Posted by: Kim_Hamilton on 02/11/2010 09:38 AM
Updated by: thepinetree on 02/18/2010 12:33 AM
Expires: 01/01/2015 12:00 AM
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Oliveto Distributing Becomes New Stevenot Owner~by Kevin Barnett
CALAVERAS COUNTY --- As of February 1, 2010, Oliveto Distributing, Inc. will be the new owner of Stevenot, and manage the Stevenot Main Street Tasting Room, 458 Main St. in Murphys, as well as the Stevenot Wine Club. “We are very honored and excited to have this opportunity,” says David Oliveto, co-owner of the well-respected and long-standing distribution company along with brother, Jon. “We want to carry on the tradition of Barden Stevenot and grow the business.” He adds, “Stevenot has always been a quality brand, well known in the community and has always sold very well.”
Pictured here is the Oliveto Family. Pictured L-R David, Lorraine, Elizabeth, Ross and Jon
The Oliveto family has distributed Stevenot wines since the early 1980s, when Stevenot White Zinfandel was their best seller. Oliveto Distributing, Inc. has been in business since the late 1960s, based out #30 Forest Products Road in Sutter Creek serving Calaveras, Amador and Tuolumne counties.
“It’s all about quality,” Jon says. “We have been in the distribution business all of our lives, and now we want to also have a new focus on wine production. We are also very happy to bring Chuck Hovey back as the Stevenot winemaker.” Chuck devoted 24 years to Stevenot before leaving in 2007 to start Hovey Wine Consulting.
Jon and David Oliveto have a number of exciting plans for the Stevenot operation, which includes a remodel of the tasting room featuring softer lighting, granite-topped wine bar, antique hutch and the addition of a gift shop. The tasting room will be open seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and on select Friday nights, will transform into a wine bar featuring award-winning Stevenot wines by the glass including its signature Tempranillo, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.
Stevenot is one of Calaveras County’s premier wineries hailing the resurgence of the wine industry in the county - the first vineyard planted in 1974 and the first vintage released in 1978.
The community is coming out to greet the Oliveto family with open arms. “It surprises us how excited people are about our new venture,” Jon said. “We are receiving overwhelming support.”
Jon is now living in Murphys, where Oliveto’s Stevenot office is located. David has lived in Calaveras County for 15 years and resides in Hathaway Pines with his wife, Lorraine. For more information, call 223-4344 or 728-3485 or e-mail olivetowine@comcast.net.
About Oliveto Distributing, Inc.
Jon and David where born and raised in Jackson. They began working in their father’s, Ross Oliveto’s, milk distributing business at a very early age. Ross Oliveto opened the milk distribution business in the late 1960s in Sutter Creek. With close to 50 years in the industry serving the region, the Oliveto family knows the business and the community well.
In 1979 the milk distribution company was sold, and the Oliveto family went into the beer and soft drink distribution business serving Calaveras, Amador and Tuolumne counties. In the early 1980s a wine division was added. The company was honored with the Miller Masters award in the early ‘90s, placing them in the top seven distributors in the United States. They were also awarded the High Life Achievement by Miller Brewing Company in 2002 and 2003, given to the top 40 distributors out of a roster of 450 companies.
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