Editors’ Note

Francesco Ganz was born and raised in the Veneto Dolomites, where he fell in love with the beer and wine industry. After many years of work experience and leading several key projects in the industry across Italy and later worldwide, Ganz continued his business endeavors in the United States. As the founder of Ethica Wines, his contributions are key in Ethica’s success for the U.S., Canada, and Asia Pacific markets.

Company Brief

Ethica Wines (ethicawines.com) is known for its Italian roots and global reach, emphasizing transparency, fair trade, and strong relationships with customers and producers. The company’s Miami-based headquarters serves as the hub for its national and international operations.

Will you discuss your career journey?

My interest in wine started from an early age. I grew up in Belluno, the capital of the Eastern Dolomites, with a family that worked in wine and spirits distribution. From childhood, I was working with wineries and seeing firsthand how wine connects agriculture, culture, hospitality, and business. Understanding how products are developed from start to finish gave me a unique appreciation for the product, along with the people and places behind it.

When I first started my career, I began working across different areas of the wine industry, leading projects throughout Italy and internationally. Those experiences gave me a broader understanding of how wine moves from producer to market and how differently consumers engage with wine around the world.

When I came to the United States, I saw an opportunity to help Italian producers navigate the complex U.S. market while making Italian wine more accessible to consumers. That eventually led me to create Ethica Wines. What began as an entrepreneurial vision has quickly grown into an international business, but the connection between Italian producers and the markets they want to reach remains at the heart of what we do.

Will you provide an overview of Ethica Wines?

Ethica Wines is an importer focused on bringing Italian wines to markets around the world. We work closely with producers and families across Italy and help introduce their wines to consumers, restaurants, retailers, and distributors in North America and Asia-Pacific.

Our role goes well beyond importing bottles. Italian wine is incredibly diverse, with thousands of years of history, hundreds of native grape varieties, and distinct regional identities. We serve as the bridge between those producers and the markets they want to reach while also helping communicate the stories, traditions, and quality of the wines.

What have been the keys to Ethica Wines’ growth?

One of the biggest keys to our growth, and what makes Ethica such a special place, has been our ability to build strong relationships with our producers, distributors, customers, and internal team. These relationships create trust that allows us to continue scaling our business together over the long term.

With our producers, we work to understand their goals and become an extension of their business in international markets. With our distributors and customers, we focus on being responsive, collaborative, and understanding what they need to succeed.

For our staff, we provide education and support for their growth. In an industry as diverse as Italian wines, it’s important that our team understands both the commercial side of the business and the cultural context behind the producers we work with. The U.S. wine market is also highly competitive and operates within a complex three-tier system, so simply having a great wine is not enough. Our team needs to understand why a wine matters and be able to communicate that value clearly.

We have also been intentional about building a portfolio of producers with exceptional quality, compelling stories, and strong regional identities. Combined with a highly knowledgeable team, these relationships have allowed us to adapt to different markets, identify new opportunities, and continue growing sustainably.

Will you highlight Ethica Wines’ services?

Ethica Wines operates as a global partner to our producers, providing guidance and support across importing, marketing, logistics, and sales. On the import side, we work closely with producers to help them navigate the regulations and complexities of international markets while building sustainable growth.

Our marketing team develops digital, product, and trade strategies tailored to each producer and market, with a focus on building awareness and creating a differentiated brand presence.

Our logistics capabilities span across the world through our “ready-to-ship” inventory in Livorno and warehouses in New Jersey and Singapore. This allows us to respond quickly to market needs and provide an efficient, flexible supply chain.

On the sales side, our team is deeply engaged with the trade, organizing more than 500 events each year and continuously monitoring on- and off-premise markets, pricing, competitors, and emerging trends. This allows us to provide responsive service and help our producers build lasting success in their markets.

How does Ethica Wines approach its sustainability efforts?

For us, sustainability starts with protecting the land and the communities that make Italian wine possible. Because so much of Italy’s wine identity is tied to specific territories, responsible farming is also about preserving the character and long-term health of those regions.

We work with certified organic producers like Cafaggio, Cordero di Montezemolo, Fontella, L’Antica Quercia, La Mura, and Movia, who are focused on responsible vineyard practices. That includes protecting biodiversity, maintaining healthy soils, conserving water and energy, and building resilience in the vineyards.

What was the vision for creating Ethica’s World Wine Pro program?

We created World Wine Pro with the belief that while many industries are looking to AI to optimize their businesses, wine will always depend heavily on human connection. That makes investing in the next generation of wine professionals more important than ever.

There are so many people who are passionate about wine but don’t know how to turn that passion into a career. The industry can feel like a closed world where years of experience, specialized knowledge, or the right connections are required to get started. We believe there should be another path.

For us, the foundation is passion, drive, and an employer willing to invest in your development. World Wine Pro gives the people who join our team a direct pathway into the wine industry without requiring prior wine expertise, combining structured education with firsthand experiences in Italy.

Ultimately, World Wine Pro is about making the wine industry more accessible and helping build the next generation of professionals who will carry it forward.

How do you focus your efforts leading Ethica Wines?

My efforts at Ethica are focused on moving the company forward while staying true to the values and relationships that built it. A large part of that is investing in our people and our producer relationships.

I want to give our team the knowledge and support to take ownership of their roles and continue developing professionally. That means creating opportunities for education, mentorship, and firsthand experiences that help people build confidence and take on greater responsibility.

I also believe leadership in wine requires staying close to the market. This is a relationship-driven industry, so I make a point of spending time with our producers, distributors, customers, and team. Those conversations help me understand what is changing and where we need to adapt.

As Ethica grows, my focus is on building a strong team and culture that can scale with the business without losing the entrepreneurial spirit and personal connections that have always defined us.

What are your priorities for Ethica as you look to the future?

Our priority is to continue building Ethica’s name as an international company while creating opportunities for our people and producers to grow with us. We want to continue to grow our presence, particularly across Asia-Pacific, while continuing to strengthen our position in North America.

Another major focus will be continuing to invest in our people. Through 2026 and 2027, we are investing approximately $2 million in education, talent development, and initiatives through our World Wine Pro program. We want to create more structured career pathways and give our employees opportunities to learn directly from our producers and colleagues.

At the same time, we see significant opportunity to introduce more consumers to the diversity of Italian wine. That includes expanding our portfolio by working with new, prestigious wineries and expanding into geographic areas and appellations that we don’t currently represent. We want to be thoughtful about that growth by bringing in producers who also share our values and whose wines add something meaningful to the space.

There are so many regions, producers, and stories that international markets have yet to discover, and we want to help bring those to new audiences.