Ep. 1787 Shakera Jones | Masterclass US Wine Market With Juliana Colangelo

The Italian wine podcast is the community driven platform for Italian winegeeks around the world. Support the show by donating at italian wine podcast dot com. Donate five or more Euros, and we'll send you a copy of our latest book, my Italian Great Geek journal. Absolutely free. To get your free copy of my Italian GreatGeek journal, click support us at italian wine podcast dot com, or wherever you get your pots. 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 in 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. So sharpen your pencils, get out your notebooks, and join us each week to learn more about the US market. Hello. Welcome to Mass class US wine market. Today, I'm thrilled to welcome Shakura Jones of Black Girls Nine two to the Italian One podcast. Black Girls nine two is a lifestyle brand, blog, and social media space that serves as a guide to the world of high end food and wine. Shekure's welcoming teaching style and warm personality allow people to learn about wine and cuisine together no matter their knowledge or experience. Welcome to the social security. It's so great to have you here. Oh, I'm blessing after that intro. Thank you. I'm glad to be here. Of course. Of course. And it's good to be back here in New York with you Shakira back on the East Coast. So excited for that. Welcome back. Thank you. Thank you. So, Shakira, before we dive into today's discussion, and we're really gonna talk about, you know, getting wine to more experiences and more events. Tell us a little bit more about your background and your trajectory and what led you to launch Black Girls two. Wow. I often think about stuff today. Like, how did I get here? That Blackgirlstein two actually started, like, back in two thousand three, two thousand four, where, you know, I grew up in the era of sex and the city, and we wanted to go to all these fancy restaurants that, well, the women at the time, sex and the city were going to, but we were on collegiate and new grad money. Right. I know that feeling. So we would do it, like, once a month, and we would go out and get dressed up. And we couldn't really afford wine, but we we was really cool to go to these places and try different cuisine. And over time of doing it, I just noticed that, like, and again, I'm gonna context it that this is two thousand three I'm talking about. I'm embarrassed to say twenty years ago, but put it in context where it wasn't really common to see a lot of people that looked like me in higher end restaurants, you'd maybe see them in a hostess role or kind of in a bus or role, but not really at the promenas that you see them now, where their GMs, their Psalms, their all of it. Like, it's beautiful to see And so I just started writing about my own experiences, like, hey, we're here too, and we like things like this too. And, you know, that went through the era of meetup dot com. I had a big dining group on meetup dot com, and then it just evolved. What happened to meetup dot com? Is it sorted? I don't know. I don't know that. It was fun. It was great. It was a great way, you know, making new friends as an adult is a challenge. So, you know, I thought it was a great way to, like, get people to meet up and stuff. So it went through that. And then, you know, the I got older and started making a little more money and could afford a little nicer restaurants, and then I could actually afford food and wine at the same time because at one point. It was one or the other. And I've always been a person, you know, I've had different careers where I've traveled to work. So eating by myself or dining out by myself was always something that was pretty cool to me, and I'm pretty social. So I talked to the bartender. I talked to the Psalm. And over time, they'd start, you know, pouring different glasses for me and telling me these stories, and I'm really a nerd. So the more I heard about these stories and these grapes and all of that, I started diving into that, and then along came Instagram, and I just started Instagram to really take people on my journey into wine as well. You know, I started off like everyone else, Central American and Caribbean, so we did not grow up with wine on the table. So my Instagram page originally kinda took people not only where I ate, but on my wine journey as well as I studied and learned more and met cooler people and tasted. And then the World Wayne Topsy Turvey and, here we are, you know. So Topsie Turvey is one way to put it. Right? To put it. Yeah. But I'm really grateful for the opportunities that presented itself to me and you know, you stay ready so that you don't have to get ready so that when opportunity knocks, you're ready to open the door. And, it's been amazing. I'm really, really grateful for all the opportunities. And Shikir, that was a great back run, but you're being a humble because you didn't mention some of the amazing things you're doing. You're working with Tom TV as your own podcast host. Correct? Yes. Like, last for every palette. Season three will be back, in a couple months, actually. Oh, can't wait. Awesome. And you just spoke at the unified conference on the same topic we're talking about today about getting wine into more experiential events, and you do all this while maintaining a full time day job. So I'm just continually impressed by everything you're accomplishing and that you've done for the wine industry over the last twenty years since you first started. Yikes. Thank you. Yikes. Yikes. Yikes. Holy cow. So, Shakira, you know, it's February. We just are coming off the heels of the Super Bowl, one of the biggest entertainment events in the US and the world, probably, and even bigger now that, you know, Taylor Swift involved and whatever. But we wanna talk about how do we get consumers introduced to wine through entertainment? How do we, quote unquote, put the Vino back in bottle service and get wine into more of these large scale experiential, I've event. So the three key takeaways for today's master class and what we really wanna dive into with you are number one, how can the wine industry as a whole better infiltrate entertainment occasions, whether that's, you know, making it more popular to drink wine when you're watching football game or other occasions. Number two, what entertainment channels offer new opportunities for wine and ways to reach new consumers. We know that's a challenge we're constantly facing as an industry as a whole. And then finally, how do brands authentically and effectively tap into new opportunities? That's, you know, a big part of the work you do is making wine, you know, relatable and introducing to new audiences, but I also wanna make sure we talk about how brands can do that in an authentic and an effective way. So Back to Unified. Shakira, you just came back from Sacramento a couple weeks ago to talk about this topic. So you had a really great panel with the founder of Baumal Rock and the SVP at La Crema talking about all things experiential. Tell us a little bit more about that panel and what you all focused on. So the approach that I took to it was really looking at, like, who, what, when, where, why. Right? Because I think that we need to, as an industry, look at things holistically. I think that in any business model, you know, you kind of look at sales as the definitive benchmark of success. And what that conversation really unfold is that that's not always an efficient metrics to look at what success looks like. So the who is everyone the when is now. The what and why is where we spent a lot of time. So I think that it's very easy to look at any industry when you wanna say we wanna broaden the space and you wanna make it more approachable and more accessible. It's very easy to look at it and be extremely performative. Right? Like, okay. So I'm gonna do this with black people, this with this many people, this with women, this with Asian, you know what I mean? And that doesn't really take you anywhere. There's no fundamentally organic relationship that you build with consumers then. And so what we took away from the panel was, you know, you have to meet people where they are. You know, bottle rock began with, I think, they had one or two wine brands, even though they were in Napa. And now they've experienced, like, a forty percent increase in the amount of wine consumed at this event. And all they did was bring more wine to where people already were. Wow. So you were already at this festival. You were already enjoying yourself you were making connections to these great memories with artists that you love, with people that you love, and now you've just added wine to that. So if only beer were offered, you do the same thing, right, which is why beer is so common that you have beer anywhere. But once you start putting wine into those spaces, you know, La crema has done it with the LGBTQIA plus community where they have consistently showed up at these events. Just like, hey, we're here. They've also done a series of other pop up events at the Kentucky Derby at the Preakins where you're just somewhere where people already have alcohol as a part of what they're doing. So there was intention behind what they did, and what we took away was both people in leadership position also just took a chance on it. They didn't know it would be successful. They just said why not? You know, and sometimes that's the question where we look at things like, well, why are we doing this? What do we get from it? And sometimes the question is just, why not? And that both La Cremma, Jackson family as a whole and Obama Rock have found extreme success with the amount and the diversity of the groups that they've been able to now bring into the fold that now recognize their brand. Right? It's not sales at the event, but when I go shopping three weeks later, I'll remember this wine that I had at this event, and maybe I've developed a new relationship now with this brand. Right. Exactly. So I think that's a key point is that you have to look at the KPIs differently when you're investing in experiential marketing and events and that you're not always seeing a dollar for dollar return right away. But it's a longer term investment to build the brand and to get it into the mind share of new audiences. Absolutely. We also have to look at it from a point of, like, I love wine education. Again, I fell in love. With a lot of wine about the stories, but everyone isn't like that. And I, you know, I raise the point of like Probably most people aren't. I'm gonna argue. Oh, yeah. Yeah. If you ask the average Tito drinker, how's vodka made? What's used in vodka. If you ask the average bourbon or cognac drinker, what's in that? How's it made? No one knows, and no one cares. They like it. They just like to drink it. What they know is that they enjoy this beverage. When it's there, they've got their cocktail that they're gonna order. And I don't think we should strip the education from wine. I just think time and place. If I'm at a Brooklyn Nets game, and I just wanna grab a glass of wine, and I have four options. I don't need the tech sheet about the wine. I don't need to know, was this a coal soap fermentation? How long was this in barrel? I I don't need to know all of that in that moment. Right. That information should be available to me. But what I wanna remember is that amazing night that I had at a basketball game. When the mets won what I was drinking. Totally. And that's gonna be forever etched in that memory. And now too, I mean, there's so many ways that digitally you can share information without having to have the same six foot table set up with the tech sheets on the table printed out. No one wants it anymore. I mean, you can put a QR code on a sign. And if someone wants more information, right, they can get it, but it shouldn't be the way that you're necessarily selling the wine in the context of a basketball game. Correct? I mean, we have to start stop treating consumer events, like, a trade event. Correct. And, I mean, even that, like, you know, this the people that usher you into things are different now. We have YNet Formula One racing now. It's a different type of ambassador. Right? Like trade that's going to write for a publication. They're speaking to a different audience, and it's probably the audience that is already engaged in wine. That group is all you've already got them. You just gotta keep feeding that passion, feeding them something new, feeding them what you're excited about. But for everybody that's new, like who and where are the people that are gonna be their liaisons. You know what I mean? Who's the person that they're gonna trust or who are the people or what's the time or the place where they're gonna trust you embarking them on this journey. And it's gonna be somewhere where they're already comfortable and someone's already enjoying what they're doing. So You know, I I think that it it's really just a mindset shift. And, like, if you want people to get excited about wine the way we all are, then find a place that they're already excited about and put wine there. Yeah. I think that's a really, really great point. It's less about, you know, we've for so long industries come to our tasting room in Napa, and that's just not accessible for most people. And even for those that live in the Bay Area, it might not be accessible. So instead taking the opposite approach of going to the consumer, like you said, Shakira meeting them where they are, they're already relaxing, they're already in the mindset of spending money and having a night out and meet them in that space. So I think that's it's just a really important tactic for more brands to take on. Some clearly already have, but for more more wine brands to really start investing in that space. So, you know, we just are coming off a big Super Bowl weekend. But what are some other arenas, Shakira, that you think are opportunities where wine can meet the consumer where they are in the entertainment industry? Italian wine podcast. Part of the mama jumbo shrimp family. I think we need to look beyond that. Right? So in entertainment now, you're seeing the rise in women that are interested in sporting events, you know, soccer or football, depending on where you're from. Those are highly European sports. There's no reason that wine shouldn't organically be there. Right? You have more women involved in this partnering with you know, NFL women or NBA women or all of those things where there are already affinity groups for these things that opportunity is there. Also, wine is and is more so becoming social capital. There are so many conferences that happen all around the countries that are prime opportunities for both just introduction and education and different groups. You have multiple women in business conferences. You have the National Society for Hispanic MBA, the National Association of Black Engineers. Essence is one of the largest music festivals in the United States. These are all very easy places for wine to show up and add value to these experiences. You need only be intentional about it. Right. And when you say be intentional, secure, let's dive into that. I'm a little bit more about what you mean about that. I think it can't be lip service. Right? You can't say that you want to expand the world of wine. I think people need to be honest. Some people really don't. There are some groups that like their level of wine, their expertise, the people that they drink and enjoy with, they have no interest in bringing in anyone new because they're not really gonna respect your view on it until you've been doing some things for years and all that. And that's just not the group that you wanna be in. But I think that exists everywhere. Right? You have car enthusiasts that are very niche. They only do this. I don't think if you love Burgundy that way, then that's fine. But you have to be intentional about I don't know where the next generation of my consumers is, not even generation. I don't you know, you have to have longevity. People die. I mean, I hate to sound morbid about it. Who's gonna be next? Who's gonna be next? Like, so you have to be intentional about, like, do I wanna decide who the next group is, or do I just wanna cast a really, really wide net and let everyone know that, hey, this is something out there that's new. This is something that you can share with your friends, you can share with your clients. You can develop a new affinity too and just see who bites. And I think that that's the thing. We we are sometimes there's this hyper focus of like, oh, I'm gonna do these kinds of things because these people have already shown they love it. Well, what about everyone else? Totally. Yeah. It's a really good point. And I think, you know, when you say co cast a white net, maybe some listeners are thinking, well, you know, I don't have a multi million dollar budget. But I think I wanna, you know, you you touched on some types of events that I wanna make sure our listeners understand. You could start small. Right? I mean, you mentioned professional associations like an MBA group. You know, that's not an event that's gonna cost you any more than a couple thousand dollars to show up and pour some wine at. You know? So I I think we also wanna make sure we're communicating, you know, that these events don't have to require multimillion dollar budgets. You don't have to be placing an ad on the Super Bowl. Oh. You know, there's a lot of other ways to start getting wine into new spaces. Right? And also respecting the value of other people doing your work for you. You know, not at the level of a brand ambassador, but I think that people still have a bit of a stigma when it comes to influential marketing or content creation, and I think that they are missing the ball, even in, you know, the directives that you give. If you tell everyone, hey, just take this picture and say these bullet points about the wine, start letting people engage the audiences and the communities that they've built organically in the way that they want to. You know, like, I have the privilege of going to so many amazing wine dinners and stuff, which is very true to my brand. But every time I post something, I get a bunch of responses of people that say, oh my god. Why didn't you tell me about this event? I would have totally bought tickets. That is an opportunity there. I think media dinners and lunches are important, but consumers are happy to pay for experiences like this. So if you can't get them out to Italy, you can't get them out to Napa. You can't get them out to Champagne. You can bring your house, your chateau, your domain. You can bring your wine and present it exactly how you want in these groups that want that attention, but you're just not giving it to them. Absolutely. I think that's a really, really important point. And like you said, letting other people like yourself and other people that have spheres of influence and reach different consumers, be your partners, and work with you as opposed to, like you said, just kinda telling you what to post, but let you work together with the brand to come up with a strategy that you know will resonate with your audience because it's your audience. It's an audience you've cultivated for twenty years. And I think that's a really important point for you know, the listeners to take away here too is that when it comes with working with an influencer with a brand ambassador, really work with them strategically and understand the knowledge they have about their own audience. It's a true partnership, and that's where its success you know, and I've worked closely with a lot of brands and those are the ones that you found the most success where it's like you fallen in love with our brand. You get the ethos of it. Tell your community that story. You know, like, and that's where intention comes in and trust, you know, like Right. You've been trying to do it for years and you're not doing it, then maybe you need to listen to somebody that is already tapped in. You know, Germaine Stone does an amazing who would have thought that, like, you could take hip hop to, a chateau in in France and have an all night hip hop party. You know what I mean? If you listen to everyone else, they would say that's not possible. That's not what a Chateau is. There has to be some well, who said that? Mhmm. Exactly. Who who told you that was impossible? Yeah. You know, who said look at the world class wine program now that's at Barclays. Who said that nobody wants wine at a basketball game? Numbers don't lie sometimes. You know? Exactly. Exactly. And, you know, we spoke about, you know, parties at Chateau's. We spoke about sports games, and we talked about professional networks. What do you think about festivals. Like, you know, that's obviously where we're seeing huge concentrations of younger consumers, whether it's coachella or Firefly, you name it. There's so many music festivals now that happen. Globally? Do you think there's more of an opportunity in those arenas? Because I think in this experiential event space, we also wanna be careful about maybe going to places where wine just logistically doesn't work. Of the type of event, or it's not a good fit. But what's your take on on music festivals and the opportunity for wine? I mean, I love music festivals, everybody that follow me knows. I know. That's why I asked you this question. I'm an edm girl all the way. I think that We don't know where it's not appropriate or where it doesn't fit. Like logistically is one thing. Right? If you can't keep it cold in the middle of the desert or some crazy thing like that, that's one thing. But you won't know what works. I mean, think about gov ball in New York, huge music festival. As soon as you get through the gates, there's aperol spritzes. There's all of the and it's not just that they're there. They're a part of the experience. There's a photo booth there. And I know that that might be a budget issue, but it has to be something memorable. Like, if you're just gonna have a booth and somebody pouring wine, and as they're pouring, they tell you this is twenty percent shortening, eighty percent that's not gonna work. That's not interesting. You know what I mean? You have to adapt the presentation. Adapt the presentation of it. Like, yes. Maybe pouring big bariolos at music festival in the middle of the summer where everyone is scorching hot is not a good idea. But you could certainly pour Rose there. Couldn't you? Absolutely. You could certainly pour a really good and refreshing white wine or or sparkling wine there. So I think that there's time and place, and it needs to make sense. But one of the key things that we talked about is you don't know what won't work. Like, what if it does? And I think that we operate a lot of times in the industry, and a lot of it is budget restrictive, but it's probably why we see the differences between wine and spirits. Spirits, obviously, has much larger budgets. But when you see them show up at something, like people have a photo from the booth that they went there, and that photo every time they look at it, whether they thought about that brand or not, it's there. Right. Exactly. You know, so I think that at all these festivals, of course, there's an opportunity to organically do it. But again, you have to, one, want to be intentional, like, getting that consumer base that attends that festival, looking at the demo of who attends it, you have to be intentional. You have to actually want to engage them. And if you actually want to engage that group, then you're gonna reach out to people that can tell you about that group. Right? What do they enjoy? What do they want? What are they eating? Like, what's the energy here? If I wanted to present this here, what do you think I need? If you're not open to those dialogues, then you're just gonna keep kind of going in the blind. Right? And you're gonna show up at these festivals with no idea of what the actual ethos of the festival attendees, like what it embodies, and you're gonna present your wine the way you want to as opposed to the way that fits best for that place. I think y would be greater. I would love some Rose at music festivals. Why not? Me too. Why not? For sure. Exactly. But I think she cared one thing I wanna just repeat that you said that I think so important is being intentional. And listen to the people that know the audience. So don't try to go in and do, you know, do what you do at trade bickiarity or slow wine. It's not gonna work, and you're gonna waste a lot of money and resources. So being intentional, think about an experience at your booth or whatever the format is that's gonna serve the right audience and hire the people and the consultants that you need to to make it a success. I think that's key. If you don't know this market, if you've never been to that music festival, you shouldn't be the one to be designing the experience. You should be relying on the people that Right. There's tons of professionals out there in the agency space, in the influencer space like yourself, or even people that actually host these events that you can turn to to partner with to really get into these events and festivals. And I think that that's a really, really critical piece. And I'll say I was at burning mail last year as so many of you know, and there were wine tastings. People were setting up wine tastings. So, you know, if they can make it happen at Burning Man in the middle of the desert, they can happen anywhere. It's also trust. Right? As a brand, as a producer, as a distributor, you have to be interested in creating these relationships with other people. Right? Like, it's February. So between Valentine's Day and Black History Month will speak from my own experience. I mean, I had brands reaching out to me on January twentieth to do a campaign. No. You know, the answer's no. Because you don't really care about this. You now feel compelled to do it because you wanna be performing it, but that's not the way to do it. You know, you gotta really come to people like, listen. There are young professionals right now in tech, in law, in engineering that meet with partners, that meet with clients. If you met them where they're already gathering this network event and you threw a little bit of wine in there, and you talk to them about, hey, listen. The next time you're sitting down, let me give you this quick one zero one or better yet, taste these wines, and let us sign you up for a classic. Let's have a dinner after this at some point. Where we can really dive into these wines. I mean, those are opportunities right there where it's mutually beneficial. Right? You're getting to put your wine in front of new consumers, and they're getting a bit of education and access out of it. That's a mutually beneficial dynamic. That works. Absolutely. Yeah. Now I totally agree. I mean, there's so much value add and information that professionals want from people who know wine. Right? And they are your prime consumer too. And a lot of times, also, they have wine clubs. Columbia business school has a wine club, and I'm sure many of the other business schools do too. So does every law school here. Right? Exactly. Cornell, NYU. They have hospitality schools. You know, why isn't there a wine event? Like, forget trade tasting. All of these people in school for hospitality. Why don't you have something for them? Why aren't we offering that? You know, like, there are so many missed opportunities where it's just creative thinking. And active listening. You know, like you have your ideas, but how many of your ideas are originating within the industry? How are you stepping out? How are you expanding that circle? And that falls back into intention? You have to wanna do this. Yep. Absolutely. Well, so much valuable information, Shakira, that you're sharing with our listeners. This has been really great. But as we wind down for every episode, we do of Master ClassWise Market, I liked to ask our guests the same three questions and a little rapid fire quiz since this is a master class. So if you can do your best to answer in a couple sentences, please. What is your number one tip for mastering the US wide market? Drake more. You know, I think that you might be introduced if you were introduced through a Napa wine, drink from somewhere else in California, drink from Washington, drink from Oregon, like everything that you like, if you like a grape, drink it from everywhere, never be limited. So where you start is not where you ends. Love that. What is something you might have told your younger professional self about being a influencer and blogger in the wine space? That's not your life. I think it's really easy to tell yourself that your thoughts and opinions and perspective only matter to you, but you have no idea how many people are eager to learn about a topic or hear about something or experience something and your voice is exactly what they're looking for. So trust that there's value in your voice, your experience, and your perspective. I love that. Value in your voice. Absolutely. And then finally, we all travel a lot in this industry or just talked about going to music festivals and events. What is your favorite travel hack when you're on the road? Moisturize your skin. Oh, yeah. Moisturize your skin and your body. Like, drinking water is so, you know, as much as people see a string. They're like, how? I'm like, I drink at least a gallon of water a day regularly. That's amazing. I'm impressed. So when I say moisturize moisturize from the inside and out, you'll drink and enjoy wine a lot more if you're not you know, sloshed by the third glass. Absolutely. Great great tip. Not just for traveling, but just in general, drink drink water. Let's all hydrate. Drink water. Let's all hydrate. Well, Shakira, thank you so much for joining me today on Master Class US Y Market on the Italian Y podcast. How can all our listeners follow along with what you're up to? You can follow me. It is Black Girls nine two t o o on Instagram. It's the same thing on Twitter, but and on TikTok, but I'm most active on Instagram. And my blog is w w w dot black girls92 dot com. We are currently relaunching and going to have our newsletter start going out in March again about where to eat what to drink and what to do in New York City and everywhere else that I'm somehow finding myself. Amazing. Now that I'm back in the city, I'll definitely be subscribing if I'm not already. And thank you again, Shakira, for being here today. We're so great to have you. Thank you so much for having me. This was awesome. Thank you for joining me today. Stay tuned each week for new episodes of Master Class US wine market with me, Juliana Colangelo. And remember if you enjoyed today's show, hit the like and follow buttons wherever you get your podcasts.