An interview with one-half of our third collaboration, Scott Schultz
Wasted Wine Club is obviously about the wine, and the stories behind them. But those stories are also fundamentally linked to the incredible people who make them. We met our friends Scott and Jenny in California back in 2016, and they have been a huge source of inspiration to us since then. When it came to exploring our first collaboration outside of South Africa, they were an obvious first port of call. We are so excited to have put together this bottling with them, and even more excited that we managed to catch Scott for this interview.
Angelo van Dyk: How receptive do you feel Californian wine drinkers are to the conversation surrounding sustainability? Is it wine first, and sustainability comes afterwards? Or sustainability, and then wine?
Scott Schultz: I think sustainability is always front of mind for conscientious wine drinkers. If you are just buying grocery store Chardonnay or simple box wine, then maybe you're thinking less about where it comes from or how it’s made. But many people these days think more qualitatively, and are more thoughtful about what they are consuming and supporting. So I think sustainability is first, and then that opens up the channels for wines they would then consider supporting and consuming.
AVD: What do you foresee some of the challenges being that grape growers and winemakers will be facing in coming years?
SS: Speaking here in California specifically, cost is a massive consideration. Sure, there’s plenty of wineries that artificially inflate their wine prices for some artificially perceived quality, but theres many of us that work very hard to keep prices as affordable as possible. But with the cost of land, farming, labor and especially organic practices, it gets more and more expensive every year, which means high operation and production costs and razor thin margins.
'Many people these days think more qualitatively, and are more thoughtful about what they are consuming and supporting.'
AVD: Do you think the wine industry can contribute to and impact how we approach the idea of sustainability?
SS: Wine is agriculture, first and foremost. I think people think about wine as just being a beverage, but the raw ingredients are all just farming. So yes conscientious, organic and regenerative farming is massively impactful to the longevity of the planet. Low intervention winemaking too obviously, as there is all kinds or terrible things you can add to wines, and we cardinally don’t ascribe to that ethos, and we believe our consumers don’t want that either.
AVD: As a small business owner yourself, do you think it's possible to work in a sustainable way without compromising on the quality and profitability of your products?
SS: We believe so. It’s a competitive market with so many choices, so you have to stand out. Our goal is always about making wines naturally, but also very cleanly and correctly, which we think is valuable. You have to be consistent in your quality standards to keep people coming back. I think the era of putting very flawed wines in bottle and just calking it up as “natural” is waning as consumers become more savvy in their wine consumption. But I also think overdelivering on quality in our price points is a major win for us as well.
'Wine is agriculture, first and foremost.'
AVD: You're deep into harvest, it's a Friday night, you've just clocked off for the week. What album are you putting on, and what are you drinking?
SS: We listen to a wildly eclectic mix of music during harvest. We really love to let the personalities of the whole team shine via the music. Jolie-Laide is Scott and Jenny, but we have two people in the cellar with us who both go deep in pretty different directions. Plus, during harvest, we have interns who help us process all the fruit, so it really is a pretty motley mix of genres coming out. It really pushes us to learn more new and eclectic music, instead of just going back to the old standbys. We also have the winery kitted out with a big Sonos system so we like to get loud and weird.
As far as beverages, after getting your ass kicked all day, you are usually ready for anything cold and refreshing. Well made wines and Champagnes usually. We share a lot of wines with friends, and have friends who also make wine all over the world now, so we love to always try new things. As long as it’s clean and well made, we’d give it a go.
We do also love cocktails, which tend to also be in the light and crispy style, refreshing with lots of citrus acidity. Gin, Tequila, Mezcal, whatever, bring it on…
And it's harvest bro, you’ve done harvest with us, there is no "clocking out” for the week, its getting your ass handed to you for three months straight. It's a marathon for sure and takes a special kind of person to be able to handle it, but we love it, and are grateful to be able to do what we do.
