Spotlight: Paciﬁc Wine & Spirits

Paciﬁc Wine & Spirits is an industry-leading distributor, offering the most authentic and character-driven brands since 1973. As a long-standing supporter of Pride In Business, and the wine and liquor sponsor at many of our events, we wanted to catch up with Pacific’s president, Linda Robinson, to talk about the history of the company and its involvement in the LGBTQ+ community.

Pride In Business Community Spotlight, in partnership with TD.
By Jarom Moriyama-Bondar

*Linda Robinson, Pacific Wine and Spirits*

How long have you worked at Pacific Wine and Spirits?

Linda Robinson: As of today, I have been at Pacific Wine & Spirits exactly 24 years. I started my first day as a Sales Representative in Northern Alberta in 1996, six weeks pregnant with our daughter Emily and with two-year-old Christopher at home. My husband Brent and I moved the family to Calgary in 1997. I became Alberta Sales Manager in 2001 and four years later I was invited into the ownership and became President. Now 54, this is my life’s work and I would not trade it for anything!

Can you tell me a little about the history of Pacific and the services it offers?

LR: We are an Albertan-owned, Western Canadian agency for over 45 family-owned and operated premium wineries, distilleries, and breweries. Many of these are global brands such as Gerard Bertrand, Taylor Fladgate and Fonseca Ports, Champagne Taittinger, Luigi Bosca, Yalumba, Henschke, Glenfarclas, Joseph Drouhin, Paul Jaboulet Aine, Sichel, Barone Ricasoli, and Cune. We market and promote brands to the wholesale hospitality and retail sectors across Western Canada. We educate members of our industry and media on our wines, spirits, and beers through technical tastings and travel. We also promote brands to the end consumer at festivals, dinners, seminars, and instore tastings, along with handling all of the logistics.

What inspired you to get into the liquor distribution business?

LR: In Grade 11, I took one of those aptitude tests at my high school in Ontario. My future then apparently was either astronaut (unlikely), photographer (lovely hobby for me), or restauranteur (a real possibility). My parents are from Europe, so when we weren’t backpacking to visit the grandparents and cousins overseas, we were cooking at home. Wine was always on the table — typically a nice Piesporter. In the summer of 1983, I went to work for Chef Kenneth Titcomb in the kitchens for the grand opening of the Westin Ottawa on Parliament Hill. I received a scholarship for hospitality management and went to the University of Guelph Bachelor of Commerce in Hotel and Food Administration (1985-1989). This is where the wine education began: on a yellow school bus from Guelph to the fledgling wineries of Niagara in the mid 80’s. From there, off to Switzerland for a year to learn more. Upon my return, I was accepted into the Food & Beverage Career Development program of Canadian Pacific Hotels & Resorts. My first posting was The Lodge at Kananaskis, followed by Hotel Macdonald Harvest Room in Edmonton. I was invited to take some incredible food and wine education classes offered by CP and the Alberta Liquor Board. Once in Edmonton, I had the chance to work in one of the first private wine boutiques with a great wine mentor & educator, Mary Bailey. I met some fantastic wine agents and thought that this might be the perfect job, based on my work experience, love of travel, and wine & business education. I began at Pacific in 1996 in Edmonton, then transferred with my husband and two small kids to Calgary in September of 1997. Seems like a blink of an eye!

What’s your impression of the LGBTQ+ business community in the city?

LR: This community is one of the most dynamic, loyal, and compassionate business communities I have had the experience to work within Calgary. Bold and daring, while being collaborative and engaged.

How do you feel Pacific contributes/supports the LGBTQ+ community and promotes Inclusion and Diversity?

LR: With so many years supporting the hospitality industry with our brands, we have many friends in the LGBTQ+ community in Calgary. With their help, we sought out opportunities to connect on a larger scale. Great people and great businesses deserve great wine, whisky, and champagne. These partnerships bring prestige, elegance, and memorable experiences. Somehow, they always more than the sum of their parts.

We prioritize being a partner with our brands at the fantastic events put on by the Pride in Business team, telling the stories of our wines and champagnes at exciting fashion events, holiday networking, and awards events. These events allow us to exchange ideas with business owners and their staff while learning about their businesses. We can always learn ways to be more inclusive and encourage more diversity.

In 2020, we did not shy away from supporting the LGBTQ+ community events with our products, as many of our competitors cut budgets and staff due to COVID.

What does Pacific do to make members of the LGBTQ+ community feel welcome?

LR: We are dedicated to fine wine and spirits education, inviting ALL to taste, learn, and enjoy.

We dedicate material resources to staff training in hotels, restaurants, clubs, theatres, and retail stores. Better training, better service, better industry. These are offered to everyone!

I share information with wine agencies from the LGBTQ+ community on the incredible complexities of bringing products to the Canadian market. We invite members of the LGBTQ+ community to travel with us to wine regions around the world, learning from our producers and bringing those authentic stories & experiences back.

What advice would you have for anyone looking to get into your line of work?

LR: Wine and spirits must be almost an all-consuming passion. Once you have that, having a strong business and sales background is highly recommended. Any hospitality, winery, or retail wine and liquor store experience is always an asset. There are many educational opportunities — Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET), Wine Scholar Guild — as well as many Alberta retailers with weekend and evening classes and seminars. www.winejobscanada.com or LinkedIn is typically where our industry posts positions.

Are you open to being approached by members of our community would who like to connect on topics we discussed in this article? How do you prefer to be contacted?

Easy to reach me at lindar@pacificwineandspirits.com

What impact has COVID had on your work/business etc and how has Pacific adjusted?

LR: Pacific employs 27 team members, across Western Canada. Our mission — successful so far — has been to keep the team healthy, intact, and at full wages. We have the occasional ‘Friday Social’ on Zoom, with guest winemakers. A great way to start the weekend and learn about new wines or whiskies.

We are traditionally road warriors, so making the adjustment to more phone and email for our sales calls has been incredibly challenging. We all just want to be out there, fighting a good fight, but in a good way! So far, our long-term relationships across Western Canada have made this successful.

We have moved to socially distanced wine dinners or seminars, with our international principals live or pre-recorded by video. Just last week, Francesco Ricasoli, the 32nd Baron of Brolio, stayed up until almost 3 a.m. in Tuscany to do a live message to describe his Chianti Classico wines to guests at a top Italian restaurant in Vancouver. No one tells their story better than they do!

What is Pacific doing for the holidays and how can people get involved?

We have put scholarships in place for Hospitality Management and Culinary Arts at SAIT and NAIT in Alberta for 2021, as these incredible schools are essential to the success of the hospitality industry. Rather than cards and goodies, we are donating to the BC Hospitality Foundation for hospitality members in distress.

If you know someone interested in these programs, please have them contact us!

Where can people purchase your products?

See our portfolio at www.pacificwineandspirits.com,
call us toll-free 1-877-716-WINE and we can direct to the nearest store or partner restaurant.