Ep. 1306 Angela McCrae | Masterclass US Wine Market With Juliana Colangelo

By now, you've all heard of Italian wine Unplugged two point o. The latest book published by Mamma jumbo shrimp. It's more than just another wine book. Fully updated second edition was inspired by students of the Vin Italy International Academy and painstakingly reviewed and revised by an expert panel of certified Italian wine ambassadors from across the globe. The book also includes an addition by professor Atilio Shenza. Italy's leading vine geneticist. The benchmark producers feature is a particularly important aspect of this revised edition. The selection makes it easier for our readers to get their hands on a bottle of wine that truly represents a particular grape or region to pick up a copy, just head to Amazon dot com, or visit us at mama jumbo shrimp dot com. Welcome to Mastercost US Market with me, Juliana Colangelo. This show has been designed to demystify the US market for Italian wineries through interviews of experts and sales and distribution, social media, communications, and so much more. We will quiz each of our esteemed guests at the end of each episode to solidify the lessons that we've learned. To sharpen your principals, get out your notebooks, and join us each week to learn more about the US market. Hello. My name is Juliana Colangelo, and I am the host of the masterclass US wine market, a new series on the Italian wine podcast. Today, I am thrilled to welcome Angela McCray to the show. Angela is a creative strategist and entrepreneur with over twenty years of experience in media, entertainment, and championing diversity. As a creative producer, Angela has worked with global brands, independent filmmakers, nonprofits, festivals, wine advocacy organizations, and wine regions on branded content, wine travel experiences, and trade focused events. Angela launched the wine culture, digital publication, uncorked in culture during COVID. The media company is a content marketing and engagement solution to the inequitable relationship between the luxury wine and travel industries with BIPOC consumers. Angela also serves as the executive director for the association of African American Vintners. Welcome to the show, Angela. It's great to have you here. Thank you so much, Julianna. I've had to be here. Awesome. Well, to get started, tell us a little bit more about uncorporched and cultured, you started the company during the pandemic and have now produced multiple virtual and in person consumer and trade events. It's so impressive what you've accomplished. So talk us through a little bit more about how you started the company and and what you're doing today. Thank you. Yeah. Well, you know, funny enough. I actually moved to New York six months before the pandemic from Los Angeles. Oh, wow. So as you can imagine, that was a huge one eighty kinda like you know, culture shock dynamic for me after living in LA for over ten years and, you know, primarily immersing myself in media exclusively throughout my career. So when I first moved to to New York and I had an opportunity to travel to a few countries in Africa and ended up in Cape Town, where I had a chance to visit Stellenbosch and go to that beautiful wine region there. The prestigious Stellenbosch region in South Africa, which opened my mind to, seeing people like myself working in the wine industry for the first time. You know, of course, living in Los Angeles, you know, I've been in Santa Barbara, you know, I've done stuff in Salvang, you know, I've done even just wine tastings around the LA area. And I never saw people that looked like me. You know, I never really saw a diverse audience, really immersed and enthusiastic about consuming wine, drinking wine, or just learning about wine. So that's how that for the trip really changed my perspective on wine. And then when I got back, the pandemic hit. Right. It's a whole new world. So it was like, okay. It's a whole new world, and I was isolated by myself in Manhattan and Harlem. And, I had to create a a place for me to feel comfortable, a place for me to to thrive, a place for me to, you know, protect my mental health, and and wine had a lot to do with it. Yep. I think we all turned to to wine a little bit in the pandemic. That's that's for sure. Exactly. And I actually ended up being a a wine ambassador, which allowed me to really start doing the work and the research of wine education, learning about wine, and then, of course, connecting with people virtually over wine. And I created a Facebook group call uncorking culture, which really grew rapidly. I mean, I got eight hundred members in that group, private group in in, like, two months. So it's amazing. Yeah. It's amazing the way that people were looking for community and looking for things that spoke to them throughout that time of uncertainty. And so, you know, after just sitting and, like, allowing things to unfold and not really forcing things, I I just paid attention to what was happening in the wine industry, which was a a huge revolution that was taking place in America's wine scene after the George Floyd murder. I mean, you had a lot of diverse initiatives pop up, you know, organizations, nonprofits pop up, right, growth, you know, of, black wine producers. They've really increased theirselves because of, just the awareness of industries that had in in in equities. And so I decided Right. I wanted to tell this story. I I thought it was important. So I created uncorked in college and and made it into a media platform and digital publication. And the whole intention is to connect Black and Brown audiences worldwide through wine, well, this culture and adventure. Right? Right. So what are some of the ways your company amplifies those voices? Well, you know, it's a lot of different ways that we've done it. I mean, when you think about it, wine is one of the oldest industries in the world. It's like one of the first, it seems like. And so, you know, first off, you know, we publish news articles and lifestyle articles around wine and around producers, the story behind it, but then also the lifestyle that is wrapped around wine. And that's when the travel and wellness comes into place. Our first major thing that we did was publish a directory, a global directory of, wine businesses owned by black entrepreneurs. We've also hosted consumer based travel experiences all across the United States, and we're looking to expand that in maybe to Italy. Oh, yes. I would love as definitely Italy. And, and then, you know, We started producing, trade summits. So we produced quite a few, virtual trade summits. The first one we did, we supported, a a woman who launched the, international winemaker summit. That was our first trade event that we did. It was super, impactful for us. Then we produced the state of Black wine business forum, which was huge. We was able to get over six hundred of people watching the, the event live on YouTube. And then, another our last one that we did was, the the Latinx wine summit, which we literally just did our second year of that in December. So we're looking forward to keep keeping that rolling and and, coming up with more, opportunities and experiences to connect, people of color, why. Yeah. And I had the chance to to see you at that event in that, but in person, and it it was an incredible event such a Thank you. A great community. Community feeling, at that event. So, Angela, in today's episode, you know, the the series is is master class US wine market. So we wanna talk to professionals in the US about what's happening in the industry in a number of of different areas. So for today, we're focusing on marketing and communications, but more specifically, we wanna speak to you about the importance of multicultural marketing and the opportunities for Italian wineries to market to to more diverse audiences in the US. So for today's episode, our three key takeaways, and what we really wanna focus on with you are number one, what is multicultural marketing and talking about the importance of it. Number two, understanding the value of BIPOC buying power as a wine consumer in the US market and how that's changed and evolved in recent years as well. And finally, how to create authentic connections with BIPOC consumers through bipoc wine professionals, influencers, and media, like yourself. So lots of important things to discuss in today's episode, and and we'll do a little recap quiz at the end to make sure we hit on, all the key points but, really excited to to to dive into this with you. So, let's start with discussing the value and importance of multicultural marketing for the wine industry. Well, you know, one thing that I'll say, the value is very large and it's growing as the world changes. Right? The world is constantly moving towards more diverse of space, which means there's so many voices that need to be heard, so many perspectives that need to be understood, and so many communities that need to be tapped into. And effective multicultural marketing requires nuance, awareness, and authenticity to succeed. Right? And I think these are three areas in which it's kind of subjective. Right? When you think about authenticity, what's authentic to you Juliana is may not be the same when it comes to me. Right? Same when it comes to nuance and awareness. And so, when it comes to, consumers of color, the stakes are really high because in the United States, more than three trillion dollars and combined. Wow. Buying power exists within the ethnic minorities. Right? Yeah. And so Let's say that again. Three trillion dollars. I mean, that's a lot of buying power. Yes. It is. Yes. It is. And so the consequences of any missteps, missed opportunities, or, you know, things like that can really have a large impact and longstanding, you know, impact on your business. Right? And a lot of American brands has have understood that over the years. And so, you know, some of the things that I've been able to do is really work with, one of my dear friends and sister and wine, doctor Monique Bell, to really, support the research she's been doing when it comes to, black and and Latinx, wine consumption trends, entrepreneurship, and, wine professionals here in the US market so that we could really get a better understanding of how to effectively engage with consumers of color. So it's a lot of opportunity there. And, I just wanna make sure that, you know, people are aware that there's a huge gap. And we just gotta make sure that people understand that inclusivity is what guarantees sustainability. Right. Yeah. Absolutely. And I think for, you know, not just the Italian wine market, but a lot of global wine industries, the US is arguably the most important market for for many countries. So it it's key to understand of course, first, where the opportunity is, but what we're gonna dive into next is how to authentically engage with this audience as well in a way that's impactful and authentic back to kinda that first point that you made. So Let's talk a little bit more about the evolution of the bipap wine consumer in the US. You know, who are they today? What styles of wine are they drinking? How are they engaging with wine as well? What are they looking for in wine experiences? Whether it's when they visit a retail shop or they go to a wine country and visit a winery. Great question. And, you know, to be honest with you, I'm gonna say a lot more people are starting to get familiar with, Italian wines. You know, some of the work that I do I've done just to keep My pulse to the street is working part time a day or two at a wine shop here in Harlem, where it's literally very much community driven, and it's really much rooted in the black community. And one of the things that I've I've realized just from the year and a half that I was working there is how more more and more people started coming and looking for Italian wines. And we had a pretty decent Italian infection. And some of those, look like prossecco. I think that's, like, the new, the new champagne. Of course. I just know maybe people have been coming in asking for Presecco, of course, Pino Grigio. And I've learned that a lot of black men tend to love, not not I'm not gonna say it a lot, but I've had quite a few. Come in asking for Barolo, and that's, like, their exclusive line of choice. So there's a a great opportunity for, wines of Italy to really immerse themselves in, the US market, particularly when it comes to a multicultural audience is because of, you know, one sustainability that that goes through there. And then, of course, the indigenous side of it that, the indigenous grapes. But what I'll say Right. There's so much to explore. Exactly. So much to explore, it's an ongoing journey. So what so what I'll say is as far as, like, when you're talking about the multicultural market and how they consume wine and where they're at in their wine journey, you know, when you think about multicultural alcohol beverage consumption, seventy seven percent drink wine one or three times a month. So that means seventy seven seventy seven percent of alcohol beverage consumers have wine as a normal occurrence, you know, One of the whether it's for an occasion, celebratory, things of that sort. Wait. Wine is definitely on the table. Right? We also learned that, when it comes to spending money online, right, when it comes to purchasing a a bottle of twenty dollars or more black consumers are two times more likely to purchase a more expensive wine as over twenty dollars compared to other wine consumers. That's really interesting. And as we see, you know, premiumization trends continue to stay, we see that twenty dollar price segment continue to grow. I think that's a a really important point to to think about that. Twice as likely to purchase wines in that segment. That that's really powerful. Yeah. And this is all done, you know, based off of data that was collected in twenty fourteen. As well as some of some recent work studies that were done in twenty twenty two by the Y Market Council. So all this information is accessible, and it's and it's validated, right, based off of the research being done by the industry. One thing that is also interesting that I've noticed or that we've noticed when it comes to just like, wine and buy pop consumers media trends. So here in the United States, just last year alone, three wine, three television shows debuted in January twenty twenty two that focused on wine. It was the backdrop of wine. Right. Which was super interesting. Right? Because, this I don't think nothing like that's ever been done, probably since like the nineties or eighties. And so there was a one show on own, which is Oprah Winfrey's network called Kings and Napa. And that was a huge family drama. Your typical soap opera, evening soap opera. Just talked about the drama of a family, a black family that owned a a vineyard in Napa, and the challenges that came with that when it comes to the session planning, innovation, but then also competition. Which was really interesting. Another similar series that came out was on ABC called Promise Land, which is super cool. It was about a Latinx, family, and it actually transitioned into Hulu. So that series is now still available to be watched on Hulu. And then one of my favorites is Grand Crew I love that one. Which is a comedy, which I fell in love with because it was really about a a group of friends, five friends, black friends who just talked about dating and just life in Los Angeles, but on the backdrop of wine. Right? They would go to their local wine car. They would try different wines. They even took a few wine trips. And so, they really did a great job with integrating the wine experience in a really natural way. But then also giving brands an opportunity for visibility. Italian wine podcast, part of the mama jumbo shrimp family. Right. Yeah. That's pretty interesting that those three shows came out all in twenty twenty two alone. Right? I think that also speaks to the changing nature of how wine is being consumed as media in the US as well. Right? It's not just about the the print publications, the critics anymore, but the media is coming out in a lot of different formats, including pop culture and shows, and and that's really exciting to see. Absolutely. It is. And and part of that is influencing, the wine experiences that are looking for the consumers are looking for. One of the things. So since, over the past year, We've been working with Napa Valley vendors to really create a space for them to educate their members on the importance of multicultural audiences. And some of that work included bringing our our our audience, our diverse audience to the region, which included opportunities for them to capture, content, capture, you know, articles to talk about the experience. Of course, social media, things of that sort. But one of the really most fruitful things that came out of that, for me, Julie, was an opportunity to be able to, do a training, a educational training, to be able to sit down, do a series of educational opportunities to bring, a more fuller picture and resource to their members to really, captivate an audience. And so, and and also through partnerships, of course, most importantly, And so it's super important, I think, to just mention that because they have seen some some some some more influx of diversity coming into the region since since since the work we've been doing together. But that I'm not gonna say it's because of us because social media does have a lot to do with that as well, and it's a group and it takes a group effort. Yeah. And, Angela, what would you say when you're speaking to, you know, these winery members in Napa? Cause I think there's a lot of lessons that can be learned for Italian wineries as well. So we know they're, you know, you know, Enotourism is is popular in Italy too. But what are some of the the the key points that are really resonating with them or that you felt were the, you know, most important when you were speaking to them about the winery experience in Napa Valley. For multicultural audiences. So when it comes to creating a winery experience, one, you gotta kinda really think inclusively. Right? You gotta really design your experience to be inclusive because representation matters, and people wanna feel like they belong. Especially when it comes to the growth of millennial and gen z consumers, they are the epitome of conscious consumers. So they're all you know, so the ultimate goal is to get a greater sense of belonging amongst underrepresented groups. That's the only way for pathway for consistent inclusion. So what does that what's what does that look like? That looks like a few things. Right? First, first and foremost, that looks like looking at your tasting room, looking at your decor, looking at your music, looking at the food, looking at so many different things. You know, we're talking about Italian producers. So, of course, Italian pride is gonna be front and center. We get it. Right? We get it. But if everybody in Italy has the same level of Italian pride, and it's but it sounds like it's gonna be similar experience is everywhere you go. I think this is an opportunity for producers to really think outside the box, figure out what sets them different than some of their other, you know, colleagues across the the region, and and check your bias. Right? Like, sometimes it does you know, unconscious advice exists. And a lot of it is formed by our environment. So it's in the culture that we live in. So it's like, what can what can you do as a business owner and as a space that you want to attract more audiences? What can you do to to lower that that trigger, that personal trigger that may happen when it comes to, you know, having that disconnect, that cultural disconnect. What can you do, you know, what can you do to make it better? Some things is, you know, try to think about doing an internal checklist. Like, how, you know, if you're if we're going to Italy and we have so many rich Italian foods that you wanna introduce your your audience members or your attendees to because that's your specialty, that's your culture you're rooted in. Maybe it might be an opportunity to to offer inclusive food pairings, during special days of the week or during special time of the year. So that way, if you have immigrants that work on your vineyard or or or opportunities to to connect with other, cultures, how can you integrate some of that into your business through food? Through hiring of multicultural and diverse staff, you know, and just creating a more business culture. Another thing is advocate advocacy focused initiatives. How can you give that to feed into that inclusive ecosystem. Right. Exactly. I think those are some really valuable lessons for for our listeners about ways in which to make the winery experience more inclusive food, culture, your your staff, your employees, what you're doing outward as well for the community. And but shifting gears a little bit, what what kind of white Italian wineries do to take their their brands to market in the US to reach more inclusive and bipoc consumers, and and how can they do in an authentic way? So let's shift gears a little bit more looking towards marketing in the US market for Italian wineries. No. Good question. Good question. So, when it comes to looking at engaging US buyers or in US audiences. I mean, there are a lot of niche, spaces that look for, sustainable, biodynamic, woman owned, Philanther, you know, philanthropy focused brains. So if, you know, even even if it's a woman winemaker, right, or a someone of diverse background winemaker, that's a great way to kind of figure out how you can shift your business? How or how you can actually highlight maybe things that you've already been doing that just you don't lean into enough. You know, focusing on how you can make small changes. You know, we don't expect, you know, we don't expect people to just do about attention and change your entire business, but, like, start integrating and thinking about the uniqueness that you bring when it comes when it comes to more inclusivity. Another thing is partnerships. Right? There's There's the growth of multicultural winemakers are growing across the world, across the globe. I mean, South Africa, of course, is booming with, winemakers, that are black as well as America and other, and I'm sure other regions So maybe you have an opportunity to to release a collection, do a partnership with a collection with a with a bipoc wine producer. I mean, Basmin wines in South Africa has been successful in that. You know, there's especially if you have the bandwidth and the resources do partnerships. It could all it could start really small by doing partnerships where you're engaging these up and coming emerging winemakers and and and and having them do, harvest internships, but then maybe even have an opportunity to produce something there that can be under your umbrella and give them their first start. You know, there there's a lot of great programs that are doing immersive educational trips, that's introducing, you United States folks to the, to your region. When it comes to wine professionals, wine media, and things of that sort that focus on people of color. One other thing that I would suggest is looking at, partnering with organizations, in the US that are you know, focused on, supporting and providing resources and advocating for people of color that you can possibly give back to. Maybe you could do a partnership where you're either whether it's donating wine, whether it's giving up for signature proceeds, you know, or what have you just being proactive and looking for ways to enter this conversation in a in a in an organic and non transactional way. It's so easy for us to, like, see, oh, we gotta get these sales. We gotta be about the business and and and focus on the transaction, but that's where it's it's really could be a missed opportunity when it comes to long sustainable relationship building. Yeah. I think that last point you mentioned is key that it's it's not just transactional, that it's it's authentic. It's meaningful. It's impactful. So, you gave a lot of a lot of other great ideas there for ways in which you know, Italian wineries might be able to engage in an authentic way, whether it's through, apprenticeship programs, partnering with organizations in the US that reach multicultural consumers, putting forward different immersive programs and training programs. Obviously, Italian wineries and producers have such a wealth of knowledge, to to share. So kind of sharing some of that that knowledge and and those skills with with new audiences is is a really great idea. Yeah. No. And absolutely. And just to kinda look at it more from a consumer side, so say for so with those type of kinda more industry kinda like rooted in your business suggestions that I gave, when you look at it from a more consumer side, you know, it's about creating effective multicultural campaign. Right? And this can look like a multicultural influencer campaign, you know, putting together a program where you are out, you know, doing outreach and engagement to influencers and media of color that can really help create some organic traction. Yep. Right? That that'll take a lot of work, to really be authentic, though, because you're gonna have to do a lot of research on the influencer and or the, outlet, the media outlet to really identify what their voice is. And you gotta also make sure that you allow room for trust. Because sometimes, you know, as a brand, it's really easy to say, well, this is our brand message. This is what we do. This is how we've always been doing it. But when you're entering into a new market, there there has to be some room for, flexibility to be able to let that person who would be at that point, subject matter expert in the culture to be able to connect it their way. And and and and have that connection in their way because that's where you know it's gonna be more authentic. Absolutely. And speaking about reaching people in an authentic way, whether it's influencers or media, talk to us a little bit more about how Italian wineries might engage with you and uncorked and cultured as a resource to expand their market in the US. Thank you for that. Well, it, you know, of course, doing an educational series is always part of it. Right? Doing some type of multicultural training is part of what we do in our business. But what we really focus on when it comes to connecting with the audiences is, experiences, you know, being able to, you know, host an a group experience, whether it's with influencers, for content capture, for storytelling, to have a story published on our platform, to just having consumers just, you know, come in and experience high end wine country for the first time. There's so many great opportunities. One thing that, we do do is we do have a YouTube channel that we focus on of an array of series. And, you know, a lot of them either focus on diversity or focus on, exploring unique wine regions or highlighting different up and coming and emerging wine talent. So there's always a great opportunity, right, to come up with, some content ideas around, engaging really niche consumers. Of course, consumers that travel, consumers, of of both Latinx and black, you know, black black heritage. But then also when it comes to women versus men, like, I feel like right now when it comes to Italian wines Yep. Yep. You know, women, a lot of women in America are drinking a lot of prosecco. And so sparkling, I think, is is something that I'm interested in. I would love to do a sparkling tour of Italy and be able to bring. Oh, yeah. That sounds like a blast. Our audience there and maybe even some of our celebrity friends to do something fun. Yeah. Well, awesome. That's Again, I think a lot of a lot of great ideas in here and and and some some great ways that our audience can engage with you as well. So, as we wrap up, we wanna end with our little quiz. So just to bring home some of the key points, Angela, you shared so much great information with us today. So just to kinda hit hit these points home, I'm gonna ask question a few questions. And if you can try to answer in in one sentence or less, I know these are are big questions, but just to give our listeners, a few key takeaways for for the episode today on on multicultural marketing. So first question, why should Italian wine producers make multicultural marketing a priority for the US market Diversity is good for business. So multicultural marketing will be a solution to the growth sustainability and cool factor of your business as you engage with more diverse audiences. Beautiful. I don't think anyone could have summed that up better in a in one sentence. That's fantastic. Number two, what types of Italian wines are most commonly consumed by black wine drinkers? Well, prossecco, prossecco, and prossecco. I will add to that, pinot grigio, Angel Vasy. I think is a good one, Kianti. And, you know, I'm starting to see an an increase of interest, in Barolo as well. Right. Fantastic. Alright. And finally, how can Italianuineries authentically connect with bi Pop consumers in the US. Taiwan wineries can authentically connect with consumers of color through ambassador programs, through working with wine professionals, through working with, media companies like uncork and culture, Of course, looking into the multicultural network, of influencers that exist that's constantly growing. But then also just taking the time to educate themselves on what the multicultural audience is in the United States. And that's something that will truly, captivate a, a level of first level of authenticity, is by doing the work and the resource the research, but then also making sure you're partnering with the right people that represent the culture you wanna tap into to authentically engage and then to also trust them. Absolutely. Fantastic. Thank you so much, Angela. This was an incredible conversation, and you shared so many important lessons for our audience, ideas, inspiration. So we really appreciate you taking the time to join us today. How can our our listeners find you? We could always go to Instagram, uncorked, and cultured, dot, on Instagram. And then, of course, our website, uncorked and cultured dot com. We're always putting some amazing content on our YouTube page. So definitely looking to grow that audience. And, I think it's probably the most fun way that you can engage with us is by watching the experiences that we've created and we've participated in. Awesome. Fantastic. Thanks again, Angela, for joining us today on the Italian wine podcast, and thanks to all our listeners for tuning in. Thank you for joining me today. Stay tuned each week for new episodes of Master Class US wine market with me, Juliana Colangelo. I remember if you enjoyed today's show, hit the like and follow buttons wherever you get your podcasts.