Louisa Maria Schmidt, aka Lou, is Germany's most successful wine influencer with over 50,000 followers. The Geisenheim graduate and trained restaurant specialist shows with humour and charm that you don't have to be afraid of wine. In an interview with Raffaella Usai, Lou explains how she gets young people excited about wine.
You are Germany's best-known wine influencer. How did you become that?
Louisa Schmidt: I describe myself more as a content creator and wine expert. In the USA, for example, this is very common, but in Germany we are light years behind in terms of digitalisation. And the wine industry is generally even more conservative. So people like to define me as an influencer.
Where does your own enthusiasm for wine come from?
Louisa Schmidt: I grew up in old-school gastronomy and learnt my craft there in the traditional way. My dream was to work as a sommelier in high-end gastronomy, but I gave that up for health reasons. After a year in the Rheingau and the Palatinate, where I worked at wineries, I went to Geisenheim University. I studied International Wine Business there.
And then you wanted to pass on your knowledge?
Louisa Schmidt: No, I actually wanted to work in export. The combination of wine, cuisine and travelling has always fascinated me. When I was 19 and spent weeks on a sales tour in the USA with Ernie Loosen, I thought: that's exactly my thing! I always wanted to work directly with customers or guests, and that was a lot of fun.
In the end, things turned out differently. You started telling stories about wine.
Louisa Schmidt: The great thing about it is that wine exists almost all over the world and every winemaker has their own story. Wine brings people together and tells so many stories. It's incredibly exciting and covers so many topics.
Getting young people excited about wine - is that your mission?
Louisa Schmidt: As I'm young myself, I naturally appeal to this clientele in particular. When I started out, I also had a lot of older followers, let's say "old white men". They constantly criticised me and denied my competence. But they were never my target group - I want to introduce young people to the topic of wine.
With your blog "bringflavorhome", your Instagram channel and your podcasts, you want to communicate wine knowledge in a contemporary way. What does that mean for you specifically?
Louisa Schmidt: I want to show that wine can also be communicated in an accessible way. For many people, wine is still elitist drivel. There are definitely young people who are in training, whether in catering or retail, who are interested in it but have not yet found access to it. For my community, it shouldn't be so highbrow. I want to impart generic expertise, not hold fancy labels up to the camera and stage myself. The men in our industry tend to do that. There is enough pigeonholing in the wine world, I want to remain open-minded.
What do young people want to know about wine today?
Louisa Schmidt: A lot of questions from my community are directly related to "wine life". For example, whether it's worth investing in a wine cellar or what you should consider when buying wine, which other grape varieties you have to try as a Riesling fan. I am also often asked for tips on travelling and restaurants. But also things about the production of wine, such as whether biodynamic is really better, and much more.
There's enough pigeonholing in the wine world!
Can you answer all the questions?
Louisa Schmidt: I do an hour of community management every day and try to answer all the questions and comments from followers. Of course, sometimes I also say that unfortunately I can't help because I don't know anything about it.
How do your followers react? Is there any discussion or contradiction?
Louisa Schmidt: I don't allow any hate speech on my channel. Sometimes it makes you feel different. I have blocked some people, especially men, because of this. Anyone who thinks they have to write me nasty and disrespectful comments below the belt has no place on my channel.
Do you have a female community?
Louisa Schmidt: Almost 75 per cent of my followers are women.
How important is the origin of the wines to your community?
Louisa Schmidt: Well, those who are deeply involved in the topic are interested. But that's around 20 per cent, I would say. They also like to philosophise about wine. The rest are still busy with the basics, most of them are not as nerdy as we are. Origin plays a role, but it's not the most important aspect.
Which certifications are becoming more important for your community? Or are there already too many?
Louisa Schmidt: If the product and the storytelling are right, the certification is not so important to my community. Many don't even know the differences, they buy from family wineries and trust them. Biodynamics, which is something that is close to my heart and which I always write about, is also an absolute niche topic within the niche.
How should wineries and regions communicate in order to inspire the younger generation?
Louisa Schmidt: I mainly work for regions and develop content for them. What I notice time and time again is that people who work in social media marketing unfortunately have no idea what they are doing. If someone wants to produce successful content, they also have to consume content. They post a picture and wonder why it doesn't work. Social media is still one of the most powerful communication tools we have to reach young people. Some regions really need to step on the gas and think off-topic.
Is social media the only way to communicate with the younger generation?
Louisa Schmidt: No, blogs also work very well. And YouTube is still very important. That's where people get their information. Above all, however, you should analyse the market carefully and see what the needs of the target group are and what makes young people tick. Unfortunately, the majority of wine advertising misses the market.
What are millennials prepared to spend on a bottle of wine?
Louisa Schmidt: The majority of my community spends between 10 and 15 euros on a bottle, but 25 to 30 per cent are happy to pay more. The willingness to buy is generally very high.
More and more young women are giving up alcohol altogether, the trend is towards a sober lifestyle. How do you feel about this?
Louisa Schmidt: Critically analysing the topic of addiction is very important. Especially if you have to deal with it every day in your job. There is no scientific evidence that wine is healthy. On the contrary, wine is a neurotoxin. It is an intoxicant that harbours health risks if abused. It's up to each individual to decide whether they want to expose themselves to these risks. For me, a healthy balance is crucial, as with all things in life. In this case, it is conscious consumption. What annoys me about the discussion? That it's all about either drinking wine or not drinking wine. There's nothing in between. I'm not a fan of extremes, I never have been.