The Atlanta Food & Wine Festival is the creation of the dynamic Atlanta entrepreneurial duo, Elizabeth Feichter and Dominique Love. The pair first joined forces 12 years ago to run Corporate Community Outsourcing, a philanthropic consulting firm created by Love after leaving her post managing The Coca-Cola Company’s corporate giving.
Love’s corporate philanthropy experience coupled with Feichter’s extensive nonprofit experience, including her role as the Director of Development for Hands on Atlanta, positioned their agency as a go-to resource for corporations and nonprofit organizations wanting to have a more strategic impact in the community.
Their work developing a national cause-marketing campaign for FOOD & WINE magazine led the duo to the magazine’s famed FOOD & WINE Classic in Aspen. So impressed by the Classic’s programming and how the weekend drew smart, food-loving people, Feichter and Love decided to recreate the concept in Atlanta to showcase and celebrate their beloved Southern region and its rich food and beverage traditions.
In June 2010, the Atlanta Food & Wine Festival was announced and set forth to uphold its mission of shining an international spotlight on the rich food and beverage traditions of the South from Texas to DC. The Festival strives to:
Celebrate, preserve and promote Southern food and drink traditions and culture:
Showcase Southern chefs, beverage innovators, sommeliers, and artisans;
Inspire new impressions of Southern food and drink:
Highlight the rich agricultural products of the region; and
Entice visitors to eat, drink and explore the South!
In March 2015, Atlanta Food & Wine Festival entered into a joint venture with UK-based IWSC Group, owner of the prestigious International Wine & Spirit Competition. Through this venture, Love and Feichter are now leading the IWSC Group North America and its ever-expanding portfolio of businesses which currently include: Art Market Productions, Atlanta Food & Wine Festival, Cochon555, New York City Craft Beer Festival, Spirits of Mexico, Sugar Land Wine & Food Affair, The Whisky Extravaganza, Whiskies of the World, and Wine Riot.
