Business, Free News Articles, Insurance

Paragon Strengthens Winery and Brewery Programs with the Promotion of Brendan Wright and addition of Nick Faragasso

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. -- Paragon Insurance Holdings LLC ("Paragon"), a national multi-line specialty MGA (Managing General Agency) based in Avon, Conn., today announced the addition of insurance professional Nick Faragasso and the promotion of Brendan Wright.

Faragasso will be based in Sacramento, Calif. and Wright, who has been a key part of Paragon's wine team for the past 5 years, will remain in San Francisco. Both report to Paragon Regional President, Erik Kriens.

Faragasso joins as Vice President, bringing over 20 years of underwriting experience and expertise to Paragon. He will work across the WineryPlus and BreweryPlus programs. Faragasso has served as an underwriter to the wine industry for the past three decades and will add significant depth, experience and knowledge to the Paragon Winery team, in particular.

Wright is broadening his role and responsibilities as Program Manager of Paragon's Winery Programs. Paragon underwrites and manages insurance programs serving over 700 wineries across the nation and Wright will continue to bring his unique and valuable skill set to these clients and the retail brokers who serve them. Wright has over 10 years of industry experience, with the past 5 at Paragon focused on the wine industry from an underwriting perspective.

Said Paragon's Erik Kriens, "We have known and respected Nick for many years and we are excited to add another top professional to the Paragon team. Brendan has been an outstanding performer and we are pleased and excited to recognize this with his promotion to Program Manager. Both Nick and Brendan have tremendous skill sets that are of significant value to our clients, insurance company partners, and other stakeholders."

About Paragon:

A broadly diversified MGA, Paragon provides unique opportunities and solutions to retail agents, insurance carriers, reinsurers and vendor partners. Please visit https://www.paragoninsgroup.com/ for additional information.

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Business, Environment and Ecology, Free News Articles, Green Business

Wente Vineyards Announces 2019 Sustainability Report Card for Earth Day

LIVERMORE VALLEY, Calif. -- In honor of today's Earth Day, Wente Vineyards is proud to share an updated series of green initiatives and programming, all of which reflect the winery's longstanding (136 years and counting!) and ongoing commitment to sustainable winegrowing.

As of 2019, Wente Vineyards, America's oldest, continuously operated family winery, is among only 2 percent of California wineries to have achieved the Certified California Sustainable Winegrowing ("CERTIFIED SUSTAINABLE") designation for both its vineyard and winery. Any winegrowing operation hoping to attain the CERTIFIED SUSTAINABLE designation must meet a stringent set of criteria in order to preserve and protect their land, water, and air, but also demonstrate ethical leadership with how they treat their employees and local communities.

Wente Vineyards was one of 18 pilot wineries to achieve certification in 2010, and beginning with the 2017 vintage, the winery will include the official CERTIFIED SUSTAINABLE logo on all packaging to help increase demand for sustainable wines.

The Wente family's sustainability philosophy dates back to 1883, but today's fifth generation winegrowers Karl & Niki Wente have recently upgraded the winery, vineyard and tasting rooms to meet (and exceed) their family's CERTIFIED SUSTAINABLE-inspired goals.

A comprehensive list of recent additions to the sustainability 'menu' at Wente Vineyards can be found HERE: https://www.charlescomm.com/Big-News/wente-vineyards-announces-2019-sustainability-report-card.html - or summarized below:

WATER USE EFFICIENCY
* BlueMorph UV light system implemented
* All production facility water re-used for (minimal) irrigation
* On-property water treatment pond

SOIL & NUTRIENT MANAGEMENT
* 1/3 processed grape tonnage spread back into vineyards for soil management
* Cover crops recycled into self-renewing organic fertilizer for bio-diversity & pest control

ENERGY EFFICIENCY
* STARS Filtration Unit (Selective Tartrate Removal System), reduces energy load during winery's cold stabilization process
* Natural skylights & supplemental LED lights improve energy efficiency, replacing incandescent & halogen light fixtures

SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT
* In 2018, 77 percent of Wente Vineyards' consumables waste was diverted from landfill and recycled

BENEFICIAL PESTS & BIODIVERSITY
* Native beneficial grasses & 100 head of cattle provide grass management & soil fertilization
* Aero falconry, owl boxes, raptor perches & electronic squawk boxes for starling, gopher & ground squirrel management
* On-site weather stations use UC Davis-developed mildew pressure models to pinpoint exactly where to spray, if at all
* Natural oils (clove, black pepper and cinnamon) smother mildew & control pests

COMMUNITY
* Award-winning Make Time(tm) initiative strengthens Wente Vineyards' long-standing pledge of creating a culture of balance for its employees. Click here for a complete list of initiatives: https://www.charlescomm.com/Big-News/wente-vineyards-announces-2019-sustainability-report-card.html
* The Wente Foundation for Arts Education has raised over $5 million for local organizations to improve the quality of life for underserved local children.

About Wente Vineyards:

Founded in 1883, Wente Vineyards is the oldest continuously-operated, family-owned winery in the country, now owned and managed by the fourth and fifth generations of the Wente family. The winery draws from certified sustainable Estate vineyards in the Livermore Valley, San Francisco Bay and Arroyo Seco, Monterey appellations to create an outstanding portfolio of fine wines. Wente Vineyards is distributed in all 50 states and in over 70 countries worldwide.

In 2011, Wente Family Estates was named American Winery of the Year by Wine Enthusiast and a top 30 wine company by Wine Business Monthly. 2012 marked the 100th anniversary of the Wente family bringing Chardonnay cuttings to California from France. Today, the Wente clone of Chardonnay is the most widely planted in California.

Located just east of San Francisco in the historic Livermore Valley, Wente Vineyards is recognized as one of California's premier wine country destinations. In 2018, the winery took a leadership role in its longstanding mission to inspire employees and guests to make time for what really matters, as realized through Wente Vineyards' best practices, outstanding wines and wine country experiences. The property features wine tasting, world-class concerts, award-winning fine dining and championship golf. For more information, visit https://wentevineyards.com/.

For press inquiries and images, please contact Kimberly Noelle Charles or Rachel Chittick at Charles Communications Associates at press@charlescomm.com or 415.701.9463.

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Business, Free News Articles, Insurance

Paragon Insurance Holdings to Sell its Direct Retail Wine Industry Business

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. -- Paragon Insurance Holdings LLC today announced the sale of the firm's direct retail wine industry business to retail insurance broker EPIC Insurance Brokers & Consultants. The accounts in question came to Paragon in the fall of 2017 when they purchased wine industry specialist John Sutak Insurance Brokers, along with two winery programs from the Argo Group.

Effective January 1, 2019, Paragon will transition its portfolio of direct retail winery clients to EPIC, one of the nation's ten largest privately held retail insurance brokers. The purchase will expand and strengthen EPIC's own commitment to their existing and future wine industry clients.

Paragon will continue to underwrite and broadly provide insurance services to the wine industry on a national basis, and the transaction allows Paragon to maintain a clear strategic focus on the firm's core program management and underwriting expertise, centered on serving the needs of their partners in the retail insurance brokerage community.

"We are excited about the transaction and eliminating any possible ambiguity about the strength of our commitment to serving and supporting our retail insurance brokerage partners," said Erik Kriens, SVP Business Development at Paragon.

"We know EPIC Wine Industry Practice Leader Mike McNulty and the EPIC team well from many years of working with them on the specialty programs and MGA front. We are confident that they will provide outstanding service, strong advocacy, and effective representation to the wine industry clients they are acquiring from us," Kriens added.

Any inquiries can be directed to Erik Kriens at Paragon Insurance Holdings in San Francisco: ekriens@paragonisngroup.com or (860) 629-0849.

About Paragon:

A broadly diversified MGA, Paragon provides unique opportunities and solutions to retail agents, insurance carriers, reinsurers and vendor partners.

Please visit https://www.paragoninsgroup.com/ for additional information.

Related link:

This news story was published by the Neotrope® News Network - all rights reserved.