Opening Wine Cellar Doors

Want a life in wine?

In addition to pouring tastes at Longevity Wines, Tracey Dyson is developing their wine ambassador program. (Photo courtesy of Tracey Dyson)

There are as many ways as there are grape varieties to get into the wine business or rise up the ladder, and while there’s a common perception that a wine job means becoming a winemaker or sommelier, the wine road has many lanes and many entrance ramps.

It was simple curiosity about wine that led Tracey Dyson of Union City into a part-time position in Longevity’s tasting room. A senior pharma contracts manager, she was visiting Longevity Wines in Livermore Valley when she struck up a conversation with owner and winemaker Phil Long. Long hired her, but more importantly, as president of the Association of African American Vintners (AAAV), he sensed Dyson’s enthusiasm and encouraged her to pursue an AAAV scholarship that could lead to a professional wine certification. Using that scholarship at the Napa Valley Wine Academy, Dyson earned the Wine and Spirit Education Trust (WSET) Level 2 wine certification.

“It’s a badge of honor,” says the mother of two, who continues to hold her pharma job while also pouring tastes at Longevity and working to develop a Wine Ambassador Program. “The scholarship and certifications are an opportunity that gives a sense of belonging.”

That sense of belonging is where mentorships—both formal and informal—scholarships, and outreach programs come into play. Mentorships, which offer exposure to all aspects of the wine industry, are particularly important for women, BIPOC, LGBTQ+, AAPI, and people from other underrepresented communities who don’t always see someone who looks like them working in the wine field. Socioeconomic factors also come into play.

“The industry can be isolating and discouraging,” says Oakland resident Shannon Holbrook, who worked at Dashe Cellars, Rosenblum Cellars, Wachira Wines, and is now the wine bar manager for Oakland’s CoCo Noir. “You have to prove yourself,” she continues, especially in the face of both male- and family-owned wineries, few of which are minority owned.

“If I don’t know those winery families, or look like those families, I’m not getting into those wineries,” Holbrook says. But she was not deterred, crediting Bâtonnage Forum mentorships for her gaining access.

Bâtonnage Forum co-founder Stevie Stacionis entertains from behind the bar at Bay Grape. (Photo courtesy of Emma K. Morris)

What is mentorship?

In the early years after they opened their Bay Grape wine bar and bottle shop in Oakland, owners Stevie Stacionis and Josiah Baldivino both chose to mentor people through internships.

“Some of our favorite guests who expressed interest in wine were not folks from a wine background; they were formally educated in completely different fields,” Stacionis says. As she and Baldivino looked to fill open positions, they thought those guests would make a better fit than traditional wine world applicants. “Our first two hires were both women and people of color, so we developed an internship for them to learn about wine.”

That experience guided Stacionis as she co-founded Napa-based Bâtonnage Forum in 2017. In 2020 she launched the Bâtonnage Mentorship program with three progressing levels of focus, each more involved than the last for mentors and mentees.

Fiona Fang came to wine via academics. While her background is in business consulting, a trip to Italy inspired her to pursue wine. She joined the Professional Wine MBA program at Sonoma State University, where she applied for a Bâtonnage Forum mentorship.

Crystal Chen is a Bâtonnage Forum Mentorship Program participant. (Photo courtesy of Crystal Chen)

“What struck me about Bâtonnage was how you’re in direct touch with a lot of thought leaders in the industry and they are very responsive,” Fang says. “You get the direct support of someone who is experienced in a specific role that you’re potentially interested in following.”

Fang completed both the Level 1 and Level 2 programs. She explored numerous opportunities in wine, including domestic and international sales, marketing, and communications.

“Through Bâtonnage, I met another mentee who worked at a wine importer and knew of an opportunity with an Emeryville importer,” says Fang. The importer was Sacred Thirst Selections, and Fang was able to get that job.

Bâtonnage also gave North Oakland resident Crystal Chen access to mentors in several wine industry sectors. Creating community for LGBTQ+ and other underrepresented folks in wine is another mentorship benefit, Chen says.

“I’m trans, and it’s rare to see anybody who looks like me, or has the same background like me,” they say.