Thru The Grapewine

Are we really losing young wine drinkers? Plus, some updates in Ute's personal life! Tune in!

• Ute Mitchell

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Are you ready to dive a little deeper into what's happening in the wine industry and whether or not we are actually losing young wine drinkers? Let's go then! Here is a short episode with a few updates about what's going on in Ute's life, followed by what we're all getting wrong when it comes to appealing to GenZ as our next generation of wine lovers.

Chime in with your opinion, and we'll read it on the next episode!

Cellar 503
Wine for Normal People
Cork Crew at Cork and Fizz
McBride Sisters
XOBC Cellars

Keywords: updates, life, wine industry, younger generation, progress, customer-centricity, diversity, inclusivity, online wine clubs, social causes


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Ute (00:00.552)
Hi everyone, this is Ute and I am back with the Thru the Grapewine podcast and this is episode number 47. So I gotta tell you right now, this is a video recording. For those of you who are not seeing me, I am actually looking at this tiny little hole here in my laptop, which is my laptop camera. And it's a little bit different because,

If you don't know how I do my podcast, I always have some notes. Um, I, you know, obviously do a lot of interviews. So I, I create these interview questions beforehand. I research my guests and then I create questions based on what I've found out about them. I send these questions to my guests

ahead of the interview so that they can prepare just in case there are some questions in there that might be a little bit more difficult to answer. And so then, of course, I have something to look at when it comes to the interview. And not doing this with video has been a little bit of a security thing for me. It's easy to just look at your computer screen. It's a whole different story when you're having to look into the camera. And...

So obviously I do have my notes here. And so if you're watching this rather than just listening to it, uh, and I kind of looked down, that's why I am looking at my notes and I have to kind of do that so that I don't get lost in what I'm trying to communicate here today. So I thought with me recording these solo episodes again,

It would be nice to kind of catch you all up a little bit. I know some of you, of course, are following me on Instagram, so you kind of have a general idea of what's going on in my life. But if you're just listening to the podcast and you don't know what's happening in my life, here are the updates. So many people do know that I have recently left my job at a Tigard at the Tigard Chamber of Commerce and.

Ute (02:17.608)
The reason I left is not because I didn't like the chamber. As a matter of fact, I fully support the chamber's mission and vision. And I really, really loved working for and with my boss. She's a wonderful human being, and I am very happy to continue to be able to interact with the Tiger Chamber. It's just that it's not the wine industry.

So, you know, sometimes these things, you kind of learn these things about yourself and you know what you're missing when you no longer have it. And so, you know, yes, I decided, of course, I'm going to be doing private in -home guided tastings for people who are interested in it. And if that is something that you would like to do and you want to just chat with me.

I am happy to do so. Just email me Ute, that's U -T -E at thruthegrapewine .com and I'll be happy to chat with you about what your options are. I am also of course going to continue doing the podcast because I am having way too much fun with this. It's just been an amazing almost two years now and I am going back into the tasting room. So that's happening.

Yes, I decided I needed to be back in the tasting room. I need to pour wine. I need to talk to people. I need to use my skills. You know, I got these certifications and why, why am I getting, you know, all of this education when I'm going to end up not using it? So I need to be back in the tasting room. So I applied for a job with a local winery. Um, that's about 40 minutes away from my house. And for those of you local,

It's Stoller and Stoller is a great winery. I really, really enjoy their wine. Have in the past had several opportunities to drink their wines. And I also really am. I really like their mission. I like how forward thinking they are as a winery. They have, of course, multiple brands.

Ute (04:35.464)
And they're also a certified B corporation, which really aligns with my values and my ideas of what companies should be doing in this day and age. And so, yes, I'm going to be there four days a week. Come and see me if you're local. I'll pour you some nice wines and chat with you.

It'll be great. And I'm really looking forward to the summer months when it's going to be gorgeous outside and you can sit outside and just have a good old time. So yeah, that's what's new. Um, I also am going to go to Germany soon, actually, which is so funny because I literally am starting my job and three weeks later I am going to Germany, but this trip was planned, um, before I ever even agreed to take this job.

So I'm very much looking forward to it. I'm going to be seeing, of course, my brother and his family. My dad is going to be there. My mom, unfortunately, is not going to be there. But then, of course, I'm also going to see my older daughter with her family, with the kids who have moved there last year. You probably remember me talking about that. That was a hard time to talk about that back then because I love.

these kids so much and I love the grandkids so much. So, yeah, very much looking forward to going to Germany and doing some fun stuff there. And of course, you know, drinking some German wine because when in Germany, do as the Germans do. What else do we have? Oh, yeah. Well, so my middle daughter, she has moved from San Diego to Denver, which to me is very exciting. Not that I don't like San Diego, but...

I like Denver better. I am very excited to visit her in Denver and I think it's going to be really, really good for her to be there. Already she's talking about how gas is so much cheaper there, which I actually went in March and yes, gas is much cheaper in Denver than it is in San Diego. Let me tell you that. She actually has, and I know I've mentioned this before, her name is Celine, like,

Ute (06:55.4)
Celine Dion. No, not named after her, but like the Celine Dion. She has a new single out. It's her only single so far and it is called Hate Somebody. So if you're interested, it's a nice song. It's kind of a nice, a catchy tune. So check it out. My youngest, my son is happily, you know, moving into a new apartment with his girlfriend. They've been together for some time now and it's to me just

mind boggling still to think that I have all of these adult children who are out there in the world doing their own thing, living their own lives. And yes, mom and dad are still needed here and there, but it's, it's nice that they are out there doing, doing adult life. Um, and, and I love, uh, talking to them and I will, I will kind of share a little bit more about that later, but I love talking to them. So it's, it's really, really awesome.

But so let's get into the podcast and I have to start really by talking just for a moment about my previous guests. Um, Sedale, of course that I had most previously and then, uh, Celine, the modern hobbyist, Diana Turk, Adriana Krstic, Maryam Ahmed, Tiquette Bramlett, Karen Wetzel, so many amazing humans. And, um, I just cannot even like count them all because there are so many of them now.

But oh my goodness, my whole house is rattling. Okay, I have to interrupt this here for a moment. So if you hear sounds or you're watching this and the picture is shaking, I have construction going on two houses over from my house and they're like ripping up the road and they're putting in these new big pipes and then they're like driving with their heavy machinery down the road and the entire house is shaking.

when they do this. It's like a freaking earthquake every time. And it's really unnerving, but I have to record this episode. So I just needed to suck it up and do it anyway, in hopes that for you, it's not real obvious the noise that's happening in the background. So anyway, back to my podcast guests. It's been so

Ute (09:21.576)
wonderful to talk to them and to get inspired by them and humbled by them because whether they were employees or running their own businesses, each one of my guests really brings something unique to the table. Their, you know, their visions, their opinions, they speak their truths and they're not afraid to do so. And this is something I think.

That's really special. And I don't know if they really understand how grateful I am to them. So I can only say it if you're listening in right now, whoever you are that I have interviewed in the past, thank you so very much for taking the time to be here with me and to chat with me about, you know, what you're doing in the wine industry and how important your work really is because your work is so important.

Now, when I think about my podcast guests and the theme that I kind of see ongoing throughout the last year and a half, almost two, almost two years, my gosh, in July, it'll be two years. There is a common theme. And I really before I share what that is, I have to kind of backtrack to 2023.

Was it 23? Anyway, it was the Oregon Wine Symposium that's happened here in Portland. And they were talking about, you know, how we are losing wine drinkers and the younger generation doesn't want wine and they want the fun beverages in the cans. And they had, you know, all of these charts and, and, you know, numbers and everything. And they were just all really, really worried. And, you know, gosh, the young generation, we need them.

And I honestly, in all of the conversations that I have had now with all of my guests, the younger ones and the older ones, not a single one has said, oh my gosh, we're using, we're losing the younger generation. Not a single one of them. As a matter of fact, the resounding opinion was that we are just not.

Ute (11:45.544)
hearing them. Yes, they want things a little bit differently. And change is good. Evolving is good. If you remember my conversation with Maryam from Maryam and Company, she was actually someone who was very, very outspoken about it. And I just loved it. She was saying, you know, how she was just getting a little annoyed with the fact that we keep talking about how we need we.

need and never stop to ask what do you want? And that really struck a chord with me and I'm going, oh my gosh, see, I'm learning all the time. And so, yes, they are interested in different things. They still like wine. Yes, they do like canned wine. And you know what? Canned wine is kind of brilliant. Not going to lie.

Yeah, there are certain times when I don't want canned wine. There's, you know, if I'm going to have a nice dinner. No, I don't necessarily want to go and drink out of a can. But there are times and places for, you know, canned wine. So make canned wine. They also are, you know, really interested in knowing where their wine was made, you know, how it was made and, you know, was it sustainably grown? Are the wineries?

Do they have their B Corp certification? Yeah, that actually may be important to some people. And when I talk to my children, I warned you, I talk about them again. When I talk to my children, they're the two younger ones, they're both Gen Z, and they both have very strong convictions about what they believe in and what they want and what they wish for.

what they're scared of, what they're concerned about. And it really kind of goes nicely along with what a lot of people believe to be true about the younger generation, millennials, Gen Z in particular, younger millennials. And that is that tradition is one thing, you know, to have a 500 year old winery is an amazing thing, but

Ute (14:09.544)
Progress is a whole other thing that is important. We're in the 21st century. We're progressing in every way. And we are just kind of dragging our feet a little bit in the wine industry. You know, we are so focused on our product that we have forgotten a little bit to be more customer centric. And this is not

an opinion that I have in particular, although I do share it, but it is something that I have been doing a lot of reading about. And I've seen conversations on LinkedIn in various groups. And so some of the opinions that I'm sharing here are partially my guests opinions, but they're also from some of these conversations that I've read through and been part of. And so when I am reading,

through some of these opinions that I'm sharing with you, do know that they are not necessarily from me, although I would love to take credit for all of them, but that they are from other people that somehow resonated with me and that I found worth sharing here with you. So one person actually said, and I thought that was also a very, very important point. Look at the last few years. COVID has really changed the food and alcohol.

industry as a whole, you know, with eating at home or ordering in, you know, what what are we going to drink together with this meal? Are we going to drink anything with this meal? There has definitely been a move towards, you know, those non alcoholic wines or, you know, non alcoholic beverages in general. People's behavior around eating and drinking has really changed. We also had.

global shipping issues, as you may recall. It's not that long ago. We have an inflation that is hitting the entire planet. It's not just the United States, it's everywhere. There is a focus on wars nowadays. We have, you know, Russia and Ukraine, and we have some very real fears of another very big war with potentially catastrophic.

Ute (16:34.408)
consequences for everyone. So, you know, are there other things that people start focusing on, especially our younger generation? Absolutely. And I think that's a very important thing to consider as we are looking at the wine industry, the wine industry. And this is also something that somebody else said, but that I say with much love.

to the industry and I don't disagree with it, in many ways has gotten kind of old fashioned. Because they're like, you know, sticking to the traditions. And again, I am not an anti -tradition person. I love a good tradition and I love history and I love walking through, you know, a French wine cellar that's been around for 400 years. That's very, very thrilling to me.

but you've got to pair your tradition with a forward movement, forward thinking. And so in order to pull in and attract these young wine drinkers, we have to cater to them. And it makes me so happy, honestly, personally, to...

see some of the younger wine professionals out there in the industry really making waves. Think about Hailey that I just recently recorded for the podcast from Cork and Fizz. She's doing those private guided tastings at home. She comes to people's homes and she's this young and hip person. And a hip person. So wait, stay tuned. Hip, is that still a thing?

Are people hip? Maybe not. What are people? They're not groovy anymore. I know that for a fact. Hip, trendy, cool, anyway. So young, hip person, to me that's the word. So Hailey has great ideas. She loves wine. She puts on this wine retreat to Walla Walla. And she's just got this bubbly personality that you just.

Ute (18:53.448)
got to love and so she makes wine very, very approachable to people, which is a beautiful thing. Of course, then we have Celine, who is an artist who creates these watercolor maps of wine regions around the world, which is so amazing. And I am so happy to say that after the podcast, I've had some people reaching out and ordering stuff from Celine. I think that's...

So, so great. And I'm very excited that this podcast played a little bit of a role in, you know, making some of these people have a little bit more success in their lives. Not that they need me. I'll just put that out there right now. I know they don't need me, but it's nice that I was able to contribute a little bit. Also, and this is something that I do wholeheartedly believe in.

And this is my opinion. So I do really think when you're looking at the younger generation, you know, it's easy to please Gen X. All we want is a glass of wine and a chair and sunshine and a good view.

Okay, we're easy. Boomers, easy. The younger generation, I hate to break it to you, but they have families. So, during COVID, what happened was that a lot of wineries moved towards reservation only and they no longer allowed children. Some of it had to do with some of the COVID rules.

You had to come in, you had to be 21, you had to have a vaccination card so that they could keep track of you just in case somebody got sick. So you could keep tracking it and everything. And you had to limit reservations to, in some cases, an hour, some cases, 90 minutes. And a lot of winery kind of stuck with that system of making their reservations only available.

Ute (21:08.584)
to adults. And again, as Gen X person who no longer has little people in her house, I can certainly appreciate a tasting room that's nice and quiet with the piano music in the background and enjoying this experience. That said, if you wish to bring in a younger crowd, you also really got to take into consideration

This younger crowd has families.

and a tasting room that has a great outdoor area where families can sit and hang out with their children, maybe even have a couple of games like bocce ball or cornhole or something like that.

That is what they're drawn to. The wine is a nice side effect to that. But if you're, if you're sitting there and going, no, I don't want those children. Well, wineries, when are they open during the day up until what, like five, six o 'clock, right? So on a Saturday afternoon, when this young family with the two young children says, well, what are we going to do this afternoon? How about let's go and have some wine in a winery.

Oh, we can't because children are not allowed. Now, again, each winery has their right to, you know, do what they want. And if they only want adults, they're more power to them. But if you are actively looking for a younger crowd and you are only open during the day,

Ute (22:58.312)
then chances are the younger crowd is going to be more likely to come and see you over another winery if you allow kids so they don't have to go out and find a babysitter.

The babysitter is something they want for at night. It's like it's date night for mom and dad. What are we going to do with the kids? They're staying home with the babysitter. We're going to go out. During the day, they want to spend the time with their children. Yes, you can have rules about, you know, they need to be well -behaved children. Let's not have them run around all over the place and, you know, break things and whatnot. I get that. I get those concerns. I've been there. I've worked in this industry. I have been in a couple of wineries where children were allowed.

Especially the second one, Avidity, was amazing with kids. The kids are, you know, having a good old time and so are the parents and they do spend good money. So this is definitely something to consider as you are as a winery looking at bringing in younger generation. And with that, I'm going to step right back off my soapbox. This is just something that I feel I needed to get off my chest and I think it's something that could really...

you know, make a difference in a lot of wineries if they have the space and the ability to cater at least in some ways to a younger crowd. Of course, young people, you know, in addition to liking B corporations and understanding where the wine comes from and all of that, people like diversity. People like diversity.

They don't want to just see white faces in a winery. And that is totally fair. And this is actually why you've got to go back and listen to some of those episodes that I did with Mariam and Tiquette Kat and Sedale, who are telling the stories of our BIPOC colleagues. And they have a good message to say. And, you know, we we can we can do our part even.

Ute (25:04.552)
even as a just a consumer. You know, in the wine industry, we have all kinds of options and, and I know, you know, not enough work is being done. Um, look at my conversation with Sedale who definitely says, yeah, we are moving in the right direction, but there's always a big, but, um, so listen to those episodes when you get a chance and then support.

those businesses accordingly, they can be found pretty easily online. You gotta just do the search. So this can of course be a very, very long conversation and I don't by any means claim to have all the answers. I would love to have all of the answers that will be amazing, but at least I am willing to put my thinking cap on and.

discuss this topic with others and I am not afraid to speak my mind and put it out there in the world. And I have had in the last year and a half, only a couple of messages of people who were not being very nice. Generally speaking, I will say I have only had good feedback from people. And so I really, you know, thank you. I appreciate that very much.

But we are, let's see, I'm taking a little time. Yes, we're coming up on the half hour mark and especially for these solo episodes, I wanna make sure not to make them too long. And so I actually just want to wrap this up with a few recommendations for online wine clubs that you can change that have different things that they offer. And I'm going to start right there with one that is local here to Portland.

It's called Cellar 503 and the owner is Carrie Wyn... Wynkop or Wynkoop? Now I'm not entirely sure. I hope I'm not butchering the name. So she focuses on Oregon wine and you can get monthly shipments with hand -selected wines for you. In Washington, there's actually a wine club called Zen Wine. And you will probably remember that we had Kat Shapiro...

Ute (27:21.192)
the owner of Zen Wine as a guest here. Ali was the one talking to her. So she's a wine educator with her WSET diploma. And I believe, so the last thing that I heard is that you have to be a Washington resident to be part of her wine club. But she does those shipments as well. Also in Washington, of course, is Haley with Cork and Fizz.

and she actually has a tasting club which is meeting online once a month. So you will still get your own wine, but she will take it from there. She will kind of guide you through the tasting. And her club is called The Cork Crew. So I think that's super cute. And again, I said it earlier, Haley is such a fun and bubbly personality and she kind of makes wine approachable and fun and easy to enjoy. So it's definitely something.

that I would recommend to do even just for a few months just to kind of you know learn a little bit more about wine and enjoy discussing it with other people. Of course there is Fly Wines with Stephanie Franklin also a previous guest. Stephanie brings you wines from high quality wines from independent wineries and she brings them to you and I don't have one around here right now but

So they come in these little taster bottles and the wineries actually work with her to fill the wines into these little bottles and put her logo on there so that you can just try them. If you love them, of course you can get bottles, but you can try just these little taster bottles, which I think is such an amazing way to...

you know, expand your palette and to try wines from regions that you have never had before. I remember during our conversation, we talked about this remote Turkish winery that she was going to be able to offer. And I didn't catch up with her. So who knows? Maybe this is already a thing now. But so she travels to these places and works with these these independent wineries to make sure.

Ute (29:39.624)
to bring them to your door. The Wine for Normal People podcast is also a place that offers a wine club and you can get quarterly shipments. We have the McBride Sisters, of course, they have an online wine club that you can join, which is super nice. And then of course, we also have my personal favorite lady,

XOBC Cellars by Brandi Carlile and they actually donate proceeds to the Looking Out Foundation. And I have a little something that I want to read to you from that website. The Looking Out Foundation has donated almost $6 million to support social justice and humanitarian causes across the US and globally.

providing vital funding for disaster relief aid, protection for children and families in war -torn countries, food insecurity programs, racial justice, incarceration prevention, and self -defense workshops for marginalized communities. So another really great way to spend your dollars and know that the proceeds go to a really great cause.

These online wine clubs can be found easily. You know, do your Google searches. You know, we have the internet at our disposal and we can really do some good by voting for our with our dollars for the right person. Basically, that's what it comes down to. And with that, it is.

The end of this episode. I do hope that you enjoyed listening to it I hope that you got a little something out of it and that maybe I was able to make you think a little bit as well Like I said, if you have any opinions anything that you would like to share with me Anything that you would like me to share on the podcast. I have very much welcome that I want to share your thoughts unless you're

Ute (31:54.088)
mean and evil and then I'm not going to share them. But if they're, you know, good thoughts, food for thought can be controversial. Absolutely. I'm not opposed to controversial thoughts. Just, you know, hit me up. My email is Ute, that's U -T -E at thruthegrapewine .com. My email will of course be down in the show notes. And with all of that, really, all I have to say at this point is of course, Prost!