Wine Enthusiast’s 2013 Wine Star Award Nominees

(WineMag) - Each year, the editors of Wine Enthusiast Magazine honor the individuals and companies that have made outstanding achievements in the wine world. Below are the nominees in each of the categories for 2013. The winners will be announced in the special December 31 Wine Star Award issue, and the honorees will be presented their Wine Star Award trophies at a gala black-tie dinner in New York City on January 27th, 2014. 

New to this year's ceremony, the Rising Star award celebrates the industry's most influential up-and-comer whose work is already making waves. The Lifetime Achievement and American Wine Legend awards, both granted to individuals who have made an exceptional mark on the industry, will be named at a later date. 

And the nominees are...

Person of the Year

Barbara Banke
Chairperson and proprietor of Jackson Family Wines, Barbara Banke took the helm of the trailblazing company after her late husband, Jess Jackson, passed away in 2011. Since then, Banke, a former lawyer, has driven the company’s growth by adding 14 additional properties, including expanding into Oregon’s Willamette Valley with recent purchases of Soléna Winery and Zena Crown vineyards.

Charles Banks
The former managing partner of Napa cult-favorite Screaming Eagle, Banks hasn’t slowed down since leaving the company in 2009. Banks cofounded Sandhi Wines and started Terroir Capital with a group of investors, through which he has made high-profile purchases of winery and vineyard properties around the world, including South Africa’s Mulderbosch and Napa Valley’s Leviathan. Most recently, Banks and his wife, along with the Shottenstein family, purchased Napa Valley’s legendary Mayacamas Vineyards.