DAVID STUDDERT
Managing Director &
Co-Founder

David brings unparalleled wine logistics experience to Wine Country Connect. Starting his career at Airborne Express, he developed the industry-leading wine shipping program becoming the leading shipper of wine. David helped build revenues to over $400,000 per month; far exceeding comparable air-express revenues of better-known rivals Federal Express and UPS.

In 1998 David left Airborne Express to start a first-of-its-kind, multi-state retail operation built to facilitate legally compliant direct-to-consumer shipping into states previously closed to wineries. This breakthrough business model opened up markets for wineries adding 25 million dollars per year in new business to the wine industry. Clients included: Viansa Winery, where David also served as the Director of Logistics for the world’s largest wine club in the industry, Greelings & Wade, Wine.com, Navarro Vineyards, WorldShipNet, 800 Flowers, Wall Street Journal Wine Club and MyWinesDirect.

David, along with his brother George Studdert, formed Wine Country Connect in 2005 following the Supreme Court ruling favoring Producer-Direct delivery of wine. David and his wife Cindy live with their two daughters, Annie and Caroline, in Sonoma.

GEORGE STUDDERT
Managing Director &
Co-Founder

George brings the entrepreneurial spirit to the team with over 25 years of business experience. George started his career with Lanier Worldwide and quickly excelled becoming District Sales Manager and then appointed to help launch the National Accounts program. In 1995 George was instrumental in securing the largest private account in Lanier’s history generating over 40 million in revenue.

With George’s contacts and business relationships, he was recruited away from Lanier in 1996 by TellerWest, Inc. With his tenure at TellerWest, George helped propel the company to become one of the largest Cash Management System Companies in the Country. Customers included Taco Bell, Kinko’s, Panda Express and Albertsons.

With his enjoyment for outdoors, in 2001 George ventured out on his own forming GJLS, Inc.and partnering with Hydrohoist International to take the California operations to new levels. In 2004, George and his team were awarded the highest increase in revenue over fifteen other operations.

In 2006 George sold GJLS to focus full time on Wine Country Connect. Born in Petaluma, George and his wife Jan live in Sonoma and have two sons.

ALISON E. SMITH
National Account Manager

Alison joined Wine Country Connect in January 2011 as our National Account Manager for Wine.Woot! and Rue La La. As an Internationally known, fine wine marketing and Sales Professional Alison brings vast experience of the entire wine supply chain.

After working for pro-sports teams and high-tech publishing, Alison decided to turn her "wine hobby" into a career and took a position as the Domestic Buyer Liaison and Marketing Manager for K&L Wine Merchants almost a decade ago. Her home-state of Texas came calling for her wine sales savvy a few years following K&L, so Alison soon launched marketing & sales firm based in Austin, Texas - properly named TexaCali Wine Co.

TexaCali Wine Co. grew to represent over 100 wineries from across the globe in 5 years, resulting in millions of dollars in wine sales across the 3-Tier distribution model. 'TexaCali Ali" credits her success to a very high quality wine portfolio, to relationship building talents and implementing original and creative consumer marketing programs while utilizing social media outlets. As one of the pioneering "Wine Bloggers" in 2005 she began writing the "TexaCali Wine Trail", where 'TexaCali Ali" continues to blog weekly about the in's and out's of the wine business today. Often called the "hardest working person in the wine business", Alison was first introduced to Wine Country Connect while exploring new sales channels for the family owned wineries she's so dearly passionate about. Simply put, she was blown away by the results created and jumped right when the opportunity presented itself to assist David and George with moving this sales channel onto the forefront of the wine industry.