Wisdom From The Women Leading the Wine & Spirits Industries, with Kristen Shirley Of La Patiala

An interview with Kelly Reeves

Be curious. Try as much as you can! While I, of course, have my favorite wines and spirits, I’m always trying something new. If I’ve never heard of it before, you can be guaranteed that I’m going to try it.

Less than 20% of winemakers and distillers are women. Traditionally, women were excluded from these industries. This number is slowly rising as more women choose to study this profession and enter the wine and spirits fields. What is it like for those women who work in this male-dominated industry? What are some of the challenges that these women face? Is there hope for better representation, and better wages, for women in the wine and spirits industry? As a part of our series about women leading the wine and spirits industries, we had the pleasure of interviewing Kristen Shirley of La Patiala.

Kristen is a New York-based luxury expert, writer, editor, and stylist specializing in travel, fashion, fine watches, jewelry, wine and spirits. She holds the Level 3 Award in Wine from the Wine & Spirit Education Trust (which she passed with distinction).

Kristen is the founder of La Patiala, the luxury encyclopedia, and is currently a contributing editor for leading publications, including Forbes.com and Bloomberg Businessweek. Founded in 2021, La Patiala is a digital destination designed to ease the apprehension and intimidation many people naturally exhibit toward luxury goods of all kinds. Our mission is to empower readers to travel, shop, and collect with the utmost confidence. For more information, please visit https://lapatiala.com.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dive in, our readers would love to get to know you a bit. Can you tell us a bit about your origin story, and your childhood?

I was very lucky to have the opportunity to live in several different places growing up. I spent most of my childhood in California until my father’s work took us abroad. I went to middle school and high school at international schools in Germany and England. In 2022, after a career working for publications including ELLE, Elite Traveler, Forbes.com, and Bloomberg Businessweek, I founded La Patiala, the luxury encyclopedia.

Can you tell us the “backstory” about what brought you to the wine and spirits industry?

I fell into wine and spirits through work. I write about all things luxury, and premium and ultra-exclusive wine and spirits were of great interest to our readers. The more I learned about wine and fine, aged spirits, the more I was hooked!

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

I recently attended the opening of Krug’s newest winery, which was a fantastic experience. It was so interesting to see the level of detail and craftsmanship that goes into the wine. What struck me most was that Krug is owned by LVMH, so you’d expect it to have a lot of pressure to scale very quickly. But, what keeps Krug unique is that every wine that goes into the final blend is tasted twice by the tasting committee. They’re limited in how many wines they can physically taste, so there’s a natural limit to how much Champagne they can produce. I admire that commitment to excellence, even at the expense of growth. I think it’s an important lesson; more is not always better.

It has been said that sometimes our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

When I first started writing about wine, I made many mistakes. It’s a confusing industry with many very specific points and details. I remember being in tastings with very established wine critics and being embarrassed to jump in and say something. In one, a wine we were tasting was clearly corked, but I was too scared to say something. After everyone’s wines had been poured, someone confidently said the wine was corked, and everyone agreed. I remember they looked at me, wondering why I hadn’t said anything since I was the first to receive my glasses and smell them. That taught me it’s better to speak up and be wrong rather than hold back.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?

I’m very grateful to my father for all of his support in launching La Patiala. Ever since he saw the site and my vision come to life, he has been my number-one fan and supporter. It means so much to me, and it definitely helped give me the confidence I needed to make La Patiala my full-time job instead of a hobby, which it was for a long time.

Are you working on any new or exciting projects now? How do you think that will help people?

Yes, we’re working on expanding the wine and spirits encyclopedias on La Patiala, which is really exciting. I want to make wine easier to understand and easier to enjoy. I know this will help people find the wines they like and to not be afraid to try new things.

Ok. Thank you for all that. Let’s now jump to the main core of our interview. Despite great progress that has been made we still have a lot more work to do to achieve gender parity in this industry. In Napa Valley, the percentage of lead women winemakers or winery owners is about 12%. Overall, men account for about 80% of winemakers and winery owners. In your opinion or experience, what 3 things can be done by a)individuals b)companies and/or c) society as a whole to support greater gender parity moving forward?

Big companies need to commit resources to helping women enter the field, supporting their growth, and actually placing them in key positions. These large corporations have the funds and the means to make it happen. Venture capitalists should also invest in female-founded wine companies. According to the World Economic Forum, only 2% of VC investment goes to companies founded only by women, which is shockingly low. VC firms should commit to increasing the percentage of funding for female-founded companies. And we need more women to know that being a winemaker is a great job that is available to them through outreach, media coverage, and education.

You are a “Wine and Spirits Insider”. If you had to advise someone about 5 non-intuitive things one should know to succeed in the wine and spirits industry, what would you say? Can you please give a story or an example for each?

1. Wine and spirits are fun but very technical industries. A lot of people think it’s just fun and drinking all the time, but it’s certainly not. Get certifications, read a lot, and taste as much as you can.
2. Be curious. Try as much as you can! While I, of course, have my favorite wines and spirits, I’m always trying something new. If I’ve never heard of it before, you can be guaranteed that I’m going to try it.
3. Make lots of connections. It can be tough to break into new fields and make friends, but networking is key to the wine and spirits industry. Don’t be afraid to reach out to people, and if you’re on the receiving end of a networking request, always help out.
4. Don’t drink everything you’re tasting. It’s called tasting, not drinking, for a reason! Spitoons are there for a reason.
5. Be an individual. Don’t be afraid to follow your passions and like things that are “uncool.” People respect those with opinions.

Can you share 3 things that most excite you about the industry?

I’m very excited about the importance more brands are placing on sustainability, especially packaging. Two friends launched Juliet wine, which is an elevated boxed wine with a reduced carbon footprint. More luxury brands are revisiting their bottles and packaging, which is a great start. Extremely heavy bottles should be illegal.

There’s more choice than ever before, which is really exciting. Wine lists and by-the-glass programs are so much more interesting, and I think it’s a great opportunity for people to try more wines.

More women are getting interested in brown spirits, which are a favorite of mine. I think it’s a natural evolution from the popularity of tequila, and I’m excited to help a new group of people learn about whiskey and cognac.

Can you share 3 things that most concern you about the industry? If you had the ability to implement 3 ways to reform or improve the industry, what would you suggest?

The lack of transparency in ingredients and nutrition facts is concerning. I’d like to see labeling requirements disclosing ingredients, additives, and nutrition facts. We have no way of knowing what’s in some of the wines and spirits we’re drinking, which is alarming.

The industry’s impact on climate change is also scary. We’re not doing enough to reduce wine and spirits’ carbon footprint. Reducing superfluous packaging and making lighter bottles would be a great start.

I am disappointed with the lack of respect sometimes shown for people who aren’t drinking. We should encourage people to take breaks from drinking, alternate alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, and treat everyone with respect and kindness. There should be more non-alcoholic options on menus, especially ones that aren’t full of sugar, and no one should have their choices questioned or mocked. Bartenders should take requests for non-alcoholic drinks more seriously.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

You don’t know what you don’t know. I think people pretend they know everything, and that really closes people off from discovery. Don’t be afraid to ask questions, try new things, and be the novice. You’ll learn a lot that way. I built a career and platform out of asking and answering questions. You never know where it will lead you.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the greatest amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

I’d like to encourage people to be kinder online. The amount of vitriol is shocking, and it prevents a lot of people from putting themselves out there. We should be supporting and inspiring people, not tearing them down. Stopping ad hominem attacks and unsolicited comments about people’s appearances online would truly change the world.

Thank you so much for the time you spent with this. We wish you only continued success!