SUSAN KOSTRZEWA, FOUNDER
I believe that wine, spirits, food and their adjacent cultures should be accessible to everyone and that learning can and should be collaborative, exciting and entertaining. I’m passionate about broadening and evolving the wine, spirits and culinary world by championing gender equality, creating a more diverse and inclusive environment for trade and consumers, and emphasizing the importance of sustainable practices in the vineyard and beyond.
ABOUT RESPLENDENT INK
Founded in 2022, Resplendent Ink is a content strategy consultancy specializing in wine, food and adjacent cultural lifestyle communications. From editorial strategy and direction to marketing messaging and nuts-and-bolts campaign ideation and implementation, I help clients identify their own mission and heartbeat and craft content that not only speaks to their unique identity, but attracts and fulfills the audiences they seek.
I am also an experienced national podcast, radio and TV/video personality as well as global panelist, educator and moderator. I have been a professional wine taster and critic for 14+ years.
MY BACKGROUND
I am the former editor-in-chief of Wine Enthusiast Media, where I oversaw all editorial teams and direction in addition to the global tasting program. In my 15-year tenure, I led a comprehensive reboot and rebrand of the legacy media group, including a complete redesign of the print magazine and website, and expansion of the editorial and tastings teams on the West Coast, Europe and beyond. I also developed and successfully expanded the media group’s digital brand via podcasts, varied social media video series, virtual events and media partnerships, resulting in national awards and a three-fold increase in digital readership.
I have co-authored numerous books on wine, food and travel, including Opus Vino, 1,000 Everyday Wines, The Wine Enthusiast Wine & Food Pairings Book and the Footsteps of Fame Literary Travel series. I am also the author of a twice-weekly interview series of next-gen wine industry trailblazers on JamesSuckling.com, a Director-at-Large for Les Dames D’Escoffier, an advisory board member of Dream Big Darling, a Dame Chevalier de Coteaux de Champagne, a regular panelist and moderator (and former advisory board member) of the Meadowood Symposium for Wine Writers and a former Ellies Awards judge for the American Society of Magazine Editors (ASME), among other roles and appointments.
Learn more about my experience on LinkedIn.
