Dancing is on the Scent

What made you decide to start a winery together? Do either of you have a background in winemaking?
Lauren: I graduated from Columbia Business School in 2022, after many years of working at startups and big businesses, including Uber, AB InBev, and Amazon. I was itching to try something on my own where I could marry my creativity and business skillsets. The circumstances of the vineyard were incredibly serendipitous and a big challenge. We were met with so many roadblocks and warnings—wine’s a tough business, the industry’s in decline. etc., not to mention we didn’t have backgrounds in agriculture or winemaking. However, I do have a background in building brands. That’s what compelled me the most, to create a sensory adventure that recaptured the beauty of this delicious elixir for a new generation of consumers, and to stretch the limits of what constitutes a “wine brand.” My generation has such a yearning and urgent desire to reconnect to land and natural products, and to find ways to commune with one another. Wine seems like the perfect vehicle and inspiration to use the vineyard for all sorts of sensory products. Fragrance came soon after out of the idea that aroma is such a powerful medium of experience and personal expression. You’ll have to wait to see what product comes next…but we never play by the rules!

Cynthia: During the pandemic, we spent lots of time together as a family and thought, given the state of the world at that time, that we might all end up needing to live together on a farm. So why not a grape farm? We knew nothing technical about winemaking, but as a family, we love wine and loved this unique area in Sonoma, California. It has redwood forests, biking, hiking, the Sonoma coastline, national parks, and special rivers and lakes to explore. We collect, read about, and travel to taste great wines. Wine is also an integral part of our family rituals, as we always spend time selecting the right wine for the food and friends who will be present. We drink wine to celebrate being together and to enjoy food and good company.

Lauren and I took classes at UC Davis, hired a farmer and a winemaker, and took advantage of the fact that our estate happened to be located on a historic vineyard, producing Zinfandel grapes (which are central to the identity of the region) that had been neglected. Once we bought it in 2022, we felt compelled to bring it back to life as the area is full of third- and fourth-generation Zinfandel vineyards. Dry Creek Valley makes some of the most famous Zins in the world. The biggest surprise to us was to learn that the soil and the climate do most of the work, so if you care for special land and get the right help, you can make great wine.

Creating a fragrance line alongside wine is such a unique offering. How did you come up with that?
Lauren: My generation is playing with beauty and fragrance in ways that my mom and grandmother's generation couldn’t have dreamed of. From the funky to the downright bizarre, we were seeing fragrances inspired by foods, experiences, and everything under the sun. So, why not wine? Every time we’d walk onto the vineyard, we were overpowered by the smells that surrounded us. We wanted to bottle that feeling for people.

Cynthia: When we first bought the property, we were always taken aback by the incredible array of complex and pleasant aromas that came from the vineyard. Flowers, moss, redwood trees, smoke, fermented grapes, musty caves, and fruits from our orchards of apples, pears, and figs. We wanted to capture those scents in a bottle. We also wanted to be a sensory brand that spanned taste and smell. After all, taste is entirely influenced by smell. We were inspired by translating the idea of “tasting notes” of a wine into the “notes” of a fragrance. There’s always a top, heart, and finish, and no one experiences a wine or fragrance the same way. We find that fascinating.

Do each of you have a “signature” scent?
Lauren: That’s so hard to say! It all depends on my mood. My mom has always been someone with a signature scent, but I like to change it up. I like scents that are a bit mysterious and complex. I collect fragrance from my travels—from Buly in Paris to Acquaflor in Florence. On the day-to-day, I vacillate between all 3 of our scents. Gnarly Vines feels like fresh zest and sunshine in the morning, Midnight Crush is a bit more juicy and flirty, and Scorched Wood is a moody, evening scent for date night. I layer all of them as the day wears on.

Cynthia: I love Gnarly Vines. It reminds me of scents that came from France that I wore for many years, mixed with the bouquet that comes from our fruits and flowers in Sonoma. It's nostalgic with a modern twist.

Tell us how you came up with the name Dancing?
Lauren: Dancing is a playful and universal concept. It’s all-encompassing and not too specific. It doesn’t pigeon-hole us into anything, but exudes humanity as its central component. We’re inspired by the movement and creativity of dance, and how it extends to individual expression. Everyone can dance in their own way, and there are no rules.

Cynthia: We think the whole world dances—nature, people, and all things on earth. Connecting with one another and oneself is about finding your inner dance, what moves you. Also, dance allows you to connect with people and express yourself. We love the interplay.

How has running a business together affected your relationship as mother and daughter? What have you learned about each other?
Lauren: It’s such a gift to be able to span the experiences of multiple generations, life experiences and perspectives. To be starting a business at such different stages of our lives is so emotionally charged and beautiful—for my mom, as a new grandmother, and me in my thirties, just coming into my own identity. As women claiming our own paths and destiny, being able to hold hands through it means everything. We both have very different strengths and approaches to business, so we’re constantly learning from one another. My mom has so many years of experience with wine, while I have a completely different perspective on how the beauty industry has shifted with emerging brands.

Don’t get me wrong, there are also challenges! Anyone who has worked with family knows there are blurry boundaries between personal and professional life. You know what people say in relationships: never go to bed angry. Never leave the office angry…you just have to be able to laugh it off and hug it out at the end of the day.

Cynthia: It’s been so fun and unexpected. It was never part of the life plan. Another of Covid's unintended outcomes. My business changed so much due to Covid, and so did Lauren’s. We saw this as an opportunity to reset. We have different skills, views, and temperaments. What we have in common is education, drive, discipline, determination, creativity, and the desire to bring change through sensory products. As a team, I would say we are very complementary. Lauren has great branding, marketing and youth-knowledge on her side. I have an extensive background in starting new businesses, running operations and production, and the wisdom of years. Together, we hope to bring something unique to a new generation.