Stars of the Industry 2023

 The best and brightest in Sonoma County's tourism and hospitality industry gathered at the Hyatt Regency Sonoma Wine Country Tuesday night to celebrate the 2023 Sonoma County Tourism Stars of the Industry Awards. Wine Country Radio’s own Natalie Wright served as host, recognizing 30 industry professionals, and presenting 11 awards to businesses and individuals that have excelled in, or have had a positive effect on, the Sonoma County tourism and hospitality industry.

The inaugural Stars of the Industry Awards occurred in 2021 as part of Sonoma County Tourism’s annual meeting. The awards proved so successful Sonoma County Tourism elected to create a standalone celebration corresponding with National Travel & Tourism Week (May 7-13). As with the previous year’s awards, Sonoma County Tourism solicited the local hospitality industry to submit nominations. A committee then pared the nominations down to three finalists in each category before inviting the industry to vote for the winners. During the voting window, online ballot submissions were limited to one per day, per email address, with 6,450 respondents casting 21,269 votes in all.

2023 Stars of the Industry Award Winners:
 

1) Front of the House 
Bryan Bergman – Server, LO & BEHOLD  

2) Heart of the House 
Santos Perez De Wile – Room Attendant, Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa  

3) Rising Star 
Hayden Puryear – Tasting Room Manager, Larson Family Wines 

4) Environmental Stewardship/Sustainable Practices 
Ridge Vineyards 

5) Customer Experience 
Brewsters Beer Garden 

6) Lodging Property of the Year 
The Lodge at Bodega Bay 

7) Community Enrichment  
Transcendence Theatre Company

8) Champion of the Industry 
Dustin Valette - Valette/The Matheson 

9) Innovation Award 
J Vineyards & Winery 

If you have questions about the Stars of the Industry Awards, please contact Kelly Bass Seibel at [email protected] 

See 2022’s Stars of the Industry finalists here.

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