Jennifer Bryerton is one of the co-founders of the growing brand, Wine & Country Life. New for 2022 is a gorgeous new luxury wine tasting journal and travel guide, the Wine & Country Gold Book. She and her business partner, Robin Johnson Bethke, have decades of experience in publishing, entrepreneurship, design and marketing that has helped them to develop their stunning publication group. Wine & Country Life is the luxury magazine of Virginia Wine Country. From fabulous wines and farm-to-table food to architecture, culture, entertaining, vineyard weddings and equestrian life, the magazine shares the elegant lifestyle of wine country living in Virginia.
What inspired the start of Wine & Country Life?
We love Virginia! As more and more wineries are popping up the vineyards have really started to drive tourism even more than the amazing history of our state. I am a gardener at heart and Robin loves great food & we both very much enjoy the best wines of Virgini so we both love the industry – there is always something new to learn in the vineyard and the barrel room alike. And of course, we enjoy all the artisans that are leading both the Virginia wine industry and also luxury hospitality. Virginia is developing into a world class wine experience. This year’s Virginia Governor’s Cup showcases the incredible innovation and growth seen in Virginia’s expansive wine industry, where winemakers are creating wines that impress even the most seasoned wine enthusiast. Vineyards generate an estimated $1.37 billion in annual economic impact, and the state’s wineries employ more than 8,200 people.
Tell us what you love most about creating Wine & Country Life?
I truly have a passion for the wonderfully interesting people we get to work with. I firmly believe everyone has an amazing story – you just have to ask enough questions and listen well. Our job gets us behind the scenes at beautiful places with some of the most fascinating people. Whether we are styling a gourmet vineyard picnic with a famed chef or photographing a stunning historic garden like Bunny Mellon’s Oak Spring, I am always conscious of how privileged I feel to have the opportunity to tell their stories.
Wine & Country Life is successful at a time when many publications are struggling. What do you attribute your growth to?
We have been fortunate and Robin and I have stayed true to our original goal we set years ago – we want our publications to be something of high quality that we would really want to sit down and enjoy ourselves. This has meant we work a lot harder sometimes to improve content, that we spend more on sourcing luxury eco-friendly paper in the US and we also really concentrate attention on distribution. This is true with all of our lifestyle publications we create at Ivy Life & Style Media.
Tell me about your Wine & Country Shop.
Our Wine & Country Shop is has been so much fun for us as we continue to refine our inventory to please customers both at our brick & mortar boutique in Ivy, Virginia and online at WineAndCountryLife.com. Many of our products are made locally. In fact, the inspiration for the store came from meeting so many artisans while creating content for stories and wanting to give readers a chance to have something more of Wine & Country Life at home. From winemakers to oil painters and fishing fly tyers to soap makers, we can share personal stories about the many people who help to make Wine & Country Life so wonderful.
What does the future hold for Wine & Country?
We are launching our new Wine & Country Gold Book this year. It is a wine journal focused on Virginia’s most awarded wineries and luxury travel in the Virginia wine country. It feels like the right time as Virginia wines are getting more acclaim on the national and international stage and with more than 300 vineyards in the state along with craft drinks, gourmet dining and elegant country inns, there is much to enjoy. The early reception has been overwhelming and we are really pleased to add this to our print & digital line alongside Wine & Country Lfe and Wine & Country Weddings. I should also mention that your readers can get a free digital copy of Wine & Country Life at our popular website along with lots of other wonderful content about living elegantly in Virginia Wine Country.
