DOS_patos
Unverified Legion of Trill member
Drink responsibly and consciously. Great wines and spirits by really dope Black women.
I never thought a wine tasting experience would up my respect on the industry and those who make it, but it did. It was a chance idea while planning a trip to visit family in the Bay Area. My wife suggested that we try out some wineries. But, I’m a beer guy who drinks wine when I run out of my stash of ale, but hey, I didn’t have anything to lose if I tried. When we looked into it, there were so many vineyards in Napa Valley that we narrowed it down to Black owned establishments.
Months later, we found ourselves in the tasting room of Brown Estate, a family-owned winery in Napa Valley. While listening to great music and hearing the stories of how the Brown’s took a leap of faith, I learned that winemaking is not an easy road. It made me think about my barbershop that I had for seven years. On the outside, you smile, but every night your life is wrapped around that business.
The Brown family bought the property along a winding mountainside which sits miles up from downtown Napa. Over a decade later and restoring the property and house, I drank a rich Zinfandel and ate some of the matriarch’s marmalade with cheese and crackers. The host was dope and generous as she poured and wove intricate stories of how the wines were named and made.
Since then, I’ve been an advocate of supporting the small cadre of winemakers. An even smaller collective, are Black women who take a leap of faith in an industry where they own about 1 percent of wine ventures.
A few years back, it was a pleasant surprise to hear of women who daringly entered into the world of spirits. After all, if you’re from a Southern family, you had an aunt or grandmother who made their own wines or moonshine for special occasions. Plus, enslaved Blacks made the alcohol for plantations, hence, Uncle Nearest whiskey, named after the real inventor of Jack Daniels, a slave named. Now that these traditions of wine are being historicized and coming to the wider market, it’s my honor to give them some shine.
For business owners who use wine, beer and spirit tasting as an event, or even organizations who employ the idea for a fundraiser, why not feature all Black owners? It was something I did for a youth personal care campaign called, The Grooming Blueprint. We raised money to create grooming kits for boys, teens and young men in Newark, New Jersey. One of our features was Andre Heston Mack of Maison Noir wines.
Here is a list of wine and spirit companies either fully-or-partially owned by Black women for you to consider. Hope you run across one of these and try them out.
I never thought a wine tasting experience would up my respect on the industry and those who make it, but it did. It was a chance idea while planning a trip to visit family in the Bay Area. My wife suggested that we try out some wineries. But, I’m a beer guy who drinks wine when I run out of my stash of ale, but hey, I didn’t have anything to lose if I tried. When we looked into it, there were so many vineyards in Napa Valley that we narrowed it down to Black owned establishments.
Months later, we found ourselves in the tasting room of Brown Estate, a family-owned winery in Napa Valley. While listening to great music and hearing the stories of how the Brown’s took a leap of faith, I learned that winemaking is not an easy road. It made me think about my barbershop that I had for seven years. On the outside, you smile, but every night your life is wrapped around that business.
The Brown family bought the property along a winding mountainside which sits miles up from downtown Napa. Over a decade later and restoring the property and house, I drank a rich Zinfandel and ate some of the matriarch’s marmalade with cheese and crackers. The host was dope and generous as she poured and wove intricate stories of how the wines were named and made.
Since then, I’ve been an advocate of supporting the small cadre of winemakers. An even smaller collective, are Black women who take a leap of faith in an industry where they own about 1 percent of wine ventures.
A few years back, it was a pleasant surprise to hear of women who daringly entered into the world of spirits. After all, if you’re from a Southern family, you had an aunt or grandmother who made their own wines or moonshine for special occasions. Plus, enslaved Blacks made the alcohol for plantations, hence, Uncle Nearest whiskey, named after the real inventor of Jack Daniels, a slave named. Now that these traditions of wine are being historicized and coming to the wider market, it’s my honor to give them some shine.
For business owners who use wine, beer and spirit tasting as an event, or even organizations who employ the idea for a fundraiser, why not feature all Black owners? It was something I did for a youth personal care campaign called, The Grooming Blueprint. We raised money to create grooming kits for boys, teens and young men in Newark, New Jersey. One of our features was Andre Heston Mack of Maison Noir wines.
Here is a list of wine and spirit companies either fully-or-partially owned by Black women for you to consider. Hope you run across one of these and try them out.
