July 8, 2025 (Napa, CA) — Vinifera Wine Marketing, a California wine broker representing terroir-driven, family-owned wineries, is excited to announce the purchase of Swirl Wine Brokers, a Northern California-based full-service wine brokerage, distributor and import firm representing some of the best domestic wineries and great wine estates from around the world.
“When Sara and Lawrence, people I greatly respect, presented me with the opportunity to acquire Swirl, a business I have long admired, to merge our companies into one entity, immediately creating the leading wine broker of artisanal wines in the state, I jumped at the opportunity.” said Gina Schober, owner of Vinifera Wine Marketing. “The wineries in the combined portfolio complement each other in so many ways, it is difficult to put into words.”
Founded by Lawrence Boone and Master Sommelier, Sara Floyd, Swirl Wine Brokers began in 2003 with a handful of winery clients and a single goal: to discover and promote great wines made by great people. From the beginning, Swirl has partnered with terroir-driven, family-owned wineries who combine both technical excellence and a deep respect for their land and vineyards. Today, Swirl Wine Brokers is one of the largest wine brokerage firms in Northern California.
As Boone and Floyd began to think about how Swirl could evolve and best meet the needs of their long-time winery partners and customers, in a dynamically changing industry, they sought out a like-minded broker with a world-class portfolio, highly respected sales force and a similar commitment to passionate wine sales.
Vinifera and Swirl’s shared ethos and focus on highlighting producers with deep knowledge of grape growing and winemaking and who capture the essence of their site in the bottle, made the joining of their portfolios a perfect fit.
“For the past 24 years, Sara and I have never been afraid to take bold steps towards our pursuit of being best-in-class. A wine brokerage firm is a living triangulated entity and only as strong as its wineries, sales team and customer-base.” says Boone. “Every decision we’ve made over the past two-and-a-half decades was to enhance all three at the same time.”
“Joining forces with Vinifera immediately provides our combined wineries with a much larger sales team and a broader and more comprehensive portfolio for our customers and sales team.” said Floyd. “Gina is incredibly talented, hardworking and passionate about wine sales; she is a leader of the next generation. We could not think of a more perfect person to lead our merged companies into the future.”
With Swirl’s impressive portfolio added to Vinifera’s, Vinifera Wine Marketing is poised to offer the California wholesale market an unparalleled collection of wines that are sought by today’s consumers: wineries that are family-owned, carefully handcrafted, committed stewards of the land, and always delicious to drink.
Boone added, “It is with our whole-hearted recognition that one of the people we modeled Swirl on when we started 24 years ago, was Lucy Malocsay, a trailblazer in wine brokerage here in California, having founded Vinifera fifteen years prior, nearly 40 years ago! It is a real honor to now be combining our company with Vinifera, joining Gina and her team.”
About Vinifera Wine Marketing
Since 1985, Vinifera Wine Marketing has partnered with terroir-driven, family-owned, premium wineries. Our producers are meticulous stewards of the land with deep expertise in winemaking and farming. Vintage after vintage, these winemakers produce exceptional wines that capture the essence of time, place, and varietal. Vinifera’s carefully curated portfolio offers wine buyers a diverse selection of varietals, winemaking styles, appellations, and price points – and all with great stories behind them.
About Swirl Wine Brokers
Swirl is a Northern California-based full-service wine brokerage, distributor and import firm. Founded by Bay Area natives, Lawrence Boone and Master Sommelier, Sara Floyd, Swirl began in 2003 with a single goal: to discover and promote great wines made by great people. Swirl partners with terroir-driven, typically smaller, family-owned wineries who combine both technical excellence and a deep respect for their land and vineyards. The resulting wines are as diverse as their winemakers, but all make you take notice, and continue a decades long pursuit for pure expressions of a certain place and personality.