The Wine Institute

Jun 19, 2008 Margaret Duckhorn

SAN FRANCISCO — Margaret Duckhorn has been elected Wine Institute board chairman for the 2008-2009 fiscal year at the 74th Annual Wine Institute Meeting of Members held at the Four Seasons Biltmore Hotel in Santa Barbara. She is Co-founder and Executive Vice President of Industry Relations at Duckhorn Wine Company, which includes Duckhorn Vineyards in St. Helena, Paraduxx in Napa Valley and Goldeneye in Anderson Valley. Also elected were Raymond Chadwick of Diageo Chateau & Estate Wines, headquartered in Napa, first vice chairman; Tom Klein of Rodney Strong Vineyards in Healdsburg, second vice chairman; David Kent of the Wine Group, headquartered in San Francisco, treasurer; and Kathleen Heitz Myers of Heitz Wine Cellars in St. Helena, secretary.

Margaret Duckhorn established Duckhorn Vineyards with Dan Duckhorn in 1976 and has spent over 30 years building Duckhorn Vineyards' reputation for quality and excellence. A respected member and advocate for the Napa Valley wine industry, Margaret is a past President of the Napa Valley Vintners Association, past Board Member of the American Institute of Wine & Food, a founding member of Women for WineSense, and past member of the Oversight Committee for Farmworker Housing.

As Wine Institute chairman, Duckhorn will work to further develop strategic focus on the Institute's historical core values in "respecting the land, workers, consumers and the communities we serve" by building upon the success of the California wine industry's Sustainable Winegrowing Program, a major initiative that promotes responsible practices for wine production that is sensitive to the environment and communities. At the meeting of members, she highlighted Wine Institute's partnership with the California Travel and Tourism Commission in attracting visitors to the state and its wine regions, as well as the Institute's "California First" program, a campaign that engages industry trade and wineries to communicate messages about the state's unique and positive attributes and contributions. Duckhorn expressed continued support for work on regulatory and political challenges, including fair trade and tax matters, and advocating for the industry's competitiveness both here and abroad.