(The second installment in a series of
interviews with notable figures in the wine industry)
At the beginning of this month I sat down with a legendary
winery public relations man, Harvey
Posert. Harvey worked with Robert
Mondavi Winery for sixteen years, and was instrumental in creating the
California wine lifestyle concept that was Robert’s vision. He has also been a newspaper reporter, an ad
man in the Mad Men era, and quite a successful PR man for Edelman and Wine Institute. Harvey started out in newspaper reporting, then
served in the U.S. Army Counter-Intelligence Corps, and now is happily
consulting in public relations with his clients, most notably Bronco Wine
Company (Two Buck Chuck). I visited with
Harvey at his house in Saint Helena, his dog Jerry checking in frequently to
see if I had any treats to offer him.
Harvey has seen the wine industry grow and prosper in
Napa Valley. He has formed many long-term
friendships and continues to work behind the scenes on many winery
projects. So how did he get to where he
is today, and what would he do differently?
What did you want
to be when you grew up? I wanted to be a foreign correspondent for a
newspaper. I had two uncles who worked
at the Memphis Commercial Appeal, one as a sports writer, the other
covering politics. My father was an
attorney, and my mom was a housewife, but an accomplished musician. My mom wrote musical criticism for the local
paper. Writing always came easy to me,
and at the age of fourteen I started working for the newspaper scoring sports
games. At 16 I was the city editor,
providing summer relief for news desks including business, cotton, tri-state,
and obituaries.
What encouragement
did you get from family, teachers, etc? My parents forced me to go to school outside
of Memphis. I went to prep school in
Pennsylvania, and received my bachelor’s degree in English from Yale. When I announced I was going to law school,
my parents raised their eyebrows.
To raise some beer money while attending law school I went to work for
the Bar Association’s PR department. I
learned quickly that PR paid well; I could get $50 a week working for the
newspaper and $100 a week at the PR firm.
Soon I had three boys and a wife to support, and I quickly did the
math. I went to the paying
industry. I worked for several years at
a large PR firm, Edelman, and had my own firm.
At Edelman I was part of the firm’s evolution to become the largest
independent PR firm in the world.
How did you end up
in the wine business? I was working in public relations in New
York for the Edelman office there. I was
working with The Chocolate Association, National Bedding Association and other
similar accounts. I was raising three
kids outside of Manhattan. Edelman got
the Wine Institute account and needed me to open up a California office. I got here and thought, “Eureka, I found
it.” I spent July 4th of that
year at the Atlantic Ocean and Labor Day at the Pacific Ocean.
What drew you to
the wine industry and your role? I was drawn to the personalities in the wine
industry. It also is a happy industry. People laugh all day. When I started in the industry it was all
about sharing a glass of wine.
With all the
opportunities you had, why didn’t you leave? I loved
the wine industry. It was a growing
industry. What isn’t to like? Everyone
is nice, gracious. I grew up in Memphis
with southern hospitality. I knew more
about PR than others here and I could make a difference. It is also a nice business for a family. I have two kids in it and I get enormous
pleasure from getting to work with them and from us being able to help each
other.
Were their mistakes
you made or lessons learned that you would like to share? I
don’t feel I made any mistakes, but think I could have done better
financially. If I had stayed at Edelman
and done as I was told, I would have gone to Silicon Valley or stayed in agency
work and made $500,000 a year instead of only $120,000 on average. Thinking about mistakes made, I bring up
David Brooks, the writer who recently wrote a series called The Life Report, asking people aged 70 and above to reflect on their lives. Reading over the essays people submitted, I
think the things I could have done better were to learn how to deal better with
my parents and the women in my life.
From outside of the wine business I’ve learned that you have to have
balance and intelligence so that you can make more good than bad decisions.
Were there mentors
in your career? I had
three of the best mentors:
Dan Edelman,
Edelman PR. Dan taught me how to
adjust newspaper writing to the publicity biz.
He said to always throw the net out wide.
Harry Serlis,
President of Wine Institute. Harry
said you can’t ever know all there is to know about the wine biz. It is OK to say “I don’t know.”
Bob Mondavi,
Robert Mondavi Winery. Bob taught me
how to deal with people and teach people about wine. He evoked the wine, food, culture belief and
created the lifestyle.
Did you have any
protégés? I am proud to have helped a complete generation of wine
publicists.
Is there any advice
you would have given yourself years ago?
I would learn to understand the financial business. It is an area that I have not been as savvy
in as I think I should have been.
Are there any changes
in the wine industry that you have experienced? It was
quite interesting coming to the Napa Valley in 1965. When I started, I knew so little about
wine. With the changes of the wine
industry to become a true “industry,” it has gotten very competitive. Before, wine people were very cooperative, and
it seems like the industry has moved to an MBA-type environment where wine is
marketed in a commercial context, losing some of the glamour or mystique it
once had. I have also seen wine become a
product. When I started, wine was
unknown to many, and now wine is on all tables.
It is rewarding that we were able to accomplish that in the States.
Southern hospitality is still quite present when you meet
with Harvey. He is a gentlemen, and
quite smart. He is involved in so many
things and still has time to sit with a cub reporter like me, even popping a
fresh batch of popcorn. Thank you,
Harvey, for your time and thoughts, and I look forward to our next
meeting. I’ll remember to bring Jerry
some treats!