Social Visionary Award

Deborah Brenner Nominated for Wine Enthusiast’s Wine Star “Social Visionary of the Year” Award

Social entrepreneur & Founder of Women of the Vine & Spirits nominated for newly created Wine Star Award recognizing visionary leaders making positive impact in alcohol beverage industry.

September 6, 2018 (New York) Wine Enthusiast Magazine announced today that Deborah Brenner, Founder & CEO, Women of the Vine & Spirits has been nominated for a 2018 Wine Star Award for “Social Visionary of the Year”. This new category for the Wine Star Awards focuses on successful leaders who have manifested their visions and inspired people to support a great cause in the alcohol beverage industry.

Brenner’s vision to champion women in the industry started back in 2006 when she wrote the acclaimed book, Women of the Vine: Inside the World of Women who Make, Taste and Enjoy Wine. The book was the catalyst for Brenner entering the wine business herself after a 20-year career in the tech industry. In 2007, she founded the first-of-its-kind collaborative wine brand, Women of the Vine, featuring notable women winemakers from California.

For the following seven years, Brenner learned the wine business inside and out. Ultimately, however, all the money, blood, sweat and tears could not foster women in the industry the way she had hoped, which led her to shut down the Women of the Vine wine brand and return to the drawing board.

“It was the biggest failure in my life. Letting down all the women I was championing was harder than losing my life savings,” said Brenner. “I owe a huge ‘thank you’ to all the amazing women that took the time to email, write letters, and call me expressing their desire to get involved in Women of the Vine. Thanks to those women, I was inspired and encouraged to take another leap of faith.”

A year later, in March 2015, Brenner organized the Inaugural Women of the Vine & Spirits Global Symposium which was a sold-out success. The women who attended sought out an opportunity to connect through a global network and seek ways to accelerate their business and professional development. They were looking for a forum to collaborate across all industry sectors and to do business with like-minded women and men. It was clear to Brenner that to make a positive impact on the alcohol beverage industry, women needed a voice year-round – not once, annually.

Membership to the organization opened September 2015. What started off as a one-off event and a grass roots movement quickly expanded into a global organization with corporate and individual members connected across 23 countries. Women of the Vine & Spirits has become a catalyst for creating a positive impact in the alcohol beverage industry by giving women globally a platform and a voice to thrive.

"The Social Visionary of the Year Award celebrates industry changemakers who tirelessly advocate for a more modern, progressive or inclusive environment for wine consumers and professionals at all levels in the wine business,” says Susan Kostrzewa, Executive Editor of Wine Enthusiast and Women of the Vine & Spirits Advisory Board member. "Through her work with Women of the Vine & Spirits and related projects she has modernized the conversation of gender in the alcohol beverage industry, across the globe.”

“I am extremely honored to be nominated among such accomplished professionals,” said Brenner. “When I first started Women of the Vine & Spirits, 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 champion women in the alcohol beverage industry.”

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 28, 2019 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 giving women globally a platform and voice to thrive in the alcohol beverage industry. Women of the Vine & Spirits is an organization for members to connect through our global and diverse network and collaborate across all industry sectors. Providing members with resources and opportunities to thrive is the cornerstone of our organization and success. We offer steadfast support for women at every position in the field with membership benefits that include: education, training, mentorship, entrepreneurship and networking as well as tools, services and resources for personal and business development. Together, we are a committed community taking action and making a positive impact on the alcohol beverage industry, worldwide. Save the date for the Fifth Annual Women of the Vine & Spirits Global Symposium, March 11- 13, 2019 in Napa, California. For more information, please visit womenofthevine.com.

CONTACT:

Kyndal Korsgaden
kyndal@womenofthevine.com
(805) 779-0301