Comstock's magazine 1217 - December 2017 | Page 39

with Raley’s Family of Fine Stores in 2013.
He realized early on that the retailer should
provide customers with an atmosphere
similar to a high-end wine shop. “We were
doing a good job, but we weren’t best in
class,” Mann says, “and my goal was to be
best in class.”
Raley’s President and COO Keith Knopf
says the award was a “great validation” of
Mann’s “willingness to think differently
to better serve the customers.” Knopf de-
scribes Mann as strategic, thoughtful and
quietly influential, surrounded by a “great
team with a shared vision and purpose.”
Mann drew upon more than a dozen
years of experience in California’s wine
and hospitality industries as he began to
overhaul the Raley’s wine program. But his
passion for wine actually harkens back to
his time as student director of the UC Da-
vis Aggie marching band — he played low
brass instruments, such as the trombone,
baritone and mellophone. He was earning
his history degree and perhaps would fol-
low his father’s footsteps into accounting.
Yet, as a few of his older bandmates gradu-
ated and entered the wine industry, he had
another idea.
He got a job at the tasting room at ZD
Wines and later served as tasting room
manager at Baldacci Family Vineyards,
both in Napa. He then earned his MBA
from the UC Davis Graduate School of
Management. After other stints, includ-
ing as the brand manager in the mar-
keting department at Trinchero Family
Estates in Napa Valley, Mann landed the
position at Raley’s. Through the years,
he has also studied extensively with the
London-based Wine & Spirits Education
Trust, and is currently enrolled as a sec-
ond-year student in the Masters of Wine
program, aiming to become one of 45
masters in the U.S.
By 2015, Mann’s improvements at Ra-
ley’s were in full swing. He converted 30
stores from the basic grocery-store aisle to
wine shops, and introduced more smaller
producers and international brands — an
“eclectic offering,” he says, and an ongo-
ing effort, as wine constantly evolves with
new entrants into the market. The logistics
of curation aren’t easy. Want to bring in a
new wine from France? That involves fig-
uring out the appropriate lead time. Want
to sell a label from a small local winery? He
must make sure they have ample inventory
so Raley’s has enough to stock should the
product take off among consumers.
Giving small producers a chance to
shine has its rewards, Mann says. “I real-
ly like finding that hidden gem — that’s a
really exciting thing.” He points to discov-
ering a label produced by the Maldonado
family outside Calistoga. The founder was
a farm employee before buying his own
10 acres to grow grapes and make wine.
Maldonado’s 2014 Farm Worker Chardon-
nay retails for only $19, providing a great
“price-to-value” for customers, Mann
says, with a wine that costs $19 but tastes
like it costs $50.
Mann’s second innovation involved
developing a wine steward program. These
stewards pace the alcohol aisles of Raley’s
stores, available to answer customers’
questions. The 30 stewards have all com-
pleted the Wine & Spirits Education Trust
certificate, learning about the world’s dif-
ferent wine regions, various growing and
production techniques, how to properly
serve the drink and other tidbits. Six of
these stewards have more advanced learn-
ing and can explain the difference, say, be-
At Raley’s, Director of Alcohol and Bever-
age Curtis Mann has introduced, among
other changes, more small producers and
international brands.
Curtis Mann’s favorite wines
are Central Coast chardonnays.
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