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Marketing group DrinkSpace adds Walla Walla wine brand

By Eric Degerman on November 18, 2015

Trey Busch of Sleight of Hand Cellars in Walla Walla, Washington.

Trey Busch is the co-owner and winemaker for Sleight of Hand Cellars in Walla Walla, Wash., and Renegade Wine Co. (Photo by Andy Perdue/Great Northwest Wine)

DrinkSpace, a young sales and marketing company in Redmond, Wash., announced Tuesday its partnership with Renegade Wine Co., a growing second label for Sleight of Hand Cellars in Walla Walla.

Seattle residents Thomas Vogele, a winemaker and former executive at Michael Mondavi’s FOLIO Fine Wine Partners, and marketing specialist Steve Reed have developed DrinkSpace into multi-phase operation for craft beverage producers. Trey Busch and business partner Jerry Solomon created Renegade Wine Co., in 2009, within two years of launching Sleight of Hand.

“We are anxious to build on our partnership with DrinkSpace,” Busch said in a news release. “Steve and Thomas’ team has the connections and expertise that Renegade Wine Co., needs to strategically grow. Working with DrinkSpace gives us the opportunity to focus on growing our business and making truly great wine.”

Reed and Vogele promote DrinkSpace as a company to assist alcohol beverage businesses with brand marketing, public relations, social media, national sales management, supply chain management and logistics management.

DrinkSpace represents 8 Northwest wine labels

Zero One Vintners sources grapes throughout Washington’s Columbia Valley and has worked with winemaker Joshua Maloney and the Milbrandt brothers’ Wahluke Wine Co. (Photo courtesy of Zero One Vintners)

The client list for DrinkSpace already included Washington winery brands such as EFESTE in Woodinville, Va Piano Vineyards in Walla Walla and Kirkland’s Zero One Vintners, which Vogele founded in 2006 with his wife, Kristin.

“We are thrilled to be partnering with a great brand like the Renegade Wine Co.,” Vogele said. “Our goal is to provide the vital sales and marketing direction and a voice for the small to midsized producers that they just don’t have right now. This partnership will give Renegade the bandwidth it needs to grow the brand with a strategic, methodical approach.”

DrinkSpace’s Oregon partnerships are Elizabeth Chambers Cellar in McMinnville, Silvan Ridge Winery and Hinman Vineyards in Eugene and RoxyAnn Winery in Medford. Liz Chambers, a second-generation vintner, owns and operates Silvan Ridge, Hinman and her eponymous winery.

Angela Jaquette, director of sales for Silvan Ridge, said, “We are very excited about our recent partnership with DrinkSpace.”

Vogele has worked with winemaker Josh Maloney and the Milbrandt brothers’ Wahluke Wine Co., on the Zero One wines. This past summer, Vogele and Reed unveiled The Luke, a Cabernet Sauvignon brand from the Wahluke Slope sold in restaurants and wine shops throughout the Puget Sound.

Other companies part of the DrinkSpace portfolio are Alta Napa Valley, BroVo Spirits in Woodinville, Port City Brewing Co., in Alexandria, Va., and Incline Cider Co. in Seattle.

Résumés include Gallo, Mondavi, radio marketing

Marketing executive Steve Reed, left, and winery sales veteran Thomas Vogele founded DrinkSpace in 2014. Their boutique alcohol consulting business, with headquarters in Redmond, Wash., provides marketing, sales and logistics expertise for several Pacific Northwest wineries, cideries and distilleries. (Photo courtesy of DrinkSpace)

Vogele, a Seattle native born to Swiss nationals, started DrinkSpace after serving as national accounts director for Michael Mondavi. Prior to that, the University of Washington grad worked for E&J Gallo Winery in Seattle and in Europe before moving to Trinchero Family Estates and then Robert Mondavi Co.

Reed grew up in Southern California and graduated from the University of Colorado with a communications degree before he started his career in sales with sports talk radio giant KNBR 680-AM in San Francisco. The marketing and advertising specialist went onto work for companies such as Clear Channel Broadcasting and CNET Radio before creating Vision Media in 2002.

The future business partners paths crossed in 2012 when Vision Media helped FOLIO with a marketing campaign. In April 2014, Reed founded DrinkSpace and brought in Vogele five months later.

“Our relationships allow producers to take the daily marketing tasks off of their plates, affording them the freedom to focus on brand strategy and growing their business,” Reed said.

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About Eric Degerman

Eric Degerman is the President and CEO of Great Northwest Wine. He is a journalist with more than 30 years of daily newspaper experience and has been writing about wine since 1998. He co-founded Wine Press Northwest magazine with Andy Perdue and served as its managing editor for a decade. He is a frequent wine judge at international wine competitions throughout North America and orchestrates 10 Northwest competitions each year.