California Wine Advocate Maryam Ahmed Finds Innovative Ways to Zoom in on Diversity

When the pandemic flipped entrepreneurs into an altered reality, Maryam Ahmed launched new ventures to promote diversity and sustainability.

Maryam Ahmed photo credit Sarah Anne Risk, Photographer @sarahannerisk

The hospitality world watched and worried through most of 2020 and into 2021. The coronavirus pandemic had pummeled winemakers and merchants along with restaurant and bar owners. The founder of Maryam + Company, Maryam Ahmed, who designs programs, manages projects and builds brand experiences for food and wine businesses observed her clients and other food and wine entrepreneurs take divergent paths toward survival. Tech-savvy owners rapidly produced new online content and leaped ahead of competitors. “Creative entrepreneurs could make decisions very quickly. I think because they had an already existing online presence in many cases, it put them in a better position to make changes to their businesses, in order to reach their customers and stay afloat in the pandemic,” says the Napa Valley wine advocate.

Pandemic Survival Strategies

What had worked in the past would not guarantee survival for wineries, wine bars, and other businesses serving the public. Creative professionals knew breaking the mold of tradition offered new opportunities. “I see that, in folks teaching courses now for a museum or that are finding a way to virtually bring people to a place, through tastings, and maybe bringing someone into the vineyard with them on a laptop. People have really responded to that kind of real access,” says Ahmed. She predicts the practically overnight virtual wine world is here to stay. “Folks love the idea of the winemaker being in their living room with them. It’s a really popular format. I think the people who succeeded, found a way to deliver who they are to the consumer conveniently and creatively.”

Ahmed’s collaborative consulting firm also embraced communication methods that did not require in-person meetings. She and her business manager, Jenae Patrick, developed virtual experiences and community sourcing programs for the startups, nonprofits and large-scale wineries on their client list. “It was just understanding how we could best develop these connections in a time when people were craving them but were having trouble figuring out how to make connection work, especially when it came to their brand and audience,” says Ahmed.

Recovery and Reinvention in Napa

Napa Valley wineries, bars and restaurants fully opened June 15, 2021, but they are greeting mask-wearing customers indoors because of the rise in the Delta variant COVID cases. As they rush to fill vacant positions, business owners must continue to adapt to changes in the food and wine world that were exacerbated by the pandemic. “Retention was already a challenge for the industry prior to the pandemic. So hospitality businesses have to find a way, if they haven’t already, to not just speak their values but to show them, especially to their teams,” says Ahmed. In her view, that requires doing more for employees. “That could look like building different programs or education initiatives for staff that didn’t exist before or helping employees grow by positioning people in a different way to create more sustainability in our industry.”

The wine industry consultant defines sustainability as creating viable hospitality businesses that thrive through their approaches to equity, economics and environment. “I think to be successful food and hospitality businesses will need to find impactful ways to incentivize employees to remain a part of the company and to engage with the company. It’s definitely deeper than a signing bonus,” says Ahmed.

Identifying Champions of Diversity

Conversations with experts in food, wine, diversity and sustainability often involve Ahmed in discussions about what it takes to be at the forefront of change. “What I heard a lot was that you just have to take the risk. You’ve got to take the risk to figure out what is going to work, especially when it comes to their virtual experiences. Those who took risks, it paid off in spades, and low and behold, a lot of other people were playing catch up,” she says.

One of the risk-takers Ahmed admires is the founder of The Hue Society, Tahiirah Habibi. The respected sommelier is also one of the co-founders of The Root Fund which leads efforts to provide resources, mentorships, and financial support for people of color wanting to join the wine world as career professionals or informed consumers. The Wine Enthusiast cover that Habibi conceptualized as a tribute to Juneteenth won a 2021 Reader’s Choice award from the American Society of Magazine Editors (ASME). “The cover is representative of the many risks she’s taken to make a change in this industry,” says Ahmed. “People would deem it risky to be so proudly bold and to take chances that magnify the need for change. I think she is a great example of a leader and a risk-taker.”  Habibi was chosen one of the wine magazine’s 40 Under 40 Tastemakers last year.

Changing the Diversity Picture

Ahmed strives to bring about the progress she considers a priority based on her definition of success. “Success in terms of inclusion and diversity within the wine world looks like actions being taken beyond lip service. I think it looks like more diverse candidates – including the LGBTQIA+, women and the marginalized. They have been traditionally underrepresented in hospitality due to lack of access. It looks like more diverse candidates in power and elevated into positions where they can provide different perspectives and leadership,” she says.

The creative wine entrepreneur hears it all, including claims from hospitality managers that people of color, women and LGBTQIA+ candidates do not apply for jobs. Ahmed responds, “People aren’t applying because they don’t see themselves in the brand and the consumer goods you offer. Don’t you think that is a problem? Don’t you always want to be expanding?”

New Paths to Inclusion

The advisor to Black Wine Professionals and Bâtonnage Forum https://www.batonnageforum.com recognizes effective commitment to inclusion. In her view, it has to involve more than entry-level hires. “If we bring people in at an entry-level, but we haven’t made changes within the workplace to make it a safe and welcoming environment, which happens at management and leadership level positions, then how do we expect those folks to stick around, and how do we expect them to grow within the company?” says Ahmed.

Diversity in Wine Leadership Forum Screen Shot 1 - February 8, 2021 photo credit Jenae Patrick, Photographer

During the 2020 pandemic, Ahmed co-founded the Diversity in Wine Leadership Forum with activist Elaine Chukan Brown. The Forum, held every six months, encourages leaders of hospitality businesses and organizations to collaborate on initiatives that support diversity and equity in hiring pay and promotion. Ahmed believes cooperation, communication and education will speed up advances. “I admire all of the hard work being put into each individual organization, but also recognize the importance of coming together to co-create and collaborate, not to mention avoiding double work or operating in silos, especially since what everyone is trying to accomplish is helping a more diverse and equitable industry to happen.”

The list of companies and groups committed to the Forum’s objectives continues to grow. It already includes the Bâtonnage Forum, Black Wine Professionals, Diversity in Food and Beverage, The Roots Fund, Lift Collective, The Veraison Project, and more.

The August 2021 Forum gave participants a platform for improving mentorships, accountability, and program methods. This past summer, a three-part workshop titled “Do the Work Series” with Dr. Akilah Cadet expanded the training available to more than 50 change-makers from different countries. The founder and CEO of Change Cadet led the discussions in diversity and inclusion advocacy.

Dine with Mare photo credit Jenae Patrick, Photographer

Connecting Diverse Voices with Virtual Dinners

Ahmed took another step in her commitment to bringing together diverse voices when she introduced friends, associates, and new guests to Dinner with Mare in 2020. She learned to use Zoom and organized each of the virtual dinners with a theme and a recipe. “It’s been a really beautiful process. I had folks come from all over the world. I wanted people to hear other people’s experiences and learn from them, so there have been naturally inclusive conversations that led to new connections and friendships.”

Her two-hour-long dinners feature special presenters. “So for our inaugural dinner, one of my favorites was Erik Segelbaum. He owns a company called SOMLYAY. He is a wine educator, and he has taught classes for the Smithsonian and many others. He’s been a great resource in the industry and helped found the United Sommeliers Foundation, which has given a lot of money to different sommeliers affected by COVID and now other emergencies,” Ahmed shares.

Other memorable dinners she mentions include the fried chicken lesson with Master Sommelier Chris Blanchard, founder of Blanchard’s Fried Chicken in Napa Valley, and this past June’s event with Elise Nerlove Rutchick, co-owner of Elkhorn Peak Cellars. Rutchick is vice president of operations for Save the Family Farms, a nonprofit organization pushing for farms to host people the way wineries do on their properties.

Dinner with Mare attracts guests from across the US and as far away as Singapore. Anyone interested in future dinners can get information through her newsletter and on Instagram @maryamandcompany.

Focusing on the Future

Ahmed dreams of a better tomorrow, one where the wine industry demonstrates how to bring about diversity, sustainability, and social equity. “We work in a world that has so much intersection, agriculture, culture, art, music, food, advocacy, activism, and sustainability. Wine can ripple out to all of those things. So, my vision or dream would be that we lead by example as an industry when it comes to these really important changes the world over.”

What does the Napa Valley wine consultant see when she pictures a hospitality industry that lives up to her ideals? It is a world that welcomes people of all races, cultures, and gender identifications, provides fair pay, promotes career advancement and preserves our environment. “Sustainability and social equity cannot remain two different issues,” says Ahmed. “Sustainability includes equity, and it also includes our environment. It all has to do with the viability of our businesses, industry and work toward the future we want to see.”

Ahmed’s vision for the future also involves making the wine world less intimidating for the consumer by becoming more approachable and accessible. “I hope that we can help empower our consumer or wine enthusiast to engage with us beyond that sip out of the bottle, and in a way that the drinker passionately engages with wine because of its stories or because of where it is from. I do think there are opportunities we have missed when it comes to inviting and welcoming the consumer into our world.”

How so? In what ways will the wine industry be different? This quote feels very vague. Maybe now that things are opening up she can be more specific. What do operators and professionals need to do differently?