Paul Donaldson,
our West Coast correspondent,
talks with Allied Domecq's
Liz Dueland

          It was an early April day in Sonoma County with billowy clouds surrounded by blue skies. With the breezes beckoning the beginnings of another beautiful wine country spring, I was in Healdsburg – the corporate headquarters for Allied Domecq Premium Brands – to interview Liz Dueland – Public relations manager for Champagne Mumm, Champagne Perrier-Jouët & Mumm Napa.

         We agreed on the Dry Creek Kitchen as the perfect place to meet. I was looking forward to meeting Liz and learning about the world that she works and lives in. Representing Perrier-Jouët (est. 1811) and Mumm, (est. 1827), there is a rich history and brand preceding any person who is associated with them. I was not disappointed in my expectations as I encountered this dynamic and creative individual. Liz has in her own words – ‘lived nine lives’ and ‘this is the best one of them all’.

         Growing up in Iowa, her father was a homebuilder and jazz pianist and her mother a pastel painter, she led the Midwestern life style known to many. That was until she became 17 – but more on that in a little bit. Later she went on to get a degree in Political Science and Journalism - not ever thinking that she would be in public relations.

         In the lobby of the restaurant I was greeted by Liz with a warm smile and knew immediately this interview would be enjoyable. We were seated before the restaurant crowd had assembled. In our previous phone conversations I learned that Liz was a Burgundy Girl as well as a Champagne Girl, so I brought a bottle of Radio Coteau 2002 Hellenthal Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir to enjoy with our meal.

         Discussing the tasty offerings on the menu led us back to Liz’s past – 17 years old and in Uganda

Ms. Dueland: I can’t eat liver or foods like that. They just don’t taste good to me.When I was 17 my father and I went to Uganda where we were missionaries. I was trained to be a Phlebotomist – drawing blood to test malnourished children .It was in the time of Idi Amin and there were a lot of people in need of help… so we lived with a British couple and one night they served kidney. I told my father I could not eat it and he said you will insult them if you don’t so I took it into my napkin and slid it under the table to my dad and told him he had to eat it.

We ordered our courses then continued.

Ms. Dueland: I can’t eat some other foods also. Last yearI was diagnosed with Crohns Disease and I am just now learning to talk about it. It has been a challenge in the food and wine industry. I have been trying to get on a good regimen. It is hard though with all of the events that I go to and all the good foods.

         So it has been quite a year for me with a pretty high powered job, turning 40 at the end of this month and being diagnosed. It has been good for me because I have had to stop and take stock. I have three absolutely delicious children and they are my life. My younger brother lives with us as well and he is a great male influence in the house.

         My job – I have always gravitated towards events. In high school I was planning them and my mother was an entertainer. I always have flowers on the table and candles and dim lights. I am always doing something, like, setting up a French Café in the living room. After 9/11 I wanted to do something for my neighborhood so I went to the market, got a bunch of fresh foods, got some sheets and big pole and set up a Bedouin type tent up in the back yard and invited the neighbors over for a meal.

Paul: How did you get in the wine industry?

          Back in Iowa I worked for a political party and arranged events for raising funds. I then saw an opening for an Executive Director for the Iowa Arts Festival. It required a Masters in Fine Arts. I didn’t have one but I thought that I could do it. So I …dressed the part for the interview, applied and convinced them that they should hire me because when I heard what they wanted to do, I knew I could do it.

          Then the man I was dating and eventually married was offered a residency in Sonoma County so I moved out here. My friends all told me I should get involved in the wine industry. I did not have much exposure to wine growing up. The occasional Bartles and James wine cooler, you know. When I grew up my mother would order a bottle of house Chablis; I thought that was one word, ‘housechablis’. … So my for my first job I interviewed with and was hired by Cuvaison Winery.

         So on my first day on the job I had to give a tour to a master sommelier and I knew nothing about wines. Afterward we went out to lunch at Travigne with a group of wine people. When you go out to lunch in Iowa, your lunch usually comes with a salad or a salad bar … so they gave us the menus and everyone was saying ‘I wonder what I will start with’ and I just broke out in a sweat. I could not imagine ordering more than one thing at lunch. Then someone said ‘What wine should we order?’ So now I have to order wine at lunch with people who know a lot about wine plus I am thinking ‘drinking wine in the middle of the business day?’ So I just took a guess and ordered a Cakebread Sauvignon Blanc which ended up being a great choice. So when I look back on my earliest times, that is a great memory.

          So that just opened my eyes. I studied and learned about the foods. I had a huge explosion of learning about foods and wines at this time and really started picking up on the pairings of the two. I really felt that I wanted to get in to the PR aspect and media so after a short while I went out on my own. I then went on to be the communications director for the Chalone Wine Group. After some changes there I went on to Balzac Communications where I handled the Seagram account. There I enjoyed learning how a wine and a brand were uniquely different because I had to communicate that to the press. When Allied Domecq bought the Champagne brands, I was interested in luxury products and international business but also lifestyle media and the job also had the event planning in it too – so I had come full circle … I have been here for 4 years now.

Paul:You appear to be shining right now.

Ms. Dueland: Yes. I am happy doing what I am doing.

Paul: How do you make products like yours like a niche?

Ms. Dueland: Well… With Perrier Jouet and Mumm I try to develop and create momentum with the brand personality. Yesterday I was just speaking with London and we are planning a Columbus Day event around Champagne Mumm with the platform of ‘Discovery’

         With Perrier Jouet and its’ flower label, it is seen as a feminine brand, opulent. A woman will buy it to treat herself. For men it is something they give as a gift. So I came up with the idea of ‘Fleurtation’ inspired by the Fleur bottle. Every year I work with House and Garden Magazine and they create an event called Fleurtation Haute Totes – we have a Kathy Ireland or a Lulu Guinness create a champagne carrying case and then we have an exhibition.

         About a year ago we created an evening of Fleurtation for Valentines Day. I am a thespian so I like the drama and so I did the research around the origin of food and romance and aphrodisiacs. I wrote a script pairing foods with Champagnes that brought people through the evening describing the different courses of the meal…such things as a course of lobster and their mating rituals, or another course of oysters with truffles and reading an old quote ‘ those who wish to lead a virtuous life should abstain from truffles’ – and then telling the guests – ‘so enjoy’.

Paul: Very fun and creative.

Ms. Dueland: I get to work with some of the great creative chefs too, Jacques Pepin, Alain Ducasse , Daniel Boulud, Thomas Keller, Gary Danko. Everything I do is unique and special and different. I want everyone to come away from these events with that feeling.

         In the beginning I would just donate wines. When someone said a celebrity might show up (to an event) I would just send champagne. Now I do a lot of proprietary events that I can be a part of, know what the event is and what the message is - to get the right impact in the social circles I want to impact.

Paul: How do you approach sparkling wines or wines that aren’t around these events?

Ms. Dueland: Personally? – I drink wine or champagne almost every day. I had two glasses of champagne with dinner last night. I like wine as part of most days. I am the least wine snob in the world – even though I am around these exclusive opportunities. I like the exclusive opportunities I get with my work where it is just champagne, I enjoy the subtle nuances of champagne and the pairings with food. But when I have a frozen bruschetta pizza with the kids at home, I am fine with a $5 bottle of merlot.

         It has been fun exposing my children to the wine culture and I let them drink wine at home with meals, more of a European approach. I will take my children with me to different events … so they get to see me in my work. I teach them about the dance around the table and the etiquette involved. When to eat, when to wait… I took one of my sons to an event dinner in New York once and in the middle of the dinner he got up came over to me, gave me a kiss and said ‘Mom – all of the things you teach us around the table I am using tonight’.

         I am very clear about what I feel and believe. I am of the persuasion that life is so beautiful. I would say that I trust my feelings and I try to enjoy people being themselves. Though I think sometimes I intimidate people

Paul: Why is that?

Ms. Dueland: Because I am sure of myself and I know what I want to do.

Paul: What really matters?

Ms. Dueland: People ask ‘How do you raise these great children?’ I let them be who they are. I always tell my children I want them to have the largest reach around what the world means and how to approach it.

         Time around the table is so precious with family too. My goal in life is to have a 15 foot table in my house and to have grandkids and daughter in laws and family and neighbors over for meals and to entertain them

         We concluded our meal, running out of time before running out of conversation. After walking out on to the street I have to say I was mentally exhausted. Interviewing such a creatively driven person was a thrill – just keeping up was like being on a fun ride. Whether it is in New York at an Artists studio opening, playing the bongos with Geraldo Rivera in a late night club, sabering for Robin Williams or just hanging out at home around the dinner table with family and friends, this Champagne Girl lives the Champagne Life.

Post Script : After this interview with Ms. Dueland, Allied Domecq had entered into negotiations to be purchased by Pernod Ricard and Fortune Brands. As of this writing, Constellation Brands was also considering entering the bidding for Allied Domecq.

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         Paul lives in Northern California with his wife and three children. He was born and raised in Seattle, Washington. Early in his career he lived and worked in Paris, France before moving back to California, where he now is an executive for a homebuilder. His interests include being a Pinot Noir winegrower in the Russian River Appellation, learning to play the piano and (most importantly) loving his family and appreciating life every day.