Meet Stephen Hemmert

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Stephen Hemmert a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Stephen, really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?

I think I found early on that my purpose was to be creative in some form or another. As a young kid I fell in love with watching the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan show. I thought how great would that be to write, sing, and play songs in front of a screaming audience? At the age of 12 I started my own band which led me all the way to Los Angeles at the age of 26 playing in a four piece band from Tulsa Oklahoma. Well that I know that it was extraordinarily hard to make it in the music business but nonetheless, I kept my creative side alive by writing a book and also getting into my favorite passion of all time making wine.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

Again, being creative, I found a passion I could not shake in the form of wine making. That’s where my fiancé and I decided to form our own. Winery called Stephen Hemmert Wines . There’s something ever changing about the business. Nothing seems to be the same harvest after harvest! The grapes come in differently every year due to the growing conditions of the season which is a challenge.
I also like experimenting with different varieties that I’ve not made in the past, which is exciting, and at the same time very rewarding. We take great passion and what we do and share that passion that desire with other people. After all, Wine is a Social beverage.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

For me the first experience of Wine was not a pleasant one as when I moved from Oklahoma to California. The wines I tasted were jug wines. Not very attractive to say the least. But then a trip up to Sonoma changed that. So experiencing something is the first step in finding out your dedication or relationship to it. Once I experienced Quality Wine I became extremely interested in it. The second step was to study everything I could about the different varieties and the different growing regions around the world, techniques on winemaking and how to set up a winery. Lastly, was to apply myself into making wine that would match the quality of those wines that I had tasted not only in Sonoma, but in France and many other places. To me once you find something that interests you in your soul you must throw yourself into it 100%. Learn everything you can and always be willing to adjust and learn more.

What is the number one obstacle or challenge you are currently facing and what are you doing to try to resolve or overcome this challenge?

The current obstacle that everyone in the wine industry is facing right now is decline in people drinking wine. Baby boomers, which have been the largest consumers of Wine are getting older and therefore consuming less alcohol or unfortunately, passing away. Millennials are drinking wine, but not in the same volume as the baby boomers were. The newer generations are not drinking wine much at all and are experimenting with mixed cocktails, craft beer, or low or zero alcohol beverages,
While I do not have a magic wand nor does the industry about how we solve this issue, all we can focus on is produce high-quality products, at a fair prices, and invite people into our lovely tasting room to try our unique and flavorful products. All the while to impress upon them our potential clients, that we are not some humongous corporate Winery making 60,000 to 200,000 cases a year of boring cookie cutter Wine, but that we are a small family owned winery making less than 1000 cases a year of unique amazing wine!

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