There’s a player guide for becoming a Scarlet Saint which details raising Hedonist while keeping Austere, or more commonly finding ways to raise Hedonist enough and then easily reraising Austere.
EDIT x 2: generally the iron republic has what you need, but check through the whole thread to see other options that won’t get you as high as scarlet sainthood, but will serve your needs edited by Cthonius on 3/24/2017
Connected: Society tends to grow on its own, especially once you’ve become a POSI and started the Notability dance. Besides the aforementioned conflict card, it can be cashed out by calling in favors in the Shuttered Palace or the Empress’s Court. It also has some minor use getting you out of the Tomb Colonies more quickly, should you end up there. Or, if you have no need for monumental quantities of wine, just let it build. One of these centuries, Society will be moved over to the Favor/Renown system, and given the ease of procuring it I’m sure the conversion value will be astronomical. Might as well let it build itself to triple digits in the interim.
[quote=Kaijuu]If you just want to turn it into money, then side with the tomb colonists on the conflict card. It’s the best way to cash in the faction.
EDIT: Wait that’s only available at 50+ connected society. You could turn it into wine at the shuttered palace.[/quote]
In terms of rewards, no. The storylets available with a certain day of the week all offer a reward of 2 echoes (give or take). But there are special storylets available tied to the affair of the box and embroiled in the wars of illusion.