Enquirer Consulting Group
Phillip | Monterey Bay Wine Company | October 2026
As of 15 Oct 2026
Monterey Bay Wine Company sells hand-crafted wines from family-owned producers to restaurants and retailers, with coverage throughout California.
This page sorts that market into the groups of organizations that buy fine wine, with a banded count where public data gives a clean one, and the people who usually sign off on a new wine at each.
Counts are banded on purpose. A group without a clean public count says so rather than showing a number.
| Group | Organizations in the US | Under 20 staff | 20 to 99 | 100 to 499 | 500 or more |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full-service restaurants | about 220,000 | about 160,000 | about 62,000 | about 3,100 | about 640 |
| Bars and wine bars | about 39,000 | about 34,000 | about 4,900 | about 230 | about 53 |
| Wine, beer and liquor stores | about 32,000 | about 31,000 | about 920 | about 95 | about 64 |
| Supermarkets and grocery chains | about 39,000 | about 30,000 | about 6,800 | about 960 | about 280 |
| Multi-unit restaurant groups | no clean public count |
US firm counts by industry code, banded deliberately.
The person who says yes to a new wine changes with the kind of account.
| Group | Who usually signs off | What they decide |
|---|---|---|
| Full-service restaurants | Wine Director, Sommelier, General Manager or Owner | The wine program, by-the-glass pours and new placements |
| Bars and wine bars | Bar Manager, Beverage Manager or Owner | Pours, rotating selections and reorders |
| Wine, beer and liquor stores | Owner, Wine Buyer or Store Manager | Shelf space, new labels and case buys |
| Supermarkets and grocery chains | Wine Category Manager, Beverage Buyer or Director of Beverage Alcohol | Chain-wide set changes, new items and feature programs |
| Multi-unit restaurant groups | Corporate Beverage Director or Director of Food and Beverage | One wine program carried across every location |
Their site shows a chain division with key account managers for Northern and Southern California. Chain buying runs on a different rhythm from single accounts. Decisions are made centrally, on a set calendar, and one yes places a wine in every store or location.
At grocery chains the wine category manager owns the set, with a buyer and a merchandising lead beside them. At restaurant groups a corporate beverage director usually writes the program, and unit managers carry it.
Their site describes a sales team covering named territories from Northern to Southern California. Independent accounts buy through the person who tastes the wine, usually the owner, the wine director or the store's buyer.
A new opening inside a covered territory is a fresh account to win, and the wine decision there usually sits with the owner or the opening general manager.
The people who usually sign at the groups above, one a company. Work emails and phone numbers checked on Oct 15, 2026.
| Name | Role | Company | Where | Phone | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Curtis Mann | Vice President of Adult Beverage | Kroger | San Ramon, CA | curtis.mann@kroger.com | +1 720 602 5346 |
| James Zichterman | Category Manager, Wine, Beer and Spirits | Trader Joe's | Glendora, CA | jzichterman@traderjoes.com | +1 309 208 3628 |
| Dominique Butticci | Senior Buyer, Beer, Wine and Spirits | Grocery Outlet | San Francisco, CA | dbutticci@cfgo.com | +1 510 298 2459 |
| Nick Tannura | Director of Wine, Beer and Spirits | Mollie Stone's Markets | Mill Valley, CA | ntannura@molliestones.com | +1 650 267 0290 |
| Michael Cristillo | Corporate Wine and Spirits Buyer | Bristol Farms | Carson, CA | mcristillo@bristolfarms.com | +1 310 502 1245 |
| Jorge Lopez | Wine Buyer | Erewhon | Los Angeles, CA | jorgel@enfmkt.com | +1 818 468 7526 |
| Robert Vardanian | Director of Wine Purchasing and Sales | Wally's Wine & Spirits | Culver City, CA | robert.vardanian@wallywine.com | +1 818 510 1313 |
| Bill Hayes | Wine Buyer | BevMo | Concord, CA | bill.hayes@gopuff.com | +1 415 845 2160 |
| Octavia Monelli | Corporate Wine Director | Il Fornaio | San Francisco, CA | octaviam@ilfo.com | +1 415 342 4517 |
| Kevin Felker | Beverage Director | King's Seafood Company | Mission Viejo, CA | kfelker@kingsseafood.com | +1 917 882 5084 |
Built from public federal registries and the company's own website, counts banded deliberately.
If a walk-through is useful, pick a time at cal.com/ecg.
Prepared by Matthew, matthew@enquirerconsulting.com.