Vivianne Kennedy Shares Everything
Vivianne Kennedy Shares Everything
From raising money to creating safe spaces for queer and trans folks in wine, the Portland, Oregon-based winemaker is betting everything on a better future.
Vivianne Kennedy (she/they) describes herself as the “maven of mirth & darling of delight” at RAM Cellars in Portland, Oregon. This inclination towards whimsy and joy seems to permeate through their entire existence, from her pink rose-colored hair to the middle name Stardust. As a self-described “out and proud trans woman since 2018,” Vivianne officially launched a new line of wines, dubbed “Viv,” shortly after. $5 from every bottle goes to “organizations that provide support to queer and transgender people,” including Portland’s Q Center as well as the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund in support of their Name Change Project initiative. She remains a fearless advocate for Portland’s queer community and beyond, in and out of wine, and it’s an absolute honor to have them kick off Prohibitchin’ for 2022.
“In an alternate universe, I probably ended up being a fisheries biologist,” laughs Vivianne. In fact, that was the trajectory of her life until their late teens: before that scientific interest took an oenophilic turn.
Vivianne estimates it was around 2007 during a wine testing in Washington State when the life-changing epiphany struck. The beautiful blend of art and science in winemaking was her future, they realized, leading her to enroll in the viticulture and enology certificate programs at Washington State University. Over the next four-and-a-half years, Vivianne hopped from local winery to winery helping in any way they could, absorbing every aspect of the wine growing, making, blending, and tasting processes.
In 2014, she began making wine under the RAM Cellars label, with the first bottles hitting the market in 2016. But as their career path began to crystallize, so did their identity.
“I navigated the winery through the startup… then I had to deal with the curveball that is coming out professionally as well in 2018,” Vivianne explains. Coming out as transgender made her question whether it made sense to continue making wine — a decision that ultimately led to RAM’s evolution as not just a wine producer, but a community resource as well. “My choice to continue in the industry, and belief that folks like me belong there, part of that lined up with wanting to use the platform that we have for the winery to do good for communities that we’re a part of,” they say.
“[The Viv label] is our main way that we’re doing fundraiser advocacy for queer and trans folks,” says Vivianne. But raising awareness and money are simply the beginning of their comprehensive plan to inspire others.
“We, as trans folks in wine, make up a very, very, very, very small percentage, and my hope is that through some small part of the work we are doing… instead of it being a rarity that we exist in the industry, that we can have been a part of making that kind of change and helping to create opportunities for other trans folks to get into wine,” they say. “I just want to see those opportunities from other folks as well.”
Aligning company values with social justice has become increasingly necessary over the past few years, the need heightened by movements against police brutality, systemic racism, and other drives for change led by marginalized people. Vivianne believes that by inspiring others to follow in their footsteps, the wine world and world at large can maybe, just maybe, become a better and more equitable place.
“I think that there is — especially in the last couple of years — a lot of work at re-evaluating the industry through a social justice template and social justice lens,” she says. “I think the biggest thing is not being afraid to ask questions and to reach out, [because] sharing in the pursuit of knowledge is one of the things that brings us together. Having those dialogue points for learning and mentoring helps bring us back to the point, which is that this is a social elixir that brings us all together.”
Now just shy of two years into the global pandemic, Vivianne says COVID caused a “tumultuous” time for themselves and the winery, affecting everything from harvest capacity to their ability to connect with their community through in-person events and tastings. But it also brought unforeseen blessings, such as officially adding their spouse Aidan (they/them) to the team to spearhead communications and social media. Staying in touch with the queer community, even virtually, remained a paramount part of operations, and one that she says has been successful despite COVID’s challenges.
Another positive change happened in early 2020, when RAM moved into a shared queer-centric production space in Southeast Portland run by Hip Chicks Do Wine. “I have a lot of respect for them and have found a lot of inspiration from them and their journey,” says Vivianne. “It's been a great safe space for all of us to produce. They're creating spaces in wine that overlap with what we're trying to do, which is creating safe spaces for everyone.”
Eventually, she hopes, that safe space will mean a physical tasting room of their own where people can come drink, learn, commune, collaborate, and create meaningful connections with others. Other future goals include launching a paid internship for queer/trans folks hoping to enter wine, increasing their annual wine output as well as financial contributions to their fundraising recipients, partnering with other like-minded producers from historically underrepresented or systemically excluded groups, and continuing to work to ensure equal access to opportunities for all.
“There are some great things happening in Oregon wine where opportunities are being created for BIPOC folks to be able to find places in wine, but it feels like we need to be doing more work everywhere to create those spaces and opportunities — not just for representation on teams, but folks in positions of leadership and providing real opportunities to fall in place in the industry,” explains Vivianne.
For now, they see their success not in terms of money, but in terms of positive influence and tangible change. “[Success is] being able to continue to exist, move forward, and being able to do those things to make a difference for communities we’re a part of,” she says. They’re optimistic about their chances. “I think the future is bright.”
This interview has been very lightly edited for clarity. Follow Vivianne on Instagram at @lumiere_rose and RAM Cellars at @RAMcellars.
Prohibitchin' is made possible by our wonderful sponsors! Hopsbauer is a woman-owned hops brokerage company based in San Diego who brings the best hops from around the world to craft breweries. Find out more by visiting Hopsbauer.com.
Additional sponsorship thanks to Reverend Nat's Hard Cider in Portland, Oregon. Rev Nat's is known for making the most unusual ciders that no one else will make, such as the limited release Cider For My Family, now available for direct shipping to 42 states. Learn more at revnats.com, and thanks for their generous support!
What I’m Reading
I’ve lived in my house for over three years, and I have yet to formally establish a permanent bookshelf for my ridiculous stack of boxed books that remain living in a hall closet. This means I’ve been relying heavily on my local library (shoutout to the City of San Diego library system!), and one of my recent delights is I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson. I realized years ago that life’s too short to waste on novels that don’t entirely capture your imagination, and I can confirm this one wholeheartedly does (or did for me, at least). Riveting, original, brilliant. Give it a read.
What I’m Working On
I’m always writing, but for the past year or so, I’ve been doing more audio work as well, especially for the Good Beer Hunting podcast. As someone who rarely-to-never listens to podcasts for pleasure, it’s been a surprisingly fun way to connect with people to talk about their stories, their work, their goals, and of course, what they’re drinking. Keep an eye out for more Features and Collectives rolling out this year.
Fun Fact!
I had no idea that so many animals have multiple stomachs! Camels, sloths, and giraffes have four; dolphins have two; whales have three (Baird's beaked whales can have 10!!); and worms have zero! Anyway, hats off to these hard-working digestive systems.
Do you know of a woman or non-binary person working in beverage alcohol who hasn’t seen the spotlight—and should? Nominate them for a future feature!