CEO of Domaine Carneros says developing human capital is key to retaining skilled employees

Remi Cohen, the CEO of Domaine Carneros Winery, prizes human capital. She cultivates her employees with as much precision and care as her premium grapes.

The keynote speaker at the North Bay Business Journal’s Wine Industry Conference Tuesday told 200-plus attendees that mentoring programs and strategic planning for success improves retention and builds resilience.

Now in its 24th year, conference speakers covered a range of topics, including diversity equality and inclusion (DEI) programs, artificial intelligence and how to stand out in the wine industry.

Tahlia Suggs, marketing apprentice at Price Family Vineyard and Estates and assistant director of communication, spoke about the Veraison Project. The nonprofit organization, intent on diversifying the beverage industry, has created six to-12-month apprenticeship programs.

The take-away is that the apprenticeship programs offer people of color a great opportunity in the wine industry, Suggs said.

“I had a real connection with wine but I didn’t know how to bring it full circle,” she said. “But (through the program) I’m able to immerse myself in Wine Country.”

The sold-out crowd, with tickets at $75 each, streamed in from Sonoma, Napa, Marin and Solano counties.

Cohen’s message, the apex of the conference, is to build a culture that reveres human capital.

“People are our biggest asset,” Cohen stressed. “You have to begin building the foundation there. We’ve created new positions and a culture of internal promotions at the winery. For people to join the team and see there’s growth opportunities is really valuable.”

The mindset of mentoring is something that took root early in Cohen’s career. During her first full-time position as vineyard manager at Bouchaine Vineyards in 2002, Mike Crumly, now retired, gave her advice in how to develop a vineyard while he was working at Gloria Ferrer. Cohen said from that moment she vowed to help anyone who reached out to her.

“Domaine Carneros is so people-focused and for me that has been the most rewarding part of my journey there,” she said.

One of Cohen’s favorite mentoring programs is the Bâtonnage Level 3 membership. During the yearlong program, mentees rotate through these different departments: human resources, DTC (direct to consumer) sales, marketing, vineyards and winemaking.

“I want to give actionable items, what you can do to actually build a mentorship program, a succession plan and business continuity strategy,” Cohen said.

Developing human capital, she said, is paramount to retaining skilled employees in a tight labor market.

“With employee turnover there are all the hidden and real costs of having to hire and train new employees,” Cohen said. “So If you have good employees on your team, you want to do you best to retain them.”

Last year, Cohen said, her company had to endure losing an employee because of a personal emergency.

“It was such a critical employee and it was a big learning experience for us,” she explained, “Now we have cross training and all those systems in place, having documented standard operating procedures, so efforts can be duplicated if they need to be.”

Wineries are best suited to attract younger generations when they mirror their values of social equality, diversity and sustainability, Cohen explained.

“Younger generations want to work with companies that share those values,” she said. “I think wineries realize that new generations are more value-oriented and at this point there’s almost no choice other than to add diversity, equity and inclusion programs and to have human resource programs that support and educate your team members.”

Within this culture attuned to the values of youth, Cohen also touched on succession planning for family-owned wineries.

The most successful family-owned businesses operate as a non-family entity when it comes to succession planning, Cohen said.

“The alternative is that the family dynamics take over the running of the business rather than having the business support the family,” Cohen said. “When family dynamics are running the business and the interests of an individual dominates the vision of the business and mission of the business, then you’ve got a bit of a disconnect.”

As a business leader, Cohen said what gives her an edge in building a culture that prizes human potential is her empathy.

“I can read people really well,” she said. “I can adjust my style to how they want to be communicated with. A strong level of empathy allows me to do that.”

Pam Novak of Portfolio Innovations said she was excited to hear Cohen speak because her 22-year-old daughter, Camille Novak, is in one of the mentoring programs at Domaine Carneros.

“Mentorship programs are the catalyst to the future,” Novak said. “She (Cohen) expressed the value of her mentorship, how Mike Crumly impressed her with his help and how she’s still living by that.”