Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Amanda Greenbaum. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Amanda thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Getting that first client is always an exciting milestone. Can you talk to us about how you got your first customer who wasn’t a friend, family, or acquaintance?

I’ll never forget my first wholesale sale. I was freshly 21 and was diving into the family business. Just around the corner of our vineyard property was a staple wine bar in Los Angeles history called the Cornell Winery. At Cornell, the previous owner Tim Skogstrom was famous for supporting local wineries from Temecula up through Santa Barbara. So what better place to start?

I walked right on into our meeting in my Calvin Klein purple business dress and black heels. I wanted to look professional. Little did I learn later that many of these “Mom and Pop” type stores could care less if you’re in heels or in sneakers. I brought several bottles of my wine for Tim to taste.

Tim also had a friend in town from Copenhagen who sat in on our meeting.

I was quite nervous but I didn’t let that phase me. So, I went for it and poured the wines and they each tasted everything. And they both loved the wines. His friend from Copenhagen even wanted me to find a way to ship my wines over to him, wanted to share it with his friend the ambassador.

And Tim bought 4 cases from me on the spot. That was so exciting. I shook their hands and left the tasting. Went into my car and Snapchatted all my friends that I got the sale! It was riveting being in that position; a young naive woman beginning her career by having a conversation with a well known restauranteur.

Shortly after this tasting, I also landed our wines at the Four Seasons and Neiman Marcus. The wines are great, but the story is what always will sell.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Hey, my name is Amanda Greenbaum. I’m the Wine Proprietor of AJA Vineyards located in the beautiful Santa Monica Mountains. I am a certified sommelier, certified beer server and certified mixologist. Some people call me a triple threat– ha! Since I was 14, I’ve been heavily influenced by the wine industry. When my family purchased our vineyards in 2010, I knew there was an opportunity to do something unique and spectacular.

Throughout my high school career I always dipped my toes into the wine industry whether through research papers, helping at harvest, or marketing for the family company. I knew I wanted to become a sommelier when i was 16, I just didn’t know how I’d want to go about it.

I graduated from UCLA in 2018 with a bachelor’s in Sociology and a minor in food studies. Through my minor I was able to work at wineries and intern in the industry. I also created UCLA’s Sommelier’s club where I taught students about wine and we tasted together.

After UCLA, I graduated from the International Culinary Center which is a French Culinary institute in NYC and the Bay area with a Certification in Wine and with my second certification from the Court of Master Sommeliers, Americas. Soon after finishing, I began my work building AJA Vineyards.

My family began AJA in 2011. AJA is an acronym for Alec, Jack & Amanda— myself and my two younger brothers. My parents named it after us, their three greatest treasures. That’s why it’s pronounced “Ah-shah” where the “J” is like the “s” in treasure.

At AJA, our goal is to bring the Malibu Coast and the California Coast to you. Through my knowledge and expertise on wines around the world, terroir and the culture of Malibu, we’ve harnessed all of the beauties that come from our vineyards and from our culture to create a wine that is uniquely Malibu Coast.

Throughout my time at AJA, we’ve grown our production, created a sourcing program, found incredible winemakers, and built up a brand that represents our family and represents where we’re from–the Malibu Coast.

I’m proud to announce that we’re opening our winery tasting room early 2024 in Santa Monica California. We are so excited to share our wines in our own Brick and Mortar. Come stop by and say hi!

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

The wine industry has faced a lot of difficulties and we’ve had to pivot quite a few times. We’ve always kept our core idea in mind, but we’ve made changes based upon what our clientele wants.

The most iconic pivot was during the 2020 Covid Pandemic. During the pandemic, our sales started to plummet. We lost our entire wholesale channel since no one was going to restaurants. As a boutique winery, one of the main sources of income we had was our restaurant wholesale program. During covid, those sales went to zero dollars and we lost 30% of our income. We needed to find a way to make up for it.

So, we went to directly to our consumers, rebuilt our e-commerce platform and strengthened our club benefits to attract members. We used our resource group, our network and social media to climb through the difficulties of the covid pandemic.

Luckily, people could order for shipments because they were home to sign. It was a great advantage for us and continues to be a huge part of our sales model today.

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

Our best source of new clients has and will continue to be wine festivals! We meet so many incredible people through these festivals. When you pour wine with a bunch of different wineries, each winery brings their following of customers. When you get 45 different wineries pouring at an event, you get brand new customers signing up for mailing lists, buying bottles and more.

Additionally, at these events, often there are a lot of industry clients who use this opportunity to try new wines. From hotel execs to top restaurant sommeliers to directors of hospitality groups, there is always someone interested in bringing on new wines at these events.

Last year, we got into Mastro’s because the Food & Beverage director was there!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.ajavineyards.com
• Instagram: @ajavineyards
• Facebook: facebook.com/AJAVineyards
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/aja-vineyards-llc/
• Twitter: @ajavineyards
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCT54-trjMgLNjUw9AoAtIqA

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