Wente Vineyards Kicks Off 140th Anniversary Year with Prestigious Award and $10,000 Donation to Global Non-Profit Empowering Women
LIVERMORE, Calif. (March 8, 2023) – Wente Vineyards, America’s longest, continuously operated family-owned winery, is proud to announce that Chairman of the Board and Fourth Generation Winegrower, Carolyn Wente, was selected by Dress for Success San Francisco as a 2023 Bay Area Woman in Power for its annual global campaign, Your Hour, Her Power™. The award represents a thrilling start to Wente Vineyards’ 140th anniversary year in business, which officially kicked off on January 1, 2023.
Dress for Success San Francisco/San Jose is the local affiliate of Dress for Success – a global non-profit organization, empowering women to achieve economic independence by providing a network of support, professional attire and development tools to help women thrive in work and in life. Wente is proud to support both the local and global offices of Dress for Success.
The Bay Area Women in Power campaign spotlights groundbreaking leaders in their fields who are paving the way to success for other women. Carolyn was chosen thanks to her decades of trailblazing contributions to the American wine industry in her decades leading the charge at Wente Vineyards, shattering numerous glass ceilings and empowering women in her field to reach unprecedented new heights.
Carolyn joins a distinguished class of Honorees who include Quita Highsmith, Vice President & Chief Diversity Officer at Genentech; Teresa Rodriguez, best-selling author and editor-in-chief of Haute Living; and Valerie Roush, VP, Global Head of Sales at Glassdoor.
As a 2023 ambassador, Carolyn is able to expand the impact of Your Hour, Her Power. The impressive list of 2023 Women in Power Honorees spotlights groundbreaking leaders in their fields who are paving the way to success for other women in their companies, communities and from a global perspective. Launched ahead of Women’s History Month in March, the program is designed to inspire and uplift women from all walks of life, and Women in Power honorees have pledged to donate the equivalent of one hour of their pay to support Dress for Success career programs, services, and tools in addition to pledging significant financial support.
Carolyn was also selected by local affiliate, Dress for Success San Francisco (DFSSF) as an Honoree for its second-annual “Bay Area Women in Power” celebration and fundraising campaign. Wente Vineyards has made a $10,000 donation to DFSSF as part of the winery’s Women Behind Wente programming. To generate interest and exposure for Your Hour, Her Power, another $10,000 is pledged to the organization and will come from voluntary employee participation, as well as via an awareness program engaging Wente Vineyards customers, who have proven record of ethical consumerism in their support of the winery’s wholistic sustainability initiatives. Visit the dedicated donation page here.
“The Dress for Success mission deeply resonates with me,” said Carolyn. “As a steward of a winery operated by women in leadership roles from grape to glass, it is an honor to be an ambassador for this wonderful campaign. Your Hour, Her Power is inspiring because it is approachable yet impactful for almost anyone to participate in. Wente Vineyards has long partnered with Dress for Success, so for this honor to coincide with our winery’s 140th anniversary feels truly special.”
Carolyn joined her family’s Livermore Valley winery business in 1980 after graduating from Stanford. She started in sales and marketing where she developed and led Wente Vineyards’ lifestyle businesses and was instrumental in developing the Wente family’s experiential brand, essentially creating the prototype for modern day wine country hospitality experiences. She became President in 1995 and the family’s first female CEO in 2008. In Carolyn’s 13 years as acting CEO, her vision brought Wente Vineyards worldwide renown, attracting visitors from around the globe and inspiring countless wineries to follow her model. Today, Carolyn mentors fifth generation family members and company executives to uphold her legacy of strong female leadership while continuing the global growth of the Wente Vineyards wine portfolio.
Wente Vineyards will host a series of events celebrating women leaders throughout 2023, including a Women Behind Wente event at their Livermore Valley estate on March 3 as well as participating in the Dress for Success Gala in San Francisco on March 18. A DFSSF women winemaker event in late spring will also feature Wente Vineyards Director of Winemaking, Elizabeth Kester.
For more information, visit wentevineyards.com/women-behind-wente, dressforsuccess.org or yourhourherpower.org.
About Wente Vineyards:
Founded in 1883, Wente Vineyards celebrates its 140th year in 2023. The estate has been celebrated for its industry-wide contributions to innovation as the oldest continuously operated, family-owned winery in the country, now owned and managed by the fourth and fifth generations of the Wente family, with women leading the charge from grape to glass. The winery draws from certified sustainable estate vineyards in the Livermore Valley, San Francisco Bay, and Arroyo Seco, Monterey appellations to create an outstanding array of fine wines distributed in all 50 states and over 70 countries worldwide.
In 2010, it joined the top 10% of California wineries that meet all three tiers within the Certified California Sustainable Winegrowing codes and designation for both their estate vineyards and winery. In April 2022, the winery won the Wine Institute’s California Green Medal Leader Award. This award is given to one winery each year and recognizing leadership in sustainable practices that span both its vineyards and winery as well as the estate’s socially responsible initiatives that benefit its employees and greater community.
Located just east of San Francisco in the historic Livermore Valley, Wente Vineyards – Wente Family Estates’ flagship estate label – is recognized as one of California’s premier wine country destinations, featuring wine tasting, food and wine experiences, outdoor wine & music events, unparalleled wedding venues and The Course at Wente Vineyards, an 18-hole championship golf course designed by Greg Norman. For more information, visit wentevineyards.com.
About Dress for Success
Dress for Success is a global nonprofit organization that empowers women to achieve economic independence by providing a network of support, professional attire and the development tools to help women thrive in work and in life. Since starting operations in 1997, Dress for Success has empowered more than 1.2 million women across 144 cities in 22 countries. Visit dressforsuccess.org to learn more.
