Twitter Founder Biz Stone

Social network pioneer explains his charity wine project in more than 140 characters
Jennifer Fiedler
Posted: March 30, 2010

Biz Stone, 36, is the cofounder of Twitter, the social networking site turned cultural phenomenon that allows people to broadcast their thoughts on the web in pintsize slices of 140 characters or less. Stone created the microblogging site with partner Evan Williams after stints at Odeo (a podcasting site), Xanga (a platform for bloggers), and Google. Twitter’s swift rise from geeky obscurity to household name has earned Stone such accolades as GQ’s "Nerd of the Year" and Inc. magazine’s “Entrepreneur of the Decade,” as well as inclusion on Time’s list of the most influential people of 2009.

Last year, Stone and Williams announced an unusual side project for Twitter: winemaking. Using a custom-crush facility, Twitter is making a California Chardonnay and a Pinot Noir under the Fledgling wine label and donating the proceeds from the sales to Room to Read, a non-profit organization that supports literacy programs around the world. Of course, interested parties can follow the progress of the entire project, from pictures of Twitter employees harvesting the grapes to videos about malolactic fermentation, on the wine’s own Twitter page (it currently has more than 300,000 followers). Stone recently spoke with Wine Spectator about how Twitter ended up in the wine market, what’s in his personal wine fridge and why Twitter is like winemaking.

Wine Spectator: How did the idea for Fledgling come about?
Biz Stone: We really admire [Room to Read] and we thought it was a great fit. People need to learn how to read so they can Tweet. And, in our organization, there are people that are wine enthusiasts. We had heard through one of our advisors about a local company called Crushpad that allowed you to make your own wine. Everything came together one day as we were talking. We would make wine and it would be fun because it was something that everyone could participate in together and all the proceeds would go to Room to Read.

WS: How involved were you in the making of it?
BS: I’m mostly involved from the standpoint of putting together the right people, coming up with the name, the idea and the branding. I unfortunately haven’t been able to make it to the fun part—the harvest and where we actually got to do the crushing [of the grapes]. I will definitely make it a point to be at the tasting.

WS: Are you into wine?
BS: Since I moved to Northern California, I have to be because wine sort of runs from the taps here. My wife and I are members of a sparkling wine club at Gloria Ferrer vineyards. We get involved, not just in tasting wine but going to the Catalan festival they have every year. There’s so much more to it than the wine itself. It’s been meaningful for me because one of the things that we’re constantly striving for at Twitter is this sense of craftsmanship—that you own what you’re working on and you’re proud of it. That’s something that really comes through in winemaking.

WS: Do you have a wine collection?
BS: We do have a wine fridge now, which has been a step up. Ev, my cofounder, has a pretty good start on a collection. When he got married he asked everyone as a gift to only bring a bottle of their favorite wine. We brought him wine from Duckhorn Vineyards. It’s a place we stopped at when we got married and we really loved the wine there.

WS: What else is in your wine fridge?
BS: Even though I didn’t initially like it, I’ve really started liking Chardonnay. There’s one that they sell at Trader Joe's, La Crema. I really like that one. … I’m more familiar with California wines. We try to buy local wines whenever possible.

WS: How does being a vegan affect the wines you choose or food you pair with it?
BS: You can find wines that are not filtered through isinglass [or egg whites]. One of our board members recently had us over for dinner and selected wines that were all vegan. That was thoughtful … We’ve been to Spain a bunch of times. We have a lot of fun getting tapas in a veggie format. This past New Year’s Eve, we decided to stay home because I’d done so much traveling. We made a bunch of tapas and drank cava.

WS: Are there other regions that you’ve been to?
BS: We were surprised by the Finger Lakes region of New York. We went up there to visit Farm Sanctuary, where farm animals that are hurt and would otherwise be killed get to go live out their lives. And it turns out that they have all this great white wine.

WS: Would you ever own your own vineyard?
BS: I think it would be amazing. I don’t think I’d want to do the work, but [vineyards are] so beautiful. I always find it amazing that you can go to a vineyard and for $5 or $10 you can just sit at a beautiful table out under a tree and try all their wine. It doesn’t seem fair—It seems like it should cost more than that. But it’s such a great thing to do. Twenty minutes from my house and we’re sitting under a big tree in Napa, drinking wine.

WS: Do you have plans to do other wine charity projects?
BS: If it works out, then definitely. This is the new ambition: Finding a way to do good while having fun and making a profit. It helps us. It builds our brand. It builds culture. But it’s also meaningful in the world.

Wine Spectator

Interview with Nicolas Joly

When in France this year, I heard the name of Nicolas Joly for the first time. "He is "the one and only" if you wanna talk about biodinamics. He is the main referent in this area nowadays" said to me Luzia, a colleague friend from Austria, interested on attending Jolie´s confference "Le rennasaince des appelations" at Vinexpo.
From that day, I began to be interested on biodinamics, his creator, Rudolph Steiner and Mr N. Jolie, who in the other hand, owns Le Coulée de Serrant, one of the most famous biodinamic chateaux in the South of France. Finally Ive got the chance to interview him, on line.
I will publish this interview in parts, so - as followers of biodinamics - we can, step by step, absorbe the concepts of a philosophy which only aims to love and respect vines, earth and man.

- Mr. Jolie, you have repeatedly said conventional agriculture belongs to the past. But still 90% of the world is making wine in conventional ways. In a world where money and profits seem to be key words, what the biodinamic method has to offer in terms of saving money?
- First lets look at the present situation .More wine consumers in the world would agree to day to tell that wines worldwide have a fairly similar range of tastes .So one could say that the "local" taste or the originality of taste developed by each wine place( this was the deep meaning of an AOC) is gone . AOC were created for bringing to the consumer a garanty of specific local tastes; so whereever you were in the world you had the garanty to find inside a bottle of an a specific taste of a small place well adapted to vines . Why is it gone? Mainly because of farming . To make it short weedkillers have killed the living organisms of the soil which permited the roots of the vines to feed itself on each geology ; and mollecules of synthesis have affected photosynthesis which convert each climate into a specific tastes. This have forced the implementation of a sophisticated technology in the cellar through the use of more than 35O aromatic yeasts which permits to have good but completly atypical wines .This is fabulous ground for implementation of biodynamie which does exactly the reverse!
- Today there are many experiences around the world calling themselves biodinamics, but some of them use for expample, microoxigenation on wines. Is there a "map", a "formula" to tell what is biodinamic and what is not?
- It is certain that today many use the word biodynamie for what we could call "marketing reasons", but many are on the right way . Biodynamie is not often well understood . Biodynamie is the first farming since a long time which does not act on mater but acts on the energetical process behind mater; which for example permits a bud to become few month later , a grape .Keep in mind that the earth isolated from the solar system would become a dead body .The connections of the earth to the solar system is purely energetical ( wavelenght and frequencies ). Biodynamie reinforce the link of the plant to the energetical matrix which brings life to the earth. To obtain these effects you need very accurate practices different on each place. A bite like tuning properly a musical instrument ! If this is welldone if the place fits for a vineyard, if the cepage are right etc then in the cellar everything happens well on its own and the wine have a great originality which no one else an copy ( taste a Coulée de Serrant you will see ) . If the "musical instrument" ( vineyard ) is not well tuned to the forces the vines needs to fully express their potential then the artifices of technologies are needed .

Interview with Nicolas Joly (II Part)

Is your group related to some of the experiences with biodinamic agriculture in South America? If so, which ones?
There are in South America a real potential for wines . the only main change is that the star constellations which are above the vines in spring and summer are not the same that the one we have in North hemisphere . Also often irrigations is practiced and this keep the roots at the surface of the soil . There are ways to improve this .A vine is dominated by "dionysos forces" that you can understand as gravitations of downward forces . A vine which roots are not 1O/2O meters down cannot totally express it self .
- How many biodinamic wines are in the market nowadays?
if you talk about real BD wines with legal ( Demeter for example ) control and comitment I would say about several hundred .( 18O for France ) . But keep in mind that a wine is not only good because it use BD but because BD is well done and because the place is fine for vines etc . It is fast growing . I always ask a legal ontrol and 3 years of pratices before presenting the wines for a tasting to join the group . At that tasting about 1/3 are accepted .what we want is an originality of taste which means good BD pratices and an emotion .So a wine totally different from the " normal " criterias . We have to day only 2 S am wines in our group and wish to have more
- Which is the country leading the change?
France certainly followed by Italy . why ?because there are in France and Italy many very small vineyards with real man of the earth behind each .BD works well when a man is behind an estate with his soul.In the middle age one was saying that a man can well express himself only on 5 hectares
- In New World Wine countries, like Argentina, the concept of appelations does not apply, still we are working on regions (Tupungato, Luján), are there known experiencies of biodinamics applied to an entire region? And in that case, what is the general overview.
As far as I know BD is starting overall in South America ; a little more advance in Chilie. People should start with few hectares and see the difference achieved . But they need someone on the spot who puts his soul in it more than an adviser who gives the right to the word biodynamie . Only the man who is daily on the spot can reach the right actions felt by himself at the right time . Biodynamie is an art not a recepe although many people wants to limit it to a recepe
- Do you expect biodinamic wines will replace conventional wines in the near future in Europe?
There are 2 cathegories of customers , those who wants to drink wine and do not care about the rest which is their right .Those who have a passion for wines and the subtilities it can carry . this second cathegory is moving fast toward BDwines . Thruth have become a market it is a huge change . Most BD wines are wines which creates emotions , which sings ; they carry the soul of the place where they come from.