What happens in New Zealand doesn’t necessarily stay in New Zealand.
Los Olivos local Simonne Mitchelson was 18 (the country’s legal drinking age) when she moved to Auckland and became passionate about the city’s wine scene. Ten years later, Wine Enthusiast recognized Mitchelson as one of the most innovative—and youngest—wine professionals currently working in the U.S.
Now 28, Mitchelson is the senior south coast estate manager for Jackson Family Wines, which encompasses several Central Coast wineries, including Cambria and Nielson wineries in Santa Maria and Brewer-Clifton in Lompoc (with a tasting room in Los Olivos).
“This role is the most dynamic, ever-growing position I have had the honor of assuming, and every day challenges me,” Mitchelson said. “I’m grateful for the opportunity to grow these brands here in the Central Coast with such a wonderful team.”
In overseeing operations at multiple locations, Mitchelson described the opportunity to work with wineries in different areas as a dream due to the nuances that separate them.
“There is such interesting history behind each of these brands, and they’ve played a massive role in the development of the AVAs in which they inhabit,” Mitchelson said. “It’s so cool to be able to continue the legacy and open their stories to the current and next generation of wine lovers.”
Her love of wine and early pursuit of a career in wine management began back in Auckland, she explained.
“I began working in fine dining restaurants and that is what initially piqued my interest,” Mitchelson said. “I had immediate exposure to an incredible curation of international wines, and after speaking with a few eccentric winemakers, I was hooked.”
Determined to gain experience in the winemaking industry, Mitchelson applied to one of the wineries in New Zealand she admired and offered to work for free, “and it all took off from there,” she said.
Throughout her career though, Mitchelson has observed and experienced one glaring problem in the industry: a lack of furthering diversity and equity, specifically in the U.S. She’s since sought to fight against this lack through the Natural Action Wine Club, which she co-founded in 2020.
This Santa Barbara-based nonprofit was created as a way to raise funds for internships, educational opportunities, and career support for individuals in the BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, people of color) community interested in exploring careers in the wine industry.
“The wine industry in the States was developed for luxury, to rival the Burgundies and Bordeauxes of the world. This industry was not born out of inclusivity here. It was meant to exist in a hierarchy—a luxury for the wealthy,” Mitchelson said. “You saw it continue in buying trends with the boomer generation and their love of a trophy bottle.
“Millennials, Gen Z, and beyond are breaking barriers with the way we invest our money and who we choose to support,” she continued. “With that support comes accountability—what are you doing for the people who were intentionally ignored, excluded from the wealth this industry has to offer?”
Mitchelson also had a hand in developing the BIPOC Scholarship in Wine and Viticulture at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo. The concept for the scholarship came about when Mitchelson started thinking about ways in which she could “directly impact our own community here in the Central Coast, which has had its own issues with its lack of addressing racism,” she explained.
“This process was really a stab in the dark for me as I had never worked with a university until this point,” said Mitchelson, who teamed up with Justin Trabue, a Cal Poly grad and co-founder of the Natural Action Wine Club, to pitch the scholarship.
Trabue introduced Mitchelson to Adrienne Ferrara, a lecturer at Cal Poly, who championed the program, Mitchelson said. Progress on the scholarship continued once the group brought it to the senior directors of development for Cal Poly’s CAFES (College of Agriculture, Food, and Environmental Sciences).
“We began collaborating on fundraising and raised over $100,000 within the first couple of months,” Mitchelson said, adding that the scholarship saw its first recipients with the undergrad class of 2021.
“This industry has a long way to go,” she said, “but I am proud that the conversation is no longer hidden. It has been thrown into the spotlight and is here to stay.”
Arts Editor Caleb Wiseblood helps throw people into the spotlight. Reach him at cwiseblood@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Oct 28 – Nov 4, 2021.