Cocktails, Conversations & Connections with Women of the Vine

Victoria MacRae-Samuels, Vice President, Operations, Maker's Mark^® Distillery

Ms. MacRae-Samuels has nearly three decades’ experience in the bourbon industry and holds the unique distinction of being the first woman VP of Operations at a bourbon distillery. At Maker’s Mark she oversees every aspect of production, from the selection of grains, fermentation and distillation, to barrel warehousing, bottling and shipping, quality control and tasting. 

Deborah Brenner is the Founder & President of Women of the Vine Alliance.  She graduated from the University of Delaware with degrees in English and Journalism, and was soon hired by a television and film technology company that required international travel to countries for whom wine is a part of everyday life. After over 20 years in the male-dominated field of high-end technology and owning a marketing and public relations firm, Ms. Brenner discovered during a fortuitous trip to Napa and Sonoma that many women in the wine industry – like her own – were under-recognized. Compelled to tell their stories, she authored a bestselling collection of profiles on women in the wine industry, Women of the Vine: Inside the World of Women Who Make, Taste and Enjoy Wine, which Wine Spectator named a Critical Read of 2007.

Through the process of writing the book and championing its subjects, Ms. Brenner became inspired to enter the wine business herself, releasing wine from a first-of-its-kind collective of seven artisan women winemakers from Napa, Sonoma and Paso Robles. For the following seven years, Ms. Brenner learned the business inside and out. Ultimately, however, all the money, blood, sweat and (a lot) of tears could not foster women in the wine industry the way Brenner had hoped, which led her to shut down the Women of the Vine wine brand and return to the drawing board.

One year later, Brenner organized the inaugural Women of the Vine Global Symposium, held in March of 2015, which quickly sold out to 500 women from five countries. Due to the overwhelming response, Brenner and the Women of the Vine Advisory Board went to work developing a consortium that supports professionals in the alcohol beverage industry year-round. Thus emerged the Women of the Vine Alliance, a membership-based organization, anchored by the annual Symposium, whose mission is to empower and equip women worldwide to advance their careers in the alcohol beverage industry, fostering gender diversity and talent development across the industry at large.

Ms. Brenner has received a Rising Star Award from Women for WineSense (2008), a New York Small Business Administration Women in Business Champion Of The Year (2009), a New York City National Association of Women Business Owners Signature Award (2010), the Lillian Vernon Award for Outstanding Community Service by the Women's Enterprise Development Center (2011), a NY Women in Communications Rising Star Award (2013), and the Rockland Business Women's Network Woman of the Year Award (2014). She is also a member of Senator Gillibrand’s NY Agriculture Working Group. She resides in Rockland County, New York

Cocktails, Conversations & Connections Food & Cocktail Menu:

Reception:

Rosemary Shrimp

Maker’s™ Mule

Starter:

Harvest Salad

Maker's Mark® Old Fashioned

Entrée:

6oz Filet & Shrimp

Served with Mashed Potatoes, Brussel Sprouts, Cremini Mushrooms

Maker’s 46® Manhattan

Dessert:

White Chocolate Bread Pudding with Berries & Cream

 Maker’s 46®

Cancellation Policy

To receive a full refund, you must contact us 48 hours prior to the dinner via email at info@womenofthevine.com. In the event that you do not cancel, you will be charged $65 per person (payment in full is required at time of booking. a refund will be applied to your card for the difference)