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Doreen Winkler is a natural wine sommelier, consultant, and founder of Orange Glou, a unique wine subscription service and monthly wine bar pop up in New York devoted solely to skin contact wines. Although Doreen’s focus is on natural, organic, and biodynamic wines that offer the purest expression of the grape and terroir, her deepest passion is for orange wine. Doreen developed wine programs for over a decade as a sommelier and consultant for restaurants, bars, and wine retailers, including the Michelin, starred Aska and Aldea, Lupulo, Sel Rrose, and among others. Her wine program for Aldea received the World of Fine Wine Best Wine List Award in 2015 and Forbes named her one of “America's Top Sommeliers” in 2016. Over the years, she has developed relationships with winemakers and worked harvests at vineyards across many of the world’s best wine-growing regions. Now, through Orange Glou, she delivers a highly curated, personal selection of the most interesting and distinct orange wines in the world. Since her first taste of skin-contact wine in 2013, Doreen has tasted over 1,000 different bottles and is still very much in love with the magic in the glass.

Can you tell our readers about your background?

I started in hospitality with an apprenticeship at 16 years old, got my first sommelier job at 22, and never looked back. In addition to Orange Glou, I worked as a consultant sommelier for restaurants, bars, and wine retail stores in New York City, including Sel Rrose and Trapizzino. I’ve developed wine programs in the City for over a decade, including at Michelin starred Aska and Aldea, Bar Glory, Lupulo, and Urban Uncorked, among others. I also worked as a sommelier in Germany, Switzerland, Australia, and Cyprus and traveled to many of the world’s best winegrowing regions to participate in harvests and learn hands-on methods the best natural winemakers are using today. I also regularly attend natural wine fairs like RAW in the US, La Dive in France, Third Coast Soif in Chicago, and more and am constantly tasting new products and meeting new producers.

What inspired you to start your business?

I LOVE ORANGE WINE. It can be hard to find and niche, so I had a lot of friends asking me how to access it. One friend in particular, Katie Rodgers, known on Instagram as @PaperFashion, was especially encouraging and even offered to design some of the packagings. The demand was apparent and the timing was right so I finally dove in.

Where is your business based?

We are based in New York City.

How did you start your business? What were the first steps you took?

The first step was figuring out what I was going to offer. I looked at the wines I had access to and set aside inventory to fulfill orders of 3-bottle and 6-bottle boxes. Then I had to evaluate costs to determine price points and find a business partner who could distribute the wines to other states. Once I calculated all the costs, I hired a designer to create my logo, website, and Instagram aesthetic.

What has been the most effective way of raising awareness for your business?

Outreach to traditional media through PR helped establish the business by increasing our initial visibility and legitimizing the quality of our product in the eyes of the public. Instagram has also been one of our biggest assets for word of mouth, especially happy customers sharing how excited they are to open the boxes and drink the wines on their IG stories. It feels like Christmas every month.

What have been your biggest challenges and how did you overcome them?

When the market started crashing due to the outbreak, we received a lot of cancellations. People were scared and many had lost their jobs. We had to reevaluate our strategy, so we introduced a one time box that didn’t require a subscription and free shipping in New York for the first month. Ever since the business has been booming and more people are ordering the bigger subscription boxes (six bottles each month) than ever before! I was consulting for several NYC restaurants, but now I am staying focused entirely on my business and it’s paying off.

How do you stay focused?

I make lists so I always know what I need to do for the day and week. I don’t like to plan out the whole month because if the list is too big it becomes overwhelming. Getting up early, turning off the phone, and just knocking stuff out.

How do you differentiate your business from the competition?

Orange Glou is the first and only wine subscription service just for orange wine. Beyond that, each box is full of personal touches, like the art designed by Kate Rogers for each tasting notecard and the gift boxes. Most important, though, is that the wines are of the absolute best quality. I make no compromises. These wines can be expensive and difficult to acquire because of high demand and limited production runs, but if you’re into orange and natural wines, these boxes are going to be your rock n roll playlist.

What has been your most effective marketing strategy to grow your business?

In addition to traditional and social media, our monthly popup bars in New York and LA really engaged people on a different level. I wanted to create a version of my “dream bar,” a place where there were more orange wines than would be even possible to try in one night (but we also poured by the half glass in case you wanted to). Now that we’re in the age of social distancing, we’ve had to move that experience online and we’ve been doing that every Monday at 6 pm EDT via Instagram Live. Each week I share what’s new for Orange Glou, have a conversation with a guest winemaker, and chat with everyone who’s tuned in.

What's your best piece of advice for aspiring and new entrepreneurs?

Stop thinking. Start doing. That was holding me up for so long. Put your numbers together, look at who your customers are going to be, and don’t compromise. The product is the most important part. There will be critics but stay the course. But also don’t overspend trying to build your company (i.e. having a decent website is enough; it needs to function, but it doesn’t need to be super fancy).

What's your favorite app, blog, and book? Why?

I love reading food blogs and websites like Eater and other industry publications to stay on top of trends.

What's your favorite business tool or resource? Why?

I love our newsletter. It keeps our customers informed and gives them an opportunity to engage.

Who is your business role model? Why?

Emily Weiss, founder of Glossier beauty products. I don’t use a lot of makeup products, but they’re very good at highlighting simple tricks that will make you feel better about yourself without putting on a whole face. All their products are organic – as are my wines – and their customer service is extremely personal. When the brick-and-mortar was open, they limited the number of people allowed in the shop to a 2:1 customer to employee ratio so that everyone could get ample attention. Likewise, Orange Glou seeks to share a high-quality product with highly personal customer attention.

What is your beauty routine? What are some of your favorite products?

I use a toner that refreshes and hydrates my skin. I dab it on after a shower and it feels so good. Then I add some moisturizer. If I’m leaving the house, maybe some powder and eyebrow enhancer.

How do you balance work and life?

I’m still figuring that out every day. Now I have a little foster dog named Rogue that’s giving me some balance. I try to take one day off a week to spend with my boyfriend. We like baking or cooking together, taking long walks.

What’s your favorite way to decompress?

Trading massages with my boyfriend and watching movies while wearing face masks.

What do you have planned for the next six months?

Hopefully hosting popups again! I have a vision of what I want to achieve. I want to increase my businesses, of course, and add more monthly subscribers. I’m hoping to host an event in LA in November if RAW Natural Wine Fair is still happening. I’m always planning my upcoming sourcing and continuing to foster winemaker and distributor relationships.

How can our readers connect with you?