In a recent interview for Pride Month, Gary Farrell Winemaker Theresa Heredia shared her insights on diversity & inclusion in the wine industry, particularly the work that she has done in partnership with the Human Rights Campaign.
Link to feature in Wine Enthusiast here.

Can you talk about Gary Farrell’s work with the Human Right’s Campaign?

“At Gary Farrell, we believe in a culture of diversity, equality and inclusiveness. We believe that the Human Rights Campaign is a wonderful organization to support because they fight for all types of equality.  The winery has been working with HRC since 2015, but I have been a supporter since 2010. Over the years, we’ve either donated to or physically participated in many fund-raising events. For example, Gary Farrell Winery has been the exclusive wine sponsor for the HRC Major Donor Leadership Gala Dinner from 2015-2019, and if not for the pandemic, we would have sponsored in 2020 as well, so instead, we donated wine and offered virtual experiences. We were also the wine sponsor for HRC Art for Equality for three years, 2016-2018, where we donated 6 cases of wine per event, in addition to an action lot compromised of wine and a VIP experience that we hosted at the winery. We’ve participated in several other HRC fund raising events, including the Organization of American States Dinner in Washington DC, the Federal Club Council of the HRC Fundraiser and the South Florida Fundraiser.

We are increasingly involved in all sorts of diversity, equity & inclusion initiatives. One of our main goals is to bring awareness and diversity not only to our winery, but to Sonoma County and the wine industry, as a whole. Here in Sonoma County, we celebrate the wealth of agricultural and winegrowing diversity in our region, so with the participation and dedication of as many individuals and organizations as possible, our hope is that someday we will also be able to celebrate the wealth of diversity in our population and culture as well.”

-Theresa Heredia, Director of Winemaking at Gary Farrell Winery