Jennifer Corcoran, owner of WineRX in Cape Charles on the Eastern Shore, has won the Hampton Roads InnovateHER: Innovating for Women Business Challenge. The competition, hosted by ODU Center for Enterprise Innovation (CEI) Women’s Business Center (WBC) and ODU Innovation Center-Norfolk in partnership with the Small Business Administration (SBA), had women entrepreneurs presenting their ideas for innovative products and services. Corcoran’s Drop It is a sulfite and tannin reducer to minimize adverse effects such as headaches from wine, and can be added to a glass or bottle while drinking.
“Drop It does not change the flavor of a red, white or sparkling wine,” shared Corcoran, a University of Maryland graduate who has worked in the diagnostic lab industry for more than 25 years. “But it may make an stringent or young red wine smoother.”
Corcoran worked on Drop It for two years before launching her company WineRX in November 2016. She tested Drop It in a laboratory in Napa Valley with results proving the product’s claims and began selling it for $9.99 per bottle and for wholesale at retailers, seven vineyards and her company’s website.
Corcoran received a $757 cash prise from the CEI and marketing support from the Monarch Acceleration Program for winning the competition. Additionally she received marketing services from MVOSS Creation and a one-year membership to BizConnect. WineRx will also be among a pool of semi-finalists making a live pitch in Washington, D.C. in a competition for $70,000 in prize money from the Sara Blakely Foundation.