On Monday, March 31, the Garden State Wine Growers Association’s Women in Wine Caucus hosted a Career Panel at the Alice Paul Center, tackling the subject of careers for women in wine. The expert educators from universities and accredited wine schools spoke on how not only to get an education in wine but also how to begin getting involved in the New Jersey Wine Industry. Spoiler alert, there are more ways than one might realize and the audience learned there surely is something for everyone.
Before the discussion began, Lieutenant Governor Tahesha L. Way addressed the attendees.
“I’m so impressed by the dedication, passion, and professionalism of Women in Wine,” she said, acknowledging that women play a key role in the success of the New Jersey wine industry.
After the Lieutenant Governor’s remarks, Devon Perry, Director of Garden State Wine Growers Association, turned the attention to the panelists and moderator, Nicole Moen, who is Associate Director of Outreach and Communications at Princeton University
Nicole Moon, Associate Director of Outreach and Communications at Princeton University, began the conversation with the distinguished panel of wine professionals which included:
- Dr. Beverly Tepper, Developer and Director of the Rutgers Grape and Wine Science Certificate Program
- Dr. Gary Pavlis, Professor, Rutgers University
- Susan Heslietner, Founder and Lead Instructor of the New Jersey Wine School
- Donna Albano, Professor, Hospitality, Tourism & Event Management Studies at Stockton University
- Sharyn Kervyn, Certified Wine Judge and Owner of KdV Wine Services
After each panelist described how they got into the wine business, Moen asked for their advice on getting an education in wine and being more involved in the New Jersey Wine community in general.
Sources for a Wine Education
“An easy way is to join the American Wine Society,” said Pavlis. Local chapters meet once a month to taste and talk about wine.
Tepper recommended getting a job at a winery in the tasting room, or if the possibility arises, help pick grapes during harvest.
And then, there’s the formal wine certification route that anyone can take. Heslietner let everyone know that the Wine & Spirit Education Trust has a beginner Level 1 Course that can be completed in just six hours.
Other formal education routes discussed throughout the panel included courses that students enrolled in at Stockton and Rutgers Universities can take, as well as the WineLogic program
at Camden County College that Kervyn teaches. As part of the county college’s Personal Enrichment program, anyone over 21 years old can register for WineLogic.
There are many avenues that you can turn to in the New Jersey wine industry that fit a variety of needs. Whether that’s as simple as a part time job at your favorite local winery or an in-depth education and beginning your steps to becoming a sommelier. The panelists truly emphasized that there is something fr everyone.
Why Women Should be in Wine
“Why is it important to encourage women to be in the wine industry?” Moen asked the panel.
“There are too few of us and we have better palates,” Kervyn said.
“If you’re going to have a winery and you want to make the best wine you can, you’re going to want a woman,” said Pavlis. (There’s actually some science that backs that up.)
There are opportunities that make it worthwhile to get an education that leads to working in wine, too. Albano mentioned that when you combine “great wine and an excellent environment from New Jersey’s travel and tourism point of view,” there are plenty of opportunities to work in the industry.
To find out what’s happening next with the Women in Wine Caucus, make sure you’re subscribed to the Garden State Wine Growers Newsletter.
