Co-founders (L to R): Marcia Macomber, Christine L. Mueller, Ellen Reich Luchtel and Jackie Egidio.
Photo courtesy Bolen Photography.
About Wine Women
WINE WOMEN was launched in 2016 with the goal to advance women’s professional careers in the wine industry by fostering and nurturing talent, providing networking and training opportunities, and advocating for better professional opportunities.
Our members enjoy educational, networking and career-building opportunities through Professional Forums, Wine Women events and mentorship. Opportunities to learn and grow (and build one’s resume) also exist through volunteering in a variety of exciting roles and utilizing benefits at our partners’ programs.
Our Mission
To champion the advancement of women’s careers in the wine industry by building strong relationships, essential business skills and leadership among members.
Our Members
WINE WOMEN believe that building strong, lasting relationships with other professionals in the industry, prospective clients and mentors leads directly, and more quickly, to a successful and rewarding career. We encourage both women and men, of legal drinking age, to join the organization. We are geographically focused on serving professionals in the Napa and Sonoma wine regions, and alternate our events between the regions. As a member, you have an opportunity to participate in professional development groups (Forums), conferences, panel discussions, seminars and webinars at free or discounted rates.
In addition to individual memberships, we offer Affiliate and Corporate memberships that provide companies with discounts on multiple employee memberships as well as brand exposure through promotion on the WINE WOMEN.
We look forward to seeing you at our events, conversing with you on Facebook and Twitter, and welcoming you as a member!
Our Story
Four co-founders and long-time former directors of the Napa-Sonoma chapter of Women for WineSense – Marcia Macomber, Christine L. Mueller, Ellen Reich Luchtel and Jackie Egidio – recognized not just a need—but a great void—in nurturing, supporting and amplifying the talents of women working in the wine industry. Responding to that, they developed WINE WOMEN, a non-profit organization dedicated to making women more successful in the wine industry. The 501(c)3) non profit, professional trade organization launched its activities in early 2016.
The co-founders put forward the following manifesto:
OUR DECLARATION OF ASCENDANCE
WINE WOMEN was developed as a non-profit galvanized to accelerate the advancement of women’s careers in the wine industry.
Our trade organization extends beyond prudent wine enjoyment and education to provide the tools, guidance and creativity for members to attain industry prominence.
Success is measured through member happiness and satisfaction in the services and benefits they receive, as well as their ascendancy in career development. Developing and maintaining a breadth and depth of eminent members is essential to the growth of our community.
We are driven to continually improve our services, programs and outreach to expand the organization’s strength, reputation and influence.
Today, WINE WOMEN is governed by the all-volunteer Board of Directors, with directors rotating on a regular basis. We continue focusing on educational programming through our Forums and Events, and providing our members with networking opportunities. We also co-host weekly WINE WOMEN Radio Hour, a local radio show and a nationally available podcast, where we share wine news, taste wines, and discuss women’s (and men’s) careers in the wine industry.
In response to the coronavirus pandemic in the spring of 2020, we launched a new event format – a series of webinars aimed at enhancing professional development and work-life balance for our members. We are also currently working on launching the mentorship program for our members, so please stay tuned!
