Behind the vine

Jen Browarczyk - Kiss of Wine - Berlin, Germany

When do you think you fell in love with wine, enough to make a career of it?

I've always been interested in new ideas and starting new companies, and I've surrounded myself with entrepreneurial people. My focus has been in the tech space - my first company was a wedding planning digital marketplace. I love working in events and parties and alcohol plays a big role in those spaces, but I’ve always thought wine should always play a bigger role in them because wine is fun! My personal love of wine has become a lot stronger the last few years. I think the older you get, the more you start appreciating wine, so it was a dream in the back of my mind to have a wine company.

During 2020, in the first lockdown, I was stuck in Switzerland with two of my best friends. I was in-between projects, trying to find something new I wanted to do. We were discussing how we wanted people to drink quality wine in smaller portions (i.e. if it's a Wednesday night and you just want a glass of wine). As it is sometimes in life, some things just line up and Kiss of Wine came to life.

What story does your wine tell?

I think when people pick up a can of our wine, they should taste what we describe on them. For example, 'Smooth' is the name for our Chardonnay. Wine is overcomplicated and it's so hard for people to access wine or understand what they're drinking, so we wanted to do away with all the crazy labels and snobbish categorization in the industry. Your average wine drinker doesn't know the difference between grand crus. They just want a glass of wine.

We went through the trouble of tasting about 500 different wines to find easy, accessible grapes - all single variety. As our consumer, you get to enjoy the wine for what it is. That can help you in your wine journey and the names, or descriptions, help you to label what you're tasting. Eventually we will want people to understand the terroirs and people behind it, but we want people at the beginning to enjoy the grape they're actually tasting.

What misconceptions about wine do you think people should forget?

The first misconception is that people think you have to know a lot about wine to make a judgement on it. When you’re out and get a glass of wine you'll expect someone to make the choices for you (like a sommelier, or a friend who knows more about wine) and then it's assumed that you'll like it. People need to move away from that and just try different wines and see if they enjoy them. That's where it begins. We all have different tastebuds. Everyone can tell you what they're tasting and why they're tasting and that's the beauty of it.

The second misconception is about packaging. Half of the industry shuns us out because we're in a can. The bottle and cork is a ritual in the wine world. Don’t get me wrong, I also like a bottle, but not every time I drink wine. When we were starting out and contacting winemakers, sometimes they would hang up when they heard the wine would be in a can, but others were so excited about it and said they were waiting for someone to do that. People are bringing better quality wine into cans. I did research into sustainability and packaging, and when it comes to packaging, a can is one of the most sustainable options. We have a lot to learn when it comes to packaging it's important to take baby steps in that direction.

What great things about wine do you think people should remember?

There are a lot of great things. Wine is something that you can pair really well with meals. It's really great that you can have a three course meal and pair it with different wines. That's really important but not always remembered. I also think wine is just a little bit more sophisticated. There's always a bit of surprise. They will be different with different notes, different smells. I love that there's a whole world you can discover when you're drinking wine. It's a little bit like a pandora's box.

What is a piece of advice you would give to a woman interested in breaking into the wine world?

I understand that we need to do a lot more to support women in industry. A lot of women like stability that keep us from a lot of entrepreneurial opportunities. If you have an idea, just run after it. Do it. Life's too short to let it pass by. There is no perfect moment. You can't wait 5 years, you may have a totally different idea by then! So get out there and do it. People like people who are gutsy and take risks.

One reason a lot of people hold back is fear of failure, but in reality, no failure can happen. I had to go through insolvency and I thought 'this is the end of the world', but actually you get to understand the process. So now I know how to start companies and how to wrap them up! Everything you're learning strengthens your toolkit for the next step. I would love to see more female entrepreneurs in and out of the wine world. More women up there doing cool things.

Where can women find your wine?

If you’re in the UK, you can shop on our UK site. If you’re in Europe, visit here.