With many years of success in the hospitality industry and a passionate love for impeccable service, great wine and memorable food, Riess is perfectly suited to lead The PlumpJack Group. 

"The PlumpJack Group is honored to bring on board one of the hospitality industry's most respected individuals," said Newsom. "PlumpJack is one of the country's fastest growing and most innovative lifestyle companies, and we firmly believe that Rick's exemplary record of achievement and his thorough understanding of the hospitality industry will be of enormous benefit as we take The PlumpJack Group to exciting new levels."

Riess will be responsible for the operations of all the company's businesses.  His primary responsibilities include new business developments, preparation of business plans and investment prospectuses, design and execution of capital plans, development and implementation of marketing programs and collateral, creation and execution of short- and long-term strategic plans, and overseeing the management leadership program.  

Riess brings 30 years of management success in luxury hospitality to his new post.  For the past seven years, Riess served as the Chief Operating Officer and Founding Partner of Auberge Resorts, developers and managers of world-renowned small luxury resorts, including Napa Valley's Auberge du Soleil; Esperanza in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico; Calistoga Ranch in the wine country and The Inn at Palmetto Bluff in the low country of South Carolina.  Riess was responsible for all hotel operations, including food-and-beverage, spa and accounting, along with sales and marketing for Auberge's four existing properties and four resorts currently in development.  

Prior to joining Auberge, Riess spent four years as Regional Vice President for Grand Bay Hotels and Resorts' Western Division, where he oversaw properties such as The Boulders in Carefree, Ariz.; The Lodge at Ventana Canyon in Tucson; the Peaks Resort & Spa in Telluride, Colo.; and Carmel Valley Ranch in Carmel, Calif.  Riess also spent 18 years with Hyatt Hotels Corporation, during which time he opened eight properties. His last two assignments were at the Grand Hyatt Kauai and the Hyatt Regency Scottsdale. He also worked in management positions at Hyatt hotels in Texas, Maryland, Virginia, New Jersey and Florida.

PlumpJack Group:  San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom founded San Francisco's popular PlumpJack Wines on Fillmore Street in 1992 on the principle of providing high quality products and helpful information in a friendly, non-intimidating manner, with the goal of transforming the wine purchasing experience into one of fun and discovery.  The PlumpJack Group portfolio has since grown to include the PlumpJack Cafe (San Francisco and Squaw Valley), the PlumpJack Balboa Cafe (San Francisco and Squaw Valley), PlumpJack Winery, PlumpJack Squaw Valley Inn, MATRIXFILLMORE, two PlumpJackSport retail clothing stores, a second PlumpJack Wines in San Francisco's Noe Valley, the innovative Jack Falstaff restaurant in San Francisco's South of Market neighborhood, The Carneros Inn, the Boon Fly Café and FARM in Napa Valley, CADE Winery and the PlumpJack Development Fund.