Linfield University’s inaugural BIPOC Wine Symposium drew more than 70 wine professionals and students from Oregon and beyond, including Robin McBride who, with her sister Andrea, runs McBride Sisters Wine Company, the largest Black-owned winery in the United States.
Hosted by the Evenstad Center for Wine Education at Linfield University in partnership with Asociación Hispana de la Industria del Vino en Oregon y Comunidad (AHIVOY), the daylong event featured panel and roundtable discussions, workshops on how to create a more inclusive industry and a tasting featuring wines from Black and Latinx winemakers.
Part of the center’s mission, said Tim Matz, the Domaine Serene Chair in Wine Business and the center’s director, is to create opportunities for students and professionals alike from underrepresented backgrounds.
“From our Domaine Serene Scholars, who in some cases have family members who work out in the vines as vineyard stewards, to our WSET classes that help people work their way up in the industry, the Evenstad Center for Wine Education is always trying to make the table bigger and be at the forefront of these important conversations,” he said.
The panel discussions focused on different business elements of the wine world, from professional development for those who grow the grapes to direct-to-consumer sales techniques. Then, School of Business Dean Jennifer Madden led the group in an innovation exercise that yielded ideas ranging from the very simple — make sure that everyone who works on the vineyard gets a chance to know each other over dinner even if there are language barriers — to the lofty, like creating a winery that exists solely as a learning institution.
In the first panel, titled “Unfiltered: The Black Wine Experience,” McBride was joined by moderator Marcus Johnson, owner of FLO Wines; Mac McDonald, who founded the Association of African American Vintners; Desiree Noisette, founder and CEO of Mermosa Wines; Sandra Taylor, the president and CEO of Sustainable Business International; and Fern A. Stroud, founder of Black Vines.
Collectively, the panel expressed the frustration of an industry that constantly “others” them — for example, asking what the Black palette is like? — and the often-conveyed sense that they don’t belong.
McBride recalled when an enormous retailer asked her and her sister to take their photo off the wine labels — “They said they felt our images wouldn’t resonate with their consumers,” she said, sighing.
During their panel, members of AHIVOY encouraged all attendees to get to know their vineyard stewards — a term, they say, that is infinitely more respectful than ‘laborer’, one that adequately reflects the enormous role stewards have in the life of the grape.
Linfield alumnus Ivan George ’10, assistant manager for Terra Vitis Vineyard Management, said that simply by engaging with vineyard stewards, winery management will often realize they’re sitting on a trove of talent.
“A lot of the vineyard stewards we have are highly educated — they had professions and careers that they gave us,” he said, adding that he recently discovered one of his coworkers is a skilled programmer. “He ended up presenting something to upper management, because he had experience in particular types of software, and he’s now become a critical person for budgets and estimates.”
AHIVOY co-founder and Cramoisi Vineyard owner Sofía Torres urged everyone to make true, human connections with those who work so hard and are so foundational to the winemaking process.
“Go spend 15 minutes with the people who work in your vineyards,” she said. “See their eyes. See their faces.”
For his part, Matz said he believes the BIPOC Wine Symposium will become a signature Linfield event; plans are already underway for next year’s.
“I am overexcited and very optimistic about the reaction and the feedback — not only did we have folks travel from around the country to attend, but I’m hearing from other major players that they want to be part of the action next year,” he said. “To our knowledge, this is the first symposium of its kind. There is no event like this in the country. Linfield is proud to host an event that inspired not just our students, but some of the brightest minds in the wine industry.”
He credited the partnership of AHIVOY and thanked all the panelists, attendees and students who made the day such a success.
“We will continue to make a huge effort to ensure this event remains an authentic and true collaboration with diverse members of the wine industry,” he said. “We want this to be a forum to engage and share their thoughts, ideas and experiences to students and working professionals throughout the industry.”
