Ep. 1833 Pritha Casadevall | Voices With Cynthia Chaplin

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 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 happy to welcome Pritha Casa Duval to the show. She is the founder of Jakarta wine club series and the Jakarta wine festival in Indonesia. Which was the first wine festival in the region. So thank you so much for making the time to talk to us today. Hi, Cynthia. Hi, Pretha. It's so great to have you on the show, and I'm really excited to hear about what's going on in the wine world in Indonesia. So Let me ask you, how did you get started in wine? How did you get interested? When was that moment when you decided you wanted to make wine your career? Okay. It sounds very far in Tunisia. Right? I hope that you know where is this. I do. I do because my daughter in Singapore. So I spend a lot of time with Paris. Because usually people understand where it's Bali, but they don't really recall what is Indonesia. And then it seems like very further back on the map. Like Not for me. I'm good with Indonesia. So, I started becoming a wine enthusiasm. It seems about, I think, ten years back. And then it came the interest in wine just because we love traveling, me and my husband used to travel a lot. And then even until now as well. So it started from there. And then he used to like to drink only. It's like good wine. So it started from there. And then there must be a way for me once I give my my first born, I think, about eleven years ago. And then few years after that, and then we start traveling and all of that more than before, and then there must be a way for me to study it online. Not only me able to drink, but also really deep into study about, the theory and kind of that. So I took a little bit of it to the study about the WSTT in Singapore That's the first journey that I took. And then since two thousand and eighteen, after that, we went to London. And I found out that they have the WSTRFL three, and then I took another study there. So that's how it starts into the more, like, a deep understanding about wine. And then since the traveling, and then we love eating a lot, like, going to the restaurants and all of that. So back to Indonesia, at the time, we used to live in Valley. In Bangkok. And then I moved back again to Jakarta. And then in Jakarta, the food and beverage industry is a bit bigger and then so much different than in value, right, Bali Mork as well. But here where we live, it's like all the best restaurant is around our places and all of that. And then I got more advantages because my husband is working in a hospitality industry in hotels. So that's how it started. He needs some help to suggestion about the wine through his team in FNB restaurants and all of that. So I start helping him up there. And then, yeah, so I thought that why not I do something related in wine? One is helping your restaurants to promote. It's like maybe doing like a one or two simple dinner or wine tasting. Since then, from the small community of friends that we invited, it become regulars. And then those people, it's always, like, waiting to come to my tasting to the event and all that. That's how we started to have the Chakarta wine club series in two thousand and nineteen. Well, I love it when people come into wine through WSTT because I'm a WFMT educator. So I love Oh, wow. That people come and take those classes and get excited about it. So that's that's a great story. And it's so nice when you've got, you know, your husband is involved in restaurants. There's a lot of social and support, you know, between restaurants and wine. So it's nice that you're sharing that journey together. And the club is really fascinating. You said, you know, you founded the club in two thousand and nineteen, and you've already got four hundred and eighty members. So that's big growth in a very short amount of time. So tell us what the Chacarda wine club series is doing. You know, are you holding classes or are you just doing tasting events? How often do you get together? Let's hear about what you're doing. Okay. So as you know, like I said, that, when I started WSTTL for two and three, and then now I'm starting my diploma as well in Hong Kong, we all know who came from the background of WST This is not something that is very easy to digest. Right? It's something that is so rich to digest, and then this is not for everybody. And then mostly people here, they wanna learn about wine, but not in the environment of the classes business. And when I start doing my wine tasting back then two thousand and nineteen, and then it becomes very regular. And then I see the enthusiasm from people. They have the willingness to learn. And then how also in the process I'm also learning how to change the language, like, not to bring the language that we have been taught in the classroom, but need to give them the message that when they go back home after my wine test thing. They have the experience of making a new friendship, connections, and then also they have the pocket study about what they learned about the tasting, not only me as the wine leader during the event, only pouring the wine, but also we need to give them the education part in a way that is not in a class basis, but in a very casual environment, but then the knowledge is getting into that. I think that's how it started. People have very, you know, like, a different enthusiasm, and then they start looking forward for the second one, the third one, with the different topics. So that's how it is, like, how we can give a different environment in the teaching not like in a classes basis. And then even until now, I still, you know, like, trying to also give myself a big kind of a lesson, like, because everybody is not all of them that coming from professional industries. Some of them, they're just they have zero knowledge about wine. Some of them, they know some variety about wine, but they didn't know the how the process of making the wine. So how can we plan all of these people become one in one hour or two hours even. All of these, zone of people, we can blend them together. And then, yeah, we all have a good experience in wine and tasting. So that's how we started. I love what you're doing. That's it's very similar to what I try to do. It's part of why I do the podcast to make make why more accessible for more people. You know, it's it is the WSET system is a good way to learn, but it's very rigid. And as you said, not everybody wants to be in a classroom, and why does supposed to be fun. So it sounds like Jakarta wine club is a lot of fun. So let me just ask you, you know, what what is the wine scene like in Indonesia, you know, or in Jakarta in particular? You know, I know that Indonesia has a Muslim majority. So it it has to be sort of complicated for people who want to drink wine. You know, it seems the taxes went up a hundred and fifty percent just a couple years ago. So give me an idea of Dewine world in Indonesia. Who's importing? Who's drinking? What is it like there for people who are interested in wine? Are you enjoying this podcast? Don't forget to visit our YouTube channel, mama jumbo shrimp. For fascinating videos covering Stevie Kim and her travels across Italy and beyond, meeting winemakers, eating local foods, and taking in the scenery. Now back to the show. Yeah. So what we do now, since the door is already open and then I start making the wine club services become a company. And then now it became a part of our department to promote that the wine that we have in Indonesia that first. So the variety of people who dream wine here is so viable from those who drink premium wine. We have a lot of big collectors. As you know, that lots of Indonesian also they're based in Singapore. And then they've been taught, and they've been experienced a lot of exposure about wine in the world. They even have a big seller, like, you know, the bank of seller, the biggest one in Singapore, mostly owned by Indonesian. Those that category as a wine collector, we have a lot of them here. We also have the new generation, the childrens of these collectors, which is the parents who used to go collect. And then, you know, they have a seller everywhere. They become the collector of all the First Grove one, like on premium. They always be the client of the on premium. And then these kids, the second generation, those who really wanna drink wine, they only been taught by the parents of drinking a good wine, but they didn't know that we have a lot of medium kind of a wine because the kids when they go to the restaurants and all of that, although the parents been spoiling them with all the good wine that they have at home. But when they go to the restaurant start buying wine and then go down. And then how we can give them the experience, like, okay, you drink the good wine at home, but when you go out with your friends and then you go out with your girlfriend and whatsoever, you're not gonna treat them with the first growth that we have in Bordeaux. For example, it's like that. But what kind of variety that they can match in between, not really bad, not really good, but in between. So there are a lot of the second layer of that people like that here. And then the last one, there's also a lot of people who are really willing to seek a new you know, environment about wine because they know that wine here is kind of a luxury. One is true because it's very expensive. One hundred and fifty percent of a tax, it's super expensive. Things that you can buy in euro for five dollars. Here, it could be, or another thirty five. And that maybe if you buy in retail, that could be thirty five. If it's already going to the restaurant, it's another twenty one percent. So wine here is very expensive. It's for a luxury. But there are also why there is entry level that is good. For example, those that is coming from, New World, Australia, Chile, and all of that is more affordable here in Indonesia. But this generation, the third generation, they didn't know which one to choose. Because when they go to the restaurants, they always face an issue. They will ask the sommelier and all of that. Can I have wine and all of that? Of course. The first thing that's familiar that has been taught by the distributor or or producers during their life of the working, they haven't been gone to WOC and all of that. First thing they always recommend here must be the most expensive one. So it's a big gap between those excitement of learning with the youngest society here. And when they wanna go to their retail shop or to FNB segmented items, they always been faced with this kind of issues. So the gap is very high. That's why where we are right now is trying to accommodate them, giving them more confidence. Okay? We give you a little bit of knowledge here and there, here, and there. Once you go back again to the restaurants or to the retail shop. At least you have a little bit of the basic understanding what you can choose and then at least the variety and so on. That's how we can have. These three boutiques and importer also is a lot. We became Jakarta one five series. We became their bridges into the customer as well, especially during the festival that we did last year. They're about ten big importance of Indonesia, big wine merchant here. Yeah. So we become we're getting along very well. Yeah. That's great. It's so good to hear this and that you're encouraging, you know, a younger generation and new generation to try aren't necessarily a premium wine. It's, it's important to build that up so that these young people who don't have a lot of money right now, they will have more money later. It's good for them to to start learning about wine and what they can afford now and building up their palette. So you mentioned festival. Let's talk about that. So just last year, twenty twenty three, you know, in end of August, you launched the Jacart wine festival, and it really was the first big wine event in Indonesia. So What gave you the idea? You know, how many wines did you show and were they from all over the world? You know, tell us a little bit about this festival. What went on there? So, actually, it's come from my experience. Since seven years ago, I tried to go to some of the wine exhibition. For example, it's like, Pro wine and then fine export. I was in fine export two thousand and nineteen during the closure, the one in Bordeaux. And then I have always having this kind of a little dream, and then I talked to my team and all of that. After all of the wine testing wine dinner that we did regularly, one so we can all of that. So even during the COVID, we haven't been stopped, Cynthia. Like, we did our Zoom classes. We sent our the wine that we're going to have in Zoom right away to the customers. So once the government releasing that lockdown, our member is not getting a lot more because what we did during the lockdown, we got a lot of people who really, seeking the knowledge about mine. So it started, after the pandemic, and then we see a lot of enthusiasm when people are willing to go to my event, instead of we have integrity, it becomes sixty. And then when we are having only once a week even, it becomes two times in a week's event. So things like that. And then those that we usually knock the door from one big restaurant to the other, hey, would you like to make an event and all of that? They're the one who came from us. So we see that the growing of the excitement of people. Since then, we even work with a lot of lifestyle media, for example, it's like Prestis, if you see to if you go to my Instagram, our Instagram, there's a lot of footage that we are collaborating with lifetime magazine and all of that. Since that I share my thought to the team, how about we do something when not only thirty, forty, or sixty people can go to our event, but a lot more than that, instead of the tasting five or six wine, they can taste lots of wine that we have here in Indonesia. We have about ten distributors and important big as our friend who always supporting our event. How about we bring them all of them together in one event two or three days, and then we see how many people can go and and how this experience can go and that. So at first, we are very debating because when it comes into the one exhibition, usually is b two b, like, industrial to industrial people. Right? There's lack of door that can be open for people, like, a newcomer of wine, lover. They have those access. For example, like, I was in, fine Explola here in Singapore. So every time we would like to go to the booth first thing that these people is seeing is like your tech, like, are you coming from this company or that company? They're not really welcoming. So, and that's one thing that I said to my team. Let's just make one small event. It's like a festival of wine. Don't make it in the ballroom and all of that. So let's do it in mall when people is always gonna be there and all of that. Let's collaborating with a lot of people, not only wine. How about we bring something else that can relate it into wine. For example, maybe art, like painting and all of that, like, see how many people can work and collaborate with us. That's how it started. And then suddenly, one of the biggest more, which is everybody in the southern part of Karta going there right now, they agree to do this collaboration. And then from that small idea, it's become very, you know, like, excitement, it come from many different cut of the parties. Like, the arts dealer is that exciting to join our collaboration. And then a lot of media people are also excited to join. Yeah. So that's how we started Cynthia. For a very small dream. I I love what you said about You you said you didn't wanna do it in a big fancy ballroom. You wanted to do it in a shopping mall because it just made it so much more comfortable for people who don't know much about wine, who aren't in the industry, and they could come and taste. So how many wines did you have to be tasted during the festival? So we brought all the importers. There are about, so the beginning, standalone. We have, like, tenfold also joining. Six big importers also joining. There's even three Indonesian wine also because, getting along of the preparation. I said also to the team, let's bring not only the international player. It's like this important friends. We also need to exposure some of the local wine that we have here. Because as we know, many people is still very judgmental about the local wine here in Indonesia. Sadly, those people who consume the local wine, for example, Sababay from Bali and then Hatton wine from Bali as well, is mostly is the foreigners. Our people, like Indonesian people, they always think very little value about this wine. So they're very judgmental. Give them opportunity to learn about the wine. You know, it's the same, like, when you go into Italy, you're not gonna have the house wine coming from Australia. Right? So you will love to learn about your local wine, for example. So, yeah, we bring the local wine as well, and then they become very big over there as well. And then the boots was amazing. And then they have also wine that meats from fruits of Salak, Have you seen a salad? The fruit? Yes. I didn't know you were making an alcoholic beverage from it though. Yeah. We also just, yeah, like I said, like in the process of doing this festival, we're opening so many doors, and then we just find out that there's wind meat of different fruits, for example, like Sala. And then also turns out all of this local wine, the quality is amazing. And then, yeah, it's become very, very big kind of things instead of doing it two days. And then the mall insisted, why not you doing it four days? So, yeah, well, we finally did four days. So it's about five thousand people in total. And then all the importers, they're doing very well. They sell a lot and then all the revenue is back. So, yeah, it becomes, one of the thing that from those small king, and then it becomes, something that can people remember. So we plan also to doing it this year. So hopefully, it works well. It's gonna be my next question. Is there gonna be a jakarta wine festival in twenty twenty four? Yes. It is. It is. But I don't think we're going to do it in a mall, but my game, it's like I wanna do it in for a full week, but probably, bringing all the FNB industry. Like, There are big groups of our restaurants here in Jakarta. So probably we're gonna move from one place to the other. So trying to do it like that. So a lot more people also can have more access to try the wine and the food and all of that. So hopefully, we can do that also and be here. And then still, I'm working a lot with special needs kids. So we give them opportunity to join, for example, like last year, in terms of art, we collaborate with a lot of kids who have a special needs. So they are also an artist, a painter, and all of that. So we give the master class a good opportunity for them also to give, like, a painting with one with these special needs kids. So, yeah, it becomes, really, really, really excited for all of us. Also, we learn that this, we can give our bridges and help also to collaborate with these kind of special needs people. This sounds so exciting. I I love it when wine reaches out and touches other people. You know, it's one of the oldest beverages in the world, and it's lovely to hear that you're using the wine festival as a platt form to to reach out to special needs kids and to get people, you know, to be seen and to be heard. It's that's so great. Wine is a wonderful way. As you say, to build bridges and things like that, I can't believe that you're going to do a movable wine festival. I am in a organizer. And so I know how much work these things taste. And if you're gonna be moving your wine festival around Jakarta for a week, I think I'm gonna have to come and see this in in motion. We would love to, I think, because the mall here also about the, you know, we are always have a problem with license and all of that. Like, but it's not a big issue, which is we are also doing the kind of festival here similar like wine, but that's for more industrial. So we wanna have less problem in terms of license and all that, but more opportunity for people also can come into our festival. So for example, like last time when we did the wine festival, only those who can come to the boots, it's people twenty one years old and above. So like, if the parents came with the children, the children need to wait aside and things like that. So we we're trying not to give those kind of experience again. We want a lot more people also have opportunity come to our event. So if we're doing it in, for example, like, in FNB, restaurants, and all of that or hotels, with the restaurants, we're not gonna face the same problem again. So it's just giving more platform to people to come. Yeah. And I think events are always like this. You you learn something new with every event that you do. So I want to wish you all the luck for the next one. I'm so excited about everything you're doing. It's wonderful to hear. That there's such a vibrant wine scene in Jakarta, and that there is wine being made in Indonesia. I've had Bali wine. I've had Isola wine and Hatton wine. So there is some amazing volcanic soil out there. There's all sorts of interesting things going on, and I'm glad see that you're celebrating that. So thank you so much for coming on today, Preeth. It was such a pleasure. Thank you, Cynthia. And hopefully, next year, you're going to come and visit us. Why not? You will become our guest speaker or doing one of our master class. That would be amazing. Why not? I'd be delighted. Thank you for listening and remember to tune in next Wednesday when I'll be chatting with another fascinating guest. 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