Dream Big Darling
Story by Molly O'Brien
Photography Courtesy of Dream Big Darling
Founded and led by women, Dream Big Darling believes women are the number one audience in the wine and spirits beverage market, yet aren’t properly represented within industry leadership. The local nonprofit organization aims to rewrite this unbalanced narrative by offering resources to cultivate and inspire women in the community who want to lead.
“After having several wonderful mentors and others within the industry to look up to, I realized that one of my greatest gifts, and one of the things that would be wonderful for our industry, is to help elevate the next generation of women in the wine and spirits industry,” says Amanda Wittstrom Higgins, Founder and Principal of Full Cup Solutions and the President and Founder of Dream Big Darling. “One of the ways we could do that is through education, mentorship, community collaboration and access to opportunity.”
By providing access to role models and mentors with backgrounds and life experiences that support the professional growth of future generations, Dream Big Darling pushes each of their “dreamers” to become better versions of themselves. That’s true for Nancy Gonzalez, who attended a 2019 Dream Big Darling Retreat. The Owner, Winemaker and Boss Lady of Ulloa Cellars, she feels the organization reinforced her impact as an individual and a businesswoman, while helping her forge meaningful connections and opportunities that furthered her professional career.
“It was such an amazing experience to feel worthy of being in an industry that might not be used to seeing people like me,” says Nancy. “There [aren’t] a lot of Latino winemakers, and so for a while, I felt like I didn’t fit in. But [Dream Big Darling] told me, ‘You’re not meant to fit in, you’re meant to stand out.’”
Standing out as an executive or even as owner or head of distribution is, according to Amanda, much less likely for women than men across most of corporate America — even more so in the wine and spirits industry. That disproportionate power is what this organization aims to address. The name, Dream Big Darling, symbolizes its mission, which is to help others achieve their dreams. Also, it’s a tribute to Amanda’s grandmother, who called her “darling.” She served as an influential person in both Amanda’s life and in their greater community, where she employed young people to work at the fair concession stand that she operated for about 20 years.
“She touched so many people with kindness, and the term darling is what speaks to me on that,” says Amanda. “She really touched them with her heart. And that’s free. So, in the business world, in the agricultural world, that’s something that we can all use more of, and if we can teach the next generation to inspire others to dream bigger with kindness and love …That’s what we’re trying to accomplish.”
The nonprofit provides scholarships and mentorship, hosts retreats and works to enhance equal access to opportunities like education and networking for its members. The group is on its way to cultivating a new era of female empowerment in the wine and spirits industry — and beyond.
“Any time you can deeply touch someone and help them elevate their career or their belief in themselves or connect them with other good people, there’s no doubt that you’re advancing them as an individual,” says Amanda. “But when individuals have the ability to bring the best version of themselves to an industry with collaboration in mind, you can only benefit the industry.”
Dream Big Darling provides several programs designed to promote collaboration and education. There’s FLOurish, which is a six-month, one-on-one professional development program personalized to an individual’s needs and goals. There’s also a partnership with The Somm Journal and Tasting Panel magazine, allowing members to write a piece for the special “Fresh Voices” column on a topic of their choice and share their own insights, to become published writers.
“Not really knowing your own boundaries is a wonderful thing,” says Amanda. “Nothing is more exciting [to me] than watching people find their special gift or helping uncover that special gift they don’t even realize they might have, or they don’t understand how important that gift is to the world.”
With the help and inspiration from the organization, Nancy tapped into her own special gift. She was a 2021 Fresh Voices author and penned an article for The Tasting Panel Magazine about marketing beverages and wine to the Latino community. Her article was so well-received, Nancy was invited to speak at the Bar Convent Brooklyn conference in New York on the topic and she has since been receiving more public speaking opportunities.
“I feel like I’m serving my purpose of inspiring other women to pursue their dreams regardless of [who] they are,” says Nancy. “I have taken it upon myself to let people know that you can attain anything you want if you use your resources and if you follow your intuition. This community needs what you have to offer — your culture, your values, your background. That was basically my permission to fully embrace who I am without trying to fit into someone else’s mold of their idea of what a winemaker looks like.”
Amanda says she has already seen dramatic evidence of change in the people whose lives the group has touched. “There’s something special about connecting with community over food or wine or drinks and taking time to pause and appreciate what’s beautiful in life,” says Amanda. “Moving individuals forward and exposing more people to our tremendous world of farming and taking pause — that’s [most] inspiring to me.”
