We Speak Wine
We are the disruptor that the wine industry needs
We are a small, nascent new entry into the world, and business, of wine. And this will actually garner some very different reactions, but our core demographic is women of color, specifically Black women, Latino women and Asian women. This is not to exclude anyone else, but first and foremost, I know that women can shape whole buying patterns and trends. And there is a demographic I see mostly ignored within the marketplace by serious contenders. As an African American wine "vivant," I hate the experience of attending a trade show where someone manning a table initially offers me a Moscato or something else sweet, without first engaging me to get a feel for my palate, or even waiting for me to make a selection of my own. Having been in and around the industry of wine, I have assessed the lack of serious outreach to Black drinkers; this has been documented in other industries like Bourbon. This is not to say that we don't want other people loving our wines, we do. We just don't see the need to fit into perceived and preconcieved ideals of what we should be presenting and how we should be presenting it and ourselves.
The second thing about us is that we are interested in bringing quality wines from places which aren't really being marketed to the American market in general, and of those which are, are definitely not being marketed to people of color, many of whom would actually be ardent consumers of said wines. There are definitely more wine varietals than the same "usual suspects." You know, just another typical Cabernet, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot, Syrah, or Pinot Grigio. And of course, there are more diverse expressions of these and other varietals as well. Many wine importers tend to just focus on trends instead of taking the time to introduce a different product and build a following for it. Some like to just offer a less expensive wine and some like to offer a wine with multiple awards so that they can get more money from it. Wine awards in themselves can be viewed with skepticism, as you neither know the demeanor and attitude of the judges, nor what wines they were going up against. I love the case of The Judgement of Paris (see the movie Bottle Shock) where the haughty French judges had the attitudes that no one could top the French, but thee wines that won in the blind tasting were both from the United States. Getting a high rating could easily be based on the judge's biases when it comes to wine and food. Much has been said about how Robert Parker affected the wine industry, as producers stopped doing them and started making their wines to appeal to his taste profile, because his high ratings got them sales. We don't care about showing ratings or awards; we show our wines and let them speak for themselves!
Summarily, our focus is on providing great wines to our demographic at great values. There are no reasons why you shouldn't be getting some phenomenal wines just because someone else wants to have a narrow view of what you might like or enjoy. At some point, when one group of people keep talking about something, other people are going to want to see what all the fuss is about.
Are you interested in learning more? Feel free. Get in Touch