Frances Gonzalez, Owner & Founder

Frances is the Founder and President of Vegan Wines, a completely vegan-friendly wine club, and Despacito Distributors, a plant-based wine distribution company.

Frances has acquired nuanced expertise and made many connections in the wine industry through her work building these two companies. Her background, however, delves deeper than entrepreneurship. She is also an active member of Women of the Vine & Spirits, an organization that fosters a supportive environment for females in the alcoholic beverage industry. Frances also has extensive experience in the vegan and plant-based market. She has sponsored conferences like the Plant-Based World Expo and founded VegFest Puerto Rico, a nonprofit established in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria.

Marko Boulton- Director of Operations

Marko is a Project Manager from the UK. He is experienced at managing small to multimillion dollar projects. Marko is a business consultant helping companies develop concepts into successful businesses by providing in-depth project planning, financial modeling. He holds the APM Project Management Qualification (IPMA Level D Certification).

Anne Kiumba, Operations 

Rick Morrison, Director of National Sales

Deanna Monet, Compliance & Business Advisor

Deanna’s experience in the wine industry started in 2005 on the retail level working in wine stores and wine bars from San Diego to New York. She then “graduated” to sales in wine & spirits and learned the ins and outs of the challenging and fulfilling job. After taking advanced wine classes at the International Wine Center, she discovered a love for the operations side of the business.

She has worked with Vegan Wines/Despacito Distributors as the Compliance and Business Advisor since 2018 and loves being a part of this amazing movement in the industry.

Rowan St. Clair, Puerto Rico & Caribbean Sales Director

Rowan moved to Puerto Rico in 2017 working with a disaster relief organization. Since then rowan has continued to support the island in sustainable and local endeavors. Her work and collaborations have motivated her to create her own nonprofit, farmers’ markets and networking events for local entrepreneurs. Rowan’s work focuses on connecting communities and empowering local food and educational initiatives. Rowan’s prior background in restaurant management in NYC and her passion for sustainability make supporting Vegan Wines a natural fit and one that she is excited to grow with.

Rebecca Carucci, Chef & Food Consultant

Rebecca Carucci is a plant-based chef and food consultant.  She is the owner of Powered by Plants Consulting and works with clients who come to her for services like cooking lessons, recipe development, and meal planning.  She is certified in Plant-Based Nutrition and gives presentations about the benefits of plant-based diets for personal health, the environment, and animal advocacy.  Rebecca is passionate about showing the “foodie” side of veganism and her specialty is veganizing classic recipes with an emphasis on nutrition.

Raven Adrian, In-House Sommelier

Alessandro Ingrosso, Italian Sommelier

According to Alessandro, “I do not like to define myself because I am basically like wine, constantly evolving! I’m a sommelier, but I’m not a professional wine expert… I am simply a wine and good food lover, always curious to discover new products. I enjoy listening to winemakers’ stories in their cellars. I also love to talk and write about wine, its nuances, and the emotions it creates.” Throughout his career, Alessandro had hotel training, acquired a degree in economics, and then became an accountant. Based in Italy, he is a sommelier for Vegan Wines.

Ferdinando Mucerino, Sales Team & Wine Club Manager Assistant

Born and raised in Naples, Italy, Ferdinando Mucerino is a CMS Certified Sommelier. As a child he remembers helping his grandfather make Aglianico for friends and family – a wine he loves dearly to this day.

Ferdinando learned about wine from some of the best in the business. In 2012, he began working at A16 in San Francisco, and their wine program won the James Beard award for best wine program in the country. He then moved to Los Angeles to work for Michelin star restaurant Rustic Canyon and became their Wine Director. His goal: to have one of the most unique and talked about wine lists that would rival the best in the industry. Wine Enthusiast took notice and included Rustic Canyon in their “Top 100 Wine Bars in America” issue in 2016, and again for three consecutive years. Ferdinando was nominated “Best Wine Director of the Year” in 2019, an award that recognizes only the top five US professionals in the industry.

Ferdinando consults with various restaurants, cafes, and private clients while organizing corporate events for some of the world’s best-known companies. He has masterminded sold-out dinners with exclusive winemakers, capturing headlines like “These are the Coolest Food Events in Los Angeles” by Eater. Ferdinando has attracted a vast amount of media from Eater LA, Wine Enthusiast, LA Times, The LA Taco, TheInfatuation.com, and more.

Other than sharing his knowledge and passion for wine, Ferdinando enjoys soccer, hiking with his rescue dogs, Vinny and Franky, and collecting old and rare wines. His personal collection includes wines from the 1800s to current releases.

Aleena Butler, Sales Team

Aleena began working in the wine and events industry at a small family winery in Clarksburg, California. She then took her talents to New York to plan weddings in Central Park. Soon after, she became a flight attendant and traveled the world. Aleena loves to cook and is an aspiring vegan chef. She went vegan due to a back injury, and her results from those diet changes inspired her to create The Weekend Vegan, an educational dinner party experience that highlights the benefits of cooking vegan dishes with seasonal foods. She is excited to work with Vegan Wines and hopes to include a vegan wine component to her event experience this year!!

Lucia and Alicia Civile, LACE Photo Media