It’s not every day that your dreams are right in front of your eyes, but for 28-year-old Veronica Hebbard the opportunity of a lifetime presented itself and she jumped in with everything she had. Now, Hebbard is living her dreams in California after winning Murphy-Goode Winery’s national contest thanks to a bit of luck and a lot of passion.

A lifelong resident of Montgomery, Hebbard attended Montgomery Elementary School, Valley Central Middle School and Valley Central High School. She went on to attend and graduate from the Rochester Institute of Technology with a Bachelor of Science in Industrial and Systems Engineering and a Master’s Degree in Engineering Management. While at RIT, Hebbard noticed a wine class that caught her eye and asked the professor if she could join. Her father is an amateur wine maker and she took a particular interested in the art and craft of creating wines. She was always interested in the topic and hoped to learn more. With the blessing of the professor, Hebbard joined the class and her love of wine only increased. “The class is really how my passion for wine grew,” she shared.

Following college, Hebbard left New York for Florida and worked as an engineer in the themed entertainment industry. During the pandemic when her industry slowed down, she thought of ways to reinvent herself and started a wine blog, Vino with Vero, to showcase her love of wine and connect with other wine enthusiasts. “I thought to myself I have such an interest in this and really love it. I was wondering if there was a way for me to make a career out of it somehow,” explained Hebbard.

After her father saw the contest opportunity featured on the news, Hebbard entered the competition and pitched the role as a Wine Innovation Manager with the hope of landing the coveted role. Shortly after, Hebbard received the exciting news that she had been selected along with 17 other finalists out of 7,000 applicants to go to California and compete for a chance to land the dream job of a lifetime. Before she knew it, she was on a plane and headed to the west coast. In the end, Hebbard and another finalist both landed gigs with Murphy-Goode Winery and moved to Sonoma to begin their new roles.

As an engineer by trade, Hebbard was eager to be immersed in the science of winemaking and to explore sustainability and innovation initiatives for the process of wine making. “The program was a rotational program to expedite the learning curve to be immersed in the wine industry. The program really was the whole package on what it takes to make and sell wine,” she shared.

From the picking of grapes to working the machinery and learning sales, the program taught Hebbard everything she needs to know in a fast-paced educational setting. In addition, she traveled the country as part of the program attending the Austin Food and Wine Festival and other trade shows to empower the brand.

With a focus on her passion of sustainability, Hebbard has her sights set on reducing the carbon footprint of the brand and its parent company Jackson Family Wines. “I have a lot of passion and energy for what I’m doing. I worked with the sustainability initiative to try and reduce the carbon footprint. Right now, I’m working on implementing electric vehicles into the fleet on a nationwide scale,” she explained.

When asked what she felt was the best part of winning the contest Hebbard was mostly appreciative of the opportunity overall. She always knew she had an interest in the industry, but didn’t have the avenue to make it happen. “The great part of this campaign was it made it approachable for people with little to no experience in the wine industry but who are interested to get into the industry. I sincerely thank everyone at Murphy-Goode Winery for having this campaign,” she shared.

Hebbard credited the Valley Central School District with allowing her passions to take her to new opportunities in life. The daughter of educators, she shared that education is a pathway to happiness in life when you follow your dreams. “I’m thankful for all of the opportunities that have come my way. I think especially in school art and music are just as important as the core subjects. Wine making is an art. You have to blend the perfect harmony together. It’s really important that kids see there is more than science and math. I think passionate people are better workers so I’m grateful for this opportunity,” said Hebbard.