and 14 of them work for Southern Glazer’s.

“Having the most knowledgeable staff has been a priority since we began our wine division more than four decades ago and is what enabled us to maintain our reputation as a leader in wine ever since,” said Mel Dick, senior vice-president of Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits and president of the company’s wine division.

“I’m proud that the company continues to invest in this area and am excited about where we are headed as we continue to build our world-class wine business.”

Steve Slater, executive vice-president and general manager of Southern Glazer’s wine division added: “No other distributor can offer this kind of expertise, which is not only an incredible value-add for our customers, but also will enable us to continue our focus on enhancing the fine wine capabilities of the company.”

The following individuals are Southern Glazer’s state and regional directors of wine education:

Serafin Alvarado MS, Brian Bauer CWE, Matthew Citriglia MS, Eric Entrikin MS, Kathy Morgan MS, Ira Norof CWE, Joe Phillips MS and Guy Stout MS, CWE.

In addition to the above mentioned Master Sommeliers in charge of wine education, Southern Glazer’s also employs the following Master Sommeliers in management and specialist positions around the country:

Frederick Dame MS, Luis De Santos MS, Laura DePasquale MS, Jay Fletcher MS, Ira Harmon MS, Damon Ornowski MS and Roberto Viernes MS.