Accolade Wines moves North American headquarters from Healdsburg to Napa

Accolade Wines, the world's fifth-largest wine company, is leaving Healdsburg and moving its North American offices to Napa.

"From an international perspective, Napa is the global icon as the home of America's wine industry. It offers a greater radius of recruitment prospects for all levels of positions and provides easy access for national and international travel," Accolade Managing Director Tim Matz said in a statement.

The company's marketing and sales team will be located in Napa, along with a significant portion of the finance group. Operations staff will remain at Geyser Peak Winery in Geyserville.

Accolade was formed last year when Constellation Brands sold a majority stake in its Australian and United Kingdom wine business to CHAMP Private Equity. It acquired Geyser Peak Winery and two sister brands, Atlas Peak and XYZin, from Ascentia Wine Estates in June.