Episode 2531

Ep. 2531 Winemaking Journey from Mumbai to Napa with Priyanka French | Voices with Cynthia Chaplin

Voices

November 19, 2025

3092.8718

Priyanka French

Winemaking Journey

Episode Summary

**Content Analysis** **Key Themes** 1. **Breaking barriers as a woman and person of color** — French navigates isolation and imposter syndrome while establishing credibility in a traditionally exclusive industry, ultimately becoming a vocal advocate for systemic change. 2. **Resilience through crisis and innovation** — The 2017 and 2020 wildfires become catalysts for developing smoke taint mitigation strategies and fire prevention infrastructure, transforming disaster into knowledge-building opportunity. 3. **Mentorship as industry transformation** — French emphasizes how targeted mentorship and educational access (through Wine Unify and Bâtonnage) can address systemic barriers and create pathways for underrepresented communities. 4. **Authentic storytelling over tradition** — Moving beyond European-centric narratives and glamorized vineyard imagery, French connects with younger consumers by sharing real stories about labor, sustainability, and diverse cultural contexts. 5. **Integration of science, art, and sustainability** — French's background in food science informs her approach to precision viticulture, data-driven decision-making, and environmental stewardship at scale. **Summary** Priyanka French's journey from food technology in Mumbai to leadership positions at prominent Napa wineries demonstrates how passion-driven career pivots, combined with rigorous education and mentorship, enable breakthrough success in traditionally homogeneous industries. Her experience rebuilding Signorello Estate after the 2017 wildfires showcases innovative approaches to fire resilience, including sheep-based vineyard management and specialized barrel aging to address smoke taint. Currently at Napa Wine Company, French champions scalable sustainability and supports emerging winemakers. Beyond winemaking, her board roles with Wine Unify and Bâtonnage reflect her commitment to institutional change—securing nearly 400 educational scholarships for underrepresented minorities and fostering 2,500+ mentorship interactions. French articulates how authentic storytelling, diverse food pairings, and inclusive industry culture prove essential for engaging younger consumers and building a more equitable wine profession. **Key Takeaways** - Career transformation rooted in passion requires parental trust and clear communication; building a business case (French's PowerPoint presentation) can bridge cultural and generational gaps in decision-making. - Imposter syndrome is common but survivable when supported by peers and mentors; one month of persistence at UC Davis shifted French's trajectory from crushing self-doubt to academic success. - Fire resilience demands multi-layered solutions: infrastructure (fire pumps, non-flammable caves), land management (grazing animals, brush clearing), and scientific innovation (grape rinsing, ozone treatment, specialized cooperages). - Educational access and financial barriers are primary obstacles preventing diversity in wine; scholarships and mentorship programs directly address these systemic gaps. - Storytelling authenticity—sharing cut hands, personal struggles, and non-European cultural references—builds deeper consumer connections than conventional marketing. - Balancing ambitious career goals with early motherhood requires ongoing adaptation and institutional support; French models this tension honestly while building organizational cultures around people, not just products. **Notable Quotes** - "Don't think, just jump"—French's life philosophy that justified her career pivot from food tech to winemaking despite parental uncertainty. - "Wine can find a room on any table. The whole point of wine is to have conversations. It's a social impetus...meant to bring people together in community." - "Grapes don't care if you are a man or a woman"—illustrating how scientific rigor transcends gender, while acknowledging that industry culture and access barriers remain significant challenges. **Follow-up Questions** 1. How widely have other Napa wineries adopted French's smoke taint mitigation protocols (grape rinsing, ozone treatment, specialized cooperages), and what barriers prevent broader industry adoption? 2. What are measurable outcomes for Wine Unify scholarship recipients in terms of career advancement, retention, and leadership positions achieved within five years of completing certifications? 3. What specific organizational policies or industry-wide changes would enable winemaking professionals like French to integrate motherhood and early childcare without compromising career trajectory or wine quality standards?

About This Episode

Speaker 0 discusses their experience in the wine industry and their desire to pursue a career in wine, including their parents' support and confidence in their decision to pursue a career in wine. They also discuss their experiences with financial and mental reasons for their decision, including their father's success in physics and their own experience with women in wine. They emphasize the importance of finding good friends in the industry and finding good mentors. They also discuss their philosophy on fire mitigation and the challenges of creating winning wines and creating sustainable, organic, and green ways for their own brands. They emphasize the importance of expanding the scope of conversations and fostering inclusivity and sustainability in winemaking. They also discuss their organization's goal to provide educational opportunities for women in the wine industry and their efforts to foster a community for women in the industry. They emphasize the importance of learning and connecting with people, and emphasize the importance of expanding the scope of conversations and fostering inclusivity and community in the industry.

Transcript

It was something. It was frightening because I walked in and, you know, like you said, there was no one else that looked like me, and we had a tour of the facility, which was amazing. And at the end of it, they took us to Wixen Hall, which was the original winery at on Davis. And Chuck, who was the cellar master, pulled out, a couple of thieves and started tasting. And, you know, people were throwing out woods like Grenache and Tempranillo, and I never heard of those varieties. I mean, I knew Cabernet, Shiraz, and Chardonnay because that's all that was being written about in the magazines in India. So I went home pretty crushed that first evening because I was just like, what did I do? Welcome to the Italian wine podcast. I'm Cynthia Chaplin, and this is Voices. Every Wednesday, I will be sharing conversations with international wine industry professionals discussing issues in diversity, equity, and inclusion through their personal experiences working in the field of wine. If you enjoy the show, please subscribe and rate our show wherever you get your pods. Hello, and welcome to Voices. This is Cynthia Chaplin. And today, I am so excited to welcome Priyanka Dar French to Voices. In May, Priyanka was named general manager at Napa Wine Company and winemaker at Ghost Block Wines. She was named to wine enthusiast future 40 in 2023, and she is a vocal advocate for diversity and inclusion in the wine industry, which is why I love her. She serves on the board of directors for Wine Unify and is the mentorship program director for women in wine at Batonach. So I'm so happy to have you here today. Welcome. Thank you, Cynthia. I'm very excited to be speaking with you today as well. Well, first of all, you you are so young. You've done all this stuff. I feel ashamed of myself. Let let's get some backstory here. I know you grew up in Mumbai, and you got your bachelor's degree in technology and food science there. And you went to work for Nestle. And I don't see any wine in that story at all. So how did you get into wine and end up in California? It's actually you know, it's a funny story because I didn't grow up with wine. Wine was never a beverage of choice around me. So, sometimes I think back to how it all started and, you know, kind of just, one of my life mottos has always been don't think, just jump, and that's kind of how it happened. So when I started food technology and studying that, it was a relatively new field in India, and it was a time when India was starting to see a lot of foreign investment in that field. So, you know, big, multinationals like Unilever and, General Mills and Nestle, you know, you know, they were all coming in. Coca Cola had started a big manufacturing plant. So it was a kind of bustling field, and then that's how I got into it more for the love of the subjects than a real understanding of what the industry was. And, I worked at Nestle with chocolate, and that was fun, but just didn't feel, Yeah. I did quality control too. So I can't eat Kit Kat anymore because once you've eaten it fresh off the line, you just the whole unwrapping process, it just takes it away. But, I just, yeah, it it was fun, but it didn't feel like something I wanted to do for a life decision. And thereafter, all of the other opportunities and experiences I had just kind of felt a bit limiting. And one of the field trips that we did was to Sula Vineyards, which was which is currently one of the bigger wineries in India. And so a huge part of that experience was that we visited the winery during harvest. So I got to kinda see a little bit of the harvest action. You know, there was such a a wonderful aspect of being creative with the product and not just from a food engineering. Food engineering is really about streamlining and, you know, making a consistent product. And I think that's where, my lack of excitement lay was I just didn't wanna rinse and repeat, rinse and repeat. And so wine just seemed like something different and unique, and I just don't think just jump. I just jumped right into it. I love that. I think that's fantastic. I have to say tasting Kit Kats for a living doesn't sound like a bad job, but I can see where it would probably get a little boring after a while. And, you know, wine is never the same two years in a row, so I understand the attraction. It's it's great because you were the first Indian national to receive a master's of science in viticulture and enology from UC Davis in 2011, so pretty recently in the scheme of things. What was it like being a young female student from India at UC Davis, you know, fifteen years ago? It's not easy to, you know, sort of succeed and find your path when nobody else in the room looks like you. How how was it for you moving all the way there and and going through that? You know, when I when I left when I left home and I when I made this decision and I said, I'm gonna go in and do this, there was obviously a lot of excitement because it had been my choice, but, I didn't necessarily have the full support of my parents. So there was a bit of a stress of needing to kinda meet their expectations, which their expectations were whatever you do, just do it well. And that's kind of always been the mantra in my house as well. And so when I left the country and I kinda landed in The US, I was kind of brimming with excitement just at the unknown and the fact that I was on this journey of exploration and going to learn something completely new. And then when I got to Davis, you know, the campus is amazing. There's a wonderful history when it comes to the academia around the wine industry. You know, some of our the professors that I got to interact with are legendary in their field. You know, I was I was still there when professor Linda Besson was there and professor Roger Bolton and Andrew Waterhouse. So really kind of that amazing group of professors that helped define Davis. But my first day was, it was something. It was frightening because I walked in and, you know, like you said, there was no one else that looked like me. And we had a tour of the facility, which was amazing. And at the end of it, they took us to Wixson Hall, which was the original winery at on Davis. And Chuck, who was the cellar master, pulled out, a couple of thieves and started tasting. And, you know, people were throwing out woods like Grenache and Tempranillo, and I never heard of those varieties. I mean, I knew Cabernet, Shiraz, and Chardonnay because that's all that was being written about in the magazines in India. So I went home pretty crushed that first evening because I was just like, what did I do? Kinda young and impulsive. But my roommate said to me, she goes, I think you just owe it to yourself and to your parents to stick it out for a month. And if you can't, even and after a month, if you say I can't do it, then at least you've given it a real shot. And so I I thought I thought she had a point. And then the next day, we had our first classes, which was wine chemistry. Professor Sue Ebeler was known to be, you know, kind of a more stricter professor, and she was talking about molarity and chemistry, and I could follow along. And I just you know, that kind of sparked that, okay. I can do this. I think I know what's going on. And then I found wonderful people. One of, you know, one of my best friends through Davis, Emily Goodell, who now has a winery and, you know, is doing her own her business in Traverse City, Michigan, really took me under her wing. And I didn't have a car, so she would, you know, drive me around. We went to Napa together. She really helped me learn and explore about the industry. My other colleagues as well, Jose, Christina, you know, we found a really good community. And then the professors at Davis, I have to give them a huge nod. They were so supportive of whatever I needed to do, you know, helped with sending out emails when it was time for internships and scholarship applications. So I received a lot o