Christopher O’Gorman, Director of Communications, Rodney Strong Wine Estates, and Alexandra O’Gorman, GM Retail & Guest Services, F. Korbel & Bros. Inc. (Sonoma County, California, USA)

Years in the Industry:
For nearly 20 years, we have both been fortunate to work for some of the best producers in Northern California. We married in 2001 and moved to wine country in 2002 and both took winery jobs, Alexandra as Event Manager with Lake Sonoma Winery and Chris in Communications with E & J Gallo.

Raising two young children, our careers were a juggle with Alexandra orchestrating more than 100 weddings for Lake Sonoma Winery before joining Hanna Winery & Vineyards as Director of Hospitality. She then helped open Coppola’s Geyserville property, before joining Ramey Wine Cellars as Director of Communications before finally returning to Korbel in 2020 as GM, Retail and Guest Services.

Similarly, Chris left Gallo in 2007 for Merrivale Vineyards in Napa Valley as the Director of Marketing Communications, before a stint with Paul Hobbs, then finally to Rodney Strong Wine Estates in 2015. Today, he is the Director of Communications and still makes time for wine judging in the US and international wine competitions.

Our Three Top Challenges to Wellness:
We love the wine business and feel blessed to be working in wine country. The diversity of our days keeps things interesting and traveling to fun locations and sharing world-class food and wine is something we enjoy, and look forward to.

However, weekly (and sometimes daily) we have opportunities to taste amazing food and wine, and interact with folks that we miss, but as we have aged, the ability to do all of these slowly wanes, so we have had to adjust in several ways.

We are also parents of two wonderful children and as other parents will attest – that is a full-time job in itself. Parents often must set their own needs aside to attend to their kids. This can mean not enough sleep, eating differently, and lack of down time to re-charge.

How We Keep It Together to Stay Well:
We both grew up as athletes and finding time to workout has to be a big, big priority. Buying a Peloton a month before COVID has been a game changer for both of us and we are each on the bike between three to five days a week.

We love attending events, but increasingly decline offers to keep our wellness in check. Also, we have frequent family check-ins on everyone’s personal health and resting/sleeping habits to be sure we are supportive of each other.

Chris has found that it can be easier to stay healthy on the road, where there is a gym a few floors down and walking - especially in a town like New York City, when it’s easy to walk 15-20K steps a day. He also eats fewer meals on the road with less carbs, although this is offset by evening meals, which are richer and paired with wine.

For Alexandra, comedy podcasts on the evening commute are a perfect stress relief and helps her to “leave it” at work and be more present for my family when she arrives home.

When not on the road, we try to actively avoid alcohol Sundays through Wednesdays, however if we’re cooking an amazing meal, it’s difficult not to pop open something that would pair well and elevate the entire meal.

Finally, we both drink a TON of water, constantly throughout the day, which we believe is a big reason why we stay healthy and avoid sickness.

What Inspires Us:
Our family. Great art and music. Good people doing good things and treating people well. Trying to see both sides of issues and reducing the drama in our lives with things within our control.

Quotes We Love:
“Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about. Be kind. Always” – Robin Williams
“Don’t give up. Don’t ever give up” – Jim Valvano

You can connect with Chris and Alexandra on Facebook at Chris O’Gorman and Alexandra O’Gorman and Instagram at @chrisogwine and @wine.alexandra