Comstock's magazine 1217 - December 2017 | Page 38

n TASTE
A MANN AND HIS WINE
Raley’s Director of Alcohol and Beverage Curtis Mann brings innovation to the wine aisle
BY Sena Christian PHOTOS: Joan Cusick
W
Curtis Mann, Raley’s director
of alcohol and beverage, at
the company’s newest loca-
tion on Fair Oaks Boulevard
in Sacramento.
38
comstocksmag.com | December 201 7
hen Curtis Mann found out his em-
ployer Raley’s had won the covet-
ed Retailer of the Year award from
Wine Enthusiast magazine as part of the
“Wine Star Awards” in 2016, he naturally
felt pride. “They recognized we’re striving
to be the most innovative wine retailer in
the U.S.,” says Mann, director of alcohol
and beverage for the family-owned grocer
based in West Sacramento.
He immediately shared the good news
via a text message to his wife, Theresa, who
responded with a skeptical response along
the lines of, “That’s not funny.” She knew
just how much the recognition meant to
Mann, what a big deal it was, and figured
he must be joking. The awards are presti-
gious and have been presented to the best
in the industry for 18 years. Raley’s was up
against some stiff competition, including
ABC Fine Wine & Spirits, Florida’s oldest
and largest independent retailer of fine
wine and spirits; Central Market, a gour-
met chain based in Texas; Publix, the larg-
est employee-owned grocery chain in the
U.S.; and Safeway, a chain with more than
2,300 stores in 33 states across the nation.
He then told his boss Paul Gianet-
to, vice president of Raley’s Center Store,
who oversees non-perishable items. “He
had that look on his face like, ‘How in the
heck did you pull that off?’” Mann recalls
with a chuckle. “It was shocking, but when
you look back on it, it shouldn’t have been
shocking because we had done all the piec-
es to make it happen. We push the envelope
to push the envelope, not to win an award.”
For Mann, the recognition served as
a testament to the changes his team has
implemented since he took the position