Santa Rosa, Calif.—The Sonoma County Vintners announced that executive director Honore Comfort will step down from her post in January after nine years of leading the organization.

“Over the past nine years Honore has brought a great deal of focus and energy to supporting Sonoma County’s wine industry,” said the group’s board president Corey Beck who is the president of Francis Ford Coppola Winery in Geyserville, Calif.

During Comfort’s tenure with the vintners, the group spearheaded a joint marketing and branding campaign for Sonoma County’s wine industry as well as led an effort to pass a conjunctive labeling law for all wines made with Sonoma County grapes. The group also raised nearly $2.5 million to support children’s literacy programs and the recent Sonoma Harvest Wine Auction raised more than $4 million for local charities.

“It’s been a hugely rewarding experience working with the vintners and growers of Sonoma County,” Comfort said. “The Board of Directors is extremely supportive and engaged, and the organization has never been stronger as we head into this transition and the next stage of growth.”

The board has retained an executive recruitment firm to conduct a nationwide search for Comfort’s replacement.