Erin Kirschenmann, Managing Editor, Wine Business Monthly (USA)

Years in the Industry:

I’ve been an editor at Wine Business Monthly for 7 years, following some time as a reporter for a local news website and an insurance trade publication. It’s always been a dream of mine to work at a magazine, but a wine magazine was an incredible (and lucky) surprise! In addition to editing articles for WBM and winebusiness.com, I cover business, technology, sales and marketing, and oversee and create content for our company’s nine conferences/tradeshows.

My Biggest Challenge to Wellness:
Juggling the demands of a media company is a definite challenge. One minute I’m editing articles on phenolics, then creating a DTC-minded session description the next; all the while managing other’s deadlines, writing my own articles and attending events, meetings, etc. on a regular basis. With so many projects running at once, it’s never a dull job but that fast-paced and full routine has the potential to spill over after office hours. It can feel difficult to be present and have enough energy for family, friends and fun.

How I Keep It Together to Stay Well:
Learning to say no! Whether it’s delegating a task, turning down a dinner invitation, or just admitting that I don’t have the time to do the project fully and properly, finding the courage to say “no” has been a true challenge and one of the greatest lessons of my career.

It’s so easy to move from one deadline or task to the next without taking a second to recognize it’s complete; so I recently set a reminder on my phone to just breathe, to take a long inhale and a longer exhale. The Breathing App has been immensely helpful in guiding that practice and pulling my mind off all the chaos.

Outside of work, softball has been my saving grace. For two hours on Mondays and Thursdays, there is no work, no wine, no responsibility—just a good time with friends. Working with a team toward something that, quite frankly, doesn’t matter is incredibly freeing. If we lose, there’s always next week.

You can connect with Erin on Instagram and through the WBM website.