Southern Wine & Spirits of America Inc., Miami, announced that Phoenix Wine & Spirits, Salt Lake City, joined its Southern Wine & Spirits of Utah (SWS-Utah) division. The combined entity, which will operate under the SWS-Utah name, will be the largest wine broker in the state, according to the company.

“I could not be more thrilled to work with Patrick Delaney and his team in the great state of Utah,” said John Klein, executive vice president and general manager of Southern Wine & Spirits of the Pacific Northwest, a multi-state division of the company that includes the Utah sector, in a statement. “Phoenix is the oldest and largest wine brokerage company in Utah, and we are proud to merge their capabilities with ours as we capitalize on Phoenix’s unparalleled institutional knowledge of the Utah wine business.”

Phoenix Wine & Spirits Chief Executive Officer and President Patrick Delaney added: “Working with Southern on this exciting combination has been a pleasure. I personally appreciate the respect they have shown to me, the entire Phoenix organization and Phoenix’s 20-year reputation across the state of Utah. I am proud that the Phoenix name will continue to remain in place as a key selling division under the Southern Wine & Spirits of Utah umbrella. I look forward to leading the Phoenix sales division and partnering closely with Jeff Carter, who oversees wine sales for Wyoming and Utah for Southern.”

Southern Wine & Spirits Senior Vice President and President of the Wine Division Mel Dick concluded: “I personally welcome Phoenix to the Southern family of companies. There is no doubt that a good share of Southern’s ongoing success has been built on combining with other leading wholesalers and brokerages across this great nation of ours. We are excited to join our capabilities — under John, Jeff and Patrick’s leadership — leveraging the synergies between our two businesses as we take the enhanced SWS-Utah wine business to the next level.”

The deal is expected to close by the end of August, pending customary legal and regulatory review, with joint operations targeted for September.