Woman-Owned Wineries

Woman-Owned Wineries builds bridges to connect female vintners with new audiences and with one another, too.  

*A portion of money raised will help fund entrepreneurial grants

for wine professionals through the

nonprofit  Lift Collective.

THE PROBLEM

Female vintners face obstacles that not only thwart their advancement in the male-dominated wine industry, but prevent curious consumers from finding their wines.

OUR SOLUTIONS

• Winery Directory  

Our expansive winery directory offers female vintners greater visibility.  As the first and most comprehensive of its kind, the directory is the foundation of our work. It currently lists 700+ wineries across the U.S. 

In an effort to make this information as widely available as possible, the directory is free for all to access. Major distributors, retailers, sommeliers, and journalists have all used the directory to diversify the wine selections in major marketplaces.

• Wine Club

Our monthly home delivery program invites curious wine lovers to discover and directly support hard working women in wine.  Our club has been recommended by Wine Enthusiast, New York Magazine, Martha Stewart Living, and other major publications.

OUR TRACK RECORD

"Right now, women … are weaving this amazing web of support for each other in ways I haven’t seen in 20 years ... WOW has been a critical puzzle piece in that realm.”

—Ashley Trout, VITAL Wines

• 2017 | PUBLISHED DIRECTORY OF 50 SONOMA COUNTY FEMALE VINTNERS
  THAT SPURRED UNPRECEDENTED WAVE OF AWARENESS
  AROUND GENDER EQUITY IN THE WINE INDUSTRY

• 2018 | EXPANDED DIRECTORY TO 550+ VINTNERS NATIONWIDE.
  LAUNCHED CONSUMER WINE CLUB.
  FOUNDER INTERVIEWED IN FORBES.

• 2019 | INCREASED TO MONTHLY CLUB SHIPMENTS

• 2020 | DOUBLED WINE CLUB MEMBERSHIP, TRIPLED  REVENUE

• 2021 | ESTABLISHED ADVISORY BOARD, EXPANDED DIRECTORY TO 700+ VINTNERS,
  AND INCREASED SEARCHABILITY. OFFERED PAID VINTNER MEMBERSHIPS.
  FOUNDER FEATURED IN THE NEW YORK TIMES

WHY ARE WE SEEKING FUNDING?

 We have spent four years testing the market's enthusiasm for our mission and product. From 2019 to 2021, we doubled our audience and revenue. The opportunity to serve this burgeoning audience is ripe.  With proper resources, we can successfully meet the growing demand in this sector. 

Full funding would allow us to:

• Operate with more complete staffing.
• Adopt a more lucrative business model.
• Explore an international expansion of our winery directory.
• Strategically expand events participation and content marketing.
• Foster more partnerships with organizations that share our mission.

*A portion of funds raised through this campaign will be donated to a new entrepreneurial fund established by our friends at the nonprofit Lift Collective. 

OUR TEAM & BOARD

Woman-Owned Wineries operates with a sole proprietor and is supported by a team of consultants and an advisory board.  With full funding, we look forward to updating the board leadership and further building this team.

TEAM BIOS>

ADVISORY BOARD BIOS>

Amy Bess Cook, Founder

"[Founder Amy Bess] Cook has not only created the ecosystem to support women within the wine industry, but also created a pipeline directly to consumers. And in an era when people have ethical standards about so many purchasing decisions, like food and coffee, she’s taken a known category and done the vetting for you.” 

—Peter Weltman, Principal, Borderless Wine

Amy Bess Cook launched Woman-Owned Wineries in 2017 to help create greater equity in the wine industry. She has since been an unflagging advocate for her female colleagues.

After working for a decade in a range of winery roles and settings, Amy Bess is uniquely positioned to amplify the talents and experiences of women in wine. She not only brings wine biz savvy to this endeavor, but a previous background in publishing and communications. As longtime brand and operations director for a boutique winery, Amy Bess came to closely understand the inner workings of winery life. Along the way, she consulted for other vintners and vendors. She also studied enology through the UC Davis Extension Program and tried her hand at a winemaking project of her own. Her experiences exposed her to some of the challenges women face in the wine industry, and motivated her to seek practical, positive solutions.

Her efforts to uplift her female colleagues have won her acclaim from The New York Times; The San Francisco Chronicle; Forbes; and Imbibe, which named her the  2019 “Wine Person of the Year”. A native of North Carolina, she has made her home in California for two decades.

Read more about us in the press>

Thanks to every single one of you who has supported us over these first few years! With your help, we look forward to continuing this work and sharing great wines with you.

In gratitude,

Amy Bess Cook
Founder