PRESS

Check out our current press! Big thanks to everyone for helping us get the word out about the work that we are doing!

Would you like to help highlight our work by featuring us? Drop Viv a line at vivianne@ramcellars.com

June 2021

These LGBTQ+ Wine Pros Are Shaking Up an Age-Old Industry

Thrillist, June 30th, 2021 by Meredith Heil

”Despite her undeniable commitment to the craft and ultra-supportive team, it hasn’t always been smooth sailing. “I came out in 2018, and there were a lot of difficult things about coming out and moving to that liminal space,” Kennedy says. “I went back and forth about whether or not the winery would even continue. I was genuinely concerned that there would no longer be a place for me in the industry.”

After a serious bout of self-proclaimed “soul searching,” Kennedy chose not only to carry on with the business, but transform it into a platform to uplift the greater LGBTQ+ community.

“The conclusion I came to is that we needed to change our focus and make sure we were taking steps to support queer and trans folks,” she explains. “So in 2019, we created another label for the winery dubbed the VIV label. It’s a shorthand for my name, and it’s also a French root word that means to live, to be alive.”

From its inception, the offshoot—which features enticing selections like La Lumière white blend, a zesty 50-50 Dry Riesling and Gewurztraminer split, a sultry unfiltered pinot noir-fueled rosé, and a single-varietal petit verdot fermented on native yeasts—has had a very real impact. For every bottle sold, $5 goes directly to nonprofits dedicated to improving the lives of LGBTQ+ folks. Beneficiaries include the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund’s name change project and Portland’s Q Center, which provides tons of vital services to local queer and trans Oregonians. In its first year, donations accounted for 4.8% of total VIV label sales.

“The way I look at it, being able to come out, receive support, and fully live, I have an obligation—a responsibility—to do whatever I can to open the door for more folks,” Kennedy says. “As long as the winery exists, doing everything we can for the communities we’re a part of is only going to be a bigger and bigger piece of the picture.”

March 2021

Viv had the honor and pleasure of attending and speaking on a panel discussion at the Lift Collective’s 2021 virtual conference.

Viv spoke on a panel discussion titled “Shifting 'Women in Wine' Culture”, summarized below:

”the 2020 unearthed the ways we discuss imperative topics like racism, gender, sexuality, and the way feminism has shifted over the past several decades. In this provocative panel, participants will discuss how the definition of feminism has changed through the years and how those changes have affected the way women handle situations differently than they did in the past. Together we will explore ways our community can support each other and acknowledge the intersectionality of feminism so we can be more effective together.”

While the conference and replays of it are now over, you can find out more information about Viv’s panel and the other important discussions that took place during the two day conference in March 2021.

January 2022

Vivianne Kennedy Shares Everything

Prohibitchin’, January 4th, 2022 by Beth Demmon

Vivianne Kennedy (she/they) describes herself as the “maven of mirth & darling of delight” at RAM Cellars in Portland, Oregon. This inclination towards whimsy and joy seems to permeate through their entire existence, from her pink rose-colored hair to the middle name Stardust. As a self-described “out and proud trans woman since 2018,” Vivianne officially launched a new line of wines, dubbed “Viv,” shortly after. $5 from every bottle goes to “organizations that provide support to queer and transgender people,” including Portland’s Q Center as well as the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund in support of their Name Change Project initiative. She remains a fearless advocate for Portland’s queer community and beyond, in and out of wine, and it’s an absolute honor to have them kick off Prohibitchin’ for 2022.

August 2019

Oregon Wine Archive’s Oral History interview with winemaker Vivianne (Marks) Kennedy of RAM Cellars

Follow the link to check out Viv’s interview with Rich Schmidt. In this interview, Vivianne talks about how she got started in the wine industry and the education she received at Washington State University. She then speaks about getter her start in the industry and the circumstances that allowed her to create her RAM Cellars and VIV labels.

Vivianne describes what it’s like being a part of the LGBTQIA community, acknowledges how they are definitely underrepresented within the industry, and notes that part of her goal is to be a beacon for others to be visible and exist as themselves. She touches on her label VIV and why she chooses to give back to support transgender and non-binary individuals, her winemaking philosophy, and the challenges/benefits of being a small urban winery. Towards the end of the interview, Vivianne talks about what she sees in the future for herself, for the future of the Oregon Wine Industry, and ends by leaving words of wisdom/advice for someone not historically a part of the industry, or looking to enter it today.

This interview was conducted by Rich Schmidt at ENSO Winery on August 16, 2019.