Former Bachelorette Kaitlyn Bristowe Reveals Boyfriend Jason Tartick's Favorite Bottle From Her New Wine Line
Kaitlyn Bristowe knows she’s got a dream job. She invented it: “I thought, to be able to sit in sweatpants, drink wine, and reach so many people-that sounded ideal.” So in 2017, she did just that. Off the Vine-Kaitlyn’s podcast, now with weekly offshoots called Grape Therapy and Drunk Dial-launched in May of that year, before every reality star parlayed their 15 minutes of fame into a podcasting career.
The shtick is exactly as she’d imagined: Guests join Kaitlyn to chat and drink wine. They play wine-related games (there’s a segment where sins are confessed then washed away with, yep, wine), and any time a bottle is popped or a glass refilled, it’s done right next to the mic so the sound can be picked up. Creating her own wine label was a logical next step, but it took some unsolicited advice for Kaitlyn to realize it.
“I was getting all this feedback-you drink wine on your podcast, your podcast revolves around wine, why haven’t you come out with your own wine yet?” she recalls. “I was like, duh, why haven’t I thought of that yet!”
A couple years later, and it's finally a reality. On April 29, Kaitlyn posted a hint-laden Instagram: a photo of herself standing behind a table full of unlabeled wine bottles, captioned, “Coming soon…Tag your wine drinking partner, tell them wine nights are about to get a whole lot sassier.” And just last month, she released three varietals under the label Spade & Sparrows-a rosé, a pinot grigio, and a cabernet sauvignon-for presale (a restock is coming soon). They sold out, like, immediately, and if the constant barrage of tweets and Instagram comments are any indication, fans are anxious for the stock to be replenished.
We caught up with Kaitlyn as bottles began shipping to talk about starting a podcast and becoming a winemaker-and to spill a little Jason tea.
On finding her lane after 'The Bachelorette'
“I didn’t really know the power of social media at that time. Right when I was coming off the show, it started to be a thing where you could create a business through it. Going into the show I didn’t really know how exactly I was going to manage coming off of it or what I was going to be able to do. After The Bachelorette, I was so busy doing so many things for the show, and you’re under contract, and you have to go here, here, here. I started to see the power of what you can do with Instagram and that there was an opportunity to start something or have a platform to make money and do all these things. I built what I had, and I wanted my audience to trust what I was selling, so I waited and started podcasting first. Since I was younger, I had always wanted my own radio show, and it was such an interesting time to get into that space.”
On being qualified to make wine
“I’ve always enjoyed drinking wine, and I learned a lot about it in my twenties from working in the restaurant industry. You know, wine is so social, and it feels like a conversation starter, too. I don’t try to pretend I’m some sommelier or say I’m a wine connoisseur. I’m not trying to act like I know it all. I have a creative mind, and I know things that I want to do. I have quite a solid team who helped me to take all the following steps that I needed to take.
I got a couple [negative] comments here and there, but that’s to be expected with anything you do in this world with a following. I think people know at the end of the day, I don’t take myself too seriously, and I’m not claiming to be someone who knows everything about wine. I got a couple people who said, you don’t even know how to hold the wine glass. And I’m like…yeah, that’s probably true! Again, I’m not trying to put anything out there, like, this is more for a reserved palate. No-this is wine people are gonna enjoy. I want [Spade & Sparrows] to be like my scrunchies, where it’s just a bunch of people who come together and talk about the wine and meet new friends through it.”
On learning to blend and spit
“We went to Santa Barbara-that’s where the grapes are from-and we sat down with people who really knew what they were doing and have helped other people do this same thing. We learned a lot about the different wines they had to offer. It was super important to me that I didn’t just go off what I would like, because I do sort of have a different taste in wine. I just wanted to make sure it was really easy drinking, good wine at the end of the day.
I actually did a blending course, which was really fun. I got to taste quite a few wines, and at the beginning I was like, oh, there’s no way I’m going to spit out any wine. But by the end, I was like, yeah, I need to do this. I get it now, I get it now. It was quite a full day of it. But the blending course was really fun. I didn’t think I liked blends until I made my own.”
On her favorite Spade & Sparrows bottle
“I like different wines for different things. Like, if I was going to go sit on a patio or sit outside, the rosé is the best thing in the world. It’s probably-and I’m not just being biased because I tasted a bunch of rosés-but this is my favorite rosé I’ve ever had in my life. It’s not too sweet, it’s not too dry. It’s a really beautiful color, and it’s honestly just delicious. It has hints of strawberry and apricot and white raspberry and rose petals, which I loved because Bachelor, duh. I can’t wait for everybody to try it.
I really wanted to do a pinot noir because that’s personally my favorite, but, again, it was important for me to go to my followers and see what they would want. I did a poll, and cab won by far-so I went with that. I like vanilla in any red wine, so it’s got hints of vanilla. It’s not too bold but bold enough. Jason got to taste it, and he is obsessed with it. He loves red wine, and he was, like, mind blown by how good it was!”
On doing everything for her followers
“They’re everything. They’re the reason I get to do all of these things. Their opinion and what they want is going to make or break a business, so it’s super important to me. It’s fun involving them, too. It’s fun for them to feel like they’re part of the process. I think I’ve always been quite open on social media, asking people’s opinions. They’re so invested in the podcast and listening to everything all the time, so I want them to be a part of it all.
The highlight [of creating a wine line] has been seeing everybody’s excitement about it. I’m so excited, and I want everybody else to feel the same way. Knowing that there is hype around it and that everyone can’t wait to try it makes me so happy. The hardest part for me is, you know, I want it so you can just go pick it up at a store or just go to a restaurant and have it. But you’ve got to build your brand and prove yourself in this industry and sell it online first.
I definitely want to get people involved more and to do contests. How fun would it be to have people tag us in a photo and you could be entered for a chance to fly out to Nashville and be a cohost on my podcast? I just always want this community to be growing and having fun. My following is 92% women; I love them coming together, even if it’s over scrunchies or wine."
On the best winery you haven’t been to-yet
Some of my favorite wineries are in Canada. There’s one in the Okanagan called Dirty Laundry, and it’s probably my favorite winery I’ve ever been to in my life…and I’ve been to Italy.
PLAN YOUR VISIT Dirty Laundry Vineyard, tripadvisor.com
Spade & Sparrows is available for purchase at Kaitlynbristowe.com. Keep updated by following @spadeandsparrows on Instagram.
('You Might Also Like',)
