Ep. 2096 Lucia Palm | Voices with Cynthia Chaplin

Carrying what I learned where you wouldn't know unless you worked in a restaurant, you just wouldn't know these little tips and tricks, which you can carry into your everyday life. And then the fact too that I just find is really high quality wines and affordable price. Who wants to be the next Italian wine Ambassador? Join an exclusive network of four hundred Italian wine ambassadors across forty eight countries. Vineetly International Academy is coming to Chicago on October nineteenth is twenty first. And while Mati Kazakhstan from November sixteenth to eighteenth. Don't miss out. Register now at Vineeti dot com. 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 me Cynthia Chaplin, and today I'm so happy to welcome Lucy of Palum to voices. Lucy is a certified sommelier living in LA, and she spreads wine joy on TikTok and Instagram. She's a graduate of College State Institute of America, and she was recently named one of wine enthusiasts top ten social media accounts to follow. So thank you very much for joining us today, Lucia. Great to meet you. Yeah. You too, Cynthia. Thank you for having me. Well, it's funny because when you first started out, you were really a foodie person, not a wine person. So us how you got into wine? Yeah. So I got into wine when I took a wine class at the Culinary Institute of America. And I was twenty at the time and, you know, I just thought, oh, cool. I get to drink during class, but I actually really fell in love with it. And I just loved how different grades tasted differently where they grew and just like there was just so much to learn and I really delve into it. And when I really decided I wanted to pursue wine was when, we went to a restaurant on campus, and I experienced a wine pairing for the first time. It was a chocolate lava cake. Paired with a breakfasto de aquis and I just fell in love with how well it worked and how the wine made the cake taste better and the cake made the wine taste better. So Well, that's an amazing pairing. It's it's funny because not many people have heard of Bracatta Diacque outside of Italy, which is a a red sparkling wine that's sweet. So perfect pairing. I can see why you got hooked on that one. But, you know, you you finished up at culinary school and you started working in fine dining restaurants. So what made you decide to apply to the core to Master some l d a? It was just when I was working in those fine dining restaurants, I got to work with really talented psalms. And as I just, like, kept learning about wine for my job, I just fell more and more in love with it. And I asked one of the psalms that, I admired, you know, how did you become a psalm, and he said he went through the Court of Masters. So I immediately signed up after that and just really started studying. It's amazing how, you know, people can really influence our lives. All it takes is just one person to sort of point you in a in a new direction. You know, it it's unfortunately, we are all aware, about the sexual harassment scandals at the court, you know, over the past few years and the big shakeup, after the articles that came out a couple of years ago. So just wanted to ask you what was your experience at the court like? You know, do you think things have changed from, you know, the old days, the old bad days? What was it like for you while you were there? I would imagine things have most likely changed, especially since so many articles have come out about it, and it's been brought to light and now people are aware. So I certainly hope that's happened. I will say in general the hospitality industry just has a lot of sexual harassment, problems in general, but I I am positively have lessened since I started my hospitality career. Yeah. I I agree with you on that one. And I think we're all responsible for calling these things out, you know, even when it's hard to speak up in certain situations. So I I hope that we continue to see more support. I was speaking to Deborah Brenner from women of wine and spirits the other day. And she was talking about the program called eighty six harassment, which is a twenty four seven hotline for people in in hospitality and wine to be able to call and and get support. So a fantastic initiative, and I think the more that we we see things like that, the better our industry will become. So I'm glad your experience at the court was was a pleasant one. And, you know, eventually you decided to leave fine dining and sort of branch out on your own. So what promoted that decision? You know, it was a big risk, but you've had big rewards. You know, tell us about your journey from Michelin Star nomad to becoming such a big success in social media? Yeah. It was, you know, obviously a very big jump, but I just got to the point after having so much wonderful experience in the hospitality industry and just learning so much that I just wanted to be my own boss. Finally, I was ready to do that. And at the time, it just seemed like Instagram would be the way to do it because I knew I could get brand sponsorships eventually. So I just while I was working, I just delved into Instagram as much as I could and just made it my full time job as well. And then eventually got the following where I could start getting, like, recipe deals because I was posting about my food because since I went to culinary school, still, of course, and still am very passionate about cooking. And then when the pandemic hit, I transitioned Warren to TikTok. Just because it seemed like that was the time when everyone was making videos, like, reels was launching and all that. And I was just like, you know, I don't really enjoy creating food reels as much as I do. Just talking about wine because I still I was starting to do that as well. And so I just made that big jump from, food, content creation to wine, content creation, and it really, blew up for me on TikTok. It it absolutely did blow up for you on TikTok. It was it was amazing. You sort of, you know, came out of nowhere, and it it's great because I think before COVID and before TikTok, and as you said reels and things that evolved during the pandemic time, you know, a lot of a lot of stuff was done with food, but not a lot of stuff done with wine. So what's happening with social media and wine these days? You know, we know that there was this massive influx of influencers and, quote, unquote, wine experts on social media, you know, but your accounts have a huge benefit because you are a certified sommelier, you know, you're you're basing what you're saying on your training. So what sets your posts and your videos apart from all these other, you know, wine noise makers out there right now? Definitely what you said, you know, being a sommelier for sure. But then also just working in these fine dining restaurants, and sharing what I learned where you wouldn't know unless you worked in a restaurant. You just wouldn't know these little tips and tricks, which you can carry into your everyday life. And then the fact too that I just find these really high quality wines and affordable price, not many are doing that or maybe more are now, but, they still I still, like, will, you know, talk about how these are wines I discovered in Michelin Star restaurant. So It just kinda keeps time back to how I've worked in these three Michelin, one Michelin star restaurants, but I'm making this information approachable for my audience. Yeah. Well, and you you really do, you know, sort of let people see your personality as well. You know, you have this really fun, light approach, and I think that that appeals to a lot of people. You know, who who are your followers more or less? You know, how how's your audience I would say it's a nice mix of mostly millennials and gen z. Yeah, I would say that from the statistics I've looked at, it is mostly like that age group. Well, and it's it's interesting because we know, you know, the data is showing us hard hard facts, our our cloud over our wine industry because we know, you know, gen z isn't drinking that much wine. So how are you keeping them hooked on your social media? I mean, I gotta say, you know, the Trader Joe's videos helps. There's a lot of them shop at Trader Joe's. But I think just as you said, you mentioned before, just including my personality. You know, I'm just keeping it light and fresh. I'm not one of those songs out there who is just nose in the air, you know, using really difficult terms where people are like, what on earth are you talking about? So you know, during my tastings, I just try to keep it my tasting videos. I try to keep it very simple where if you don't know about wine, you can understand what I'm saying. And do you get a lot of feedback? Are people, you know, engaging with, you know, as asking you questions or, you know, telling you what they're drinking. Oh, yeah. I get a lot of that. I mean, I would say mostly it is people telling me the wine they bought because of what I recommended is now their new favorite wine. And that's always really wonderful to hear. But I'll also just get random questions, here and there as well. Well, in your opinion, you know, where do you see wine and social media going in the future? You know, we've had this big explosion of TikTok, that kind of then it kinda died off a little bit, you know, reels and things on on Instagram. What do you see the future of social media and wine looking like? You know, what do you plan for your own accounts for the next year or two? Well, for me, I'm going to keep doing Instagram, but I'm going to start transitioning to YouTube and taking that, like making that full time. So I'll still keep up with my Instagram, but that's really where I'm gonna put my focus as well as doing wine tasting events in LA, like partnering with restaurants and wine bars and, teaching people who come in about wine, as well as how to pair. Like, I'm doing an event in LA this next week, where I'm going to be pouring their wines and talking about them as well as how to taste wine because there's not much of that in LA. So I really want to be, like, one of the people that one of the small eas that people go to to learn about that. What's the LA Weinstein like at the moment? You said there's not much sort of, like, educational learning how to taste and and how to pair. You know, again, sort of harking back to wine sales are going down, you know, bizarrely in California where there's Sonoma and Napa and everything. What's the wine scene like in LA? You know, who comes to your events? Well, so I'm gonna be promoting it on my Instagram. I have a feeling it'll be mostly, millennial and gen z, but, you know, it's like these restaurants and wine bars. Yeah. They have They pour their wine, and there's not much of an educational aspect to it. So that is what I think is lacking, and that's where I want to fill in the gaps. Yep. I think that's a great way to go. You know, sort of it also things like what you're doing could very easily become what helps more, you know, gen zs get interested in wine. You know, we don't they don't have to drink it to be interested. You know, I'm I'm like you. I teach wine, and I I teach students on their semesters abroad, at a couple of universities in Rome. And often, like you said, when you were taking your wine course at the culinary institute and you were twenty, my students are the same sort of age, nineteen or twenty, and they don't know anything about wine. They're like a blank slate And sometimes they they're not used to drinking that much. They don't want to drink that much. You know, it's a it's a changing culture right now. So it's a lot of fun to teach them and to tell the stories and get them involved in you know, what wine is besides being an alcoholic beverage. Oh, absolutely. That's wonderful. You do that. Oh, yeah. That's that is kind of the love of my life. I do I really do like doing that. It's one of the things that I get to do least in my job, but one of the things I love most. So, before I let you go, you know, I know that you love rustic Italian food, and so I've gotta ask, what is your favorite Italian wine and what food would you pair with it since you are coming up to a food wine pairing? Well, I would it's in my top. I love Lambrusco. I just do. I really do. I love Lambrusco too. So underrated. So underrated. You know? Like, it has such a bad re reputation. I know. It was darn reunitey ruined it for everyone. I I know. Right? But, a high quality Lambrusco is just wonderful. And then with, like, a hunk of parmes parmigiano reggiano and prosciutto. Like, I'm I'm happy as clam. Oh, absolutely great pairing. Yeah. Lambrisco, I have to say quality Lambrisco is making a mega comeback. There are some really great companies, doing some amazing things, and know, everybody thinks all Lambrusco's the same, but it's not. You know, there's the Lambrusco, graspiration, the dark purply one, and sobora, the pink one, and Salamino, the more red one. So there's all kinds of things, whenever I go and teach in bologna, I always have Noko Frrito with mortadella and Lambrisco. And it's a thing. Lambrisco is a thing. Oh, how delicious. So anybody who's listening to this, don't don't live your life with no Lambrisco in it. What a shame? So Oh, that's supposed to be in the summer. Nothing. There's nothing. Oh. Absolutely. A a red wine that you can chill, and it's a little fizzy, and it's not too alcoholic, and it goes with everything ideal pizza wine. Yes. Absolutely. Well, I really am so grateful that we could have this chat today. And I know you're busy, and I wanna wish you well on your upcoming wedding. And thank you so much. Yeah. All of the all of the exciting events and things you have coming and, everybody needs to watch out for Lucy Love's wine and food and, check out your your upcoming YouTube videos. I will be looking for that myself. So thank you so much. Yep. Thank you, Cynthia. Thank you for listening. And remember to tune in next Wednesday when I'll be chatting with another fascinating guest. Italian wine podcast is among the leading wine podcasts in the world, and the only one with a daily show. Tune in every day and discover all our different shows. You can find us at Italian wine podcast dot com, SoundCloud, Spotify, Himalaya, or wherever you get your pods.