Episode 16 - Diversity Resource - Jacob Gray - Voice of a Chosen Family

Voices of Diversity host Rocki Howard speaks to guest Jacob Gray who is a passionate, charismatic leader and brand strategist.  

He heads up business and brand strategy for L’Angolo Estate and he is the guy that keeps Chosen Family Wines running smoothly.

Jake joins us to talk about diversifying the wine industry and making a difference in the community through the One Barrel Challenge. 

Jake is helping us to launch our new Diversity Resource Section as he talks to us as the Voice of a Chosen Family.

Transcript

Rocki Howard: 0:02

Good morning. Good afternoon. Good evening, wherever you are in the world. My name is Rocki Howard and I am the host of the voices of diversity podcast. And today, we have a very special episode coming at you. Instead of our traditional voices of diversity episode, we are going to do what we call a resource of diversity episode, we're launching a brand new section on our website to highlight great diversity resources and initiatives. And I can't think of a better way to announce it then with this very special episode. Now I have to tell you guys, I love it when some of my favorite things like wine, diversity, resources, and a good cause come together. And today's guest is here to tell us more about the initiative to diversify the wine industry and his role in it. And so Jacob, I believe in multiple dimensions of diversity. I identify as she her black Christian Chien, ex wife, Mom, can you introduce yourself today to us today, tell us who you are, what you do and how you identify.

Jacob Gray: 1:13

It. I thank you for having me. Rocki. My name is Jacob gray. I am a white male born and raised in Davis, California, residing in Portland, Oregon. I'm a father, I'm a husband, I'm a friend. I try to be a leader. I try to hold myself accountable. My mother's Jewish woman from Philadelphia, my dad's a Quaker from California, I'm a mountain the best way and I've just been raised to try to be the best human I can be and hold myself and the people around me to accountability and responsibility. So I'm just living in my skin and trying to be me and trying to hold a have great conversations with people that are trying to move the needle in the right.

Rocki Howard: 1:50

Absolutely love that. And I couldn't have written a better intro for anyone. Right. And that's what happens when you show up authentically. So thank you for showing up today. authentically, right? You know what, I know you are in the wine industry. But I'm really curious. How long have you been in the industry? How does one get started in the wine industry?

Jacob Gray: 2:15

That's a great question. So I've probably been in the wine industry for about five or six years from a professional standpoint. Before that, I was in the independent film world. And my last producing partner would say, our job is a 10 year dinner party, you're schmoozing, you're taking people out, you're sharing stories, you're connecting people, you're trying to take a great idea and executed across the board. So it was a long journey with a lot learned. And I would say I ate and drank very well through that was always capable of bringing people together and always wanted information on the things I was sharing with people. And the more I fall in love with stuff, the more I dive into it, and the more I want to know, so that I can be a resource to the people that I that trust me the most. And I grew up in Davis, California. And if you know where that is, it's a little college town outside of Sacramento. But we're only about an hour from Napa County. Okay, so definitely my my parents drank a bit of wine growing up, definitely had some friends that were wine makers. But that didn't shift the cultural paradigm of being a young man playing sports and hanging out with his buddies and drinking cheap alcohol. I wasn't young. I wasn't young to the wine game. But um, I had moved up to Portland about a decade ago to be with my now wife, and Willamette Valley is about 45 minutes away, and they're making some of the best wines in the world. They focus on Pinot Noir and Chardonnay for the most part. Beautiful rolling hills gets cool at night to farm, these high end grapes. And one of my now best friends and business partners and I actually organically met on a golf course for the first time and just became buddies and started eating and drinking and his family had bought a vineyard and they were building a beautiful tasting room and they were getting ready to harvest and make their first wines. So while this was all happening, I think I was just kind of in the right place the right time to ask questions and was super intrigued on what they were doing. still didn't know I'd be in the wine industry. But I they invited me to help with their first harvest, which means make their first wines. I didn't really do anything other than manual labor and show up every day. But I learned a lot and that learning turned into why don't we maybe build a business together because his skill set and mine are very different when it comes down to it. I'm a people person. I'm an extrovert, he's more of an introverted artist. But coming from a storytelling background. I mean, art meets commerce, right, a lot of the best artists are they need help telling their stories, selling their stories and sharing their story. So that was kind of my brevity into wine was I love this thing and I want to share it with my people. And then very quickly, I realized that the common denominator was how do we market to old rich white people and is a compelling is that can be to some people. It wasn't very compelling to me. It didn't reflect the dinner table I had and I think the fact that we kind of had the ability to build a brand for ourselves, our generation, our questions, our comfort level, and I Think wine all too often had a barrier of entry where people just got turned off quickly instead of turned on. And I thought it was our job to turn people on to why not turn people off to wine. So just as you're making a world class product doesn't mean you have to be a jerk about it. And that was kind of step one. And then step two was, I think, the way we speak, the way we dress, the way we communicate could stay the way that we are. And then I think we could learn how to market and brand and build towards the future of finding people that could grow a business with us, or a brand with us a consumer isn't with us, instead of a dying breed of people that only cared about what it used to be. So it's kind of like, welcome to this world. I love it. I appreciate it. And then how can we kind of curate it and create a culture of it for ourselves? I

Rocki Howard: 5:41

absolutely love that. Because you said a couple of things there that I want to come back and pick up on because, like, let's be honest, I think, to your point, the wine industry is notorious for being all white and very exclusive. Right? It doesn't seem very accessible. It doesn't seem like something that shared cross culturally. But it does seem a little bit hoity toity, if I might say, so, like, you know, a girl from the hood from the Southside of Chicago couldn't imagine kind of, you know, growing up and wanting to go to wine country, because it didn't seem like there was a place for me. So it's really interesting that as you came into the industry, you saw that same thing.

Jacob Gray: 6:26

Yeah, I think we understood that that was something that we would hopefully be a part of the change of just because our social circles, the people that we gravitate towards the dinner tables we were at, and then let alone if you throw in athletics and the color barrier there. And then if I have some friends that play professional sports, I was in the entertainment industry, it wasn't just white and Heidi toidy. But it was also how can you connect people to something that you love that? I mean, we're talking about a luxury good, we're talking about a beverage? Why would there ever be a beverage that has colored blinders on? It just doesn't make sense. But at the same time, where is your aha moment, where is the moment that you fell in love with something to pursue it to put time and energy behind it? Right? I think all of our hobbies are something that we found someone shared with us. And then we had the one and well to go pursue. And I think we needed to kind of tackle that with wine a little bit. And it's an ever evolving thing. It's just more of I don't think that as the human that I am and the brand that we were building that we were going to segment our marketing to anyone other than just an age group and a thought process and a culture. And thankfully, Nikes in our backyard, Adidas is in our backyard. So there's people from every walk of life moving here, and they're realizing in their backyard is one of the prettiest wine countries in the world. And if they could find a clubhouse that's architecturally pleasing with great views, and they're listening to a little hip hop while they drink some of the best wine in the world. There's no reason that that can't resonate to any color. Right? And not that it has to be hip up. But maybe it's any kind of it's something that makes people not just feel hoity toity, right. And again, just because our vineyard outside dictates really high price points for their wines means the farming quality and the things that we do to make sure we deliver a great product doesn't mean that we can't host people in a capacity that makes them comfortable. There's no wrong questions. It's all subjective. Anyway, what you taste and what I taste is different. So why would I ever tell you your tastes are wrong? So it's really just kind of finding that that touch point to make people go? Yeah, this can be for me, this is awesome. And frankly, as I got older, I wasn't out at the club as much I wasn't partying as much my party was a dinner table with great conversations. And if you want to have a dinner party with me with great conversation, we should probably open a great bottle of wine, and then talk about where it came from, and then go to Spain real quick, go to Italy real quick, go to Napa, go to Oregon. And all of a sudden, it just builds rapport with the people that around you. And I mean, people always ask when should you open a fancy bottle of wine? But it's like, what do you listen to? What do you cook? And did you have a good day, like, there's so many other things that can set the tone for your own hospitality for your own mode, magical moments that I think I was just kind of like, I tried to learn all this. So I can share all this right? And then whoever I get to share that with that's the point. So then they can share it with people. And it didn't have to be a very small segment of the world. Not that I can define or shift it. But I'm just going to do my best to share what I've learned and share it with the people that I love. And I don't think that there's a color. I

Rocki Howard: 9:10

love that. When you think about sitting around the dinner table and the people that sit around your table. I'm wondering if that impacted the name chosen family. Tell us a little bit about how we chose the name chosen family and then tell us about chosen family.

Unknown: 9:28

Sure.

Jacob Gray: 9:29

And just for clarity, though the wine that the brand that I'm speaking about is called long below estate and it's I'm the general manager of a winery called Longfellow estate. It's a family owned small business and we make killer wine and have a great tasting room. And then out of that that the growth of that business one of my best friends who became really good friends with my owner and winemaker chase Wren. His name is Channing Frye and Channing Frye is a seven foot black man that played in the NBA won an NBA championship is married has four beautiful kids and decided to make portland oregon his home and I've known him for Almost 15 years now. And if you can imagine, I'm almost 40. So 15 years ago, I wasn't really drinking that much wine. So as humans, we knew each other. As humans, we've evolved. And as we've evolved, we've always shared things that we loved. And when we, when we get together, whether it was traveling or in our hometowns along the way, we would break bread, we'd eat dinner, you know, we'd catch up. And a lot of times we started as we got older drinking good wines or asking questions about good wine. There's nothing more intimidating than going to a nice restaurant getting handed a wine.

Rocki Howard: 10:28

What goes where? Who goes, What?

Unknown: 10:31

Yeah, like a foreign

Jacob Gray: 10:32

language, and then you're just picking it out on price points, and you're getting your best, you know, you're just guessing basically, it's an educated guess. So we've just kind of tried to gradually get better at that. And then I got in the wine industry. And then as Channing was getting out of the NBA, we were talking about launching a brand together, we'd always thought it'd be a cool idea. I think my career needed to be where it was, I think his time level and passion level needed to be where it was, and then chase our other business partner at the moment. And Kevin Love, just join us. We can talk about that later. But um, we got to work. It's just like, let's launch a brand. And yes, we sat down, we sat with a creative agency, we sat with ourselves. And then one of the things to the dinner table comment is, that's our chosen family. The one thing that we lose as we get busier is time, we only get to see the people we love so much, and who you really go through life with is your chosen family, whether it's your real family, or the people that you choose to spend your time with that your chosen family. And I think that's what we wanted this wine. This brand, this idea of sharing our favorite wines from with people was to share it with our chosen family so they can share it with their chosen family so they can share with their chosen family. And I think the touch point of things being shared with you by people you love is where you fall in love with things, and where I think consumerism and marketing can really bump their heads on a powerful, authentic thing. And then when we were doing that, we learn so CJ McCollum is another basketball player and young black man that plays for the Portland Trailblazers, he launched a wine brand around the same time that we did. And when we were both launching our brands, we learned that CJ and Channing is champions, the majority owner of our brand, that both of them were majority on black wine brands. And I think at that moment, which is less than a year ago, there was between 70 and 80 majority owned black wine brands in the world, I believe. Don't quote me on that. But I think I'm right. And then if you think about the world of wine, I don't want to say there's millions. But there's a lot of wine brands. So to see the disparity in just ownership, which you know, a lot of that goes with socio economic things, there's layers to all that. But all the shift has to start somewhere. And then when you start seeing a young black man from Phoenix, Arizona, or I think CJs, from Ohio, somewhere, become getting in the wine game and the NBA having a voice in a platform and people being turned on to wine by it. Now we're connecting with people, now we're having the ability to tell story. Now we're being able to say, well look at them, they did it. And it's not just about ownership. It's not just about being lucky enough to make millions of dollars playing basketball, there's stories to tell there's content to be created, there's wine to be sold, there's farming to be done. There's the wine industry is a beautiful place. But if we don't create something, where we can invite people into it, where your son's not asking, Hey, what if I get out of college and go to do this, right? We need to touch points to get people to go, Well, I didn't know this industry could be for me. And it's not just in one way. There's so many different ways. And I think that's our point is just going like we love this, we want to share it with people. But we want everyone to know, they're welcome. If their passion points are there, it's not just because of a color of your skin. But if your color of the skin is different than maybe the majority of white owned brands doesn't mean that there isn't a place from you. And it doesn't mean that if you don't help if you get involved, that you're not the help, that's going to shift, right. So we're just kind of starting that conversation. So I'm sorry, I'm getting no no but chosen. That because the brand that we

Rocki Howard: 13:41

Yeah, I was gonna say no, that's not long winded, because that's the point that what you just talked about is the broader implication of diversifying an industry, right? You change the game, you change, who sits at the table, you change how they look at career opportunities, you literally open up opportunities for people who are severely underrepresented in an industry and you change the game when you do that.

Jacob Gray: 14:07

And that's, and that's the goal. And so to segue from that, what the chosen family wines is literally a business in a wine brand. And it is a black owned wine brand. And it's something we're really passionate about. And someone put a lot of work and effort into it. And we're literally also trying to make and share some of the best wines in the world. So we're working on price point, inclusion, all the things but we are going about it in a way that we're passionate about to share with other people. And then one of the things that that spawn when I got into like labor and workforce and changing the dream and empowering people. And as we launched an initiative called the one barrel challenge that kind of came out of these learning processes, these deep conversations 70 black wine brands in the world, Holy smokes. That's not a lot. How do we get more people to get involved? How do we hold ourselves accountable? How do we get the industry to hold itself accountable? So I think out of those conversations in the bigger social justice conversations that we're having a few of my favorite people said you know if you're going to be in the wind industry, you might want to just kick that door open. Like if you're having these conversations, where's your time and your energy spent and I'm in the wine industry, I've got a couple businesses and I'm, I'm busy and it's like, well, then go put your time and energy there. So Channing and I, and six, or five or six other seven total brands started the one barrel challenge, which is challenging ourselves, our peers in our industry in Oregon, to take a barrel of wine and give 100% of those proceeds to a nonprofit to start helping the betterment of the barrier of entry for people of color into the wine industry. So I think a lot of these touch points that I'm talking to were kind of the cause and effect of us trying to do something even bigger than what we were talking about at

Rocki Howard: 15:39

our one action at a time is our belief you change the world, one story, one conversation, one action, one glass of wine at a time. Talk to us about one barrel challenge this year, who I know that you are supporting a particular organization, it seems like the vision is going to be that you will do this annually, and you will support a particular organization annually tell us a little bit about this year's organization.

Jacob Gray: 16:08

So this year's organization is called the Maurice Lucas foundation. And then Reese Lucas foundation is a nonprofit organization that's been around for many years in the Portland Community, giving back to people of need and young people of color to have life experiences that they might not have always had. So we've just seen the work that they've done. And it's not as a lot of people will, what does that have to do with wine. But during a global pandemic, during the huge fires we had this year, we had all the opportunities to not do this. And we wanted to do this. And we also wanted to give back and impact where we live, which is Oregon and Portland, specifically. So we wanted to pick someone that was doing great work in Portland that we could then find some harmony with to build out scholarship programs build out something in the future. So we're starting somewhere that we know the impact will be felt. And then we're going to go Okay, so how do we hold higher education accountable? How do we get them to help us so I think we're just building the base layer of what we hope to do into the future, which is create a barrier of entry for people of color into the wine industry. But the Reese Lucas Foundation, he played for the Portland Trailblazers, his son runs the foundation. Now, he passed away a little too early. And they did this in his honor to get back to the community he loved so much. So that's what we saw. And we just wanted to do something. And then you know, one barrel of wine equals 300 bottles of wine. So 300 bottles of wine is $50 a bottle $30 a bottle $40 a bottle and 100% of those by seven different brands, which is 2100 bottles of wine, you can do the math on it a little bit. It's a starting point, right. And I think if I'm I think we're limitless in our potential, I think the the timing is great, I think that the people are going to pay attention to it. And it's in a lot of people I've spoke to about it have been like, That's awesome, bravo. And we're glad someone's doing something like that. And then I think we're gonna find like minded communities and people that go, we're working on this too. So I think there's gonna be tentacles and there's ways to empower each other. And then if we're doing an Oregon, if you go out into a winery, anywhere in the world, which is the production facility where you make the wine, there's one language that everyone speaks, and that's barrels of wine. So whether it's France, Italy, Greece, China, Napa, Georgia, New York, Oregon, I think that if people like what we're doing and understand why we're doing it, and it resonates with them, and they want to raise their hand to be held accountable, I think this thing can be done anywhere. So we started small to try to learn through it and execute it correctly, so that we can empower others to join us in in the cause. And in the work we're trying to do into the future, Craig,

Rocki Howard: 18:35

I want to know, and I will make sure this is the whole purpose for doing this. I'm so excited about what you guys are doing. And we're going to make sure that the resource that your information and how we can support you is put on our resources page, so that people know how to come in and not only buy great wine and learn more about it, but to support the one barrel challenge. Before we wrap up today, like teacup, I've so enjoyed our conversation. And you know, I've talked offline, I can't wait to have you back, you're going to come back and sit with me. And we're going to talk a little bit about ally ship and what that really means and how to do that. But before we wrap up today, and maybe in that vein, I love for you to tell our audience, why it was important for you personally, right? So we started at the top you identified as a white man, I'd love for you to tell us why it was important for you personally to be a voice of diversity and part of this changing industry.

Jacob Gray: 19:40

Well, that's a powerful question. Um I don't know. I don't know if I had a choice in the best way possible. I don't know that I could live in my skin say I am who I am. Want to impact the things that I want to impact that if I want to ask these hard questions and hold people accountable around me and the best way possible, then I think that if I have a vision that I want to be a leader that I need to be the man that I'm trying to speak into existence. So I think, if my partners are of African American or black guys that and we're getting asked all these questions, and if I'm a part of a black owned wine brand, if I'm in an industry that I love that I want to share with people, but it does it just continuously, where it feels like it's very white across the board, I mean, what can we do to help that? Right? So I just, I just think it's been a natural conversation, just kind of bring life into the wine industry in a great way, but also to shine a light on maybe where we think some things are lacking, and maybe how things could get better into the future. Because, I mean, if involvement and growth isn't a part of our daily routine as humans, I don't know what we're doing. So if we want to get better, and we want to get better as ourselves, then we want the people around us to have the opportunity to get better. And I've never seen a world get better where, where people aren't given opportunities to, to participate in right like, I don't, I think that in Channing loves to say, Well, shit, if we're going to say that this thing is so amazing, but it's only getting one perspective, then that's not the truth. So I think if one wants to grow, then the people that participate in it need to grow. And I think we need to have different points of view from across the globe. And none of us are right or wrong, but at the same time, US empowering each other to have those conversations to share this thing that we love. Yeah, I mean, I guess it just, it was what I was supposed to be doing at this moment in my life. And I think I just felt an urge to speak this into existence. And I know when we first thought about the one barrel challenge, we we, in a way control two brands, right? We could have said yes to this idea for two chosen family wines and long Lewis state, as cool as that could have been. And as much as that might have, some people might have been like good for them. I think we needed some ally ship some partnerships, some people that said, No, we see what you're doing, we want to be a part of it. So as much as any of us could take credit for who thought of this or why I was thought of when you see a community come together to empower each other and to raise their hands to want to be better. That's where the strength is. So I think if we can impact the industry itself, if we can have the industrial complex of wine asking questions, if we can have the people that hire and pay for things asking the right questions, then I think we can actually see some change. And it's not doesn't need to be overnight. I don't know what change really means into the future other than it needs to happen. And we need to speak about it. And people need to know the opportunity is there if they want it. Now, if people don't want to participate in why because they find it boring. I didn't know that I would be doing this 1510 years ago, right. But I love it. I absolutely love it. And I just would love that if I'm going to own brands and manage people and have the ability to lead people that I want to have the opportunity to meet all kinds of walks of life going yo I want to be here. This is I here's my resume, this is what I'm looking to do. This is what I bring to the table. And not that that is just a color thing. But it's just a cultural thing. It's a life life experience thing. I think that we all benefit from meeting and experiencing and sharing with people from all different walks. Oh, man,

Rocki Howard: 23:07

I appreciate you. Not only do I appreciate chosen family and the work that you're doing, and the change that you're driving, but I appreciate to your point, you said I couldn't be the person that I am. I couldn't be the man that I am. I couldn't sit in my own skin. And I see you and I appreciate the man that you are to thank you so much. You're not gonna make me come chase you too hard when I get ready to do our next episode, right?

Jacob Gray: 23:36

You're amazing. I love I love holding a conversation with you. And I love the questions that you ask. And I love your perspective on it. And I your energy's infectious and I think that these things are very important. So I think the ability for us to get a hold each other accountable to get a hold, ask each other tough questions, to build a relationship, and to support and empower each other while we're trying to make changes what's needed well,

Rocki Howard: 23:58

and it is absolutely needed. Because you know what it is, I believe in all dimensions of diversity. And I believe it takes all of us to actually change the narrative. It can't be just diverse individuals. It takes all of us It takes all of us as human beings it takes all of us as citizens to come together, have a conversation, see a challenge and say let's go walk through that door together. And so I want to thank you today for walking through this door with me. And we are going to make sure that everyone listening knows about the one barrel challenge and chosen family and langostino as well so thank you so much for joining us.

Jacob Gray: 24:40

Your your absolute welcome. Thank you for having me. And yeah, just in a simple sense one barrel challenge calm, it goes live may 1 chosen family wines, calm. Any support is always appreciated. That's not what we're here for. We're just here to share our story and and hope to add to the narrative of us all being in the middle trying to Make this thing right and doing it together not separating people on all of us

Rocki Howard: 25:03

being one chosen family.

Jacob Gray: 25:06

Exactly. Thank you rock