Meet Michelle Harris | Event producer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Michelle Harris and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Michelle, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
I am a big believer that experiences create memories. I wanted to create experiences that would bring people together and appeal to a mass audience. My events are designed to be enjoyed by anyone… not just wine aficionados. I think the wine industry in particular wants to reach an audience that doesn’t already know a ton about them so these events are created to bring a wide variety of brands (that are easily found locally in each city) to an audience without any of the pretension of a normal “wine tasting”. People can come enjoy cool venues, music, dancing, food trucks and try a wide selection of wines at the same time.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
I started this company in 2015 with the idea that I wanted to do something familiar in a different way. There are several cities/ organizations who do their own local food & wine events but I’m the only traveling, mass market event company that does events like these. To date, the biggest challenge I have run into was COVID. Obviously events were shut down for about a year and a half and that was really tough. It was also uncertain as to what things would look like in the future. I pivoted to some virtual events during that time to keep bringing people together. Ultimately I’m very thankful that events were able to come back just like before.
I’m incredibly proud of my brand and my events. I think one thing people are surprised to learn about my company is that it is a woman owned company, and I am the only person on the full time staff. I take great pride in being very hands on with every event I create.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
There are so many great choices but I would say my go to recommendations would be Fia, Wally’s, Sol and Sugar Fish for yummy places to eat. I also think uniquely local things are fun to introduce people to like The Magic Castle or the Santa Monica Pier. And you can’t beat the weather in SoCal so fun outdoor activities like hiking or hanging out at the beach are a must.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My husband is also an event producer (in a different category) and he was the one who gave me the push and lots of inside knowledge on producing events.

Website: https://www.uncorkedwinefestivals.com

Instagram: @uncorkedwinefestivals

Facebook: @uncorkedwinefestivals

Other: TikTok: @uncorkedwinefestivals

Image Credits
Sean Paul Franget