The Positive Champion: Remembering Tom Cosentino
The last phone conversation I had with Tom Cosentino began with Tom gushing about finally getting to travel to meet his new granddaughter, something the pandemic prevented when she was first born. He was over the moon about being a grandfather, and it took a while for us to finally get down to business. That was fine. The information needed for an article about New Jersey wine could wait. His enthusiasm about being a grandfather could not.
As executive director of the Garden State Wine Growers Association since 2015, Tom oversaw the promotion of New Jersey’s wine industry. When Tom, 59, passed away on November 30, 2021, after battling heart disease, our industry lost its biggest supporter, and many associated with the industry—including me—lost a friend.
Tom wasn’t always in wine. He often spoke of his roots and was proud of his career as a publicist, starting as a media relations intern with the New York Yankees. He never mentioned it in a bragging way, though. It was genuinely, “How lucky was I that I got to do that right off the bat!”
His love of sports and his gratitude for spending his early career promoting them was evident. Tom’s Facebook posts were filled with sports trivia and information (along with many “Our Gang” videos plus old-time Saturday morning cartoon clips). His posts always induced a smile.
Eventually, he moved into public policy, which led him to our wine industry. He ran the marketing arm of Capital Public Affairs, a New Jersey public affairs and government relations firm. While there, Tom developed the grassroots campaign UnCorkNJ.com. His efforts played an integral part in legalizing direct shipping of wine in New Jersey in 2012, according to Scott Donnini, owner of Auburn Road Vineyards in Pilesgove and chair of the GSWGA board of directors.
“We loved Tom. When it came time to look for a new executive director, a lot of us knew who he was, and Jack Tomassello suggested we look at Tom as an option,” says Donnini. “That’s how he made his way to us.”
And so, the sports promoter turned public policy relations professional became THE New Jersey wine ambassador, promoting the industry, writing grants, liaising with the media, planning events, deftly dealing with politics and politicians, and “herding cats,” as Donnini puts it.
“All the things that make us [winery owners and winemakers] good at what we do are also things that don’t necessarily make us good at working and playing well together,” says Donnini. “Tom was always in the middle of all of that. You couldn’t have found a more perfect guy. He was so even keeled, so nice to everybody, and so generous to all of us.”
“Tom was the glue that kept everything in the Garden State Wine Growers Association together,’ says Kenna Wuerker, owner of Hawk Haven Vineyards in Rio Grande and co-chair of the 50+ member Association. “He was very passionate about the New Jersey wine industry. Every move he made was just so positive. He never had a negative thing to say about anything or anyone.”
When the pandemic hit in 2020, Tom’s optimism and ability to hold things together proved essential. Kate Devine, director of marketing at Laurita Winery in New Egypt, recalls how Tom guided her every step of the way.
“He would go back and forth and figure out things like how far apart chairs needed to be, making sure that we didn’t get fined,” says Devine. “We relied on him. We wouldn’t have been able to do it without him.”
Michael P. Snyder and Megan York Parker of Visit South Jersey agree that Tom was a guiding force during the past two years’ difficulties and all his years with the GSWGA. “His knowledge, passion and ability—as well as his humor and counsel—will be sorely missed by our wine industry and our organization.”
Tom will be sorely missed by me, too. There was never a time when I reached out to him that he didn’t immediately respond. He saw the value in journalists like me who embraced writing about New Jersey wine. More importantly, he saw the value in New Jersey wine. He will be irreplaceable to our wine industry.
