Napa Valley vintner Suzanne Groth named Wine Institute chair

Suzanne Groth, president and CEO of Groth Vineyards & Winery in Oakville, has been elected board chair of the Wine Institute in San Francisco.

Other officers elected were Rick Tigner of Jackson Family Wines in Santa Rosa, first vice chairman; Randall Lange of Lange Twins Family Vineyards and Winery in Acampo, second vice chairman; Matt Gallo of E. & J. Gallo Winery in Modesto, treasurer; and Robin Baggett of Alpha Omega Winery in Rutherford and Tolosa Winery in San Luis Obispo, secretary.

As a second-generation family member of Groth Vineyards & Winery, Groth became president and CEO in 2017. She previously led the family business as vice president of Sales and Marketing and prior to that worked in wine sales and public relations, for a combined 19 years. Previously, Groth worked for the Henry Wine Group, a California wine distributor where she sold wine to San Francisco restaurants and retailers.

Groth has served as a board member of Wine Institute since 2014. Groth has also served as president of the Oakville Winegrowers since 2019 and been member of the board of directors since 2013.

Wine Institute is the public policy advocacy group of more than 1,000 California wineries and affiliated businesses, working at the state, national and international levels.