Archive for category: News and Updates

Iconic Entrepreneur Lends Advice to Wine Brand Noted for Gratitude and Resilience

Gracianna Winery is pleased to announce its selection as one of the three winners, among hundreds of applicants, in the highly competitive Fiverr x Martha Stewart, Limited Edition Gig Promotion.

Martha Stewart has served as a brand ambassador for Fiverr’s 2024 Summer Product Launch by becoming a Limited Edition Pro freelancer, where she showcases her skills in Fiverr’s brand new profession based catalog. The promotion invited businesses to share their strategy, challenges, and goals for the chance to receive personalized advice from the renowned entrepreneur and lifestyle icon, Martha Stewart. As one of three winners, Gracianna Winery received a 30-minute one-on-one consultation with Martha Stewart, as well as $1,000 in Fiverr Credits to support their business endeavors.

In addition, Gracianna is honored to name Martha Stewart as an honorary member of their exclusive wine club. Her personalized, handcrafted wooden medallion will join over 1,000 others displayed proudly at the Gracianna Mercedes Riverblock estate vineyard.

“We were thrilled to be chosen to get advice from one of the most successful entrepreneurs the world has known,” said Lisa Amador, a spokesperson for Gracianna Winery. “Martha’s sense of style and attention to detail align perfectly with Gracianna’s principles of excellence and authenticity. We look forward to applying her insights to further elevate our brand and continue spreading the message of gratitude that defines us.”

“Supporting entrepreneurs as they grow and expand their business is central to the work we do,” said Matti Yahav, Chief Marketing Officer at Fiverr. “From the skilled freelancers on our platform to special campaigns with iconic business leaders like Martha Stewart, we’re thrilled to see how Gracianna Winery is thriving with support from these resources and congratulate their hard work in creating and growing their brand.”

The Gracianna team is enthusiastically activating their consultation with Martha Stewart. The winery’s involvement in the promotion highlights its consumer-led innovative approach and dedication to growth, which aligns seamlessly with the values celebrated by the promotion and Ms. Stewart.

Gracianna Winery, known for its exceptional wines and commitment to celebrating the art of gratitude, continues to inspire with its unique blend of tradition and modernity. The winery invites wine enthusiasts and entrepreneurs to join them in celebrating this achievement and to experience the elegance, warmth and gratitude that define Gracianna. 

 

ABOUT MARTHA STEWART

Martha Stewart is the founder of the first multi-channel lifestyle company, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, an entrepreneur, bestselling author of 99 (to date) lifestyle books, and Emmy Award-winning television show host. Reaching more than 100 million devoted fans monthly through multimedia platforms and products for the home, sold through Martha.com and an extensive retail network, Martha is the “go-to” authority on the encompassing topic of Living and Celebrating your best life. She and her talented staff provide trusted, timely, and useful information on all aspects of everyday living: cooking, entertaining, gardening, home renovating, collecting, organizing, crafting, healthy living, holidays, weddings, and pet care, across many media formats.

ABOUT FIVERR

Fiverr’s mission is to revolutionize how the world works together. We exist to democratize access to talent and to provide talent with access to opportunities so anyone can grow their business, brand, or dreams. From small businesses to Fortune 500, over 4 million customers worldwide worked with freelance talent on Fiverr in the past year, ensuring their workforces remain flexible, adaptive, and agile. With Fiverr’s Talent Cloud, companies can easily scale their teams from a talent pool of skilled professionals from over 160 countries across more than 550 categories, ranging from programming to 3D design, digital marketing to content creation, from video animation to architecture.

Americans Seeing Positive Emotional Shifts Post-Pandemic
Despite Lingering Global Uncertainty

In the third wave of the landmark longitudinal study on gratitude conducted by Eastern Washington University (EWU) and Gracianna Winery, gratitude remains the highest-rated positive emotion among Americans, showing significant recovery from the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic when the survey first launched.

The key finding is that despite ongoing global challenges, Americans are experiencing a resurgence in positive emotions, with gratitude once again once again emerging as the most frequent emotion reported.

Gratitude on the Rise

The study—based on survey results from over 580 American adults—reveals that gratitude, which had seen a decline during the height of the pandemic, is now on an upward trajectory. Positive emotions, including happiness and joy, have also increased, suggesting a brighter emotional outlook for many Americans, particularly with younger cohorts. The data shows that negative emotions, including worry, have been consistently decreasing since the spring of 2021, indicating a general improvement in overall emotional well-being.

Current Emotional Landscape

Respondents in 2024 report feeling significantly more positive emotions than in previous years. Gratitude continues to strongly correlate with happiness, highlighting its vital role in fostering a positive emotional state—over 50% of respondents indicated that they experience gratitude “quite a bit” or “extremely.”

Interestingly, while gratitude remains a powerful contributor to happiness, the study suggests that a growing sense of hopefulness is also playing a significant role in emotional health. Researchers will monitor this finding to determine if this is a stable or growing emotion.

Personal Development and Compassion

The study also shines a light on some reassuring trends in personal growth and compassion. Respondents share that they feel more compassionate towards others, putting more effort into their close relationships, and a willingness to lend a helping hand to those in need. Additionally, many individuals recognize their own strength and resilience, and are discovering what truly matters in their lives

Coping with Global Challenges

In the face of ongoing global issues, Americans report that they are relying on various coping mechanisms to help them deal with these stressors. Active coping through friends and relatives remains the highest, followed by gratitude and avoidance of negative news. While empathy for others is high, self-compassion remains relatively low, which suggests that people are relying on other-focused rather than self-focused coping. However, the study suggests that as people become more grateful, their happiness and outlook on the future improve.

Looking Forward

Respondents generally anticipate feeling more positive emotions than negative ones in the coming months. When asked about their emotional outlook for the next 2-3 months, two-thirds expect to feel happy and over 60% anticipate feeling grateful and thankful. Americans are maintaining a hopeful outlook and using gratitude as a tool for resilience and personal growth.

Lisa Amador of Gracianna, reflects: “We are encouraged to see gratitude making such a strong comeback. It’s a powerful force for instilling optimism and resilience as we navigate the complexities of our world.

Philip Watkins of EWU adds, “The resurgence of gratitude signifies a positive shift in our collective emotional health. As we move forward, it’s crucial to continue fostering gratitude and hope, which are essential for our well-being and societal harmony.”

Nestled in the heart of Sonoma County, Gracianna Winery is breaking barriers and fostering connection through its innovative “Grateful Gathering” Virtual Tasting program. This unique program brings teams and clients together from all over the US, placing a spotlight on the importance of team unity, and celebrating collective successes, all in an engaging, fun, educational and stress-free environment.

Harnessing the beloved qualities of Sonoma County’s wine country, the “Grateful Gathering” beckons remote teams and clients to sip, share, and celebrate while delving into the exquisite flavors of four award-winning Gracianna Russian River Valley wines. This experience is a hassle-free way to enhance the wine palette while sparking work team engagement. Fernando Arellano, Gracianna’s expert Hospitality Manager, ensures a seamless experience with each thoughtfully curated tasting kit arriving in secure packaging to all participants, guaranteeing a fun-filled experience for all involved.

Recognizing the critical need for authentic connections in today’s corporate landscape, Lisa Amador, co-founder of Gracianna Winery, emphasizes the significance of meaningful engagements. “Our ‘Grateful Gathering’ online wine tasting directly addresses the imperative for teams to unite across distances, celebrating shared achievements,” says Amador. “Through easy-to-use virtual technology, we offer an immersive Sonoma County wine tasting experience that not only fosters stronger team relationships but also cultivates satisfaction among clients, partners and employees alike.”

Thoughtfully crafted to facilitate engagement and collaboration in the workplace, this program allows teams to convene in a relaxing sixty-minute wine-tasting session. It serves as a platform to commemorate milestones, as a well-deserved reward for your teams or to showcase important clients or partners.

Kerry Huffman, VP of Client Services at Labrador Systems, Inc., praises the impact of the “Grateful Gathering,” affirming its success in enhancing client satisfaction. “Our investment in Gracianna’s “Grateful Gatherings” has yielded substantial returns. We’re excited to extend this program to honor and appreciate our team members.”

Not limited to businesses, families and friends are encouraged to seize the opportunity offered by this program, utilizing it to commemorate important events, holidays, or impromptu gatherings for groups of eight or more; with the magic of the lauded Gracianna tasting room brought to the comfort of home.

Gracianna offers a complete turn-key program and has streamlined organization, billing, and shipping, making it straightforward for hosts. Each tasting kit comprises four award-winning Gracianna Russian River Valley wines in 50ml (2 oz.) glass bottles – including Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir, and Zinfandel. Priced at $75 per kit (which includes secure shipping almost anywhere in the US,) it encompasses an hour-long meticulously produced virtual tasting guided by Gracianna’s brand ambassadors. Businesses or individuals keen on hosting a Grateful Gathering virtual tasting can easily do so by visiting Gracianna Winery’s website.

Earning accolades not just in wine competitions but also in hospitality, Gracianna has recently received the 2023 Travelers’ Choice Award as a global top 10% destination from TripAdvisor and maintains a stellar five-star rating on Yelp among 3,600 wineries in California. This is a testament to Gracianna’s unwavering commitment to excellence in both wine and hospitality.

Another Thanksgiving and another caring message to our ever organically growing and closer-knit group of members.

Ours is a wonderfully resilient community built by folks who love and share their wine passion and food passion and travel passion and, and, and….

So here we are again, all of us, with our family and health passion right in front. We have pointed to worrying things happening in the world around us in the past and over the years—those things are ever present. They are scarier likely with the advent of social media and our heightened hyper-awareness of events and trends. But at the end of the day—what is close-in matters most. It is impossible to disassociate ourselves from issues raging around us whether they be geo-political or climate related or economic, etc., but what is central to us today is our health and our family and the everyday gratitude that rules our world. Even in the face of adversity and torment there is gratitude…for something.

We see it time and time again with members we have known for years and years. We know how valuable it is to be able to hold those close to us. So today we send a reminder that we hold you close as we hold ours too. And others will find the ability to hold theirs soon, we pray. Thank you dear friends.

Thanksgiving is another of those times to remember that after you open that special bottle of Gracianna, pass the cork to someone next to you and tell them something you are grateful for, then ask them to pass it along.

—Trini & Lisa and Trini IV, Ashley, Fernando, Laffy, Hannah, Maisy, Gayle, Wendy, Tom, Karen M., Karen H., Elijah, Silvia, Irma, Apolinar and Danny