KAREN MALEY NAMED GM FOR ROBERT YOUNG ESTATE WINERY

Experienced marketer joins historic winery

Geyserville, Sonoma, October 2018 —- Effective October 8, Karen Maley has been named General Manager, Robert Young Estate Winery, according to an announcement by the Young family. “We are delighted to welcome Ms. Maley to the winery and look forward to her contributions to our future growth,” said Jim Young, CEO, Robert Young. “Ms. Maley’s leadership, marketing and general management experience are an ideal combination to continue to build  upon recent investments and focus in hospitality and winemaking,” Young added.

“I am honored to join the Young family in the evolution of this historic premium estate winery,” Maley said. “With Karen’s professional experience and strong ties to the Sonoma County community, she was a natural choice to lead our business, ” stated Fred Young, founder of Robert Young Estate Winery.

The hiring of Ms. Maley was the result of the Young family’s work with wine industry executive search company The Cypress Group.

Most recently the General Manager at Electric Sky Wine, an innovation arm of Anheuser Busch, Karen Maley has also held key leadership roles at StackTeck Wines and Kruger W&S. She was a founding partner at Stryker Sonoma Winery in Alexander Valley and worked as a Senior Director of Marketing at Gallo Winery with both U.S. and international responsibilities. Karen began her career at Proctor and Gamble.  She graduated from the University of Toronto with an honor’s degree in Economics and went on to receive an MBA from the York University, also in Toronto. Maley has been a Board member of Sonoma County Vintners Association and the Alexander Valley Association. She lives in Healdsburg with her two children.

Robert Young, a third generation farmer, whose family has owned and worked the land since 1858, was the first to plant Cabernet Sauvignon in the Alexander Valley in 1963. Robert was a pioneering farmer and viticulturalist who developed the now extensively planted Chardonnay Clone 17 in the early 90s. He also developed the family’s 470-acre ranch and established it as a leader in the Sonoma County grape growing business. In 2001, Robert’s four children built the Robert Young Estate Winery to make world-class Chardonnay and Bordeaux reds from estate fruit that had previously been sold to some of California’s most elite producers. Today, the winery uses micro-viticultural techniques and small-lot winemaking methods to create Chardonnays and Bordeaux reds that are true to their Alexander Valley terroir. Several new wines have been introduced, including Sauvignon Blanc, Viognier and Rose. The recently constructed Scion House, a 2,260 square foot hospitality and tasting house located at 5102 Red Winery Road featuring engaging guest experiences and spectacular views, will open to visitors in mid October.

The winery is located at 4960 Red Winery Road, Geyserville, CA 95441. More info at https://www.ryew.com/ .

Press releases are generated outside of Spirited magazine and the information contained does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Spirited or its parent company, Sonoma Media Investments.