Episode 2490

Ep. 2490 Leslie Frelow of The Wine Concierge | Voices with Cynthia Chaplin

Voices

October 8, 2025

2864.248

Leslie Frelow

Wine Concierge

podcasts

Episode Summary

<think> I need to create a concise content analysis of the provided podcast transcript, following the specific format requested. Let me break this down step by step. First, I'll analyze the podcast transcript to identify key themes, summarize the content, extract key takeaways, notable quotes, and formulate follow-up questions. The podcast is an interview between Cynthia Chaplin (host of "Voices" podcast) and Leslie Frelow (owner and Chief Discovery Officer of Veno 301/Wine Concierge). The conversation focuses on diversity, equity, and inclusion in the wine industry, particularly highlighting Leslie's work to support BIPOC and women winemakers. Key themes I'm noticing: 1. Diversity and inclusion in the wine industry - Leslie discusses how she intentionally showcases wines from BIPOC and women winemakers (only about 1% of the industry), creating a platform for historically disenfranchised groups. 2. Business challenges for minority winemakers - Leslie talks about the financial barriers, distribution challenges, and lack of access to resources that minority winemakers face. 3. Industry resistance to change - Leslie mentions how the wine industry is "frigid" and resistant to change, which is contributing to declining sales as younger generations don't connect with the traditional wine culture. 4. Community building and cooperation - Leslie emphasizes the importance of community, cooperation among minority winemakers, and the role of nonprofit organizations in supporting diversity in the industry. 5. Education and business knowledge gaps - Leslie discusses how many aspiring winemakers lack business knowledge (beyond winemaking itself), which is critical for success. For the summary, I'll need to condense the main points of the conversation into under 200 words. Key takeaways should highlight the most important insights from the interview. Notable quotes should capture powerful statements that encapsulate key points. Follow-up questions should be thoughtful and relevant to the discussion. Let me now craft each section according to the requested format, keeping within the word limits. **Content Analysis** **Key Themes** 1. Diversity and inclusion in the wine industry - Leslie's business model specifically centers on showcasing BIPOC and women winemakers who represent only about 1% of the industry. 2. Business challenges for minority winemakers - Financial barriers, distribution limitations (especially for producers making under 5,000 cases), and lack of access to funding. 3. Industry resistance to change - The wine industry's "frigid" nature and resistance to evolving with younger generations is contributing to declining sales. 4. Community building and cooperation - The importance of collective action, knowledge sharing, and nonprofit organizations in supporting diversity in wine. 5. Education gaps - Many aspiring winemakers lack business knowledge beyond winemaking itself, which is critical for sustainability. **Summary** Leslie Frelow, owner of Wine Concierge and Veno 301, discusses her mission to create a platform for historically disenfranchised winemakers in an industry where BIPOC representation is less than 1%. After the George Floyd murder, she intentionally niched down to feature women and minority winemakers. She highlights how the wine industry's resistance to change is contributing to declining sales as younger generations don't connect with traditional wine culture. Leslie emphasizes the business challenges minority winemakers face: limited distribution channels, financial barriers, and lack of business knowledge. She advocates for community building, cooperation among producers, and supporting nonprofit organizations that provide education and resources. Despite recent DEI initiative rollbacks, Leslie sees opportunity in collective action, sharing resources (like bottling equipment), and creating spaces where diverse wine consumers feel welcome. She envisions a "Starbucks of wine" - an accessible, judgment-free community space that could help revitalize the industry. **Key Takeaways** - The wine industry is facing declining sales partly due to its resistance to change and failure to connect with younger, more diverse consumers - Minority winemakers (under 1% of the industry) face significant barriers including limited distribution channels and lack of business knowledge - Collective action and resource sharing among small producers can help overcome financial and distribution challenges - Nonprofit organizations play a crucial role in providing education and support for underrepresented winemakers - Creating accessible, welcoming spaces for diverse wine consumers is essential for industry growth - Despite DEI initiative rollbacks, community-driven efforts continue to create opportunities for progress **Notable Quotes** - "People continue to keep that old guard up. So if you continue to resist change, it will be the death of you. Right? And so it is necessary that those who want to see progression in the evolution of wine that we work together." - "The way the industry is set up, one of the biggest troubles that small producers have is distribution. Right? They're limited to their footprint. If they, you know, are less than five thousand cases, they will not be picked up by a distributor." - "I think this is not only for those real issues, which are very real, but it's also the wine industry in general. Right? Like, the wine industry will be the death of itself because of it being frigid." **Follow-up Questions** 1. How can larger wine corporations effectively support diversity initiatives without facing backlash in the current political climate? 2. What specific policy changes would most significantly improve access to funding and distribution for minority winemakers? 3. Beyond niche platforms like Wine Concierge, what systemic changes are needed in wine education and media representation to create lasting industry transformation? Now I'll check if I'm within the word limits: - Key Themes: 5 points, concise - Summary: Should be under 200 words - Key Takeaways: 6 points - Notable Quotes: 3 quotes - Follow-up Questions: 3 questions Let me verify the word count for the summary to ensure it's under 200 words. </think> **Content Analysis** **Key Themes (max 5 points)** 1. Diversity deficit in wine industry - Leslie highlights that BIPOC winemakers represent less than 1% of the industry, creating an urgent need for platforms that showcase historically disenfranchised producers. 2. Distribution barriers - Small producers (under 5,000 cases) face systemic exclusion from traditional distribution channels, limiting their market access regardless of wine quality. 3. Industry resistance to change - The wine industry's "frigid" nature and elitist perception are contributing to declining sales as younger generations seek more inclusive beverage options. 4. Business knowledge gaps - Many aspiring winemakers lack essential business acumen beyond winemaking itself, threatening sustainability despite quality products. 5. Community-driven solutions - Collective action, resource sharing among producers, and nonprofit organizations offer pathways to overcome systemic barriers. **Summary (max 200 words)** Leslie Frelow, founder of Wine Concierge and Veno 301, discusses her mission to create visibility for BIPOC and women winemakers in an industry where they represent less than 1% of producers. After George Floyd's murder, she intentionally pivoted to spotlight these underrepresented voices, recognizing that the wine industry's resistance to change is contributing to declining sales as younger consumers reject its perceived elitism. Leslie emphasizes how small producers face systemic barriers: limited distribution channels (especially under 5,000 cases), financial constraints, and lack of business knowledge beyond winemaking. Despite recent DEI initiative rollbacks, she sees opportunity in community building—facilitating knowledge exchanges about bottling, financing, and compliance, and creating cooperative resource-sharing models. She advocates for "the Starbucks of wine"—an accessible, judgment-free community space that could help revitalize the industry by welcoming diverse consumers. Leslie stresses that large wine corporations aren't "the enemy" but essential allies, and that collective action among producers, supported by nonprofit organizations, offers the most promising path forward for an industry facing demographic and cultural shifts. **Key Takeaways (max 6 points)** - The wine industry's resistance to cultural evolution is accelerating its decline as younger generations seek more inclusive beverage options - Distribution remains the biggest barrier for minority winemakers, with traditional channels excluding producers making under 5,000 cases - Business education is as critical as winemaking skills for small producers' sustainability and growth - Community cooperation (sharing bottling equipment, bulk purchasing) can help overcome financial barriers - Nonprofit organizations play vital roles in education and advocacy but face funding challenges amid DEI rollbacks - Creating welcoming physical spaces could help transform wine's image from elitist luxury to accessible community experience **Notable Quotes (max 3)** - "People continue to keep that old guard up. So if you continue to resist change, it will be the death of you. Right? And so it is necessary that those who want to see progression in the evolution of wine that we work together." - "The way the industry is set up, one of the biggest troubles that small producers have is distribution. Right? They're limited to their footprint. If they, you know, are less than five thousand cases, they will not be picked up by a distributor." - "I think this is not only for those real issues, which are very real, but it's also the wine industry in general. Right? Like, the wine industry will be the death of itself because of it being frigid." **Follow-up Questions (max 3)** 1. How can wine retailers and distributors create inclusive practices that support minority winemakers while navigating the current political climate that discourages explicit DEI initiatives? 2. What specific business education components would most significantly improve sustainability for small, minority-owned wineries beyond basic winemaking knowledge? 3. How might the wine industry effectively rebrand itself to appeal to Gen Z consumers who prioritize social values in their purchasing decisions while maintaining authenticity?

About This Episode

The speakers discuss the success of the wine industry and the importance of language and positivity in winning winemakers. They emphasize the need to change the perspective of the industry and work with the community to combat issues such as DI expiration and the decline of alcohol sales. They emphasize the importance of educating people about the art of winemaking and finding the right recipe. They also discuss the challenges faced by the industry and the need for transparency and cooperation in hesitation and discomfort. They emphasize the need for people to show their love for nonprofit organizations and the importance of their back catalog. They also mention their plans to open a store in Italy and their interest in the coffee shop.

Transcript

People continue to keep that old guard up. So if you continue, to resist change, it will be the death of you. Right? And so it is necessary that those who want to see progression in the evolution of wine that we work together. 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. This is Cynthia Chaplin. Your host for voices, and today I am so happy to welcome Leslie Frilo to voices. She's the owner and chief discovery officer at Veno three zero one, wine concierge in Maryland, and the wine concierge overall, which is an online wine store, and wine subscription club, offering diverse wines featuring women and minority wine labels and winemakers. So before we start talking about this, I'm gonna say, I love this job description. Chief discovery officer, this is this is good. I think this is great. So Welcome to the show, Leslie. Thank you so much for making time today. Glad to have you on board. Thank you. I appreciate it. Thanks, Cynthia. Yeah. When you own the company, you can make up your title. So This is a good point. This is a really good point. I think it's a it's a great, great advertisement for entrepreneurship. You get to call yourself whatever you want. Whatever you want because you're gonna do everything that you don't want to do. So Exactly. Right. Well, let's get a little bit of backstory about you. Your original career was in policy in Washington, DC, and you worked for over sixteen years, which is a long time at the universal service administration company, and you were the senior director of schools and libraries program, and E Rate and Rural Healthcare Program, and Senior Management for program integrity operations, I mean, this is a lot. This is a lot going on. I have worked in schools in the past. That is a very long time to work in school bureaucracy because it's not easy, and I do not see one single drop of wine in that whole job description. It wasn't. It was not at all. I often joke about, like, this was my early midlife crisis. And the way I mean, I enjoyed wine, but I I wasn't an avid wine drinker. Like, I, you know, enjoyed it with hanging out with girlfriends. And one day, in in the Washington area, we have the Smithsonian, and it it's throughout the country, but concentrated in the DC area. And so the Smithsonian has this great program, of wine at the museum in their in their garden. Sculpture garden. They did not have that when I lived in the US. Oh, yes. Very yeah. Yeah. And, and I was at one of their events, and I was sipping on wine, of course, and I was looking for another job to be honest with you. And I saw this, posting for a culinary instructor, and It made me think back to when I was in high school, and I wanted to go to culinary school. And, you know, life is life, and I didn't go. I measured, actually, in economics, And, I said, wouldn't that be nice to do that? And at that time, you know, I owned a house. I had real bills. Like, I just could not go back to culinary school. So then I said, well, you know, you like wine. Let's see what a career in wine looks like. And that's how it started. I started interning while I was working full time. So after work, I would go intern at wine shops And, because I wanted to make sure that this wasn't just a passion, because how many times you met people and they're like, oh, you do great things. And, you know, all they see is the fun side of wine. They don't see lifting box and crates the glasses and what have you. And after that internship, I was like, yeah, this is something I wanna do in my career. That's amazing. Similar similar backdoor back door into wine. So I get that. And I also get that very funny thing when your friends think, oh, you're in wine. So glamorous. You drink wine all day, and drinking wine all day really happens like once a year, the rest of their time. It's other stuff. So so you sort of segued from being this very busy executive leader and into the wine industry. And as you said, humping boxes and, and doing internships at wine shops, so what's happened since then? You know, you've become a wine professional and wine tourism expert. You've got a lot of knowledge of the wine industry now. So first of all, when was that change? How long have you been in the wine industry? So I would say that's that that happened in two thousand eleven. I started Vino three zero one in, two thousand thirteen. Vino three zero one started as my backdoor way into wine, because it's a Maryland wine tours company. And at the time in two thousand thirteen, there were a handful of wineries. And I figured and they're, you know, very small. I had start this tourism business and meet the winemakers, all of the producers there, and get a a larger, and a, a deeper understanding and language about wine. And that took off. It did so well that we just kept on doing wine tours, and then we started, events, and then COVID in two thousand twenty happened, and we had to slow down wine tours. We actually, at one point, had halted tours. And that's when I started the wine concierge. And And it made sense at the time everybody was at home, and it was an online business. I wasn't prepared to open a a brick and mortar. And then we we, I keenly niched down on women and minority winemakers after the death of George Floyd, and there was this reckoning in wine about, there's less than one percent. I'm happy to say there's probably one percent. Now minorities in wine. And, and I said, well, you know, what can I do? And this was a way of me, pivoting my career, but also bringing awareness to these super great winemakers who just don't get the platform that the large companies provide, and large distributors have. So that's that's how it progressed. Well, just out of curiosity, how many winemakers, you know, more or less? I don't expect you to know the exact number. Are there in Maryland now? Oh, in Maryland, it's over a hundred. Wow. Yeah. I did not know that. It's over a hundred in Maryland. Yes. Good to know. Good to know. It's it's so interesting. This whole this whole way that you've moved from tourism then kind of on to online in COVID like we all had to do. And and the way that you talk about what you're doing is really something that drew me to you. We were talking about how I found you. And and a lot of it was your language, the words you were using. You know, you've described your business as passionate and authentic and memorable and inclusive and exceptional. So I I love the positivity and the energy in these words. So much, especially, you know, referencing as you did, the death of George Floyd, and I'll circle back to that later because I wanna ask you what you think's going on now. But, tell us about the tours when they started, you know, who were the participants? Where did you get your guests? You know, where did you go? It started off as you said, like a backdoor. So, you know, tell us about Veno three zero one. So it's so funny because, maybe a couple of months ago. I was talking to my dad about this. And, and one of one of my character flaws is that I don't understand no very well. I just think, like, oh, well, you you'll change your mind later. And so that's what it was like when I was doing the wine tours because one, a lot of people don't know about wine in Maryland. And two, going to the wineries, they're like, what are you doing? You know, we're grateful you're bringing people here, but this doesn't make sense. Like, we're not big enough for this. And so I just kept on going back. Going back, I would, I I'm trying to remember where I advertise, but I wherever I advertise, it was successful enough that I would rent a van over the weekend, and then, pic