MELISSA: So, spill the grapes, what got you into wine and food?
HELEN: Ever since I was little I have been obsessed with growing food and going out to restaurants. My mom cooked everything. I started working in a restaurant in Wisconsin and I just loved it. I felt good at something. It felt natural and easy. I’d always loved entertaining and it took it to this next level.
When I moved to L.A., there were about 10 restaurants I wanted to work at. I was able to work in a massive wine cellar and taste a lot of wine. It wasn’t my ideal wine that I was tasting, but I didn’t know any better. It just sparked my interest.
I then started at Animal. They told me I could do whatever I wanted with the wine program. I saw it as an outlet for creativity. I thought, “why would you go to a restaurant and not have the best possible beverage experience?” There are a lot of great restaurants that have terrible wine. I ran our company and was our Beverage Director for 6 years. We then became business partners in this project, which now maintains most of my focus. We own the restaurant and the wine shop together.
MELISSA: How do you choose your wines?
HELEN: It’s a couple of things. One, you want to have by-the-glass wines. Something for everyone, from flavour profile to price point, without having too many options because wine goes bad.
I get to change stuff a lot because I get 4 cases and then it’s gone until next year. It’s also based on what I taste. That’s what people are orbiting when they shop at Helen’s. I’ve tasted it, and I’d drink two glasses of it, so I’m going to sell it to you. I think there is something for everyone, but not everyone will love everything.
MELISSA: You’re an advocate of small production vineyards and winemakers with integrity. Why are those factors so important to you and your brand?
HELEN: We focus on small production because wine is an agricultural product at its start. It is a living organism. When it’s opened, the oxygen changes the dynamic; it can live and die. For me, it’s about finding farmers who really understand the soil and their location. The concept of “terroir”, is a French concept about geological substructures. The topsoil, the terrain, the way it’s facing and that’s what’s informing what grapes you plant into the ground. When you start thinking of things in those ways, it’s hard to not drink a wine that’s not made with those considerations in mind.
MELISSA: What should the average person be looking for when they are buying wine?
HELEN: It’s a lot of research and tasting. Wine is a cumulative education and there are some people who do it so much better. We’re in Los Angeles, everyone is like “I go to the farmer’s market!” But then they will go and buy the worst wine, or labels they know, or their friends will know. All these things are all marketing at some point in time. What myself and other wine professionals are trying to do is remind people that they have a choice. They could have a better experience and ingest fewer chemicals and at the same time champion smaller people who need this financing more.
