High School: Henderson High School, Henderson, Texas, 1996

TCU: Marketing and Fashion Promotion degrees, 2000

Early Career: Hawley dreamed of living in New York and working in the fast-paced fashion industry since childhood. She was a production manager at J. Crew and in sales and merchandising for Ralph Lauren, which was in NYC, Dallas and Aspen.

2000-2004

J. Crew Corporate

2004-2007

Ralph Lauren Corporate

Moving to Wine Country: In 2007, Chelsea moved to California to start a winery with her family. Her father Glenn, who sold his manufactured whirlpool bathtub business in Henderson, bought a farmhouse in Sonoma County and earned a degree in viticulture, drawing on his farming roots. After serving as vineyard manager for neighbors for five years, he began making wine for his family. He started Sanglier Cellars, after luring his daughter to the West Coast. To learn the industry, Chelsea worked on the 800-acres of Bacchus Vineyards, took wine education classes at Santa Rosa Junior College and worked for Ridge Lytton Springs in hospitality. Today, Chelsea manages Sanglier Cellars’s tasting room in downtown Healdsburg, handling the label’s branding, sales and marketing. Sanglier Cellars produces chardonnays, pinot noirs, merlots, cabernets and syrahs.

Chelsea Hawley manages the tasting room for Sanglier Cellars in Sonoma Valley, Calif.

2007-present

Sanglier Cellars

Opening the Club: Chelsea expanded the label’s reach by starting an exclusive wine club.Sanglier produces 2,500 cases annually, with much of that going to wine club members, including TCU alumni. Upscale Fort Worth restaurants Ellerbe’s and Bonnell’s carry Sanglier, which is French for wild boar (the animals were once native to the region).

2015-present

Hogs & Frogs Wine Club

Life Lesson No. 1: “My philosophy is to live life to the fullest. Eat good food. Drink good wine. Enjoy the fruits of the earth with good friends and family.”

Life Lesson No. 2: “I see myself as much adventurer as I do entrepreneur. I still love fashion, but I wouldn’t change moving to be with my family and starting a business. It’s fulfilling to see the others enjoy the work of your hands.”

On the Web:
Hogs & Frogs Wine Club
Sanglier Cellars