Hank Zona is a friend of mine and a fellow wine, beers, and spirits writer. While I write books, Hank seems to write for every magazine, newspaper, and website in the Metropolitan region. His byline is much more readily seen than mine.
Along with his well-known and accomplished writing collaborator, Valerie Stivers, they wrote a wonderful piece on the women of wine in New Jersey for Edible Jersey. It is an exceptional piece and highlights the many contributions of women in the industry that might otherwise go unnoticed - except for the fact that they are making an incredible n pack on said industry!
Wrote Hank on his Facebook page:
I have two pieces in the latest Edible Jersey, for which I am grateful to have the opportunity to write for and share stories about noteable people who are a major part of the grower and maker communities here in the state.This is a piece I co-wrote with Valerie Stivers. It focuses on some of the important women in wine in New Jersey. Wordcounts prevent me from including more people and more info and more details in many of my stories. Consider and most anything else I write about as beginnings to stories.I have long talked up new and lesser heard voices in the wine world and connected fields, so I was thrilled to include women I have come to know and admire and like in this piece like Aamira Garba, Robin Swan Shreeves Susanne S. Wagner and Alexandra Bottone, among others. Not in the piece, but deserving to be mentioned, is the publisher of Edible, Nancy Brannigan Painter, who has been highlighting local food and beverage stories with her husband Ray, for over 15 years. To them, it is not a trend...it has been a long-term commitment.Finally, some may question why a man is writing or co-writing this story. My short response: if we cannot share and advocate outside our segments and silos, how will more people learn and how will the world ever change?
Editor and Publisher, Nancy Painter joined in, writing in the mast head of the Edible Jersey Fall 2023 issue:
This article does a great job of highlighting some of the incredible women, who perform a variety of different tasks within the industry, that help make it as vibrant as it is today! A great job by the writers, and a brilliant piece of publishing by Edible Jersey!
To read the actual article go here:
Get your issue ASAP!!!!