The Gallo salesperson training was widely considered to be the best in the industry. Therefore, Rick eagerly accepted the opportunity to learn the finer points of the beverage sales process. During his years selling Gallo brands, he excelled consistently, exceeding quotas while developing strong relationships with chain and independent accounts in the Chicago Metropolitan area.

However, over the years, corporate consolidation took its toll on the wine and spirits industry. In the early 2000’s and continues to this day there is a constant shuffling of alcoholic brands from one distributor to another. It is a commonplace disruption in business and creates an unstable environment in the distribution arena. Over the years, our founder found himself the victim of multiple mergers and product line changes. At times, product line changes were beneficial. At other times, they could be financially challenging to anyone employed in a sales capacity.

While at Stoller, a boutique distributor in the adult beverage industry, our founder gained a new outlook on the liquor industry. Stoller Wholesale was different from the other liquor “houses”. Since the company was somewhat smaller than the larger corporations that dominated the Chicago market; it provided Rick more exposure to hand-made, artisanal wine and spirits brands. These were the types of products that were from foreign countries or only available at high-end liquor outlets. He became an expert at building new, remarkable wine and spirits brands. While expanding his knowledge base he recognized the opportunity to further expose consumers to brands similar to the ones he had the opportunity to experience.

Eventually, it became apparent that he was ready to conquer new heights. He realized that his past sales career would be instrumental if he started a niche wine and spirits distribution company. He used his relationships in the marketplace to attract suppliers and ultimately, to brand his own products. After many years learning supplier development processes due to many winery visits and presentations, he learned the basic methods of producing great tasting wine and wine-based beverages. It became his mission to produce easy to drink wines for everyday consumers. He didn’t realize it at the time, but years of hosting wine tasting events and collecting customer data proved to be invaluable market insight. He believed he could produce the products that consumers had been wanting yet did not exist on the shelves at their local store.

He then started Vanguard Beverage, a boutique wine and spirits distribution company that operated in the Chicago area from 2009 to late 2013. It was a small company that started to fill that void in the wine business. Also, while working in sales for the area’s major liquor distributors, Mr. Nesbitt realized that consumers were often confused when they began to explore the vast world of wine. He then set out on a mission to demystify the wine discovery process with approachable, easy to drink, wines and everyday language. As time went on, he realized that in order to completely achieve his goal, he would have to become the manufacturer of the company’s wine portfolio. He decided to shutter the doors on the Vanguard Beverage and to devote his time and efforts to fine tuning his winemaking knowledge. Four- years later, he established the Vintrendi Wine Company, a micro-winery with a range of new age wines.

Currently, Rick serves as the CEO, winemaker and creative engine that drives the Vintrendi Wine Company experience. He and his team has established themselves as Illinois’ first licensed Black-owned and operated winery His hard work and dedication to his craft has garnished accolades from patrons and the local business community. In Fall 2021, Rick was named one of the Chicago Defender’s Men of Excellence and also Business Person of the Year by the Village of Park Forest as well as media exposure on NBC 5’s television show, N’Digo, as well as being featured on WVON radio segments. As for the future, expect the unexpected as he strives to bring our patrons value and innovation as we take control of the narrative and direction of the adult beverage arena as we turn the page to a new chapter in the book.

Rick is a native of Chicago’s far south side, the “Wild Hundreds” to be exact. He attended public school, Ralph H. Metcalfe Magnet during his elementary school years and later to Br. Rice H.S. and finished his formal education at Northern Illinois University. He is married to Carin, our CFO and they have three grown children, Donovan, Ivan and Raven. He currently resides in the South Suburban  Chicagoland area. For fun, Rick enjoys his work at Vintrendi, reading, watching television, carpentry, working out and relaxing.