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For Immediate Release

Martinelli Vineyards and Winery Appoints Bill Smart as General Manager

 Sonoma County, CA (November 1, 2023) – Bill Smart has been appointed General Manager of Martinelli Winery by the Martinelli Family and the organization’s Board of Directors.

“My family and I are extremely excited to have Bill join our team as General Manager,” said Lee Martinelli Sr., Owner, and Chairman of the Board. “With his extensive experience leading small, ultra-premium wineries like ours, we know this will be a great partnership and look forward to having him on board.”

Immediately after graduating college, Bill moved to California and began working his way up in the wine industry within roles in marketing and management at St. Supery Winery in Rutherford, Dry Creek Vineyards in Healdsburg, and later became the General Manager and Vice President at Lambert Bridge Winery in Healdsburg, CA. Most recently he has been overseeing Limerick Lane Winery as General Manager and will join the Martinelli family winery as General Manager effective November 1, 2023.

“The opportunity to help guide the Martinelli family as their General Manager is frankly an honor of the highest magnitude,” Smart said.  “I have always held the family in extremely high regard.  For multiple generations, they have committed their lives to farming some of the finest vineyards in the Russian River Valley and more recently, the Sonoma Coast.  The Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Zinfandel produced from their estate vineyards is, in my view, the best in all of California.  It is with great reverence for the history and traditions of the Martinelli family that I take on this role.”

As General Manager at Martinelli Vineyards and Winery, Bill will oversee all aspects of the winery business, partnering with the owners to continue the family’s legacy as world class winegrape growers.

About Martinelli Vineyards and Winery

Martinelli Winery is a multigenerational, family owned and operated winery with over 450 acres of vineyards within the Fort Ross-Seaview and Russian River Valley AVAs. They specialize in estate grown Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Zinfandel and Syrah, and plan to continue to make wines that represent the sites in which they are grown for generations to come.

Read more about Martinelli Winery at martinelliwinery.com

MEDIA CONTACTS

Martinelli Vineyards and Winery

Tessa Gorsuch | 707.525.0570 | [email protected]