A theatrically-trained actress turned wine professional, Anitha works in NYC and is always looking for reasons to travel abroad to wine countries. As a top Sales Representative for David Bowler Wine, covering both Manhattan and Brooklyn, Anitha offers her insights and perspective as a mentor for anyone looking to start fresh in this industry, especially in sales, and to be candid about all of the challenges that await, from opening and managing accounts, to education and to managing your own bottom line. As an under-represented member of the wine community (South Asian women), Anitha wants to be a part of changing the landscape of our world of wine, reaching a broader audience - and one which looks more like her...and like you. Interests include helping lift up the voices of BIPOC folx, and not just the ones you see, but also the ones in the vineyards who support this entire industry, mostly in the background.

Follow her on Instagram at @happybellyhappylife.

Katixa Mercier started her career 18 years ago as a sommelier in fine dining; curating and managing award-winning programs in New Mexico. In 2010, Mercier started consulting for beverage programs for boutique restaurants and hotel groups to private collections nationally. In 2016, she was head-hunted for a sales position for a boutique wholesaler, Favorite Brands, where she quickly ran up the ranks becoming both Wine Portfolio Manager and Sales Manager. She consistently met with local government and participated in state senate hearings to repeal the then retaliatory tax on imports before the pandemic hit and continued to via Zoom thereafter.

During the pandemic, Mercier additionally took on running the company alongside Texas-based leadership. With staff on furlough, this meant staging orders, running deliveries, merchandising and continuing to run the portfolio. While running deliveries in the early hours, she additionally met with state legislators via Zoom to advocate for local restaurants and retailers to continue business in any capacity.

In 2021, she was offered a position with importer French Libation and soon after was approached by importer Boutique Wine Collection where she currently runs half of the United States representing families who specialize in indigenous varieties from their respective countries, throughout the eastern hemisphere. She continues to be active in the wine community both in local law reform and nationally as a mentor for Batonnage Forum, a women in wine mentoring program.

Mercier is Parisian-Basque in heritage, grew up in Central America and is first generation United States citizen. She is multilingual, and has a penchant for Loire whites, a good pun and chips and currently shares a life in New Mexico with her sweetheart and two dachshunds.

Michelle (Perry) Egan learned the wine business from the ground up, starting with her first job after graduating with a degree in Marketing from the University of Arizona’s Eller College of Management. She joined E. & J. Gallo Winery as a sales representative, and over the next seven years gained an invaluable foundation in virtually every aspect of the wine industry, including marketing, brand management, and sales strategy. In 2007, Michelle left Gallo to join Constellation Brands’ where she spent 11 years and over her tenure, she grew to VP, Fine Wine Marketing and the Direct-to-Consumer. Michelle had a short stint at Realm Cellars as VP, Sales & Marketing, where she learned further about the luxury consumer. Today, Michelle brings her extensive wine industry experience to Terlato Wine Group overseeing the Estate Family Brands wine marketing and Direct-to-Consumer sales for wineries including Chimney Rock Winery, Rutherford Hill, Sanford Winery, and Klipsun. Michelle has a tremendous track record as a strong leader with a wealth of experience across sales, marketing, and DTC.

Claudia grew up in a winemaking family in the Napa Valley in the late 1960s-1980s. A dual citizen of the U.S. and Germany, she returned to California in 2017 after spending nearly 30 years in Germany, where she raised her daughter (now 30), ran her own wine import and distribution company and managed the European export market for Schug. For six years, she also served as California Wine Institute’s German representative and its European Trade Education Ambassador.

Claudia has a BA in Economics from Stanford University and attained the WSET Diploma in Wine & Spirits in 2009 after which she entered the Master of Wine program in 2010. Through her education and professional experience, she has built a global network, cultivated a deep knowledge of all aspects of the industry, and has tasted a broad range of wines of domestic and international importance. Claudia is active on several wine association committees, continuing her father’s collaborative spirit in advocating for California and Sonoma wines.

Claudia was a Level 1 and Level 2 Batonnage mentor in 2022 and is excited about continuing as a Sales & Distribution mentor in 2023.

A New York City native, Giuseppe grew up in Italy where he graduated in Economics and Business Administration. Giuseppe moved back to New York in 2002 and in 2010 received his MBA from Fordham Graduate School of Business.

Until August 2016, Giuseppe was the Vice President of Portfolio Management for Leonardo LoCascio Selections, the Italian Wine Imports Division of The Winebow Group. In January 2017, Giuseppe founded his own Consulting Company and Import Agency, based in NYC. As an Agent, Giuseppe serves 12 US Markets with a selection of high-quality Italian wineries. In April 2017, Giuseppe became one of the few US-based Italian Wine Ambassadors for the Vinitaly International Academy program. Since 2019 Giuseppe has been teaching the class on the US Wine Market for the Master in Wine Business of the Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies in Pisa, Italy. In July 2020, Giuseppe co-founded and launched Lucidity Wine Merchants, a boutique Import and Distribution company located in Sacramento, California.

A native of Paris, Laurie Taboulet is a wine sales professional with twelve years of experience in the wine industry and a thorough knowledge of fine wine distribution in the United States and France. She has run sales for prestigious estates of Northern Rhône, Bordeaux and Napa, and has interned for harvest at sought-after small producers in California and Oregon. Laurie is currently based out of Sonoma and manages North Bay and San Francisco’s sales for Wilson Daniels. She holds a master’s degree in business from KEDGE and the Level 4 Diploma from the Wine & Spirit Education Trust.

Born and raised in Bulgaria’s Thrace winegrowing region. Mariya never imagined she was destined to become a wine professional until she moved to the United States.

During her career, she has acquired an intimate understanding of the restaurant industry through diverse roles in top establishments in US as Nantucket’s The Pearl, Rebecca’s and L’Escale in Greenwich, CT to Chef Daniel Boulud’s Head Sommelier in Palm Beach, FL.

Her expertise in the beverage and hospitality world is based upon on-hand experience as well as years of education and training leading her to acquire the WSET Diploma in Wine and Spirits, CMS’s Master Sommelier Diploma and currently studying at theInstitute of Masters of Wine.

In addition to her Wine and Spirits Expertise, Mariya has accomplished the Master of Business Administration degree from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Kenan-Flagler Business School. While in the program, she was awarded the Shaping Leaders Fellowship as well as the LeadershipInitiative Designation.

In her current role at Pernod Ricard North America, she applies her educational and business experiences to shape the organization’s wine educational approach while gaining a deep understanding of the spirits business sector.

Mariya resides with her husband, Pavel and two border terriers, Ramses and Ziggy in West Palm Beach, FL.