Check Out Emily Dockery’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Emily Dockery.   

Hi Emily, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I started out as a wine buyer for a small market in Kalamazoo. I had just graduated from Kalamazoo Valley Community College with a degree in International Studies and was considering a career change. I was passionate about wine but felt as though I was outgrowing my current position. I was made aware of the Wine Technology program at Lake Michigan College while doing an in-store tasting with one of my favorite local wineries. While discussing this new program at Lake Michigan College I became inspired to continue on my path in wine. I applied to the program that evening and was accepting shortly after. The program provided a very intensive and hands-on education focused on grape growing, winemaking, and wine business. When I graduated the program, I was trying to decide on which specialty to devote further training to. I worked in a vineyard in Lawton, Michigan for some time after deciding that winemaking wasn’t for me. After my time in the vineyard, I also came to the conclusion a career in agriculture might not be the right fit either. Around this time, a new statewide Michigan wine nonprofit was forming. The Michigan Wine Collaborative was the brainchild of a group of like-minded winemakers, grape growers, and industry affiliates who saw a need to form a group to counteract the impending dissolution of the government-funded organization, the Michigan Grape and Wine Industry Council. My unique set of skills, including wine sales, global wine knowledge, marketing, graphic design, social media management, winemaking, grape growing, and general knowledge and passion for Michigan wine made this organization and position as project director seem like a perfect fit. And it ended up being just that. In November 2017 I was offered the position within the Michigan Wine Collaborative as the sole employee and Project Director of the organization. Myself, the board of directors, and membership hit the ground running and worked together to build up the organization as well as solidify our mission to enhance the profitability and sustainability of the Michigan wine industry. In 2018 the Michigan Grape and Wine Industry Council was officially converted to the Michigan Craft Beverage Council, and the work of the Michigan Wine Collaborative became even more important, and our initiatives ramped up. I eventually was promoted to the Executive Director of the organization and have been able to work on so many fulfilling and valuable projects which have positively impacted the Michigan wine industry as well as myself personally and professionally. During my work with the Michigan Wine Collaborative, I also decided to launch my own consulting and marketing firm, winemi. This firm specializes in working with Michigan wine and grape businesses as well as small business, especially those women, BIPOC, and LGBTQ+ owned. I diversify my work specialties by offering services with winemi such as social media management, consulting, marketing project management, graphic design, media production, promotional projects, public relations, problem-solving, grant management, and more. Being able to work in other industries and with additional projects has allowed me to refine my skills but also keep from becoming stagnant in my creative and professional processes.  

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
While there has certainly been some hiccups and general struggles along the way my path in wine has been a relatively smooth one. I have always felt like this particular journey has been quite serendipitous. Once I chose wine as my career path opportunities continued to fall into my lap at really ideal times. I feel so lucky to have this be the case. Wine is a really magical industry full of unique people that boast so many different experiences and tons of creativity as well as generally laid-back personalities. I am a person that benefits from fluidity in the workplace and I feel like the fact that each vintage is quite different is metaphorical for why wine has been such a natural fit for me. Starting winemi was a bit different. I did face some new challenges with honing in on specialties and projects that were fulfilling to me as well learning how to properly compensate myself for my labor and select the appropriate amount of projects to not get burnt out. Starting a business is very labor intensive but also was sometimes mentally and emotionally draining. Once I was able to get the hang of what I had the capacity for, and what made me the most fulfilled professionally, I was able to work much more efficiently. I enjoy having the freedom to dabble in alternative industries and custom projects which helps keep my creativity engaged and professional development evolving.  

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
As the sole employee and Executive Director of the Michigan Wine Collaborative, I am responsible for all day-to-day operations, project management, and outreach regarding the organization. With over 150 members and a full board of directors, communication is a huge part of my job. I work very hard to make sure the organization’s shareholders are aware of our current projects as well as any current or upcoming opportunities for them to aid the organization, promote their businesses, or help raise awareness of Michigan wine. In terms of project management, I find our Inclusion and Expansion and workforce development initiatives most fulfilling. In 2020 I was honored to help form and co-chair the Michigan Wine Collaborative Inclusion and Expansion Committee. This committee was launched with an industry-wide letter and call to action to wineries, growers, and industry affiliates to increase their commitment to diversity not through performative gestures but through actual inclusion of historically excluded populations in their businesses and circles as a way to expand our industry as a whole and increase awareness of Michigan wine. A huge focus for me is to work to expand our industry to include more people, especially historically excluded populations, in an effort to create and maintain a sustainable recruitment and talent pipeline for both wine industry professionals and Michigan wine consumers. As an emerging wine region now is the time to get involved and to make sure people feel welcomed and encouraged to engage. There are so many opportunities in this industry which is on the cusp of greatness, and we are at a historic point of growth. It’s an all-hands-on-deck moment, and I want people to know Michigan wine needs everyone and has room for everyone. Being able to share my love and passion for wine with others and hopefully inspire them to consider this industry as a career path is my ultimate goal. I think a weakness the overarching wine industry present is a lack of diversity which results in a deficit of innovative ideas and progress. Inviting more people in will make our industry so much more exciting and will get us all to the next bigger phase much more quickly as well as create additional opportunities for all. In addition to cultivating this progress within the Michigan Wine Collaborative and wider Michigan wine industry, I am also very passionate about the 4-H Viticulture Club/Michigan Wine Collaborative Talent Pipeline I have had a large role in producing. This project which is the first of its kind in the nation features a curriculum geared toward youths 12-19 years of age and educates on how to care for and maintain a healthy and sustainable vineyard. One of the most unique features of this program is the intention to launch the club in the city of Detroit. As an extension of my goal to extend Michigan wine country east from Lake Michigan, we wanted to also provide increased agricultural opportunities to youths in the state’s largest city. With participation from Pingree Farms, Detroit Vineyards, and Drew Ryan Wines we have been able to collaborate on planting vineyards within the city of Detroit to offer learning spaces to a whole new group of young aspiring agricultural enthusiasts. It was also a great experience to help produce the 2021 Judgement of Michigan with Lake Michigan College. This was a truly avant-garde approach to wine evaluation for the Michigan wine industry. We worked diligently to vet and source a cutting-edge group of judges and invite them to Michigan wine country to introduce them to Michigan wine, our unique grape varieties, and our winemaking styles. We asked them to indiscriminately evaluate and judge over 350 Michigan wines from around the state and only award the best of the best wines medals. Previously the Michigan Wine Competition awarded around 90% of the wines entered medals…we wanted a more exclusive judging style to positively impact our winemakers. If the wines blew the judges away, we wanted to reward those efforts, and if the wines were lacking, we wanted to be able to provide feedback to wineries for how to improve their methods and create better Michigan wines. This was an effort to improve the Michigan wine industry as a whole but also to raise awareness of Michigan wines within a group of active and diverse wine buyers, writers, influencers, media professionals, and wine experts. This event was essential to my professional growth, but I am certain will be one of the most iconic experiences in wine for me personally. Outside of these influential and inspiring projects I have been blessed to be a part of, I have also been able to gain exponential experience with social media management, graphic design, marketing, promotional efforts, public relations, and a wide array of problem-solving and project building efforts through my personal consulting and marketing firm, winemi. I have been able to diversify my experience working in industries outside of wine including educational institutions, nonprofit groups, veterinarians, estate law, and other small businesses. Working with these various other industries has helped me work more efficiently and be more creative in my work within Michigan wine and has offered me an outlet to keep a fresh palate professionally.  

Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
The Michigan wine industry is on the cusp of greatness and will be a major player in an upcoming shift of American wine history. The state is making huge strides in developing and working with innovative hybrid grape varieties and winemaking methods to turn these new varieties into a new classic style of wine in addition to creating premium wines with more well-known vinifera varieties. With climate change becoming more and more of an ongoing topic of discussion within global wine current events, Michigan is poised to be hugely influential on what other regions plant and how they work with those grapes to create premium wines, especially in cooler climates. Also, with cooler climate varietals and regions coming back into trend we will be in a unique position to reap the benefits with our lean, acid-driven, fruit-forward styles of wine. The Michigan wine industry has been experiencing exponential growth for decades that is proving to be sustainable. I anticipate the number of acres dedicated to wine grapes to continue to increase as well as new wineries being established while current wineries expand their businesses. In addition, I believe that as other states’ wine industries advance, they will look to Michigan as an example of how to build a trajectory of success in terms of viticulture, enology, and wine business and marketing. 

Contact Info:

• Website: www.michiganwinecollaborative.com
• Instagram: @miwinecollab
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCD8Vu51RcSTp5dRzCgNbMfw

Image Credits
Emily Dockery
Lake Michigan College
Gina Shay