Putting the Vino Back in Bottle Service: Bringing Wine into New Consumer Experiences
January 23, 2024
10:15 am - 11:15 am
Putting the Vino Back in Bottle Service: Bringing Wine into New Consumer Experiences
Wine has been losing market share in recent years to spirits, especially among younger consumers. To gain back market share, let’s look at new occasions for drinking wine, from sports stadiums to music videos and more.
We will hear from wine marketers who have succeeded with experiential marketing, wine directors bringing grand cru bottles to sporting events and wine personalities and content creators bringing wine into the world of music and hip hop.
This session is moderated by wine personality Shakera Jones, who has championed breaking down the barriers often associated with fine wine.
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Moderator
Shakera Jones
Black Girls Dine Too, New York
Shakera Jones is a NYC-based food and wine writer, content creator, host, podcaster and educator. Her show Weekly Wines, on the streaming platform SOMMTV, explores grape varieties and production regions to broaden the palates of her followers. She is committed to breaking down the intimidation often associated with the world of fine wines.
Through her page @blackgirlsdinetoo she has focused on creating a community that promotes and supports diversity, equity and inclusion efforts for women and other underrepresented groups in the culinary and fine wine industries.
She was recently recognized as one of Wine Enthusiast Magazine’s 40 under 40 Tastemakers in 2021. She has been named as a cast member on Season 2 of the James Beard Award nominated competition show Sparklers, set to air in 2024 and was recently featured in the Tastemade series ““Street Somm”.
Speakers
Justin Dragoo
Bottlerock Presents, California
As Co-Founder of BottleRock Presents, Justin focuses his efforts on creating a unique guest experience within the music festival landscape. Areas of the business under his direction include the VIP Experience, Music Production, Festival Design, and Finance. Originally from the Napa Valley, Justin initially returned to Napa to become President of Gargiulo Vineyards, a luxury wine estate, of which he is still a Partner. At Gargiulo Vineyards, he has been instrumental in the growth and transformation of this entrepreneurial endeavor to create the finest wines in the world from their estate vineyards in Oakville. Prior to Gargiulo, Justin was based in New York City and was Vice President of Global Technology Services at IBM. Justin’s staff of consulting, technical, and sales resources produced $500 million in annual revenues, delivering solutions to Fortune 500 clients, with a specific focus on the Retail Industry. Justin holds an MBA from the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University and currently resides in the Napa Valley
Kristen Reitzell
Jackson Family Wines, California
Kristen Reitzell is an accomplished communications executive with nearly 20 years of experience. As the Senior Vice President of Communications & Digital Marketing at Jackson Family Wines, she spearheads the company’s global communications strategy, encompassing PR, corporate communications, and digital marketing across their wineries worldwide.
In her decade-long tenure at the company, Kristen has played a pivotal role in executing successful consumer awareness campaigns, along with launching new products, brands, and estate openings. She brought a digital-first mindset to the company, developing the digital marketing to become the crucial part of the company’s growth, adeptly navigating the ever-changing digital landscape.
Beyond her professional realm, Kristen is an avid San Francisco Giants and 49ers fan and enjoys outdoor pursuits like hiking and skiing with her family. Her commitment to both her career and personal life underscores her leadership style and enthusiasm for life.
Jermaine Stone
Wine and Hip Hop, New York
Sessions:
Wine AND? Niche Festivals & Experiences in Wine – Why They Work and How They Appeal to New Consumers
Twenty years ago, Jermaine Stone went from rapping to packing boxes in the shipping department at Zachy’s to becoming the first black commercial wine auctioneer. He has since been heralded as one of Wine Enthusiast’s 40 under 40. The Bronx native’s rise in the wine industry has been driven by one key mission: to challenge the narrative about and for black men in America. In founding Cru Luv Selections, an innovative creative agency based in NYC, Stone has found a space that can use marketing, brand partnerships, and content creation to connect wine and hip-hop cultures and bring wine to an audience that has traditionally been ignored.
In 2023, Stone was featured in the New York Times, on Sway in the Morning, and in Us Weekly. He also became the star of the Tastemade original streaming series Street Somm, which has been nominated for both a James Beard Award and an Emmy Award. Additionally, he was a guest lecturer at Cornell University for the second year in a row and hosted the first-ever Wine & Hip Hop event at the Clos de Vougeot, arguably the most historic site in one of, if not the most prestigious wine regions in the world, Burgundy, France. This year, Stone plans to elevate his efforts to bring wine and hip-hop culture together by being more hands-on with the direct integration of wine and hip-hop culture in a way that only he can.