Wente Vineyards Launches Make Time™ For Each Other

Family-owned winery embarks on journey to seize the moments that matter most, with the people who matter most to them in an initiative to inspire others

News provided by

Wente Vineyards

Jun 26, 2018, 09:05 ET

LIVERMORE, Calif., June 26, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Wente Vineyards, the country's oldest, continuously-operated family-owned winery, announced the launch of Make Time™, an initiative aimed to inspire people to unplug, create their own #MakeTime moments and focus on what matters most – each other.

Where does your time go? How should we spend our time? Join Wente Vineyards as we #MakeTime for what matters most: each other. Listen to 5 people come to terms with how they spend their time. https://maketime.us/

Research suggests people are at their best, happiest and most satisfied when they build and maintain good relationships,¹ but often times heavy amounts of screen time can get in the way. On a daily average, an individual watches nearly three hours of TV, spends two hours on social media² and checks email nearly 300 times.³

Life can look, sound and be a lot richer in person. To bring this to light, Wente Vineyards interviewed several people with diverse backgrounds about how they spend their time. Bingeing. Clicking. Scrolling. Liking. Posting. The interviews, captured on video and featured on www.MakeTime.us, transform into the heart of this effort as they illustrate the ah-ha moment of needing to be more mindful to make time for the people who matter most and underscore that digital and social media interactions do not replace meaningful experiences formed through real-life relationships.

"Time is precious and must be lived with purpose. To make the most of it, sometimes it means choosing to say no to distractions and yes to prioritizing each other," Wente Vineyards Fourth Generation Winegrower and Chief Executive Officer Carolyn Wente said. "We acknowledge that digital devices are now threaded into the fabric of our lives, but we sometimes need to be reminded of what connects us all as people, and that's real life human interactions. For generations, our family has lived by this mantra of creating meaningful connections with others over a glass of wine."

Wente Vineyards' passion for bringing people together includes delivering unique experiences for all to enjoy. In addition to being able to delight in private wine tasting experiences and interactive educational classes on property, guests can enjoy award-winning fine dining, world-renowned entertainers gracing the winery's natural amphitheater and a championship golf course.

"We've known through the years that great wine comes from more than the land and the grapes, it comes from people and the passion-filled moments that help fuel its development," Amy Hoopes, president of Wente Family Estates, said. "It's the same for every other activity in life – when the soil of your soul is enriched, you will reap the benefits in creativity, productivity and deeper, more meaningful relationships. These are among many reasons why we're proud and excited to introduce new programs to encourage our own employees to make time."

Make Time™ also strengthens Wente Vineyards' long-standing pledge of creating a culture of balance for its employees. The inaugural kickoff included several updates inside the organization:

Embodying Make Time Off (MTO): An additional paid time off offering to all of its nearly 700 employees to use on activities they enjoy with the people they care about.
Developing a Make Time Committee: A team of employees dedicated to ongoing nourishment of the Make Time culture, achieved through exploration and implementation of tools and skills offered to all employees and development of company events.
Instituting Make Time Mixers: Company-held social events, during business hours, to encourage coworker camaraderie and to refresh and recharge.

These updates are the first of several in the coming years that reinforce Wente Vineyards' commitment to make time for the people who matter most, leading by example to inspire all to follow suit.

To join the #MakeTime initiative, visit www.MakeTime.us for inspiration around creating Make Time moments, and follow the #MakeTime journey on Wente Vineyards' Instagram: @Wente.

About Wente Vineyards
Founded in 1883, Wente Vineyards is the oldest continuously-operated, family-owned winery in the country, now owned and managed by the fourth and fifth generations of the Wente family. The winery draws from certified sustainable Estate vineyards in the Livermore Valley, San Francisco Bay and Arroyo Seco, Monterey appellations to create an outstanding portfolio of fine wines. Wente Vineyards is distributed in all 50 states and in over 70 countries worldwide. In 2010, it joined the top 2% of California wineries who meet all three tiers within the Certified California Sustainable Winegrowing codes & designation. In 2011, Wente Family Estates was named American Winery of the Year by Wine Enthusiast and a top 30 wine company by Wine Business Monthly. 2012 marked the 100th anniversary of the Wente family bringing Chardonnay cuttings to California from France. Today, the Wente clone of Chardonnay is the most widely planted in California.

Located just east of San Francisco in the historic Livermore Valley, Wente Vineyards is recognized as one of California's premier wine country destinations. In 2018, the winery took a leadership role in its longstanding mission to inspire all to make time for what really matters, as realized through Wente Vineyards' wine country experiences, best practices and outstanding wines. The property features wine tasting, world-class concerts, award-winning fine dining and championship golf. For more information, visit www.wentevineyards.com.

¹ Social Relationships and Physiological Determinants of Longevity Across the Human Life Span

² American Time Use Survey Summary

³Why Your Inbox Is Your Enemy

SOURCE Wente Vineyards