LEGENDS WINE MARKETING

Laura Salo Long Jennifer Hicks Bowers

Jennifer Hicks Bowers first became interested in wine during college in Ohio. While most of her peers were drinking from kegs, she was drinking the most affordable bottle of wine she could find in the small, college town of Oxford, Ohio. After college, she moved to San Francisco where her love affair with food and wine really began. She spent many weekends in Napa and Sonoma, visiting wineries and absorbing all of the history, winery stories and viticulture. To compliment her passion for wine she enrolled in cooking school. What better place to fall in love with all things culinary and wine-related, than Northern California?

During her time in San Francisco, Jennifer pursued a career in meeting planning and event management. Even though this was a very strategic and detail-oriented path, she still was able to plan dinners to include food and wine pairings, and she found this was the part of her job she loved best.

Wanting to be closer to her family, Jennifer moved back to Ohio where her event planning career led her to a position with a catering and event planning company which also happened to have a gourmet market attached. This was the turning point for her; all of a sudden meeting with wine distributors, tasting wine, making buying decisions and selling wine to customers became her passion. To this day, Jennifer would say there is nothing more satisfying than introducing people to new wines.

Jennifer went to work for Wine Trends, an Ohio-based distributor of fine wines in 1999. On a market ‘work with’ she met Laura Salo Long, who became an instant friend and mentor. It was Laura’s suggestion that Jennifer make the move to the supplier side, and in 2002, Jennifer went to work for Jepson Vineyards, as their Northeast Regional Sales Director.

In 2004, Laura, a partner in Acme Wine Marketing, approached Jennifer with an opportunity to become Northeast Director for Acme Wine Marketing and its client wineries. The two women found working together very synergistic and decided to form their own company - Legends Wine Marketing. Jennifer adds "It is a dream come true to be in business with someone I respect and to sell outstanding wine made by people I consider friends".

Jennifer currently lives in Philadelphia, with her husband Stan and their newborn son, Quintin. Jennifer’s husband Stan is also in the wine business. They would both say that their love of wine has contributed to their love for each other during their first years of marriage!

Jennifer Hicks Bowers