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New general manager for Red Mountain winery

By Andy Perdue on January 20, 2014

Jess Zander is the new general manager of Fidelitas Wines, which has tasting rooms on Red Mountain and in Woodinville, Washington.

Jess Zander has been promoted to general manager of Fidelitas Wines, which has tasting rooms on Red Mountain and in Woodinville. (Photo courtesy of Fidelitas)

Washington’s Fidelitas Wines has promoted Jess Zander to general manager.

Fidelitas, a Richland winery with tasting rooms on Red Mountain and in Woodinville, is owned by longtime Washington winemaker Charlie Hoppes. Hoppes, former red winemaker for Chateau Ste. Michelle, launched Fidelitas in 2000.

Zander, who has experience working in marketing and events for a Seattle restaurant group, joined Fidelitas in 2008 as its wine club manager. A year later, she took over the winery’s marketing efforts.

“Jess has been an invaluable employee and has played a major role in helping Fidelitas grow,” Hoppes said. “She brings great management skills, creative problem solving and an in-depth wine knowledge to the position, and her exceptional dedication to customer services is a reflection on the winery’s core values.”

As general manager, Zander will oversee the winery’s direct-to-consumer sales, including the two tasting room and the wine club. She also will develop marketing programs, coordinate product development, manage distributor relations and sales and provide financial oversight of the winery.

Zander earned a certificate in wine marketing and sales from the Northwest Wine Academy at South Seattle Community College. The University of Washington graduate also has studied with the International Sommelier Guild.

Charlie Hoppes runs Red Mountain winery

Charlie Hoppes owns Fidelitas Wines on Red Mountain in Washington state.

Charlie Hoppes, owner of Fidelitas Wines, focuses most of his efforts on Red Mountain grapes. He finished harvest this week. (Photo by Andy Perdue/Great Northwest Wine)

Fidelitas is known for its Bordeaux-style wines, particularly its reds. Last year, Hoppes announced that he will focus nearly all of his winemaking energy on Red Mountain grapes, though he will continue to buy grapes from two of the state’s top grape growers: Paul Champoux of Champoux Vineyards in the Horse Heaven Hills and Dick Boushey of Boushey Vineyard in the Yakima Valley.

A few years ago, Hoppes purchased 5 acres of land on Red Mountain, built an avant-guard tasting room and planted 3.5 acres of Cabernet Sauvignon. Boushey manages the Fidelitas estate vineyard. Hoppes has since purchased another 10 acres of land adjacent to his tasting room and vineyard and plans to expand his plantings in 2015, when water for irrigation will be available to him.

Hoppes’ production facility is about 10 minutes away in Richland, where he also produces the wines for such wineries as Hamilton Cellars, Market Vineyards, Gamache Vintners, Anelare and Vinagium.

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About Andy Perdue

Andy Perdue is the editor and publisher of Great Northwest Wine. He is a third-generation journalist who has worked at newspapers since the mid-1980s and has been writing about wine since 1998. He co-founded Wine Press Northwest magazine with Eric Degerman and served as its editor-in-chief for 15 years. He is a frequent judge at international wine competitions. He is the author of "The Northwest Wine Guide: A Buyer's Handbook" (Sasquatch, 2003) and has contributed to four other books. He writes about wine for The Seattle Times. You can find him on Twitter and Google+.