Winemaker aging well
By Wine Atlas, Thursday 23 June 2005 :: Wine - Greece :: #7 :: rss
Terlato might not be a household name, but chances are most wine connoisseurs have tasted the result of this Chicago family’s more than 50-year commitment to developing an American market for premium wines.
Ranked as the 118th largest private company in Chicago by Crain’s Chicago Business, Lake Bluff-based Terlato Wine Group Ltd. has grown from a father-son operation into a wine powerhouse with 300 employees. The company grossed $200 million last year compared with $185 million in 2003 and $30 million in 1981.
The company oversees interests and ownerships in wineries and vineyards as well as it’s flagship company, Paterno Wines International Ltd.
Paterno is famous for making the astute decision 25 years ago to import Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio, a brand that went on to become one of the most requested imported wines in restaurants.
Today, Paterno hopes to see the same success in an unlikely candidate: A Greek white wine called Boutari Moschofilero.
It won’t be easy. Paterno faces a much more competitive market in fine wines and Greece isn’t highly regarded as a premier wine producing region. However, the company’s resources and marketing clout ensure some success. Domestic sales for Moschofilero jumped to 18,000 cases last year from 2,000 cases in 2002...
By Kate Leahy Medill News Service Source : dailyherald.com
