BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//wp-events-plugin.com//7.4.14//EN TZID:America/New_York X-WR-TIMEZONE:America/New_York BEGIN:VEVENT UID:56-905@lerachapter.org DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261019T180000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261019T200000 DTSTAMP:20261016T203222Z URL:https://lerachapter.org/dclera/events/wine-labor-and-trade-french-wine -industry-labor-conditions-and-us-trade-status/ SUMMARY:Wine\, Labor\, and Trade: French Wine Industry Labor Conditions and US Trade Status DESCRIPTION:Wine\, Labor\, and Trade: \nFrench Wine Industry Labor Conditio ns and US Trade Status \nMonday\, Oct. 19\, 6:00 to 8:00 pm\n\nIn-person\n La Maison Française at the Embassy of France\n4101 Reservoir Road NW\, Wa shington\, DC 20007\nJoin the Washington\, D.C. chapter of the Labor and E mployment Relations Association (DC LERA) and the Embassy of France for a co-sponsored evening of Wine\, Labor\, and Trade. Hosted at the embassy\, the event features a curated tasting of iconic French wines guided by Anne tte Schiller\, a wine educator with more than 3o years of experience. We w ill also engage in an insightful discussion on French vineyard labor cond itions and transatlantic trade dynamics. The panel features Giuliano de Fr anchis\, Social Affairs Adviser at the Embassy of France and former advise r to the French Minister of Labor specializing in economic analysis and so cial protection\, alongside Ashlyn Holeyfield\, Principal of Parapet Advis ors and former U.S. Department of Commerce Deputy Director for Trade Agree ments Negotiations and Compliance.\n\nThe event will be held in the ballro om of La Maison Française\, the cultural center of the Embassy of France in Washington\, D.C. Completed in 1985 on Reservoir Road NW\, La Maison Fr ançaise has built a reputation for exquisite hospitality and a diverse pr ogram of events since its creation. It regularly serves as a venue for cul tural\, diplomatic\, and public events that bring together French and Amer ican audiences.\n\nFrance is one of the world's largest wine-producing cou ntries. Its wines are the benchmark for many styles and quality. Winemaker s everywhere measure their wines against French standards. Production is o rganized around “terroir”\, the idea that soil\, climate\, and local t radition shape a wine's character. French wines are usually named by place rather than grape.\nDuring this tasting\, we will discover wines from the six major French wine regions:\n• Bordeaux: Known for structured red bl ends of Cabernet Sauvignon\, Merlot\, and Cabernet Franc\, plus sweet Saut ernes. It is home to famous châteaux and a classification system dating t o 1855.\n• Burgundy: Focuses on single-grape wines: Pinot Noir for reds and Chardonnay for whites. Its tiny vineyard plots produce some of the wor ld's most prized and expensive wines.\n• Champagne: The home of the worl d's most famous sparkling wine\, made by the traditional method with secon dary fermentation in the bottle.\n• Rhône Valley: Produces powerful sin gle-variety Syrah-based reds in the northern Rhône and so-called GSM (Gre nache\, Syrah\, Mourvèdre) blends in the south.\n• Loire Valley: Makes crisp\, fresh wines such as Sauvignon Blanc (Sancerre)\, Chenin Blanc (Vou vray)\, and Cabernet Franc (Chinon).\n• Alsace: Produces aromatic whites like Riesling\, Gewürztraminer\, and Pinot Gris.\nOthers: Provence is fa mous for rosé\, and Languedoc-Roussillon is the country's largest source of value wines.\nPlease RSVP below if you can join us!\n\nSpeakers\n[capti on id="attachment_2586" align="aligncenter" width="216"] Annette Schiller[ /caption]\n\n\nAnnette Schiller has been involved in wine for more than 30 years. A macroeconomist and event manager by training\, she also took vit iculture classes at the University of Mainz\, Germany\; the Community Coll ege in Wiesbaden\; and the Geisenheim Enological School in Germany.  For many years\, she lived and worked in Germany and France\, and her focus sh ifted to the wines of those countries.\nAnnette owns Ombiasy PR &\; Win e Tours. She is dedicated to wine education and organizes and moderates ma ny wine tastings and wine-pairing dinners in the Washington\, DC\, area an d other parts of the US. To deepen understanding of wine\, she organizes a nd personally leads wine tours to French wine regions such as Bordeaux\, B urgundy\, Rhône\, Alsace\, and the Loire Valley\; all thirteen wine regio ns in Germany\; and the wine regions in Austria and Northern Italy.\nYou c an learn more about Annette's wine tours in her blog: Annette Schiller\n\n \n \;\n\n[caption id="attachment_2588" align="aligncenter" width="300" ] Giuliano de Franchis[/caption]\nGiuliano de Franchis is the Social Affai rs Adviser (Conseiller pour les Affaires Sociales) at the Embassy of Franc e in Washington\, D.C. A Statisticien Économiste by training\, he has spe nt his career in the French civil service\, working across the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Social Affairs ministries in Paris\, with a f ocus on economic analysis\, labor policy\, and social protection. He most recently served as social affairs adviser to the French Minister of Labor before joining the Embassy\, where his portfolio now covers health diploma cy\, U.S. labor market trends\, family and solidarity policies.\n \;\n \n\n[caption id="attachment_2593" align="aligncenter" width="232"] Ashlyn Holeyfield[/caption]\n\n\n\n\nAshlyn Holeyfield is Principal and Co-Foun der of Parapet Advisors\, a strategic trade policy advisory firm that com bines technical expertise with practical guidance to help businesses under stand how trade policies\, regulatory requirements\, and government proces ses affect their ability to compete in U.S. and international markets.\n\ nPreviously\, she served as Deputy Director for Trade Agreements Negotiati ons and Compliance (TANC) at the U.S. Department of Commerce\, Internation al Trade Administration. In this role\, Holeyfield advocated for U.S. busi ness priorities in bilateral\, multilateral\, and plurilateral trade agree ment negotiations. Additionally\, she led a team of experts to address tra de barriers and ensure compliance with the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreements on Trade Facilitation\, Customs Valuation\, Import Licensing\, Rules of Origin\, and Government Procurement. She also facilitated the Ind ustry Trade Advisory Committee on Customs and Trade Facilitation (ITAC 13) \, a formal private sector policy feedback mechanism jointly managed by Co mmerce and the United States Trade Representative.\n\nHoleyfield holds a M aster of Public Policy Degree from American University in Washington\, DC\ , and a Bachelor of Arts Degree in International Relations from Hendrix Co llege in Conway\, AR.\n\nRegistration and Cost\nTickets are $15 for memb ers\, $20 for non-members\, and $10 for students. To register\, please s ubmit your booking below.\nYour ticket covers the cost of the 6 wines we w ill taste\, and the hors d'oeuvres catered by the embassy.\n**Must be at l east 21 years old to attend**\n\n\n\nThis DC LERA website is not the same as the national LERA website\, and you'll need to create a profile here if you haven't visited the DC LERA website (https://www.lerachapter.org/dcle ra) before. Don't worry\; it's easy\, and you can do that at the same time that you register for the event and submit your booking.\nIf you are retu rning to this website\, please log in first. Your information will be pre- populated once you log in.\nPlease contact Emily Smith at eesmith@illinois .edu or 217-244-5419 if you have any questions about the use of this platf orm. We want you to use this website with ease and resolve any problems th at may occur. Please contact Amaury Pineda at dcleramailbox@gmail.com with any questions about the event itself.\n\n\n ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://lerachapter.org/dclera/wp-content/upload s/sites/56/2026/09/Wine-Tasting-event-1.png CATEGORIES:In-person LOCATION:Embassy of France\, 4101 Reservoir Rd NW\, Washington\, DC\, DC\, 20007\, United States X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=4101 Reservoir Rd NW\, Wash ington\, DC\, DC\, 20007\, United States;X-APPLE-RADIUS=100;X-TITLE=Embass y of France:geo:0,0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:America/New_York X-LIC-LOCATION:America/New_York BEGIN:DAYLIGHT DTSTART:20260308T030000 TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 TZNAME:EDT END:DAYLIGHT END:VTIMEZONE END:VCALENDAR