Elated, Encouraged, and Exhausted: 2019 in Review
Are We There Yet?
I don’t think I’m the only one who can wait for this year to be over.
However, there have been many bright spots in 2019, including the [holy sh*t-balls!] full-page article on A Balanced Glass in the January 2020 issue of Food & Wine. That’s one heck of a way to end (and start) the year!
So as we close out the last few days of 2019, I want to share some highlights from this action-packed year:
We Are Growing!
Thanks to all of you, the ABG community continues to grow around the world.
The website is now being visited from more than 50 countries globally.
The top ten active communities are based in the U.S., Australia, Canada, France, Italy, UK, New Zealand, Spain, Germany, and Ireland.
More than 1,000 members have joined the Facebook Group in less than four months since its inception.
It Was a Year of Firsts.
Nothing like stepping out of a comfort zone, and this year we did a few tap-dances in new territories:
Hosting a “Fermati e Respira” (stop and breathe) breathwork and meditation aperitivo hour at Vinitaly, in Verona. Thanks Stevie Kim for the opportunity.
We gathered at the TEXSOM conference for “tea-sane break” and tasted some unique herbal tea blends.
Announced the “ABG on the Cushion” meditation series – to be led by Cathy commencing in 2020. Get in contact to learn more.
Launched and “pinned” the ABG Lapel Pins to more than 600 wine professionals in more than 10 countries. A small but mighty way to show support for wellness as wine professionals.
Beck spoke at the annual EdTalks Denver event on “Small But Mighty: How Community Can Drive Industry Change."
The Stories You Loved.
Here are the top posts that you read and shared this year, with extra kudos to our guest contributors:
Be Careful What You Ask For – Millennials Respond – Rebecca Hopkins.
For the Love of Wine – A Master of Wine’s Perspective – Kate McIntyre MW.
My Hair Hurts – or How to Drink like a French Woman – Wendy Narby.
Here’s What’s Missing from the Sober Curious Movement – Cathy Huyghe.
How to Wine, Dine and Stay Fit – Tim Liu.
The Industry Hat-Tips.
Beyond finding each other, the industry has given airtime to the vision of moderation and wellness cause, and recognizing our ongoing efforts including:
ABG was named Runner-Up for the “Innovation Award” at the 2018 Born Digital Wine Awards by Vinventions.
Beck was awarded the “2019 Wine Industry Innovator of the Year Award” by US Communications group, Diaz Communications.
US online wine outlet SevenFifty Daily named ABG one of the 2019 Drinks Innovators Award recipients.
ABG was featured in Food & Wine magazine both online and in print (January 2020—did ya read it yet?).
On a final note, if you are trying to walk off some holiday excess, plug in and hear us talk about wellness and managing self-care on these podcasts: Hit the Bottle with Mike Wangbickler, You’re 86 with Justyn Myers, and The Garden Society with Erin Gore and Karli Warner.
As the new year beckons, Cathy is visiting family in Belgium and Beck is packing for a New Year’s yoga and meditation retreat.
We wish you all a peaceful end to 2019 and a year ahead filled with hope, self-care, awareness, love, and the commitment to keep driving change in an industry we love.
Thank you all for being here.
Namaste,
Beck and Cathy
