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California wine boss launches new consulting firm
Amanda Wittstrom Higgins, former executive vice president of Paso Robles’ Ancient Peaks Winery, has launched her new consulting firm, Full Cup Solutions, marking the latest venture in a distinguished career.
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Intent on building “impactful and unconventional strategies for the future” within the agricultural and beverage industries, Full Cup Solutions, which launched this month, will unite “talented people” to provide expertise in realms as diverse as marketing, finance and operations.
“I believe in identifying and amplifying new perspectives, voices, ways of thinking and approaches,” Higgins revealed at the time of launch. She went on to say that the business would be propelled by her own core principles of “crafting products with soul”.
Among her priorities for Full Cup Solutions will be enacting industry change, as well as “honouring and understanding the agricultural world”.
As a stalwart on California’s wine scene for the last decade or more, industry figures have spoken out in support of Higgins’ new venture.
Jordan Fiorentini, VP of Winemaking & Vineyards at Epoch Wines, described Higgins as “a Tour de Force… She has a rising tides floats all ships mentality and actually puts that phrase into action.”
Under Higgins’ guidance, Ancient Peaks succeeded in expanding its distribution to cover 44 states, as well as numerous international markets, and in 2017 the entrepreneur co-founded Wine Speak Paso Robles, now one of the most important wine events in California.
A year later, Higgins founded Dream Big Darling, a nonprofit which strives to mentor the next generation of women working in the wine and spirits industry. The programme involves virtual tastings, workshops and a scholarship to the Leadership Retreat.
Alongside her work at Paso Robles, this earned her a spot on Wine Enthusiast’s 40 Under 40 Tastemakers in 2019, and in the same year, Higgins was one of five nominees for the publication’s Social Visionary of the Year award. In 2020 she was named the Central Coast Wine Industry Person of the Year.
Higgins remains a partner in Margarita Vineyards, Paso Robles, and continues to play an active role in the Central Coast wine community.