Field Blends Trip Awards seek to empower diverse individuals pursuing a career in the wine industry through community-building, inquiry, and exploration.
Please read this page carefully – Field Blends: The Collab Year has updated eligibility standards!
There are two types of Trip Awards for Field Blends!
Field Blends Trip Awards prioritize individuals from underrepresented communities including, but not limited to, Black, Indigenous, Latinx, people of color, persons from racially diverse or intersectional communities, persons with disabilities, and persons from LGBTQ+ communities within the U.S. Whether you are an established wine professional or you are actively seeking employment or education in the wine industry and meet the eligibility requirements for Trip Awards, we’d love for you to apply!
Timeline:
• March 16th: Award applications open
• March 31st: Award applications close
• April 15th: Finalists will be notified and virtual interview scheduled
• Week of April 27th: Final recipients notified; travel booked
• Field Blends Year Five travel will take place in our partner regions over the following dates: June 15th-27th, 2026. Exact dates for specific regions will be provided during finalist selection.
• Applicants may rank preferred regions, but final placement is curated to ensure the best experience for all.
This year we are also offering two equity discount tickets per region for anyone that has previously applied or applies for this year’s awards program (applicants will receive more information after applications close).
1) General Trip Award:
Apply to attend Field Blends with all expenses paid, including airport transfer stipends, airfare, meals, accommodations, and experiences.
2) Media Trip Award:
With the generous support of our media partner, Full Pour magazine, Field Blends has expanded its trip awards to include an exclusive Media Trip Award for EACH REGION participating in The Collab Year. This opportunity for three wine-media professionals is specifically designed for aspiring and novice journalists, as well as media professionals. In recognition of each recipient's commitment to journalistic excellence, the recipients will receive the following:
Attend Field Blends with all expenses paid, including airport transfer stipends, airfare, meals, accommodations, and experiences.
Personal post-trip follow-up session with Full Pour Editor and Publisher, Lauren Buzzeo, to learn about each Media Trip Awardee’s Field Blends Experience; receive support crafting a pitch; and mentorship for completing and refining an article for publication.
Opportunity for a paid print piece to be included in an upcoming issue of Full Pour magazine, determined by story ideas generated during the Awardee’s immersive journey during the Field Blends experience and follow-up discussion thereafter.
This collaboration underscores our collective commitment to not only promote wine regions but also to foster the growth and recognition of emerging talent within the field of wine journalism.
*All Media Trip Award applicants will be considered for the General Trip Award.
Trip Award applications will be anonymized upon receipt. A third-party selection committee will review applications for completeness and to verify eligibility. Upon review, award recipients will be selected to attend. The selection committee is composed of wine industry and DEI professionals who are committed to empowering underrepresented communities and making the wine industry more diverse, inclusive, and equitable.
Eligibility:
• Established wine professionals (3 or more years in the industry) and/or emerging wine media professionals
• All applicants must be at least 21 years of age, a legal U.S. resident, and currently residing in the U.S.
• Past Field Blends Trip Awardees are to apply for Field Blends: The Collab Year programming. But this year we are also offering two equity discount tickets per region for anyone that has previously applied or applies for this year’s awards program (applicants will receive more information after applications close).
• Applicants must complete the application form, including requests for your resumé, a statement of purpose, and additional application questions. An incomplete application form will void your application.
• All are welcome, but we strongly encourage persons from underrepresented communities to apply. This includes, but is not limited to: Black, Indigenous, Latinx, people of color, persons from racially diverse or intersectional communities, persons with disabilities, and persons from LGBTQIA+ communities.
• The health and safety of our guests, community partners, and team are of utmost importance. As such, award recipients must be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 in order to attend.
Requirements:
• Awardees are required to contribute a 500 word written reflection or story following their visit to be shared for regional use, reinforcing accountability and extending the life of the experience.
What the Trip Award Covers:
Field Blends Trip Awards are designed to remove barriers to meaningful regional access for wine professionals.
Each selected awardee will receive a fully hosted immersive visit to one participating wine region as part of Field Blends: The Collab Year.
Trip Awards include:
•. Round-trip travel to the assigned region
• Lodging for the duration of the trip
•. Hosted meals and curated experiences throughout the visit
•. Ground transportation within the region
•. A Field Blends itinerary designed by Maryam + Company in collaboration with each region’s Field Blends Community Partner
Awardees will travel in pairs, alongside regional Community Partners and Maryam + Company, allowing for shared discovery and dialogue throughout the experience.
In addition to the regional visit, all six awardees will participate in a virtual welcome gathering to meet one another, connect with Community Partners across the three regions, and begin building relationships with the broader Field Blends network.
While each region’s itinerary will be unique, every Field Blends experience is designed around a simple principle: To understand a wine region, you need to spend time with the people who grow it, make it, serve it, and live it.
As part of the commitment to amplify these collaborating regions, awardees will also be asked to contribute a 500 word written or video reflection following their visit, helping extend the story of the region and the experience to the broader wine community.
Participant Testimonials
“The Field Blends: Walla Walla trip was beyond what I had imagined a food and wine trip could encompass. From the intimate group size to the local, curated meals to the sense of community displayed by all the wine industry professionals we met each step of the way was beyond amazing! Being able to meet other award recipients from all over the country, who are all on different wine journeys, allowed us to connect on a deeper level that we didn't know we needed. Hence why this experience was like no other, and we all noticed the amount of care and intention that the Field Blends team took the time to create meaningful experiences which resulted in everlasting memories!”
-Tahlia Suggs, Founder, Sisterhood of Winos
"Field Blends is the perfect mix of adventure, agriculture, foodie experiences, and wine with the most incredible mix of people that you could put together. Through the trip award, I now have access to a different story that is much more attainable and accessible. I think there is a tendency for us in the industry as wine professional to forget wine’s role on the table. It’s an agricultural product. It’s a product of someone’s hard work."
-Suhayl Ramirez, Field Blends: Michigan
Thank you to Field Blends: The Collab Year Sponsors
Thank you to Field Blends: Lodi 2025 Partners
Thank you to Field Blends: Michigan 2024 Partners
Thank you to Field Blends: Finger Lakes 2023 Partners
Thank you to Field Blends: Walla Walla 2022 Partners
Thank you to our longstanding Field Blend Partners
“I believe the work Field Blends is doing is paramount. It's more than visiting a wine region. It's creating a community, experience, and conversation with wine professionals and consumers, which has been unheard of in the wine industry. I continue to support the initiative because without the wine consumer there would be no wine community.” ~ Julia Coney, Wine Consultant, Wine Journalist, and Founder of Black Wine Professionals