Peter Byck
WX Brands in Novato, Calif. had been well positioned for the past year with a portfolio of 11 national brands and 43 “exclusive” brands sold in some of the world’s leading grocery chains. According to the company, its flagship brand, Bread & Butter, saw an estimated 72% increase in sales volume to more than 860,000 cases in 2020 after growing by 49% in 2019 and 70% in 2018. CEO Peter Byck has been with the company (formerly known as Winery Exchange) since 1999 and he has a long personal history in the wine industry as his family founded Paradise Ridge Winery in Santa Rosa, Calif. in 1994.
Through his family’s winery, Byck also fully appreciates the challenges of recent years as Paradise Ridge burnt down in the 2017 wildfires. The winery is one of the North Bay’s leading wedding venues; and after the family opened the rebuilt winery in 2019, they saw its events business derailed in 2020 due to the pandemic. For WX Brands, however, Byck told the Wine Analytics Report he remains very confident in future growth through targeted, digital marketing, expanding the footprint of successful brands and acquiring new ones. In addition to his work with WX Brands, Byck is also a member of the executive leadership board of the University of California, Davis Department of Viticulture and Enology.