Ep #35: Transforming a MBA and Big 5 Consulting Expertise Into an International Wine Business with Courtney Kingston

The BOOST Podcast: Inspiring Stories of Professional and Personal Growth from Entrepreneurs, Athletes and Healthcare Pros

I am so excited to introduce today’s featured guest, Courtney Kingston. Courtney is the founder of Kingston Family Vineyards in Casablanca Valley, Chile. She’s a graduate of Princeton University and she started her career as a consultant for Deloitte’s wine industry practice. There she began learning the ins and outs of the California wine business, and later as a student at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, she wrote the vineyard’s original business plan using the Chilean cattle ranch that her family had owned and operated since 1922.

After many discussions about the feasibility of converting the family farm into a vineyard, Kingston Family Vineyards became a reality in 1998. Courtney and her husband, Andy, have three daughters and share their time between Portola Valley, California and Chile’s Casablanca Valley. Today Courtney shares the story how how it all began, as well as the ins and outs of what it’s really like to start and run your own vineyard.