Long Island Merlot Alliance Appoints New Executive Director

CUTCHOGUE, NY - March 1, 2009 - The Long Island Merlot Alliance today announces the appointment of Donnell Brown as its Executive Director. In her role, Ms. Brown will work closely with current and prospective Alliance members to advance the quality of and regard for merlot and the merlot-based red wines of the region.
Ms. Brown has worked in marketing and public relations for more than 15 years, and has been a student of the vine for at least 10 years. She holds an Intermediate and Advanced (pending) Certification from the Wine and Spirits Education Trust, and has innumerable hours of classroom study and tastings with many industry notables, including Patrick Fegan (master of wine, Chicago Tribune wine columnist, founder of Chicago Wine School), Jean-Luc Le Dû (James Beard Award-winning sommelier, Le Dû’s Wines in Manhattan), Roman Roth (winemaker at Wölffer Estate Vineyard and The Grapes of Roth) and many others. Ms. Brown also is an active member of the James Beard Foundation, the Slow Food East End Convivium, and a member of the Board-led Outreach Committee for the Peconic Land Trust, a land conservation organization dedicated to the protection of working farms (including vineyards) and natural lands on Long Island.
“We are excited to have the enthusiasm and energy of someone who is as passionate about East End wines as Alliance members are,” said Richard Olsen-Harbich, a founding member of the Long Island Merlot Alliance, and winemaker at Raphael. “Donnell’s professional skill and keen interest in local, artisanal, food-friendly wine will fuel our mission: to establish the East End of Long Island as the premiere terroir for red wines in the U.S., a bridge between the Old World and New World of merlot and merlot blends.”