Meet Jules: A Badass Sipper Who's Helping Broke Bitches Find Dope Wines

Every month, we feature a member of our SippingTHIS community (aka Sipper) who is doing awesome things in wine and for the world. 

Jules has been sippin' since the very beginning. She didn't just follow along though, she graciously volunteered to help us at our first out-of-state pop-up in LA (her payment was wine while we worked, a shirt, and lots of laughs). She is now the proud owner of many SippingTHIS shirts and has become a great friend. 

Jules is also a down-to-earth, hilarious wine badass who is helping the young, broke, and winey find cheap wines that don't suck. We're so excited to feature her this September.

Read on to learn more about Jules.

Laura (SippingTHIS Founder): How did you get into wine?

Jules: As far as I go (the Jules half of @youngbrokeandwiney), I owe my wine obsession to The Wine Bar in Long Beach, CA. I lived above the bar for about 4 years and prior to that I never really drank wine. Once I started going there, I became friends with the 2 guys that owned the place. They opened my eyes to the wine industry, and that started my complete and utter fascination with wine. So to Mike and Alex, thank you! As far as how Lisa got into it… I think it was my fault, so she owes her wine obsession to me! 😊

Laura: Tell us about Young Broke and Winey! 

Jules: YBW started in mid-2017 when Lisa texted me one day and word for word said, “just bought a house, bitch is broke, I need some cheap wine recommendations.” I rattled off a few $10 bottles I liked, and she suggested we start an IG/blog reviewing cheap and good wine. However, about 6 months ago we put the blog on “hold” because… life and COVID. We still maintain our IG and FB accounts and post there just about every day. Unfortunately, quarantine has really messed up our reviewing because Lisa and I are both considered essential employees. She works as an engineer keeping the lights on for half of Northern California, and I work in the maritime/shipping industry keeping goods on store shelves. (SipTip: Follow YBW @youngbrokeandwiney!)

Laura:  What impact do you want to make in the wine world?

Jules: I’d say bringing the pretentious world of wine to the bitch on a budget is the goal. There are a lot of cost-effective wines out there, and we just want to leave our legacy with real people, living real lives, who are in need of wine in normal-people price ranges. We are just trying to make it day by day through the shitshow that is adulting, and wine is required to do that. If we can help the student, single parent, young worker bee, or any other young, broke, and winey person out there drink great wine for less than 20 bucks a bottle, then we have done our job!

Laura: What is your favorite wine?

Jules: Do I have to pick just one?!  Apothic Red Blend is a staple in my house. So is Justin Cabernet and Josh Cellars Cabernet and Chardonnay. I'm clearly a cheap date. Haha. I always have a few bottles of Joseph Phelps Chardonnay and Cab in the house for “fancy” nights. Not in any way cheap wines, but my hubs works for Hensel Phelps (JP’s dear ole dad’s company), so we get their wines at a discount. 

Laura: How has quarantining affected your wine intake?

Jules: Honestly, it hasn’t really changed much. I will say my taste in wine has changed during quarantine. I have been drinking A LOT more white wines which I really unusual for me. I'm generally always a red wine kinda girl. 

Laura: How did you find out about SippingTHIS?

Jules: I first learned about SippingTHIS on Instagram.  I honestly cannot remember how I came across the profile, but once I did, I was hooked!

Tell us about your experience working the SippingTHIS booth in LA.

It was so fun!!  After talking with SippingTHIS over IG, email, and the phone for a while, it was amazing to finally be able to meet in person!  Discovering that Laura and I are quite alike and come from similar backgrounds and then both having a major love of wine was so cool. Working the booth with Laura really made me realize how much I really love the wine industry. I was able to speak to numerous different people from all over the place who share the same love affair with wine that I do. 

What is your favorite SippingTHIS saying?

I think it’s a tie between "I LOVE WINE AND NAPS" and "WINE IS A NICE ALTERNATIVE TO HATING EVERYONE." I literally wear those two shirts every week.