SSU Alumna Jessica Link Steeps Stories in Wine
Harvest season for wine grapes, better known as Crush in Sonoma County, is a time of intensity, focus, and creativity. SSU alumna Jessica Link knows this dance all too well as owner of, president of, and one of the first three graduates of the Wine Business Institute (WBI) at Sonoma State.
Link said harvest months can be all-consuming, but the hard work is worth it.
"Once the grapes are in the bottle, we can share our special place of home everywhere." Link said. "It's a cool way to share our community, stories, history, terroir, and our people with the world."
Link said Sonoma County is her favorite place on the planet.
"We live in one of the strongest communities there is. It's not about competition here, it's about rising tides," she said.
Link first experienced this support network while attending SSU and the Wine Business Institute from 1998 to 2001.
"Sonoma State gave me my education, it gave me my network, and it gave me my first job. It gave me direction toward all the steps to all the right places, and I don't think that was an anomaly," she said.
WBI's speakers, faculty, leadership, and board members offer an abundance of knowledge, networking, internships, and job opportunities that Link said she will always appreciate.
"They provide the pieces. You have to put them together. I think it's just a matter of your energy and attitude. If you're engaged, taking it in, and optimizing it, you will go places," Link said.
The recently retired and well-respected executive director of the Wine Business Institute, Ray Johnson, said the support network begins with the WBI board of directors and the faculty.
"Both were committed from day one to create the next generation of wine industry leaders, and their vision has been realized," he said.
Dr. Liz Thach – Emeritus Distinguished Professor of Wine and Management for Sonoma State, president of the Wine Market Council, wine writer and consultant, and part-time wine instructor with Stanford University Continuing Studies – said Link was always going places.
Thach was Link's professor while she was a student at WBI. She said Link was inspirational and has a "strong knowledge of the wine industry and what consumers want.
"Jessica was an excellent student and always showed strong strategic leadership skills," Thach said. "I'm not surprised that she became the CEO of a major winery and is also a business owner."
Link graduated with a triple major in wine business, management, and human resources – all as a single mother. Though Link hoped to receive her diploma in June 1997, her daughter Shelby had other plans and was born during finals. When Link returned to finish her degrees, Shelby came with her to campus and attended The Children's School.
"I was a single mom with a kid through all of it, yet I knew nothing would stop me. So we went to school together and did homework together at night; honestly, it was a very cool process for us. I loved it," Link said.
Link said that although her career path was convoluted, it was rewarding.
"There were a lot of life lessons, but most important, it was the people I met along the way that shaped me, guided me, and helped me to learn so much.”.
Link was an active leader in the early days of the Wine Business Institute Alumni Council, and Johnson said she worked hard to be involved.
"There's an adage about success in life, and it begins with showing up. Jessica got that lesson early on," Johnson said.
Johnson saw Link speak on a panel at the Wine Industry Financial Symposium last fall and remarked on her analysis of the industry.
"What impressed me most was that the information she shared was based on benchmarking her winery's data against their peer group. Her decision-making is data-driven," he said.
Link's aptitude for data and analytics is not new. After graduating from SSU, she worked with Beringer Vineyards, managing finances for the company's vineyard department, where she quickly helped the team automate its processes.
"I could run reports and provide them with information they never had. I just wanted to give them a better tool, and what I did was give them data that helped them improve their operations," Link said.
Paul Finn, Director of Business Planning and Analytics at The Duckhorn Portfolio, was a classmate of Link’s at SSU and stayed in touch through various university and industry events.
“Along with her competency and willingness to collaborate, she has always had the community of those around her in mind, striving to create environments, whether in school or work, where we can all thrive and succeed,” Finn said.
Like the rhythm of winemaking, Link's heart is rooted in the soil and the people and the place that made her.
"The university is an extension of the community. It starts with your home, and then the university and the county. The next layer is the wine industry. The school supports the industry, which in turn supports the school. It's all mutually beneficial to the community, those who visit, or those of us that call it home," she said.
- Krista Sherer, Strategic Communications Writer