www.julieannkodmur.com

Julie Ann Kodmur has worked in the field of wine public relations since 1988 and opened her own consultancy in 1997. She is the recipient of numerous awards in her field as well as the author of several articles in mainstream and trade publications.

www.wineprtuneup.com

Julie Ann Kodmur is a second-generation Californian who was born in San Francisco and grew up in La Jolla. As an eighth grader she was the runner-up in the state spelling bee who went on to edit both her high school and college newspapers. One of her pivotal experiences as a Stanford undergraduate was a junior year in Florence. She lived in New York City for ten years after pursuing master’s degree art history course work: during that time she directed Sotheby Parke Bernet’s first U.S. wine auction and worked for Frederick Wildman & Sons and Renfield in public relations and marketing positions. Seagram Classics moved her to northern California in 1988; she spent a decade as Director of Public Relations for the company, with responsibility for a large portfolio of American and European wines.

She has won awards for publicity and marketing campaigns she created and executed–including a program for Bandiera Winery in 1988 (using flower labels as the basis for edible-flower themed events with an author in walled gardens across the U.S.) and a program which achieved a spot in The Guinness Book of World Records for The Monterey Vineyard (the largest wind sock in the shape of a wine bottle) and an award for a cause marketing program in 1994 for Sterling Vineyards. She has launched a number of new brands—both ultra-premium and wide-distribution—as well as pursued initiatives for organizations including Zinfandel Advocates & Producers. She launched MerlotFightsBack.com for Swanson Vineyards, TaintFreeCorks.com for Oeneo Closures and NapaValleyValentine.com. She re-established The St. Helena Viticultural Society and directed publicity for Bonny Doon Winery’s Death of The Cork campaign.

Since 1995 she has also written articles for a wide range of outlets—The New York Times, Town & Country, The Wine Enthusiast, The Wine News, Quarterly Review of Wine, American Journalism Review, Editor & Publisher, Stanford Magazine and Appellation. She served as editor for The Napa Valley Wine Library Report for five years. She served as a judge for The American Wine Blog Awards in 2009 and 2013. She occasionally teaches public relations and journalism classes at Pacific Union College. She has been a panelist on publicity and marketing topics at numerous wine industry seminars and symposia.

In 1997, she founded her one-man shop offering marketing and publicity consulting services (www.julieannkodmur.com and www.wineprtuneup.com). She also does pro bono work for organizations including Sunrise Horse Rescue, Nimbus Arts, The Cameo Cinema and The Madeira School.

Julie Ann lives in St. Helena with her husband, daughter, Springer Spaniel and strawberry roan mustang.