Meridian Wine Merchants is pleased to announce the appointment of Damian Ganes as national sales executive from 1 July 2021.

“As the distributor for a prestigious portfolio of Cape wines, service excellence is of utmost importance to us at Meridian,” says managing director Shane Allchin. “Damian’s in-depth understanding of the premium wine category and experience he has gained over 12 years with Meridian will be invaluable in his new role.”

Damian joined Meridian Wine Merchants in 2009 as a sales consultant and then trade marketer, before being promoted to regional sales manager for the Gauteng region, national key account sales manager and most recently, off-consumption channel manager.

“Together with Meridian and the prestige wineries that we represent, it has been a privilege to work alongside many luminaries of the industry to make premium wine accessible to more consumers and build strong and trusted brands in the market,” says Damian. “I will always be motivated by my passion for fine wine and look forward to growing this category and contributing to a sustainable future for South African wine as a whole.”

As national sales executive, Damian will lead the entire national sales team, ensuring high-level execution of our strategy in on-consumption, off-consumption trade and key account trade.

“Damian has been a motivated and ambitious high-performing sales team member throughout his career,” says Gavin Dittmar, CEO. “He exemplifies the values that we strive for at Meridian, and we know that his commitment and talent will make a great contribution to driving the success of our business.”