Gina Gallo to Headline Women in Wine Celebration at Women for WineSense Event
Sonoma, California (PRWEB) August 20, 2013 -- On the evening of September 12, 2013, a panel of wine industry trailblazers, including Gina Gallo , acclaimed third-generation winemaker from one of America’s most historic winemaking families, E & J Gallo; Michaela K. Rodeno, author of the recently released, "From Bubbles to Boardrooms: Act 1: Startups Are Such Fun (Volume 1)" and former CEO of St. Supéry; Claudia Schubert, president of the Napa-based Diageo Chateau & Estate Wines; and moderator Tom Wark, of Wark Communications, and award-winning blogger of Fermentation, The Daily Wine Blog, will gather for the Napa|Sonoma chapter of Women for WineSense’s (WWS) annual "Women in Wine" panel. Under this year’s theme "Thinking Outside the Bottle: Successful Women in the Wine Business," this panel of wine industry leaders will speak about their careers, their paths to success and their advice to those entering or moving up in the industry.
This event will be held at Buena Vista Historical Winery, part of the Boisset Family Estates Collection, in Sonoma, from 6 to 8:30 p.m. on Thursday, September 12, 2013. Guests will be greeted with a glass of wine in the recently renovated winery’s landscaped courtyard. A welcome message by Buena Vista proprietor Jean-Charles Boisset will follow, along with a ‘family winemaking’ discussion with his wife, Gina Gallo, inside the winery’s Press House Tasting Room in advance of the panelists’ main program.
About Gina Gallo: Named #6 in the Top 100 Most Influential People in the U.S. Wine Industry in 2012, Gina Gallo is the winemaker behind the top-of-the-line premium brand from the largest family-owned winery in the world, E. & J. Gallo Winery. It produces more than 70 million cases of wine per year under 60 different brands and is the largest exporter of California wine in the world, distributing to 90 countries across the globe.
About Michaela K. Rodeno: Ms. Rodeno is an experienced corporate director and recently retired CEO. Her 40-year career in the wine business spans the development of two prominent French-owned Napa Valley wineries (Domaine Chandon and St. Supéry) from inception to financial success. As one of few female CEO’s in the U.S. wine industry, she was a natural choice when Silicon Valley Bank Financial Group sought a director to represent its fast-growing premium wine practice in 2001. She served for ten years, chairing the Compensation Committee from 2004-2011. The Rodeno family grows, bottles and markets a small amount of Napa Valley Sangiovese under their Villa Ragazzi label, which Ms. Rodeno re-launched in 2011 after a decade-long hiatus.
About Claudia Schubert: As president of Diageo Chateau & Estate Wines (DC&E), Claudia Schubert oversees Diageo’s wine business in North America. She is a member of the Diageo North America Executive team. Prior to her appointment leading the wines business in September 2012, Claudia served as general manager, West Control States where she was instrumental in shaping and implementing Diageo’s new Control States route-to-market strategy while delivering strong business results. She also led the transition of Diageo’s Washington spirits business from a control to an open state.
About Tom Wark: Mr. Wark is an American wine blogger, a public relations professional in the California wine industry, and founder of the American Wine Blog Awards. In addition, Wark is also executive director of the National Wine Retailers Association (NWRA) and the American Wine Consumers Coalition (AWCC), roles which position him to advocate for both retailers to have better distribution access to today’s market and consumers to have wider choices in their wine purchases across the country.
About Buena Vista Historical Winery: Founded in 1857 as the state’s first premium winery, Buena Vista has a rich, delicious heritage as the first premium—and certainly the most colorful—of all of the wineries in California. Today, the legend has been re-born under the vision of Jean-Charles Boisset. Just outside the town of Sonoma, the original winery is now a California Historic Landmark, and home to the winery, tasting room, and visitor’s center.
Both members and non-members of WWS are invited to attend. Ticket prices range from $75 for early bird members, to $95 for non-members and $45 student members (21 and over). Tickets will be available to the public on August 22 and are available today to WWS members for early bird reservations. Attendees can purchase tickets online at http://www.WWS-WomeninWine2013.Eventbrite.com.
Women for WineSense is a not-for-profit organization 501(c)6 formed in 1990 to help promote women working in the wine industry. WWS is committed to being the premiere wine organization offering outstanding education programs, member benefits, and networking opportunities to industry professionals and wine enthusiasts. The Napa/Sonoma Chapter currently has approximately 300 members of which 80% are professionals in the wine industry. To join or learn more about membership, please contact Ellen Reich Luchtel at Membership(at)WWSNapaSonoma(dot)com or visit the WWS chapter’s website: WWSNapaSonoma.com.
Marcia Macomber, Napa|Sonoma Women for WineSense, http://wwsnapasonoma.com/, +1 7077211095, [email protected]
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