Joval Wines - We bring people together with wine

EST 1963

What we do

We apply a bespoke, finely calibrated approach to fine wine distribution. We haven’t necessarily followed the path of the traditional distributor; we have forged our own way.

We have two separate fine wine distribution companies with their own sales and marketing teams and wine portfolios. They are called red+white and Mezzanine The Fine Wine Specialist.

They are like siblings. Friendly and collaboratively, yet they can be highly competitive when they have to be, especially to protect and grow their own wine brands.

They have similar beliefs and values, but each evolving to be different, as a result of their own unique circumstances.

Having two separate wine portfolios and teams plays to our brand building ethos.

We have more capability and better able to deliver our winery partners brand objectives by having two separate companies.

Mezzanine and red+white collaborate when it makes sense, importantly by utilising the same extensive service platform.

Personal, efficient, reliable service is what we are known for and what our customers expect.

We provide 18 degrees temperature-controlled warehousing nationally, critical for the storage of fine wine.

We have a digital ordering portal called “Winesource” that is simple to use and powerful, that works in tandem with our customer service team.

We’re ready for our customers’ orders 24/7

We are constantly investing in our service platform and our Joval team to remain at the cutting edge.

We see our main task is to foster a close connection, relationship, and a knowledge of what our customers want. At the same time act as brand builders for our wineries.

We act as a key member of the sales and marketing team of each of our winery partners. We are their on the ground representatives.

We consider our wineries our partners. Their success is our success.

We work carefully to put our wines into the right hands, where they will be most enjoyed. This is the best way to build their popularity. It’s one reason we focus so much on restaurants. They are so important in promoting our wines to consumers. They are the life of our cities we live in, and we are proud to be an important part of what they do.

We sell into all channels, carefully calibrating placement of our wines between restaurants, retail, hotels and clubs.

If you are interested in deep diving into each of our two distribution companies, red+white and Mezzanine, continue reading.

red+white is the company where it all started in 1963.

It’s name has changed from Dorado Distributors, Fesq Dorado & Co, FD&C Wine and now red+white.Each name change marks a significant step in our journey.

Our portfolio is comprehensive and carefully calibrated. It includes only wines we admire and believe in.

We now operate in every state in Australia and have a partnership in New Zealand which is called red+white Cellar. We sell our wines into every channel where fine wine is sold.

Our aim is to ensure we achieve the full potential of each winery we represent and at the same time offer our customers a comprehensive wine.

OUR PORTFOLIO

CONTACT THE TEAM

We have been involved with many of our wineries from the very start of their journey. We proudly play our part in building our wines into important, highly sought after wine brands.

The symbol is integral to who we are and what we do. We are the link between our people, our winery partners and ultimately our customers. Our logo, talks to this connection.

The symbol also proudly promotes our company central aim and mission to add value to our people, to our customers and winery partners.

redandwhite.com.au

We’re the younger sibling of red+white. We share the same great service platform and a love of wine and brands – but we’ve also forged our own path, with our own distinct portfolio of wines and our team of
wine specialists.

Mezzanine The Fine Wine Specialist started as a kind of experiment with us backing one talented person who then was free to assemble a selection of a few relatively unknown brands that he believed in.

Our approach hasn’t changed much from then, with each state managed by trusted individuals who have autonomy. They come together, when necessary, as one, but we encourage a tailored approach to suit each different market.

We merged with “The Fine Wine Specialist”, a Sydney based distributor in 2011 and as a result we took on some special people and wine brands. This explains our long name ‘Mezzanine The Fine Wine Specialist. It suits us.

We now represent an eclectic mix of passionate winemakers each with unique wines and stories to tell.

Over time we have seen many of our once-obscure wine brands grow into some of the most highly regarded, popular wine brands available.

More recently, we have partnered with some established, iconic wine brands, who have decided to join us because they’ve seen something special in the way we operate and want to be part of it.

We are shaped by our people, our unique journey, and wines.

From humble beginnings we are now a unique mix of young, up and coming wines as well as classic, highly regarded wines, that compliment and add value to each other. We could say very similar things about our special team of people.

OUR PORTFOLIO

CONTACT THE TEAM

mezzaninewine.com.au

After making and selling wine for over 50 years, and selling wine glasses for over 30, we decided 13 years ago that it was time to start our own wine glass company.

Designed in Melbourne, manufactured in Europe, Plumm is the only wine glass brand owned and run by a wine company.

Wine is complicated, wine glasses shouldn’t be. Rather than a separate glass for every wine variety, our glasses are designed for particular styles of wine, from full bodied to light and sparkling. If you want it even simpler and prefer to use just one glass, we’ve designed elegant universal wine glasses. One glass to suit all wine styles.

Plumm is now sold in over 1600 restaurants in Australia and NZ and over 100 wineries. It’s sold in over 11 countries throughout the world.

How and why we do it

Wine connects us to the land, places and the journey of our lives. Wine is something that you often share with family and friends, usually with a meal. It often marks a celebration or a significant event in our lives.

A bottle of wine is waiting patiently to be opened in the hope it makes a moment special. From the stories of the wine, its colour, aroma and flavour in the glass, being enjoyed in between conversations and laughter.

Is there a more beautiful drink that says as much as a good glass of wine?

It is especially rewarding to work with a product in which there are so many elements that are important, yet not one that is the sole reason that defines it.

When it works the pieces all seem to fit. It’s seamless and feels so natural. Everyone with an important role to play regardless of how different their roles might be.

We are the distribution partner of many family wineries from throughout the world. Our customers come from all walks of life; most are also family owned. Every vintage, every wine is unique. What seems to connect us all is we are passionate and love what we do.

We are proudly an important part of a close community, our wineries, our people, and our customers.

Each year vintage rolls over and every single product we sell changes. We thrive on this challenge.

We’ve consciously and collectively built a culture that’s central to who we are and how we like to work. It’s an approach where great results are important but how we achieve those results is of equal importance.

We’re geared to succeed and grow but also to having fun on the journey, in an environment that’s both stimulating and inspiring.

We love to win and often do, but never by sacrificing our values.

We genuinely care for our customers, winery partners, our team mates and ourselves.

If you’re keen to find out more, and what we think really sets us apart, continue reading.

Trust & Integrity

Straight Talking...

Trust is not a given. We earn trust through our actions. This is why we like straight talking.

We want open conversation. It’s not about what people want to hear, it’s about what we think is right. It’s also about questioning decisions or actions that we think might detrimentally impact the business, or our integrity, regardless of who’s responsible or their position in the company.

Empathy & Respect

Not me, Not you, Us...

All our people, regardless of their role in the business, are treated with respect. Everyone has an important part to play.

We nurture and mentor less experienced colleagues and assist them in building their skills and advancing their careers. We stand up for our team-mates if we believe they’re being ignored, disrespected or unfairly treated, making sure their efforts are properly acknowledged.

We treat others concerns as our own, responding quickly, never ignoring or dismissing matters that are important to others.

We always enjoy and openly celebrate the successes of our team mates and company.

Our aim is to foster and build long-lasting, trusting and mutually beneficial relationships with our team mates, winery partners, suppliers and customers.

Empowerment

Go for it!

Our people don’t need to be babysat. We want them free to be themselves and to make their own decisions within an agreed upon framework.

We encourage our people to work smart, to make a difference and to inspire others.

We encourage our people to take on extra responsibility and have the confidence to have a go.

We want them to take calculated risks and, if they get it wrong, they will not be berated but be encouraged to learn from their mistakes.

We expect good, important decision-making every day, at all levels, to allow people to grow and make a difference.

Accountability

Talk the talk, Walk the walk...

We are always conscious of our promise to hold all of our colleagues to the highest standards of behaviour.

We communicate clearly about what is expected and are always unafraid to ask for further clarity if we are unsure. We ensure the right people receive the acknowledgment for great performance while, at the same time being prepared to own our own mistakes.

Collaboration

Together we fly...

We’re proud to be part of a winning team and push ourselves to be the best team players we can be.

We believe that the best way to collaborate and make good quick decisions is when a selected individual takes ownership of each and every important decision. After consultation, the appointed person makes their call but ensures those involved all understand the reason behind their decision, especially those who may hold a different view. Explanation in place, everyone commits to make it work.

We encourage our people to offer a view of areas of the business beyond their own. Solutions often become clearer from a distance than when you’re immersed in it. To this end we are interested and make time to listen, nurture, and embrace different perspectives from across the company.

Every person in every position young or experienced has something important to contribute.

Innovation

Today’s plan: Tomorrow...

Change is the only constant, so we make our decisions based on the future, not just looking after today.

We are curious and continually challenge the status quo exploring new and better ways to do things. We are not worried that we do things differently or if something hasn’t been tried before. We look for new ways to simplify and improve by challenging everything from processes to reports and job roles.

These values connect us and sets us apart from many others. They are what we are most proud of, and work hardest to protect and nurture. It is what makes Joval so special.

Our people are important to us above all else.

Every connection with one another, our customers, our winery partners, or our broader community all hold equal value.

We are driven to make a difference.

We love to win and often do but never by sacrificing our values.

If Joval sounds like a place that suits you and you believe you can add value and build a future
for yourself, we’d love to hear from you.

Check out our current roles here. We are always on the hunt for great people!

If you don’t see a role that suits you, you can also express your interest in working for the
company here and we will be in touch if there’s a suitable role

Vicky Ly

VICKY LY
HEAD OF PEOPLE AND CULTURE

We recognise it's not all about us. We have a role to play in the broader community and encourage all our employees to participate in causes that our team have selected and feel passionate about.

In addition to our individual financial contributions, we encourage our people to give their time and contribute by matching their fundraising initiatives dollar for dollar. As a business we are proud supporters of:

redkite offers essential support to young people diagnosed with cancer, and support to their families, from the moment of diagnosis throughout treatment and beyond. As a family owned business, relationships are central to everything we do making this partnership an important and natural fit with our core values.

Oz Harvest Australia’s leading food rescue charity. They collect quality surplus food, distribute it to people in need and divert food waste from landfill.

As a primary producer we are concerned about the environmental impact of food waste. Our selection of Oz Harvest stems not only from our connection to food through the hospitality industry but also an opportunity to support our donations with volunteering from within our team.

Clean up Australia day is Australia’s largest community based environmental event. What started as a simple Australian idea, has now expanded into 120 countries with an estimated 35 million people annually taking part. With our people across Australia, many take part within their local communities to help support this great Australian initiative.

Joval Wines also aspires to play our part and try and minimise our impact on the global environment.

We aim to maximise the effective use of resources throughout our operations whilst providing outstanding products and services to our staff, customers, and stakeholders.

We have an employee that drives and manages a multitude of activities to assist us to reduce our global footprint.

See the Joval Wines Report here
See the Joval Wines Performance Summary here
See the Joval Wines Action Plan here

Our National Team

Our team leaders are based throughout Australia, we don’t have a head office. We call our Melbourne office which houses many of our services ‘our support office’.

John Valmorbida

Creative Director

I was surrounded by business all my life. Family and the family business were intertwined.

I always wanted to make my own mark in business, thats if I didn’t get recruited by Carlton, which I didn’t.

I have always had a passion for brands. I’ve also focused on mapping a path forward for the business through what always has seemed like heavy traffic.

It was hard to get a kick in our big extended family business, with a pecking order well established.

When i broke out on my own, this drove my business approach.

I’ve always believed in building teams of good people all chasing the same thing and letting them run. Also, i believe that if you try your hardest to add value to all stakeholders, the rest looks after itself.

The most fun for me is seeing our people and brands fly.

I worked as a manager of a winery for 12 yrs before I started my own journey with Joval.

I love wine and what I do ~ so many passionate people, all working together is the only way to create success.

My unofficial, self named title is now Creative Director - I’m free to try and add value wherever I think is important, leaving the operations to be run by others. It’s a great job, taken a while to get it.

Frank Kraps

Executive Chairman

Bio to come

Tim Menting

Group Chief Executive Officer

I have been the Group CEO since 2018, and have worked with the Joval Group for over 17 years. I originally wanted to be a professional cricketer before talent limitations led me to a career in Chartered Accounting. My clients included some of Australia’s most successful wineries, which got me hooked on the wine industry.

My role now oversees all aspects of our Group including wine distribution, production and logistics. I’ve led the Group through unprecedented growth (and some turbulent times). Throughout this time, I placed a high priority on the development and wellbeing of our people. With over 20 years in the wine industry, I know it is built on relationships, and great relationships become possible when you have highly engaged and skilled people.

Gary Crawford

Chief Financial Officer

I’ve been Joval Wines GM/CEO since 2016, and have worked with the Joval Group for over 17 years in various leadership roles mainly in sales and marketing. Born in Edinburgh Scotland my family immigrated to Australia when I was very young and now call the northern beaches of Sydney home.

While it has been a roller coaster ride I’m very proud of what we have achieved as a business and how our people have grown and developed over the journey. Its all about delighting our customers and connecting them with our amazing winery partners. This is only possible with a highly engaged passionate team which we are very lucky to have. We never take anything for granted and better never stops.

Andrew Stoneham

Chief Technology Officer

Bio to come.

Bree Richmond

Brand Director

Bio to come.

Dominic Robinson

Sales Director

Dom has worked with the group for over 20 years. During his journey, he has progressed within the business holding several roles from Area Manager, State Manager and now Sales Director. Prior to working with Joval, Dom completed a bachelor degree in Landscape Architecture, though after travelling extensively through European and Australian wine regions, chose a career path he was more passionate about in wine. Dom’s role is to continue to build on our strong sales result whilst balancing our customer and winery partner expectations. Passionate about people and wine, Dom’s focus with Joval has been creating strong and rewarding long-term partnerships through open communication.

Our
Values & Beliefs

We’ve consciously and collectively built a culture that’s central to who we are and how we like to work. It’s an approach where great results are important but how we achieve those results is of equal importance.

We’re geared to succeed and grow but also to having fun on the journey in an environment that’s both stimulating and inspiring. We love to win and often do, but never by sacrificing our values.

How do we do this? We start with authenticity, care, empathy and passion. We take these core values and apply them to all our people, in every role and at every level. We genuinely care for our customers, brands, our mission, our team-mates and ourselves.

If you’re keen to find out more, and what really sets us apart, continue.