Welcome to Episode 1229, in which Cynthia Chaplin interviews Maria Calvert and Lydia Richards, in this installment of Voices, on the Italian Wine Podcast. Today’s episode is one recorded at the wine2wine Business Forum 2021. About today’s guest Maria: Maria was born in Quito, Ecuador but grew up in Queens, NYC - the most diverse place in the United States! Maria started to fall in love with food & wine while studying abroad in Spain and traveling to numerous cities, including Porto, Portugal, where she visited her first winery. Since that first tasting room, she has eagerly sought out new winemakers from close-to-home regions like Virginia all the way to the Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc hotspots of New Zealand. Today, Maria's time is split between NYC and Washington DC. She is a Public Relations Consultant who offers her expertise to start-ups and established brands in food and wine. Maria is committed to supporting businesses that share Hispanics in Wine’s mission of empowering women and amplifying the voices of the BIPOC, Hispanic, and Latinx communities. To find out more visit: Website: www.hispanicsinwine.com/ Website: www.mariacalvertpr.com/ Instagram: www.instagram.com/hispanicsinwine/ www.instagram.com/mariarcalvert/ Twitter: twitter.com/MariaRCalvert About Lydia Richards: Lydia is a Certified Sommelier from the Sommelier Society of America and holds the WSET Level 3 Advanced Certification; currently a WSET Level 4 Diploma student. Originally from Panama, Lydia’s passion for wine began while living in Paris and having the opportunity to travel to multiple French wine regions. After moving to New York, she worked in Marketing and PR for multiple industries before pursuing her dream of becoming a wine evangelist. Lydia worked as a Marketing Manager for the Wine Cellarage, a fine wine online retailer, and founded her private wine consultancy focusing on bilingual (Spanish and English) PR, education, tastings, and events, Vino Concierge, in 2017. She was a Senior Account Executive at Colangelo & Partners, an integrated wine and spirits communications agency, working with their Spanish and South American accounts; and as of January 2021, she is a PR Manager for Taub Family Companies: Palm Bay International & Taub Family Selections. Lydia is also a member of Les Dames d'Escoffier New York, a female collective of industry leaders in food, beverage & hospitality supporting aspiring professional women via education, advocacy & philanthropy. In September 2020, Lydia co-launched an exciting passion project alongside wine colleagues Maria Calvert and Ivonne Nill, called Hispanics in Wine, is a centralized digital hub dedicated to amplifying Hispanic / Latinx roots in the beverage and hospitality industries. To learn more about this guest visit: Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/lrichards16 www.taubfamilyselections.com/ www.vinoconcierge.wine/ Instagram: @lydia_vinoconcierge To learn more about today's host visit: Facebook: Italian Wines in English Instagram: kiss_my_glassx Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/cynthia-chaplin-190647179/ Let's keep in touch! Follow us on our social media channels: Instagram @italianwinepodcast Facebook @ItalianWinePodcast Twitter @itawinepodcast Tiktok @MammaJumboShrimp LinkedIn @ItalianWinePodcast If you feel like helping us, donate here www.italianwinepodcast.com/donate-to-show/ Until next time, Cin Cin!