This month on the GuildSomm podcast, we're hosting a special series focused on careers in the wine industry. We'll release one episode per week throughout the month of May, featuring interviews with wine professionals whose careers highlight lesser-known paths within the industry. In June, we'll get back to our regular monthly podcast, including the blind wine reveal from the "Unexpected Booze" episode.
For our first episode in the series, GuildSomm Staff Writer Bryce Wiatrak interviews Alex Schrecengost about her career in wine public relations and what it's like to represent some of the best-known producers and regions in the world (how many people can say they've done PR for DRC?!). They also discuss how the challenges of Covid led to her defining a new, entrepreneurial path, establishing her own company in the virtual events space.
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Alex Schrecengost is the CEO of curated virtual events company Virtual With Us. She has more than 15 years of experience in wine, spirits, and luxury hospitality communications. Giving voice to diversity and inclusion are at the center of Virtual With Us, especially through its Culture With Us offerings. Because VWU's sommelier network is composed of top wine professionals committed to education—whether in-person or remote—the company has created much-needed jobs and opportunities for the hospitality industry during the pandemic.
Alex is currently studying for the WSET Diploma and holds a Masters of Public and Organizational Relations from Montclair State University. She serves on the beverage committee for The James Beard Foundation and on the board of Self Help Africa. Alex lives in New Jersey with her husband and their identical twin boys.