TexaCali Wine Co.
Bright Ideas...
Founded by Alison E. Smith "TexaCali Ali" in May of 2005 in Austin, Texas. TexaCali Wine Co. is now headquartered in the beautiful hills of Marin County, California where Ali resides with her husband Eric Story and their Goldendoodle "Lord Sandwich". May of 2015 marked the 10th Year Anniversary of TexaCali Wine Co., "I think the secret is out - combining hard work and a passion for wine, people, humor, CHEESE, and teaching others has created long-term success for both sales and brand awareness for brands I'm helping", TexaCali Ali."I was a pioneer as "an agent" for wineries and importers while combining traditional sales strategy with the online world for the past 10 years and now look forward to flexing my social marketing abilities to reach an international audience. It's weirdly full-circle - the last "real job" I had was managing online marketing campaigns during the dot-com days."
What's with the name TexaCali Ali?
After living in Texas for the first 28 years of my life while carving out a successful career in sales and marketing (GO STARS & Texas Rangers!) I became one of the few Texans that left the great state of Texas for San Francisco. Years right after graduating from Baylor University, my past-time was consu
med by visiting wine shops and wine bars all over the world - I just had to experience the reality of selling wine! So... I spent a little over 4 years in San Francisco getting my hands dirty in vineyards, creating wine tasting groups, learning from amazing winemakers and creating excitement for wine with anyone I had a chance to converse with. I joined K&L Wine Merchants one of the finest wine retailers in the nation as their domestic wine liaison and ultimately became their Marketing Manager. Though it was a tough decision to leave K&L, Texas was calling me home to share all the wine knowledge I soaked in while living and breathing wine in the heart of America's wine country. It was in 2010 that my desire to live among the beautiful hills and vines of Northern California brought me back to the Bay Area. I then transitioned TexaCali Wine Co. into a nationally known, full-service marketing and sales firm focusing on the entire brand building, direct to consumer management and national strategy for both old and new wineries. Also, this transition allowed me to learn even more about online social media and 3rd party marketing while helping Wine County Connect fulfill winery promotions for Amazon's Wine.Woot! & Rue La La online retailers. My wine adventures over the first 8ish years were chronicled from 2005-2013 on the TexaCali Wine Trail blog.
Committed to making a difference...
My ability to persuade and excite others about a single bottle of vino, a local coffee roaster or an exclusive resort is most unique. In fact, the business of marketing "the right way" is my passion and I take serious...though my skills often include humor, building trustworthy relationships and most honestly - tremendous business sense. I'm fortunate to call many of my current and former clients partners and friends - and that is living well!
Cheers!
- Alison Smith-Story "TexaCali Ali"