(PD) - The top official with Sonoma County Vintners, the major advocacy and promotional trade group for the county’s wineries, announced Wednesday she will leave the organization after almost nine years on the job.

Executive Director Honore Comfort will leave her position by Jan. 31. It follows the Tuesday departure of Sara Cummings, director of marketing communications.

In an interview, Comfort said she is leaving on her volition after nine years in the challenging job and has been already been contacted by potential future employers. In the post, she had to coordinate with members in the county’s 16 different recognized wine regions, large and small wineries, grape growers and tourism officials to present a simple and unified marketing message for the more than $13 billion industry.

“I know she was executive director ... but she was also brand manager and chief marketer, even though it wasn’t technically her title,” said Jeff Bundschu, president of Gundlach-Bundschu Winery and a board member of the vintners’ group.

Bundschu noted that Comfort helped recruit his Sonoma Valley winery back to the group after it previously left the organization. “The county got really serious about the perception of its wine,” he said. “That was her vision.”

Comfort said she had been working “very closely” with the board over the past few months to establish a transition process for her successor. A private firm will conduct a nationwide search, and the board hopes to name a successor before year’s end.

“We have achieved more than we could ever imagine after nine years,” Comfort said. “I’m looking forward to the next series of challenges in the wine industry.”

Board President Corey Beck, general manager of Francis Ford Coppola Winery, said directors were shocked when Comfort told them that she planned to leave but noted she was gracious enough to provide them with a lengthy transition period. “She was phenomenal. You start thinking about the things she has done throughout the years,” Beck said.