Background
Terlato"s career began in 1955 on Chicago"s North Side at his father’s wine and spirits store, Leading Liquor Marts.
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Anthony Terlato
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Career
He has been called "The Father of Pinot Grigio" for his early role in bringing the now-ubiquitous varietal to the American consumer beginning in the late 1970s, when it was practically unknown outside Europe, and has been credited as a key figure in the shift in American wine tastes from "mass-produced, sweet, fortified jug wines.. to the likes of classified-growth Bordeaux, top Italian estates, and the best wineries in California that are enjoyed by many today." While there, he saw an emerging market for fine wines in the United States. In 1956, Terlato joined his father-in-law’s wine-bottling firm, Pacific Wine Company. He soon established relationships with Alexis Lichine and Frank Schoonmaker – two pioneer importers.
At age 29, Terlato was named president of Pacific Wine Company.
In the late 1960s, Terlato expanded Paterno Imports, which imported olive oil, to import fine wines. In 1979, he introduced Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio to the United States and over the next 25 years turned it into one of the most successful wine imports in American history – it was the most popular imported wine in Wine & Spirits magazine"s annual restaurant poll from 1995 to 2008.
In the late 1980s, Terlato began adding wines from producers throughout Europe. In 1996, he made the family’s first winery purchase: Rutherford Hill Winery in Napa Valley.
In 2000, the Terlato family purchased Chimney Rock Winery, also in Napa Valley, and in 2002, they added Sanford Winery in the Sta Rita Hills appellation of Santa Barbara County to their portfolio of wineries.
Foreign his role in introducing Italian wines to America, Terlato was conferred the decoration of Cavaliere Ufficiale, Motu Proprio in 1984, the first American in the wine industry to receive this decoration.
Achievements
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Cavaliere Ufficiale, Motu Proprio, Government of Italy, 1984 Wine Enthusiast’s Manitoba of the Year Award, 2002 Wine Spectator’s Distinguished Service Award, 2004 Horatio Alger Award, 2006 American Chamber of Commerce in Italy Wine Excellence Award, 2010 Wine Enthusiast"s Lifetime Achievement Award, 2015.
