Wine Enthusiast Magazine Nominates Deborah Brenner of Women of the Vine & Spirits for Wine Star Award Person of the Year
September 7, 2017 (New York) Wine Enthusiast Magazine announced today that Deborah Brenner, Founder & President, Women of the Vine & Spirits has been nominated for a 2017 Wine Star Award for Person of the Year. Each year, the editors of Wine Enthusiast Magazine honor the individuals and companies that have made outstanding achievements in the wine and beverage world for the annual Wine Star Awards.
Deborah Brenner founded Women of the Vine & Spirits in response to the need and demand by women in the alcohol beverage industry. What started as a one-off networking event with the inaugural Women of the Vine & Spirits Global Symposium in March 2015, has expanded into the first and only trade organization for women in the industry. It’s now an active year-round alliance and is international in scope.
The organization has become a catalyst for increasing gender diversity and advancement initiatives. Next week, on September 13 in New York City, Women of the Vine & Spirits will host the Inaugural Executive Summit, bringing together the industry’s top male and female executives to discuss diversity and inclusion and best practices for starting or growing an internal women’s leadership initiative.
“I am extremely honored to be nominated among such accomplished professionals,” said Brenner. “When I first started Women of the Vine & Spirits in 2015, I found myself trailblazing through unchartered territory and I could not have persevered without the tremendous support of our corporate and individual members that joined alongside me in this movement to empower and advance women in the alcohol beverage industry.”
Current and past Person of the Year nominees include Marius Berlemann, Jim Clerkin, Leslie Rudd, Carolyn Wente, Jim Bernau, Joseph Carr, Wayne Chaplin (Recipient of the 2016 Person of the Year Award), Stephanie Gallo, Frederic Helfrich, Marilisa Allegrini, Aubert de Villaine, Michael Mondavi (Recipient of the 2015 Person of the Year Award), Bill Price, and Joseph ‘Joe’ Wagner, among others.
Winners will be announced in the special “Best of Year” Wine Star Awards December issue, and the honorees will be presented their Wine Star Award trophies at a black-tie gala awards dinner on Monday, January 29, 2018 in Miami, FL at Nobu Eden Roc Hotel.
For more information about the Wine Enthusiast Wine Star Awards, visit winemag.com.
About Women of the Vine & Spirits®
Women of the Vine & Spirits is the world’s leading membership organization dedicated to the support and advancement of women in the alcohol beverage industry, fostering gender diversity and talent development across the industry at large. Guided by an advisory board of top executives in the alcohol beverage industry, Women of the Vine & Spirits offers extensive education, advocacy, training, mentorship, networking and steadfast support for women at every position in the field, particularly through the annual Women of the Vine & Spirits Global Symposium, March 12-14, 2018 in Napa, California. For more information, please visit womenofthevine.com