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

Cynthia, appreciate you joining us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

A few days before my 50th birthday, I was informed that my position managing the website of an international organisation in Paris was going to be cut. It took me a few weeks to recover from the shock of the news, but I soon realised it was a blessing. Not even in disguise. I had been struggling with the values and culture of the organisation for several years. Like most working mothers, especially single working mothers, I was also trying to balance work and family obligations. I wasn’t in a good place. I suffered from so many stress-related illnesses. Being let go forced me to think about what I wanted to do next. I wanted to do something that made my heart sing for the next 10 years.

I wanted to do something related to wine. I didn’t know what exactly, but I knew that wine was a constant in my life and that it had opened so many doors and windows for me – to new people, different cultures and fascinating places. I decided to register with the Wine and Spirit Education Trust (WSET) to become a certified wine expert. In parallel, I was asked to teach an international MBA course at a university in Paris. Since I had a little bit more free time, I was also able to socialise again. I reconnected with old friends and make new ones. I had time to listen, and more importantly to hear what they needed.

My MBA class was composed of 19 young women and 1 young man. I learnt a lot from teaching the class. I realised how much I loved sharing my knowledge. I also realised that these young women wanted more than just my course material. They asked me so many questions about the good, the bad and the ugly in life. They wanted to be coached and mentored.

The older women I socialised with were sitting on mountains of experience and knowledge they wanted to share. They felt a strong need to give back. Their social activities often involved learning something new, something that had been on their bucket list for a long time. They were also often divorced or single and struggling with the idea of travelling or going out for an after-work drink alone.

My WSET classes were composed of mostly young wine professionals. About 40% were women. The instructors were men. We were taught how to analyse the quality of wines in a very technical, almost scientific manner. The only subjective “concession” related to the colour of the wine. I remember trying to convince one instructor that, in my humble opinion, the balance of acidity and alcohol and complexity of aromas and flavours were not the only factors to take into consideration when evaluating the quality of a wine. I strongly believe that wines can, of course, have technical merits, but that who we drink them with and where we drink them also greatly influence the quality. The instructor shrugged me off and left me feeling a bit silly.

A few months later I had the same discussion with Véronique Rivest, the first woman to make it onto the podium of the Best Sommelier of the World contest. She agreed 100% with me, and we had a fascinating conversation about the memorable wines we have drunk. We also chatted about the many differences between being a female wine professional in Canada versus France, where she started her career in wine. I sought out the company of female wine professionals. I spoke to so many: at stands at professional or public wine fairs, at tables judging wine contests, in vineyards, in wine shops. It is safe to say they pretty much all agree that men and women don’t behave the same way during tastings. Men tend to be comforted by technical information such as the percentage of grape varieties in a blend or the vinification methods used to make the wine. They also like to show off their knowledge. Women like to understand what they like and why so they can make better purchases. About 70% of wine is purchased by women in France, 86% in the United States. Women are also more interested in who is behind the bottle, the stories of the winemakers. Since I had a scientific background, and 16 years’ experience working at the OECD where countries were compared on everything except the kitchen sink, I wanted to take a closer look at the differences between men and women during tastings. I wanted to see what would happen if I organised women-only tastings.

In December 2017, I founded Delectabulles, a Champagne Networking Club for Women. I connected all the dots from what I had learned and observed. I host workshops about sparkling wines from around the world for women. I only use sparkling wines made by women, and only take people to visit wineries where women play an important role. It is my small way of supporting women in a male-dominated industry. My club events are only open to women, but I now offer my services to both men and women for private bookings.

Cynthia, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I described my journey and brand in the previous question. My niche is that I only use champagnes made by women, and only take guests to visit champagne houses where women play an important role. It is my small way of supporting women in the male-dominated wine industry. I joke that I empower women one bottle of champagne at a time. I give women the tools and confidence they need to understand what type of champagne they prefer and why, and how to get the best bang for their buck. On social media I tell the stories about the women behind the bottles. I have compiled the only available list of champagne houses with women at the helm. It has become a reference and is freely available on my website: https://www.delectabulles.com/en/blog/list-of-champagne-houses-with-women-at-the-helm.

I have been mentioned in Le Monde, France 24, New York Times and Paris Match and interviewed for numerous podcasts, including for The New Paris with Lindsey Tramuta (author of The New Paris, and The New Parisienne). I was also voted “Best Wine Tasting in Paris” by Expatriates Magazine, “Best Wine Experience in Paris” by Travel and Hospitality Awards, “Wine Expert of the Year” by Luxury Travel Guide Global Awards, and Top 50 Wine Experiences in the World by The Wine Magazine.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

My business was created in December 2017. It was just starting to thrive when the pandemic hit. Because of my background in digital communications and teaching, it was relatively easy for me to offer online seminars about le champagne (the wine) and la Champagne (the region) when everything shut down. I scrambled to pull something together and offered my first session within 10 days of lockdown. I often stayed up until 3am to offer private sessions to clients across the pond. I asked for feedback after every session in order to develop future topics of interest. Attendees loved when I mentioned the role of women in the history of champagne en passant and asked me to devote a more in-dept session to the topic. I called it Bubbly Badasses and it became one of my most popular webinars. When things started opening up and people were wary to be indoors, I offered workshops outside. The most popular was Bulles et Boules (sipping bubbles while learning how to play pétanque).

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

It is a tie between all the new clients I was able to reach during my online sessions during the pandemic (including travel agents), and word-of-mouth. I think almost every single client I have has since 2017 has sent me several new clients.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.delectabulles.com/en/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/delectabulles/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Delectabulles
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cynthiacoutu/