Exclusive: Opici Wines & Spirits To Acquire Pacific Highway, Creating New Million-Case Player

New Jersey-based importer and producer Opici Wines & Spirits has agreed to acquire importer Pacific Highway Wines from owners Robert Oatley Vineyards and Giesen Group for an undisclosed sum. Beginning October 1, Pacific Highway’s brands and team will transition to Opici and be led by Don Opici as CEO, with Pacific Highway’s Mark Giordano taking the title of president, Opici Wines & Spirits. With the addition of Pacific Highway’s more than 500,000 cases of volume, Opici Wines & Spirits will become a million-case player in the U.S.

“This acquisition is a unique strategic opportunity to add a complementary portfolio and drive growth for our national business,” Don Opici, CEO, announced in an internal company memo. “Bringing the Pacific Highway Wines family into our Opici family business provides the opportunity to add resources to support national account and local sales efforts across the country. The multi-generational wine brands, luxury offerings, and innovative non-alcohol premium wines coming into our portfolio are spectacular. Together our portfolio sets us apart as one of the most coveted, family-centric importers in the U.S. today.”

The Pacific Highway portfolio is led by the Giesen brand from New Zealand, which has gotten a boost lately from its 0% alcohol offshoot recently, now accounting for about one-third of Giesen’s 155,000 cases in the U.S., according to Impact Databank. The range also includes Bodega Faustino from Spain, Uruguay luxury brand Bodega Garzon, Santa Ema from Chile, Luigi Bosca and Argento Organic from Argentina, as well as Le Grand Courtage sparkling wines from France and the Chateau Suau organic offering from Cotes de Bordeaux. The domestic portfolio includes California’s Merryvale Winery and the Profile Collection, Starmont, Hogwash Rose, and ’75 Wine Co Cabernet Sauvignon, along with Dobbes Family Estate and Wine by Joe from Oregon.

Those brands will join an Opici Wine & Spirits portfolio that includes Italian labels like Cesari, Carpineto, Luiano, and Viberti, as well as Ruca Malen (Argentina), El Coto (Spain), and Totara (New Zealand), among many others. Opici’s proprietary brands include LaLuca (Italy) and Julia James (California)—named for the family’s fifth generation—as well as Auspicion (California). Its spirits offerings include Meletti Italian Liqueurs and Brinley Gold Shipwreck Rum.

Beyond its Opici Wines & Spirits unit, the Opici family is also active in distribution. It serves as RNDC’s joint venture partner in the New York wholesale market, and has distributorships in New Jersey, Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, and Washington, D.C. under Opici Family Distributing.—Daniel Marsteller

Tagged : Giesen, Opici Wine & Spirits, Pacific Highway

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