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All You Need is Wine: How Students are Working with Cal Poly Alumni to Make Party Games More Sustainable

Engineering management students Darla Doell and Madison Pierce show off the party game All You Need is Wine, created by Cal Poly alumni Carlene and Daniel Iverson.
Engineering management students Darla Doell and Madison Pierce show off the party game All You Need is Wine, created by Cal Poly alumni Carlene and Daniel Iverson.

Small business owners know all too well the many challenges that can arise in the process of creating a thriving company. Beyond keeping up with competitive market trends, there is the constant weight of making products more environmentally sustainable and minimizing waste, all while maximizing profits.

All You Need is Wine is a party game where players taste test wines and write down their tasting notes.
All You Need is Wine is a party game where players taste test wines and write down their tasting notes.

That dilemma drew two engineering management students to apply their problem-solving skills to help a Cal Poly alumni couple with their small business.

Darla Doell and Madison Pierce met Daniel and Carlene Iverson while working toward their master’s degrees.

“We were initially connected to them because Carlene is on the Industry Advisory Board for the Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering Department,” Pierce said.

The Iversons’ story started at Cal Poly in 2004, when they met through the Engineering Student Council.

It was only natural for the couple’s love of wine to develop while living on California’s Central Coast, home to an abundance of wineries and industry experts. Daniel began working at Meridian Vineyards in Paso Robles, and wine culture became part of their everyday life.

All You Need is Wine is a party game where players taste test wines and write down their tasting notes.
All You Need is Wine is a party game where players taste test wines and write down their tasting notes.

In 2005, Daniel graduated with a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering, and Carlene graduated with a bachelor’s in industrial engineering. While they both pursued careers in engineering, their passion for wine culture never faded, which led them to participate in the University of California, Irvine, wine specialized studies program from 2006 to 2008, where they attended weekly tastings and learned about different wine regions, further expanding their viticulture knowledge.

Headshot of Daniel and Carlene Iverson.
Daniel and Carlene Iverson graduated from Cal Poly in 2005 with degrees in aerospace engineering and industrial engineering, respectively.

Carlene continued her education at Pepperdine University’s School of Business and Management, graduating in December 2008. That is where the “graduation wine party idea” — and the couple’s first product — came to life.

“All You Need is Wine” is a blind taste-testing party game where players “learn and practice the five S’s of wine tasting: sight, swirl, smell, sip and savor.” Players use a tasting tip sheet to guess each wine’s grape varietal while learning more about wine and enjoying some themselves in the process.

The party game fills a gap in the market, with customers sharing how it is both fun and educational for wine lovers at all levels of expertise.

Headshot of Daniel and Carlene Iverson with their daughter Ainsley, son Austin and goldendoodle Sunny.
Daniel and Carlene Iverson with their daughter Ainsley, son Austin and goldendoodle Sunny.

While the game is a hit among friends and online consumers, the Iversons wanted to expand their business and recruited Doell and Pierce to help make that happen.

The graduate students strategized ways to streamline production, product design and order placements while also working to increase sustainability throughout the business.

“I hope that my work on the project can ease some of the inventory holding costs for Carlene and allow for a more profitable company,” Pierce said.

The improvements came just as the Iversons prepared to introduce their latest game, “All You Need is Beer,” which follows the same style as their breakout wine game — except players must guess the type of beer they are drinking.

Doell’s role in the latest game is to increase sustainability by creating a more compact game design.

“We hope our input will positively impact both the Iversons and their customers by reducing the environmental impact and backend costs.”

Five people standing in front of a large wall decal that reads Industrial & Manufacturing Engineering Department.
(From left) Industrial and manufacturing engineering Assistant Professor Mohamed Awwad, Darla Doell, Madison Pierce, Carlene Iverson and Daniel Iverson meeting in person for the first time to discuss the future of the games, All You Need is Wine and All You Need is Beer. / Photo by Pedro Zepeda Beas

While consumers anticipate the release of “All You Need is Beer,” the packaging redesign serves as a reminder of how everyone can do their part to minimize waste.

“By making mindful choices, such as choosing products with minimal packaging, shopping at local farmers markets, using reusable containers instead of single-use plastic bags and bringing our own bags to grocery stores, we can significantly reduce waste and contribute to a more sustainable world,” Doell said.

And with party games like “All You Need is Wine,” you can even have fun while doing it. You can grab your own copy of All You Need is Wine here.

By Taylor Villanueva