"Terry was recognized for not only innovation and creativity but her longstanding advocacy and mentorship of women in the wine industry, values we as a company fully support," explained Vintage Wine Estates President and CEO Pat Roney.

Wheatley was appointed to her Vintage Wine Estates role when her successful wine sales and marketing company, Canopy Management, was acquired in July 2014.

Founded in 2007 by long-time vintner Pat Roney and several partners with deep roots in the luxury food and wine industry, Vintage Wine Estates has become known for its highly focused growth strategy.

Pat Roney and team seek out heritage wineries and brands with a goal of revitalization, growth and sustainability over the long term as demonstrated by the acquisition of wine icons Clos Pegase and Swanson Vineyards in Napa Valley and Viansa and B.R. Cohn Winery in Sonoma.

In addition, the company develops popular mass market retail brands, using an incubator approach to original brand creation, testing, sales and marketing and social media called the Wine Sisterhood

"It is a privilege to be in the company of these inspirational women in food and wine and I am honored to be recognized," comments Wheatley. "But it's not about me—it's about we. I am thrilled to work with a team at Vintage Wine Estates who supports women's leadership and allows creativity and innovation to thrive."

Women currently hold a majority of seats on the Senior Leadership Committee and are well-represented at the Director and manager level across all functions at Vintage Wine Estates.

"Research suggests that companies with female in leadership positions are more productive and profitable," explained Roney. "The talents and expertise of our entire team truly complement each other, and I believe the result is one of the most nimble and dynamic business cultures in the wine industry."

About Vintage Wine Estates

Vintage Wine Estates is a privately held wine company owned by a group of vintner families with deep roots in the wine business. The families own a collection of winery estates and brands including Clos Pegase Winery, Cosentino Winery, Girard Winery, B.R. Cohn Winery, Swanson Vineyards, Viansa Sonoma, Windsor Vineyards, Cartlidge & Browne, Sonoma Coast Vineyards, Middle Sister, Tall Dark Stranger, Pro-mis-Q-ous, Monogamy, Girl & Dragon, Purple Cowboy and a number of exclusive wine brands. An industry leader across all sales channels and dedicated to providing wine consumers with a range of wines from $10 to $100 dollars and at many price points in between, Vintage Wine Estates produces outstanding wines from Napa, Sonoma, Mendocino and other premium California winegrowing regions. Vintage Wine Estates is a company that respects all the ways wine is purchased—at wineries, at retail, on the telephone, on television, on the Internet and by mail. www.vintagewineestates.com 

Vintage Wine Estates is a collection of family wineries based out of Santa Rosa, CA. Our wines come from vineyards as far west as the Sonoma Coast and across the Napa Valley. Delivering to on- and off-premise and direct-to-consumer channels, we are committed to producing quality products at our state of the art winemaking facilities.

Vintage Wine Estates is recognized for providing exceptional value to the wine consumer. We continue new acquisitions to expand our collection of brands, producing wines that highlight talented winemaking and the best of Napa and Sonoma county terroir.