The Fizz #26: Larissa Dubose is a career wine sales manager building a diverse industry through education

I spoke to Larissa Dubose, a leader in wine education, about the landscape of wine sales, and how education plays into creating a diverse industry.

For the 26th issue of The Fizz, I spoke to wine educator and Senior Sales Manager Larissa Dubose about the opportunities on the wine sales side of the industry. Larissa has eleven years of experience in wine sales, and is an incredibly inspiring figure in our industry overall. Larissa is a member of the Board of Directors of the Somm Foundation and the Director of Education of Black Wine Professionals. She has dedicated her career to helping folks in marginalized communities find opportunities and thrive in the wine industry.

Larissa is also a Certified Sommelier through the Court of Master Sommeliers, Level 3 Certified with WSET, and a Certified Specialist of Wine with the Society of Wine Educators. She has been a part of many wine education spaces, and now creates her own wine classes and content with The Lotus and The Vines. In this interview, we spoke about the landscape of the wine sales space, as well as wine education in today’s industry, and how we can be making moves toward growth.

Margot: How did you get into the wine industry? How’d that journey start for you?

Larissa: I stumbled into wine—I feel like most people have. I lived in Boston and worked in pharmaceutical sales and later moved to Baltimore. I stumbled into the restaurant industry trying to keep my head above water financially. I was bartending trying to figure out my next step in my career. I did payroll and found out that bartenders were making a lot more than I was, and their schedules were more flexible, so I went to bartending school. I was in a space where I could literally start over.

The distributor and sales rep would come into the bar where I worked, and I started asking her questions. She did what I did in pharmaceutical sales, but she had way better samples [laughs]. Really, I started in this industry on the distribution side on May of 2010, and I never looked back. I was an on-premise sales rep and got promoted to be a portfolio manager for Patron within my distributor. Within four or five months of that, my fiancé, now husband, got a promotion and we had to move. That was February of 2014 and we moved to Atlanta in May of 2014 and started a new life.

As an on-premise sales rep, I had wine and spirits, but I wasn’t in a very wine-savvy territory. At some point, they gave me the Gaylord Hotel outside of D.C., and that was my first dive into talking about wine in a consultative way. I worked with my first sommelier, who really kept me on my toes. I went on a trip through Gallo to go to Napa and Sonoma in 2012. I remember being at McMurray Ranch, we could see the Russian River meandering through the property. It was an amazing moment for me, and I knew that my career would lead to wine.

When we moved to Atlanta, I moved into more of a supplier role. I had a really great portfolio—Napa, Argentina, South Africa, Australia. It was a diverse portfolio. I had my daughter, and I decided I’m not going to travel six states anymore. Today, I’m a Senior Sales Manager for two luxury California wineries. I started five and a half years ago, and it’s been a pretty cool ride ever since.

The Lotus and The Vines is my passion project—it’s the wine lifestyle and education arm of what I do. I got tired of being the only person that looked like me in the room. I wanted to create a space for more people of color, where wine wasn’t necessarily part of the culture growing up. I wanted to create a space for those individuals to have access to that education, because I know there’s power in it.

M: What was it like getting into wine from the liquor space?

L: It was actually really cool, because when I was in Maryland, I went through mandatory training around spirits and wine. The program they offered was called the Journeyman wine course, which was an elective. It was the first deep dive into wine. That class really helped me prep for Certified Specialist of Wine (CSW). I hung onto that education when I was looking at my next step in my career. The move wasn’t too jarring. At the end of the day, sales is a product—you have to learn about the product in order to tell the story. It was a matter of diving into the stories, and learning Atlanta. A lot of it was trial-by-fire, figure it out as you go.

When I moved to Atlanta, I realized I needed more training. The distributor I was aligned with—most of the salespeople had a CSW certification. I decided that if I am going to be an expert on the wines in the portfolio, I need to step my game up even more. Nobody knew what my Journeyman training was, so I went after the CSW in 2014 and passed in 2015. If I’m the only person in the room that looked like me, I wanted to stand out for being credible.

M: I’m interested in your take on the learning programs out there. There’s a conversation around whether this is something we want to be participating in. I’ve heard folks say that we don’t want to build into an existing sexist and white supremacist organization, but I’ve also heard folks say, like Jahdé Marley, that for people who aren’t white, straight, cis, those organizations are really important because they help you get in the door where you wouldn’t otherwise be automatically welcomed.

L: I completely agree with that sentiment. Wine education for me has been the foundation of everything I’ve been doing with The Lotus and The Vines, wanting to give individuals tools that they can use to up their personal and professional brand. Yes, there are organizations that have a lot of work to do, but the reality is that when it comes to the BIPOC community, and individuals coming from other marginalized communities, there just aren’t enough of us yet. For me, I’m in a unique space because I have the tenure, but most of us, it’s almost like this acknowledgement and understanding that this is an entire industry that you can create a career out of, literally just opened up to the broader community. It's much harder to come into these spaces and know nothing. 

From a distributor standpoint, they’ll typically source from restaurants. It’s almost like this normal career progression because there’s a baseline. When I got into the industry, my baseline was being a bartender, but I definitely wasn’t anywhere near wine-savvy. My sales background carried me. If you don’t have a sales background, you need to have the restaurant or wine experience. I have hope that after the murder of George Floyd, the wine industry is starting to understand that the old normal can’t go on, and the gatekeepers that are saying that certain people aren’t the right fit—those days have to go. Education is a key part of that.

I’m the Director of Education for Black Wine Professionals, founded by Julia Coney to uplift and edify the Black wine professional and to provide a space for the wine industry to no longer be able to say “oh, we didn’t know where to find you”, the sommeliers, producers, suppliers, educators. Now you do. Education is a key component of that because once you know a little something, you have to keep learning, but at the same time when you get in the door you have to have something if you don’t have the tenure. What Jahdé said is completely on point. I think the organizations are trying to do the work and figure it out, but I’m also never here to judge someone’s journey.

There is not a current Black female Master Sommelier—who is going to be the first? Should someone not continue to pursue that goal? That’s just something I’m not going to judge anyone for. Everyone’s path is their own, but there are still so many firsts that haven’t happened yet. They’re creating a dynamic for people to see that we are in these spaces. I look forward to seeing the first Black female Master Sommelier in the world. At the same time, there are other organizations—Wine Scholar Guild, Society of Wine Educators, Wine Spirit Education Trust. There’s no shortage. And now, there are opportunities to gain access to scholarships through organizations like Wine Unify, Somm Foundation, The Roots Fund. They’re creating that space and that access.

Whichever route someone chooses to go, I’m dialed into it, because education is such a key part of wine. Let me also say, you don’t have to have accreditation to be a knowledgeable wine professional, but if you’re just getting in the door, it can be helpful. You and I both know many credible wine professionals that never took a test, and they didn’t have to, but they had the tenure. They immersed themselves into the industry and they have the experience, and that experience is what is carrying them. For individuals just getting in the door, that education will help them.

M: As you’ve been in the sales space in wine for 11 years, how have you seen that space change?

L: There’s still very much a lack of diversity. There’s a perception that people don’t know about this side of the industry. There’s a ton of opportunity to change that. A big part of it comes from recruitment and retention—where are you recruiting your salespeople, and what are you doing to retain them and help them grow? The distributors will pull from retail or on-premise for their sales staff. The suppliers typically pull from the distributor. If the talent pool looks a certain way, you’re just going to keep pulling from the same people.

Lots of talented individuals have left because they didn’t feel like they really belonged, so I think there’s a lot of work that still has to be done to get the sales side of the business to truly reflect the world that we live in. As more individuals from marginalized communities understand that this is a safe space where they can thrive and they can see a career path to excel beyond where they started—that’s going to be a big part of that change. My goal is to support those individuals wherever I can. That’s why I’m here.

M: I know that some of my subscribers work for distributors. What is a piece of advice that you can give them so they can create a better situation for their employees?

L: I had a DEI training yesterday led by Dr. Akilah Cadet, and there was a note that I found really compelling. Accountability Communication Transparency—ACT. One of the first things that I learned from a veteran sales rep when we shared an account—he said “I’ve been in this industry a long time. Remember that the squeaky wheel gets the oil”. Of course you have to perform, at the end of the day this is sales. But if you’re performing, you have to advocate for yourself and ensure that your voice is heard. I’m also a big proponent of mentors and mentees, finding a mentor, but also understanding what it means to be an engaged mentee. In order to be an engaged mentee, there’s something you have to bring to the table. You have to pay it forward.

For those distributors reading, be transparent and communicative. If you have these conversations with your team members, find out what their goals are. You’ll have individuals who want to stay career sales reps, and that’s fine, but you’ll also have representatives who want to grow into management. How do you help develop them? It’s all about developing people. If someone knows that you’re invested in their future, they’re going to want to work for you. If I know that my manager is going to speak up for me, I’m going to work hard for them. If you’re performing, speak to your manager! You have to be an advocate for yourself. Part of my mission is knowing that people are equipped to thrive in this space.

I know that there is more that can be done to diversify our wine sales force—BIPOC, LGBTQ+ people, in every aspect. We need to ensure that we’re not just placing these individuals in the pockets where you think they’ll excel. If someone Black comes into the industry, don’t put them in the nightclubs! You think I can only talk to people who look like me? I’m equipped to talk to anybody in the room. I think the distributor world is definitely getting better there, but that’s something I saw when I got into this eleven years ago. There’s a better way, and when you figure that out, everyone will win.

M: What does education with The Lotus and The Vines look like? How do you think wine education should be changing?

L: When we’re learning about wine, it’s more than just a Eurocentric tasting sheet. There’s a global dynamic that has to be embraced. As all of these diverse palates and experiences are coming to the table, you can’t discredit someone for smelling and tasting something you aren’t familiar with. There’s so much more to learn in that, and it makes us better professionals. If I get Sorrel, this Caribbean drink, and you haven’t had that, you can’t tell me that’s not there. You should probably go to a Jamaican restaurant and try something new. That inclusivity is very important.

For my wine education style, I’m very animated. It’s wine 101, and I speak to why wine knowledge is important, I give personal anecdotes around how I felt its power. Wine is my passport—one of the few things in this life that can take you anywhere in the world. There’s so much to it. Wine should be a connector. I didn’t grow up with wine on my table, but my daughter is going to! My biggest regret is not moving into the industry sooner—I got into the wholesale side at 32. I see so many young people that have so much more time to learn and immerse, and get that experience. With that, I feel the future is bright.

M: Where do you find your joy in the work that you do?

L: In the “aha” moment. When I see somebody really get it, or when someone reaches out and says that because of this tip I gave, they were able to do that thing. My mother passed away in 2010 to breast cancer, and before she passed away, I asked her what she wanted to be remembered for. She told me that she wanted to be remembered for being my mother, which was super weird because at that time I was just trying to keep my head above water financially. I just didn’t understand that, but she knew something that I didn’t. She knew I was going to be okay. She also said she wanted to be remembered for helping people. In that is the heart and ethos of what I’m doing with The Lotus and The Vines. I’m helping people put their best foot forward. In doing that, I keep my mother’s legacy alive.

One of my wine sisters Shakera Jones says “it’s never about me, it’s always about we”. That’s the joy that I find in this industry—giving people that moment where they understand that there’s more, and they find their power and connection. Knowing that I was able to help them step into that using wine as a tool, that’s my driving force.

M: Thank you so much for sharing your story with me. I feel like I really got to know you today.

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You can support Larissa by following her work at The Lotus and the Vines and staying up on her moves with organizations like The Somm Foundation and Black Wine Professionals.

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