Professional Development:
Women for Wine Sense Roundtables
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Q: What is a Women for WineSense (WWS) Roundtable?
A: A group of WWS professional members who meet bi-monthly or quarterly to network in small group settings with the purpose of providing advice and support to one another for professional development and education. Each roundtable is organized around a specific wine-related profession, such as winemakers, wine marketers, or other wine professions.
Q: What happens at a Roundtable meeting?
A: Roundtable members plan their own agendas for the year. At some meetings, they bring in speakers to educate them on a specific topic; at other meetings they may discuss “hot issues” they are facing at work. In general, 10 to 20 women show up for each roundtable meeting.
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Q: Which Roundtables are available to join? 
A: Currently there are ten WWS roundtables operating in the Napa/Sonoma Area and a few new ones which we are planning to launch. Once a roundtable is full (20-30 members), new potential members are placed on a waitlist, or they can elect to start their own roundtable. Following are brief descriptions of the operating roundtables:
Participation in WWS Roundtables is a benefit of being a
Professional Member of the Napa/Sonoma Chapter. If the Roundtable has
openings, interested participants may attend one meeting to learn more
about the Roundtable, but then must become a WWS member in order to be a
full-time participant. Please note that no solicitation is allowed and
all Roundtable conversations are confidential.
1)
Winemaker/Viticulturist Roundtable: This roundtable is open to women
winemakers, associate/assistant winemakers, enologists, vineyard
managers, and viticulturists. Roundtable meetings serve as a unique,
confidential forum for women winemaking professionals to meet, exchange
ideas and learn new skills. We meet quarterly and each meeting focuses
on a particular topic. Our focus is on those skills that, as winemakers,
we are expected to know but on which we do not typically receive
training. We invite an expert in a particular discipline to speak to the
group and lead the discussion. Past topics include: winery finance,
marketing, salary negotiation, and management skills. And, of course,
wine is served! For more information, please contact the chair: Lisa
Bishop Forbes at lisaf@drycreekvineyard.com Openings? Yes
2)
Wine Marketing/DTC Roundtable: The mission of this roundtable is to
focus on strategic and tactical issues for marketing wine sold through
all channels, from direct sales and tasting room to the three tier
system. Topics include wine marketing strategy, brand management,
distributor and relationship management, communication materials, social
networking, wine ecommerce, wine clubs, and other related topics.
Members include marketing professionals from wineries as well as
consulting firms. The goal is to provide support and education to
members through informal networking and discussions. For more
information, please contact the co-chairs: Sharon Goldman at
sharon412@att.net or Sarah Morphis at sarah.morphis@ejgallo.com.
Openings? Yes
3) Human Resources Roundtable I: The goal
of this roundtable is to expand its members’ knowledge in the wine
industry, offering opportunities for dynamic HR peers to network and
share best practices while strategically aligning HR’s role and adding
value to their respective companies. In order to become a participant
in the WWS HR Roundtable, one must become a member of Women for Wine
Sense after attending their first HR Roundtable meeting. Participants
must be in the human resources field currently working for a winery or
vineyard company. Each winery or corporation may have one representative
participating in the Roundtable. Vendors are not allowed to become
members of this group, but the HR Roundtable 3 group welcomes non-wine
related HR professionals. We welcome vendors as invited guest speakers
to assist us with topics of interest. For more information, please
contact the co-chairs: Erica Haas at Erica@Kunde.com or Jackie Diaz at jdiaz@jpvwines.com. Openings: 2 available seats in this group.
4)
Human Resources Roundtable II: The Goal of HR Roundtable II is to
expand its members’ knowledge in the wine industry, offering
opportunities for dynamic HR peers to network and share best practices
while strategically aligning HR’s role and adding value to their
respective companies. All participants are currently working for a Napa
or Sonoma winery in the Human Resource field and must become a member
of Women for Sense after attending their first HR Roundtable meeting.
For more information, please contact co-chairs: Aurora Huerta at
aurora.huerta@am.fostersgroups.com or Ruth Tavizon at
rtavizon@ppvco.com. Openings? Waitlist Only.
5) Human
Resources Roundtable III -: The purpose of HR Roundtable III is to
provide a safe and fun forum to expand HR knowledge, network, and share
best practices and challenges. Membership is open to
participants working in HR functions within the wine industry, -- such
as suppliers, consultants, wineries and other wine-related businesses.
For more information, please contact co-chairs: Andrea Salvemini at andreasalvemini@sbcglobal.net or Susan Calcagno at
susancalcagno@comcast.net. Openings: Yes
6) Wine
Finance/Accounting Roundtable I: The mission of the WWS
Finance/Accounting Roundtable is to provide networking opportunities and
professional development for women working in finance, accounting and
controller positions within the wine industry. Roundtable meetings
serve as a friendly, supportive and confidential forum for members to
meet, exchange ideas, and learn new skills.. For more information,
please contact co-chairs: Lori Felando at lfelando@domainecarneros.com
or Dana Sexton at dvivier@ppvco.com. Openings? Waitlist Only.
7)
Wine Finance/Accounting Roundtable II: The mission of the WWS
Finance/Accounting Roundtable II is to provide networking opportunities
and professional development for women working in finance, accounting
and controller positions within wineries, banks and other wine related
institutions. Roundtable meetings serve as a friendly, supportive and
confidential forum for members to meet, exchange ideas, and learn new
skills. For more information, please contact Constance Coughlan at constance@mccoughlan.com. Openings? Yes
8) Wine
Law/Legal Roundtable: The mission of the WWS Wine Law Roundtable is to
focus on legal, regulatory, and compliance issues impacting the wine
industry. Members include any WWS professional member working in a
position associated with wine law, including attorneys, lawyers,
paralegals, and other positions associated with wine law. The goal is
to provide support and education to members through informal networking
and discussions. For more information, please contact co-chairs:
Rebecca Moore at rem@knoxricksen.com or Carol Smith at
clsmithesq@gmail.com. Openings? Yes
9) Sustainability
Roundtable: The mission of the WWS Environmental/Sustainability Issues
Roundtable is to focus on strategic environmental and sustainability
issues in the wine industry. Topics may include: recycling and material
management, sustainable packaging, water and energy management, social
and community efforts, chemical substitutions for cleaning and
sanitation, reduction of pesticides/herbicides, solar installation,
regulatory hurdles, and other environmental/sustainability programs you
may be implementing. Members include both wine professionals from
wineries as well as supplier and consulting firms. The goal is to
provide support and education to members through informal networking and
discussions. For more information, please contact co-chairs: Susanne
Zechiel at susannezechiel@kennedyjenks.com or Ann Thrupp at
Ann_Thrupp@b-f.com. Openings? Yes
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One of the goals of the Napa/Sonoma chapter is to continue to create new Roundtables to meet the needs of our growing professional membership. We welcome additional suggestions.
Q: How do I join a WWS Roundtable?
A: Contact the WWS Director of Education, Liz Thach to let her know which roundtable you are interested in joining. She will check with the Roundtable Chair on availability. If there is room, you will be invited to attend the next meeting. If you are interested in joining one of the new “in process” roundtables, we will reserve a place for you and notify you when the first meeting will be held.
Q: How do I start a WWS Roundtable for my wine profession?
A: It’s relatively easy to start a new roundtable. All you need to do is:
- Be a WWS Professional Member
- Identify at least 3-5 other WWS professional members in the same wine profession as you. If they are not WWS members, they can attend two Roundtable meetings before they become a member.
- Contact the Napa-Sonoma WWS Director of Education, Liz Thach to inform her you want to start a roundtable. She will assist you in planning, scheduling, and facilitating the first meeting.
We look forward to hearing about your ideas for other Roundtables, too!