Art Ciocca

Arthur A. Ciocca is the founder and chairman emeritus of the Wine Group, Inc, the third largest wine company in the United States by sales volume. Ciocca formed the Wine Group in 1981 when he and his associates purchased the wine assets from the Coca-Cola Bottling Company of New York. Since then, The Wine Group has grown to 25 times its original size and now includes the brands of Franzia, Concannon, Almaden, Corbett Canyon, Inglenook, Foxhorn, and other brands.

The company won the Winery of the Year Award at the 2005 Unified Wine and Grape Symposium, a gathering of some 10,000 industry leaders with more than 500 vendors representing growers, vintners, and allied industry members.

Ciocca is passionate about education, entrepreneurship and free market capitalism, devoting much of his resources to working with not-for-profit organizations in these areas. The Carlyse and Arthur Ciocca Foundation focuses on promoting entrepreneurship and offering scholarships to promising you students with leadership and entrepreneurial potential.

Ciocca entered Holy Cross in 1955, enrolling in the four-year Navy ROTC program. After serving in the Navy post-graduation, Ciocca worked for General Foods, Gallo Winery, and the Wine Group of Coca-Cola Bottling Company of New York before forming his own company, The Wine Group, Inc.

Art is now a super angel investor focusing on early-stage venture capital.