Go Unlimited with Magzter GOLD
Get unlimited access to 10,000+ magazines, newspapers and Premium stories for just
MARYANN WOROBIEC: Silver Lining Playbook
Wine Spectator
|April 30, 2022
Alexandra Schrecengost has combined passion and purpose to found two inclusive virtual companies since 2020.
Alexandra Schrecengost has been busy. Since the pandemic, this entrepreneur has founded two companies—Virtual With Us and Culture With Us— and started her own Zinfandel and olive oil label, Altrosero. She’s inspired by (and inspiring for) her mission for inclusivity.
I first crossed paths with Schrecengost, 37, pre-pandemic, when she worked in senior communications at Wilson Daniels, a high-end wine importer and marketing company. Her path took a turn in 2020. She saw her husband—who works in IT—grapple to maintain contacts and relationships virtually. She also worried about sommelier and chef friends who were struggling while furloughed.
“It really broke my heart,” New Jersey–based Schrecengost told me during one of our virtual catch-ups. “There’s got to be a way to make that connection and help those professionals.” She took a look at her skills, her connections and everyone’s new reality of staring into screens to connect.
This story is from the April 30, 2022 edition of Wine Spectator.
Subscribe to Magzter GOLD to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 10,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
MORE STORIES FROM Wine Spectator
Wine Spectator
Canary Islands Vintners Fight Back Against Phylloxera
A dreaded vineyard pest is threatening 500 years of traditional viticulture in the Canary Islands. Grape-growers recently discovered the first-ever confirmed cases of phylloxera on the volcanic archipelago. Vineyards in three towns on Tenerife, the largest and most populous of the islands, tested positive for the root louse, leaving winemakers and officials on edge as a response is organized.
1 min
November 15, 2025
Wine Spectator
TOO HOT TO HANDLE
Even Napa's top producers struggled in the scorching 2022 vintage for Cabernet
11 mins
November 15, 2025
Wine Spectator
Regina King Creates a Tribute to Her Son With a New Wine Project
Actor, director and executive producer Regina King has been a major player in film and television for four decades, including her roles in Ray, Jerry Maguire and as Sharon Rivers in If Beale Street Could Talk, which won her the 2019 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. In her latest film, she plays a New York City cop in director Darren Aronofsky’s Caught Stealing. Now she’s adding vintner to her resume as she launches her wine label, MianU, beginning with an orange wine sourced from California’s Mendocino County. Pronounced “me and you,” it represents making a connection through shared experiences, she says.
2 mins
November 15, 2025
Wine Spectator
Gigondas Blanc: Exciting and New
There are fewer things more change-resistant than French wine appellation laws. It took the winegrowers in Southern Rhône's Gigondas region more than a decade of lobbying to secure the right to produce white wines that could bear the name of their esteemed cru. Finally, the Gigondas blancs, which debuted with the 2023 vintage, are making their way to the market.
2 mins
November 15, 2025
Wine Spectator
OPUS ONE 1979-2023
A 45-vintage vertical tasting shows the evolution of a California first-growth
9 mins
November 15, 2025
Wine Spectator
NAPA CABERNET 2015: Ten Years After
While shy of a classic rating, the vintage offers plenty of solid Cabernets still packed with fruit
3 mins
November 15, 2025
Wine Spectator
Napa's Dominus Buys Yountville Ranch Vineyard
Dominus Estate, the Napa Valley winery owned by Bordeaux’s Christian Moueix, has purchased the 86-acre Yountville Ranch vineyard from Markham Vineyards, next door to Dominus’ Napanook vineyard. Neither party disclosed a purchase price.
1 mins
November 15, 2025
Wine Spectator
COMPOSING OPUS ONE
Robert Mondavi and Baron Philippe de Rothschild announced their revolutionary partnership in 1980. Today, a young team led by winemaker Michael Silacci is forging its full identity
17 mins
November 15, 2025
Wine Spectator
The Last Grape
Often overlooked Rhône red grape Muscardin is gaining attention in California thanks to Paso's Tablas Creek.
3 mins
November 15, 2025
Wine Spectator
DIFFERENT SHADES OF WHITE BURGUNDY
The 2022 vintage is a classic, with the elite wines joined by more affordable versions from nearby terroirs. The early 2023s, meanwhile, make for good drinking in the near-term
7 mins
November 15, 2025
Translate
Change font size