VJ Gandhi Saw Her Chance
The Canadian-turned-Californian is merging her past and present to build the future she's always wanted.
A thank you to one sponsor (and goodbye to another!)
From full-scale brand building to ongoing label solutions and creative services, Stout Collective in Chicago, Illinois is a comprehensive resource for brewery and beverage partners. Learn more about them, their work, and how they’re building a more visually interesting beer world at stoutcollective.com.
Special thanks to the original and longtime Prohibitchin’ sponsor, Nat West at Rev Nat’s Hard Cider. Nat immediately offered to back Prohibitchin’ when it re-launched on Substack in January 2021, and has been a stalwart supporter and friend ever since. Without him, Prohibitchin’ would not have been possible, period. He closed the doors to his Portland cidery on September 24 after 12 years of making “the most unusual ciders no one else will make,” and it is with sincere gratitude and appreciation that I say thank you and wish him the best of luck on what’s sure to be a bright future. 🙏
(On that note, are you or someone you know interested in becoming a Prohibitchin’ sponsor? Drop me a line!)
When most people talk about wine regions, places like California, Italy, and France tend to come to mind first. But after growing up in Alberta and British Columbia, VJ Gandhi realized practically no one knew about Canadian wine outside of Canada. She decided to launch Kascadia Wine Merchants to import and market the best Western Canadian wines across the United States, bridging the gap between the neighboring countries. Today, she’s building her business alongside her family in California, but she’s leaving one thing behind: doubts.
When VJ was seven years old, she launched her first business—painting rocks with her sister’s (borrowed, not stolen!) CoverGirl eyeshadow and selling them for 25 cents apiece. It lasted about one recess, she admits with a laugh. But it was the start of a lifelong ambition to be her own boss, a dream finally realized with Kascadia, a wine import/export and marketing company she runs from the Central California coast.
Specifically working in wine is fun, but not the driving factor for VJ. (“I love wine, but I’m about a one glass girl,” she jokes.) But lots of people drink wine. Consumers seek out imported wine. California has some of the best palates in the country for wine. Why couldn’t anyone get Canadian wine? When she noticed the gaping hole in the industry and almost no one filling that need, “It was this click,” she says. “I thought, ‘Wait a second. Why are we not doing this?’”
It was the opportunity to solve a problem that led her from a budding curiosity to building a company around it. But launching Kascadia also allowed VJ to tap into her Canadian roots, as well as a chance to rectify some of the stereotypes she felt stifled women coming from traditional Indian Hindu families like hers, where “safe” corporate careers are often emphasized over the risks of entrepreneurship.
“I think sometimes males are more supported in that role,” she says. “Everybody takes care of his laundry, and his dinners, and lunches, and makes sure he can get his business off the ground… As a woman, a lot more is expected of us. You’re still expected to be a wife. You're still expected to be a mother, and you're still expected to run your career—whether it's a business or a corporate career, it doesn't matter. There's a lot expected out of you.”
It’s something she thinks all women entrepreneurs have felt at some point or another, but VJ hopes her success will give other women the confidence to pursue their dreams, no matter where they are in life. “It's never too late to start. I'm turning 40 next year, and I feel like this really took off for me in my thirties.”
VJ is now five years into Kascadia, and despite some doubters, the company now ships wines made in Western Canada and the U.S. Pacific Northwest to 45 states, a milestone that’s allowed her to transition from purely building mode to a leadership-focused role. That evolution allows her to spend more time with her twins and husband—the flexibility promised from self-employment, but always hard-fought.
“Mompreneurs are the real superheroes of the world!” she says with a laugh. “You get sharper with the minutes you have.” Every day is a balanced team effort between her husband and her, and VJ says that although it might look effortless from the outside, behind every polished moment comes from discipline, teamwork, communication, and lots of work. None of it’s easy. But she says she had a fabulous role model from the start—her own mother.
VJ’s mother owned her own business before moving into education, eventually running an early childhood education program in order to spend time with VJ and her sisters. It’s never easy being full-time mom and having a full-time career, but witnessing her mother’s career flexibility and ability to set her own schedule inspired her from an early age.
Seeing a void and building a business to address it always comes with difficulties (sometimes even pandemic-sized ones). But VJ wouldn’t trade it for the world, and hopes other women will be able to tune out the pessimists and follow their own passions.
“If you think you have a bright idea and you're passionate about it, give it a year to go at it—sometimes even two years—but I think it's at that five year mark that you really know whether you want to pursue it or not. You're gonna have a lot of naysayers, and you're gonna have moments where people say something to bring you down a notch, or maybe to feel a little insecure about it. But as long as you know who you are deep inside your soul, you're gonna be fine.”
Follow VJ’s work at Kascadia Wine Merchants on their website and Instagram @kascadiawinemerchants.
What I’m Reading
I’ve been on a real tear lately: recent reads include Yellowface by R.F. Kuang (omfg), My Murder by Katie Williams (very original and well-written), and In the Orchard by Eliza Minot (every mom in the U.S. will relate to this). On deck: Banyan Moon by Thai Thao, Quietly Hostile by Samantha Irby, and an embarrassingly big stack of others on my nightstand table, several of which are likely to be overdue thanks to my upcoming travels. (Sincerest apologies to the San Diego Public Library.) I just created an affiliate list on Bookshop.org for books I recommend here, so if you’re interested in picking up anything I mention, snag it from there so I can get a couple extra cents. It won’t cost you anything extra and Bookshop.org donates a portion of their proceeds to the independent bookstore of your choice. Literally everyone wins.
What’s Going On
In the spirit of Willie Nelson, I’m on the road again… promoting The Beer Lover’s Guide to Cider, East Coast edition! You can find me in Washington, D.C. at ChurchKey tomorrow; Charlottesville, Virginia at Potter’s Craft Cider this Thursday, October 5; Richmond, Virginia at The Veil Brewing in Forest Hill this Friday, October 6; Gettysburg, Pennsylvania at Ploughman Cider Taproom on Wednesday, October 11; and Winchester, Virginia at Vibrissa Beer on Thursday, October 12. Check out all of the event details here - all are free and open to the public! Hope to see some of you around :)
GABF Recap
This was my second Great American Beer Festival, and if I’m being honest, it may very well be my last. I’ve been struggling with nurturing the spark that got me into craft beer in the first place, and I think there are a lot of reasons for that: burnout on the alcohol industry, burnout on the freelance hustle, changes in my own alcohol consumption, a feeling of “what now?” after the gigantic undertaking that is writing and releasing a book. I’m trying to look at this restlessness as an opportunity, not a burden—what do I want to do next? What more do I have to say? Where am I finding joy? Regardless, Prohibitchin’ isn’t going anywhere, so keep sending nominations, sharing stories, and supporting indie journalism!
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!
The Prohibitchin’ logo was designed by Jess Hicks Design.