Meet Devyani Gupta.
Head Winemaker at Valdemar Estates, in conversation with Suman Kumar for the Alliance of Women in Washington Wine.
SK: Devyani, have been recently promoted to Head Winemaker at Valdemar Estates, can you tell us about your introduction and journey in wine?
Growing up, I was always curious about food and wine – hovering in the kitchen, tasting spices, bothering my dad so I could smell his glass of Pinot Noir or Barolo. When I got a little older, he would let me “earn” a sip if I could smell and describe the fruit character of the wine. This was how I first became curious about wine; however, my wine journey began when I moved to Walla Walla to attend Whitman College.
Soon after my 21st birthday, I began working for Amavi Cellars in their tasting room. After a busy day, we would gather as a team on the balcony, and enjoy a glass of wine. In these moments where we would come together, the technical winemaking details would pepper into conversation. Quickly I became more than curious, I became obsessed with learning how the wine in my glass came to be. Norm McKibben (managing partner) noticed this curiosity and asked if I would like to tag along to visit vineyards or be a fly on the wall for various stages of the winemaking process. The only way I can describe this leg of the journey was like falling in love. From that moment on, everything changed; but I was in my final year at Whitman College, and I was too attached to the plan ahead of me: get a research job after graduation, apply to graduate school thereafter, and eventually become a professor of Psychology. However, once I met the world of wine, it challenged everything I thought I was passionate about, and winemaking had become my dream.
Unfortunately, I was not ready to let go of the plan. After graduation, I packed up my station wagon, and moved to Seattle to take a research position at the University of Washington. However, clearly the story didn’t end there, and neither did Norm’s influence; so I will leave the rest of this story for the next question…
SK: You have spoken to the importance of mentoring other women in the wine industry; how has mentorship played a role in your career, as both a mentor and mentee?
The first word that came to mind is: immeasurable. I was very fortunate to have crossed paths with strong mentors along the way – and I’ll never know the full extent of their impacts on my life.
People often use the phrase “walk the talk”, and to me, mentorship lies at the core of this saying; imagine a mentor and mentee are the two feet walking toward our goals of community and empowerment: it takes both of them to turn words into action, and action into results and change.
Back to the question of how my wine journey began: When I first realized I wanted to be a part of the wine industry, my biggest hurdle was visualizing where I could (or would) fit in it.
This is where my first mentor in wine came in: Norm McKibben. Norm showed me the paths I could take, and that I had a place in this industry. He knew I was conflicted about the next step: do I go into research or take the plunge to follow my dream of making wine? He never pushed me in one direction over another and gave me the space I needed to decide if this would be my path. When I called him 6 months later from the research center parking lot, without a word, he knew I was calling to say I was ready to take the plunge; he reassured me that the next steps would soon be clear, and it will feel like “coming home”. Thanks to Norm’s support, I enrolled in the Enology & Viticulture program at Walla Walla Community College, where I then worked for two individuals who would become my next mentors: Sadie Drury and Chris Figgins.
When I went back to North Slope Management for a second season, I stepped into a leadership role as Sadie’s assistant. I certainly had a few stumbles as I navigated this learning curve, but Sadie gave me the space I needed to fail, learn, flourish, and take on the next challenge. Over the years, Sadie has mentored me through her actions and leadership; she leads by example and always answers the call to step up and serve our wine community. When I need to put things in the balance, Sadie is usually my first call.
In my time with the Figgins Family, it was in my comfort zone to keep “doing” (moving, cleaning, organizing), but one thing Chris asked me to do was “stop” and taste, opening a path to some very impactful teaching moments. He recognized that I wanted to develop my palate and see the bigger picture but did not know how to ask for access to those conversations. He gave me the opportunity to grow my confidence and have a seat at the table – I mean this quite literally! After that first harvest, Chris asked me to be a part of blending trials, a learning opportunity that completely shifted my preparedness for the next level of responsibility.
When I joined the Valdemar Family in 2019, I wore many hats as we opened our tasting room, planted our estate vineyards, and outfitted our facility for harvest; there were many moments where I needed my mentors’ support. Sadie and Chris have coached me along the way, offering everything from technical advice, to weighing-in on how to handle wage reviews, tough conversations, and how to be a better leader every day.
I will never be able to truly thank my mentors enough for the impact they have had on my life; but perhaps thanking them through the act of mentoring someone else is a good start.
This year it has been my sincere honor to have the chance to step into a mentorship role to try to pass on some of the support and advice given to me. Currently, I am a mentor for the Batônnage forum, a mentorship network “stirring up” the conversation of women in wine. This network is growing stronger each day, and I am thankful to join the walk towards a more inclusive and equitable world of wine.
SK: What is some advice you give to women looking to make a career in wine?
Keep an open mind. Try every facet of the wine industry to find your place. You may find that what you want is to “make” your place; find a blended position that suits your different skill sets. You may find that where you initially thought you would be, might not be where you land. With this in mind, let go of your idea of progress. Something many of my driven and hard-working female friends in wine struggle with is a sense of “losing progress”, “moving backwards”, or “restarting” when they decide to make a change. There is no such thing. All your experiences will be seen as an asset for the right position with the right company, and so don’t be so hard on yourself!
Lastly, find your mirrors. Seek a network of individuals that will help support you by being the mirror you need to see yourself in. This doesn’t need to be a harsh lit mirror, by any means. This is more about finding people that will support you by helping you see your worth, so you go for the opportunities you might otherwise overlook or shy away from.
SK: For generations, social class — and, hence, wealth and race — limited Americans’ access to fine wine. How do you see the future generations of wine consumers changing that?
I am very optimistic about the future of our wine industry because this topic has been at the center of many key conversations at an institutional level in recent years. Now the work ahead consists of figuring out what measurable things we can do in not just our WA wine community, but in the broader PNW wine community to make wine more equitable and inclusive. Limitations to accessibility and entry into the industry squeeze two crucial sides of our industry: who buys your wine, and the talent you can recruit to make it. We need to work on identifying, normalizing, and addressing these barriers to access in wine if we want to survive and thrive as a modern industry moving forward. This change is inevitable.
There is one fundamental question, that has evolved as this conversation has picked up momentum: why can’t there be a bottle of Washington wine on every family dinner table tonight? One detail we tend to focus on as a barrier to access is price. While this is often a very valid barrier, and yes, wine is a luxury product, I feel it only chips away at the tip of the iceberg when it comes to accessibility and inclusivity of wine. A 6 pack of craft beer can be the same price as a bottle of Washington Wine; why is that craft beer more accessible and approachable to some groups than the bottle of local wine?
As we keep chipping away at this issue, we see the other barriers; we realize why it is hard for many to see themselves in the community of wine when, perhaps, they don’t feel represented by or a part of said community. However, I believe the current and future generations of wine are actively moving to change that. As our industry becomes more diverse (and we see more female and BIPOC winemakers, general managers, CEOs), I believe our consumer base will follow suit. If we put in the work as an industry to make the luxury sphere of wine more inclusive, we will see a shift in who visits our tasting rooms, joins our wine club, and more.
At Valdemar, one thing we firmly believe is that wine is for everyone; wine can and should be a part of every family’s dinner table. Connecting over wine should not be limited to only certain food cultures, levels of education, or economic means; you don’t need to “know wine” to talk about wine. It is for everyone.
SK: Tell me about your favorite wine at Valdemar Estates, without telling me about the wine.
Our 2019 Walla Walla Cabernet Sauvignon, which we release this spring. To me it is a wine that illustrates well what my mentors taught me. 85% of the fruit in this blend are from VSquared vineyard on SeVein. Growers are always on the move, and so when I interviewed with Sadie, it quickly turned into a ride-along as she was planting this vineyard that day in 2016. Over the next few years, I helped manage this vineyard and personally replanted all of the baby vines that did not take. This vineyard is also a mere 100 yards (or less) from Leonetti Cellars’ Serra Pedace vineyard.
When we harvested the fruit for the first time in 2019, it was my previous work with Sadie that helped me understand the fruit from a grower’s perspective, and my work with Chris that taught me how to understand and anticipate the tannin profile and acidity of this vineyard site. This technical knowledge from working with them greatly informed our decisions of when and how to pick, ferment, press, and allocate new oak. Ultimately, this wine is my favorite only in part because it is vibrant and delicious; this wine followed me along my path to becoming a winemaker several years before it was even made. It reflects why I am passionate about winemaking and grape growing, but also my love for the strong wine community we have in Walla Walla.
