Welcome to Episode 2079, in which Cynthia Chaplin interviews social entrepreneur Deborah Brenner in this installment of Voices on the Italian Wine Podcast. Deborah Brenner founded Women of the Vine and Spirits and she continues her epic work in the industry with a new initiative to stop harassment in the wine sector. 

More about today’s guest:  

Deborah Brenner 

Founder & CEO, Women of the Vine & Spirits® 

President, Women of the Vine & Spirits Foundation, Ltd. 501c3 

Founder, Diverse Powered Brands™ 

As a social entrepreneur, Deborah Brenner measures success on the positive impact a business makes on society. She has manifested her vision with Women of the Vine & Spirits®, the all-encompassing global membership organization dedicated to boldly pushing the wine, beer and spirits industry toward a more diverse, equitable and inclusive era that supports business development and innovation, empowering all to thrive. 

And more recently, with an emphasis on creating greater equity for diverse suppliers who are part of historically marginalized and disadvantaged communities, Deborah launched Diverse Powered Brands™ in 2023. Diverse Powered Brands is the premier centralized B2B digital global catalog connecting diverse-owned, diverse-led and diverse-made brands to buyers, wholesalers investors, and supplier diversity managers across the entire beverage alcohol and hospitality industry 

Prior to entering the wine industry, Deborah spent 20 years in the male-dominated television and film technology industry. It wasn’t until a fortuitous trip to Napa and Sonoma, that Deborah discovered another male-dominated industry, one where women were under-recognized. Compelled to tell their stories, she authored a bestselling collection of profiles on women, Women of the Vine: Inside the World of Women Who Make, Taste and Enjoy Wine, which Wine Spectator named a Critical Read. 

Through the process of writing the book and championing these extraordinary women, Deborah became inspired to enter the wine business herself, releasing wine from a first-of-its-kind collective of seven artisan women winemakers. For seven years, Deborah learned the business inside and out. Ultimately, however, the wine brand didn’t foster women the way she had hoped, which led her to shut down the brand and return to the drawing board. 

In March 2015, Deborah organized the Inaugural Women of the Vine & Spirits Global Symposium, bringing women and male allies together to focus on actions the alcohol beverage industry could make to change the status quo. It was a sold-out success. Membership to Women of the Vine & Spirits 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 the globe. 

Connect: 

Website: https://www.womenofthevine.com, https://www.wotvsfoundation.org, https://diversepoweredbrands.com  

Instagram: @womenofthevineandspirits @diversepoweredbrands  

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/women-of-the-vine/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/diverse-powered-brands/  

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/womenofthevine365/?ref=bookmarks ; https://www.facebook.com/diversepoweredbrands/ 

About today’s Host: 

Cynthia Chaplin is a VIA certified Italian Wine Ambassador, a professional sommelier with FIS and the WSA, a member of Le Donne del Vino, and a Professor of Italian wine and culture. Born in the USA, she’s lived in Europe since 1990. Italian wine, in particular rosé, is her passion. Cynthia is a wine writer, a judge at international wine and sake competitions, she consults with restaurants and enotecas developing comprehensive wine lists and food pairings, and she advises clients who want to curate an Italian wine collection.

Connect: 

Facebook: Italian Wines in English 

Instagram: kiss_my_glassx 

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/cynthia-chaplin-190647179/