Yarden Wines names Walter Whyte as VP of Sales to lead US market
Yarden Inc., the wholly-owned US subsidiary of Golan Heights Winery and Galil Mountain Winery from Israel, has appointed Walter Whyte as its new Vice-President of Sales.
Whyte is the lead executive for the Yarden Wines team in the US and will oversee all sales, promotion, and marketing efforts as a key liaison with the company’s national distributor and retail network.
Yarden’s portfolio includes five labels with a range of varieties and styles from the Galilee in northern Israel: Yarden, Gamla, Hermon, Golan and Galil Mountain.
“This year marks the 40th Anniversary of Golan Heights Winery and we are delighted to welcome Walter Whyte to head up our US business operations during this exciting chapter of our history,” said Assaf Ben Dov, CEO of the Golan Heights Winery. “Walter brings profound experience in all aspects of distributor management, personnel development and brand building to support our team. We’re deeply impressed by Walter’s commitment to introduce new trade and consumer audiences to the depth and quality of our portfolio and overall, to broaden awareness of the top wines of Israel.”
Whyte brings over 20 years of wine and spirits industry experience to Yarden Inc. A New Jersey native who studied Business at the University of Maryland, Whyte served in the United State Air Force in Germany and discovered a passion for wine through extensive travel to the top European regions. Highly experienced in distributor relations, Whyte spent his early years at Allied Beverage Group overseeing the Diageo portfolio, setting a track record for achievement, leadership and teamwork.
Whyte has also worked extensively on the supplier side developing domestic brands such as Peachy Canyon Winery (Paso Robles, CA), Gordon Estate Winery (Pasco, WA) and Whistlepig Whiskey (Shoreham, VT). In the international realm, Whyte is a former Regional Sales Director for Vino del Sol, a family-owned importer of South American wines, and Broken Shed Imports from New Zealand, responsible for exponential growth in volume, distribution and brand visibility.
Prior to his appointment at Yarden Wines, Whyte ran an independent consulting practice assisting high-end, international wineries with all aspects of operations, sales and marketing activity, distributor management and key account relationships.
