Inspiring Conversations with Amy Bess Cook of Woman-Owned Wineries

Today we’d like to introduce you to Amy Bess Cook. 

Hi Amy, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I tend to follow my heart, take plenty of risks, and speak my mind. For as many times as these tendencies have gotten me in trouble, but they’ve also informed the very best parts of my life–including my business. 

I was 25 years old and living in the Blue Ridge Mountains when I sold all my belongings and moved to San Francisco. After a few years of working in book publishing, I craved peace and quiet and relocated an hour north to Sonoma County. I knew almost nothing about wine but was drawn to its creative aspect and connection to the land. I soon fell into a job at a small winery where I did a little bit of everything–worked in the tasting room, office, cellar, and vineyard. I learned so much! 

Alas, I also began to observe that the wine industry was a terribly difficult place for women to thrive. So in 2017, I launched an endeavor aiming to elevate my female colleagues: Woman-Owned Wineries. 

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Entrepreneurship is not for the meek. It can be pretty isolating, even when you have a strong network. A global pandemic doesn’t help! Every day since founding this endeavor, I’ve sought new ways to stay connected, bastion my spirits, and to become a better leader and human being. 

My business faces same primary challenge that most of my female winery partners face: **funding**. The gender-based funding gap is very real, and stalls so many women entrepreneurs (especially women of color). Our society tends to regard money as a taboo topic, but I believe talking about this problem is absolutely necessary in order to solve it. 

According to IFundWomen–a resource which has been so helpful to me on my journey–women are starting businesses 4.8 times faster than the national average, yet we struggle to access capital without going into debt. 72% of female founders cite lack of access to capital as the #1 barrier to starting a business. And only 2% of all venture capital went to women in 2021. That means 98% went to men. What the heck? 

Melinda Gates once said, “When money flows into the hands of women, the whole world changes.” Someone else said, “Finance is the final frontier of feminism.” When we wake up to this reality and spend in a way that empowers women, we may have a whole new world. 

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Woman-Owned Wineries elevates female vintners by connecting them with new audiences. We encourage casual wine lovers and our professional colleagues to support women wine entrepreneurs in order to balance our male-dominated industry. We do this is three primary ways: 

– Our nationwide winery directory was the first of its kind within our industry and lists 700 female vintners. This resource has introduced sommeliers, journalists, and curious wine lovers to female-owned businesses across the nation. 

– Our monthly wine club curates and delivers small-batch wine from independent female vintners that you won’t find on the shelves of large grocery stores or retailers. 

– Our storytelling project shares insight from hardworking women winery owners. 

Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
In the summer of 2022, I’ll be moving back to North Carolina after two decades in California. I’m thrilled to not only reconnect with friends there but to explore more wine and cider producers on the East Coast! 

Pricing:

• $107 | Classic Club Subscription
• $109 | Red Wine Lovers Subscription

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: http://womanowned.wine
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wowsonoma
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/wowsonoma