Behind the vine

Raegan Allsbrook - Mullin - Sri Lanka & USA

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

I grew up in an Italian family and my grandfather was a first-generation Italian-American. His parents made wine in their basement in Detroit during prohibition. When I was growing up, wine was always a part of our family traditions. Right before the pandemic, I moved to San Francisco and had access to all of these wineries, and broader wine communities, and joined a few wine clubs. I loved the idea of investing in winemakers and helping to provide financial security and confidence for their next season and harvest. 

Around the same time I moved to San Francisco, I took a trip to Sri Lanka with my good friends Julie Hirsch and Sony Salzman. Julie sources tea for her company, Eloments, from Fairtrade farms in Kandy, which we visited. We got to learn about the growers' mission to introduce regenerative farming to revitalize the soils, and encourage biodiversity by planting spices alongside tea. On the trip, Julie pitched Sony and I on the idea of Mullin—single-serve spice sachets for making mulled wine. It would make mulling wine as easy as brewing tea. We thought it was an amazing mission, and a great way to meet and support Sri Lankan Fairtrade farmers and local winemakers.

What story does your wine tell?

Our tagline is "mulled wine made easy". We started to develop the business idea in March 2020 when everyone was making cocktails at home. Mulled wine has traditionally been a messy drink to make and it's expensive - not everyone has star anise laying around in their cupboard! It's also usually made in big batches and if you're home alone or just want one cup, there was no real solution. Mullin is crafted to be used with red wine (alcoholic or non-alc!) and people can enjoy it as a cozy cocktail.

By partnering with Sri Lankan tea farmers who need a way to bring their spice crops to market, we're able to live our mission: every mug of Mullin supports climate-resilient farming, economic opportunities for women, and sustainable forest gardens.

What misconceptions about wine do you think people should forget?

From a Mullin perspective, it's that people tend to avoid experimenting with wine. A lot of winemakers don't want things to be mixed with their wine, which we understand because every wine is a culmination of seasons and a year of work. However, there's a part of me that wants people to have fun and not be too precious about it. You can drink a mulled wine cocktail that is made using reasonably-priced wine or even day-old wine that has to be drunk!

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

I love the process of making wine and how anyone can do it. There's a collective of natural winemakers in Oakland who source all of their grapes from different vineyards and use a communal facility. The resurgence of collectives points to a more equitable future of winemaking. You no longer have to be an old-generation wine family with your own vineyard, there are a lot of communities to support the mutual making of wine.

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

When you're starting a business, you feel like you have to be an expert—but if you have a good idea you should just go for it. If you're interested in something, chances are other people are interested in it, too. There are enough resources out there that can help you get started and there's a wonderful, welcoming community in the wine world.

Where can women find your wine?

You can buy Mullin directly on our site, and we're in some boutique grocers.

Who is a women in wine you think everyone should know about?

Martha Stoumen. As a natural winemaker, champions regenerative farming practices and there are a lot of similarities between her brand ethos and Mullin.

Also, the women at Sèchey have been key in helping us learn more about the non-alcoholic wine movement. Now we love making Mullin alcohol-free!