00:00The WNBA, the latest to bite, announcing a new partnership between the Golden State Valkyries and J Vineyards and Winery.
00:07We spoke earlier about that partnership with Women's Basketball Hall of Famer Sue Bird and the director, the estate director of J Vineyards, Nicole Hitchcock.
00:18For us at J Vineyards and Winery, we are female founded, female led, and we really have this legacy of female leadership in the wine industry and even beyond.
00:29And so we found a like-minded partner in the Golden State Valkyries who really joins us in our commitment to support all of the talented women out there across so many different industries.
00:41And as partners, we're showcasing that women's sports are a powerful vehicle for promoting broader cultural change.
00:48Nicole, this is the first year that you guys have been having a formal partnership, I should say, with the WNBA.
00:54Do you anticipate that you will see not only a greater uptick in the awareness of your own wines and brands, but more importantly, better symbiosis, I guess, between both of those worlds?
01:07That's right.
01:08I mean, our goal is to showcase the power of diversity in both industries, truly.
01:16You know, when we look at the wine industry, women are underrepresented as winemakers.
01:22Less than 20% of California's wineries have women as lead winemakers.
01:27And, you know, progress has been made over the years.
01:30I've been in the business for the last couple of decades.
01:33But we still face so many challenges because it comes to gender bias.
01:37And so we really are seeking broader leadership representation.
01:43And I know that there are similar stats in the sports industries as well.
01:47And absolutely.
01:48And Jade Vineyards, of course, has been doing this for quite some time.
01:50And, of course, the founder, Judy, and everything that she did to really sort of create that brand awareness and, more importantly, greater awareness about diversity.
01:58And, Sue, you've been banging this drum for quite some time, not only in the alcohol and spirit space, but in other places as well.
02:05How did you and Nicole actually hook up here?
02:09I mean, is there a formal relationship?
02:11Or are you just doing this because you love wine and you love what she makes?
02:15All of the above.
02:18I think, you know, obviously I played in the WNBA for a long time.
02:22This is a world, the world of women's sports, that I'm really passionate about.
02:26But I've seen a lot of, you know, some of the hardships that we face.
02:30And then in connecting with Nicole, we met at officially at actually a Liberty Valkyries game, which was a lot of fun.
02:37But just really getting to know her, getting to know Jade Vineyards, what they've been doing, what they're about.
02:43There really is so much connection there.
02:46We're speaking the same language.
02:47And I think when you're doing that, not only can you have, you know, really value-based missions, you can also have good business.
02:56And that's what's really great about this.
02:58Yes, we're going to change some things in the world.
03:00I mean that quite literally, but it's also going to be a good business move.
03:03It's interesting you say we're speaking the same language.
03:06It's also kind of interesting, too, Sue.
03:07I mean, you have also kind of made this fun.
03:11I mean, I think back to the pandemic and the wind down that you were doing with your partner back in those days.
03:16But there's a lot of other podcasts and other sort of media properties that have popped up in the wine and spirit space that I do just speak a much different language.
03:25It sort of demystifies what wine is, the terrores and everything that goes into it.
03:30And it does just make it a lot more fun.
03:32And I am curious as to how you keep that going, Sue, to sort of just let people know that this isn't, you know, it's not just, you know, about being a wine snob.
03:40There's a lot of fun in this as well.
03:42There is.
03:43I think that's the beauty of it.
03:45You know, you brought up my partner, Megan Rapinoe.
03:47She's getting so into wine.
03:49We're talking like regions and grapes.
03:52And I've broken my nose five times.
03:54And my palate's just not the same.
03:56I can't smell the things.
03:57But it doesn't mean we can't enjoy it all the same in our unique ways.
04:01And as an athlete, former athlete, I do drink wine.
04:05I do enjoy wine, obviously, in a responsible way.
04:09So there's also a messaging there.
04:11But really, when I was talking about speaking the same language, it's kind of having these worlds collide and understanding, you know, just how hard it is for women and how wonderful it is to have, you know, both Jay Vineyards, Golden State Valkyries, myself, the WNBA at large,
04:27being able to, you know, try to put a dent in some of these numbers, right?
04:32Like Nicole mentioned some of the numbers in terms of winemakers, female winemakers.
04:36The same thing happens in sports.
04:38I think, you know, young girls and women play close to 50 percent in terms of participation in sports.
04:44We're close to 50 percent.
04:45Yeah.
04:45We only get, you know, 16 percent of the media coverage.
04:48I know the percentage is somewhere in there in terms of corporate sponsorship.
04:52So that's really the same language.
04:55We're kind of fighting the same battle.
04:56And then, yeah, we can join forces, you know, create really good business and have fun doing it.
05:02With regards to that business, Nicole, I mean, how is business overall right now?
05:06I mean, a lot of anecdotal evidence that maybe the younger generation doesn't drink as much as the older generation.
05:11Is there sort of a shift that you're seeing that you have to adapt to as a winemaker?
05:16I think that this generation is all about lifestyle and experience.
05:21And so part of what we're trying to do with this partnership is bring some of that excitement and experience to the table,
05:29of course, along with our delicious wines.
05:31But, you know, wine can mean so much more when you enjoy it with people that you like
05:38and doing activities that you love, like watching a basketball game.
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