Dwyane Wade is working to diversify the wine industry. The former basketball athlete is accomplishing this as the founder of his own wine brand, Wade Cellars, established in 2014, and as a University of California (UC Davis), Davis board member. According to a news release, Wade joined the school’s Executive Leadership Board for the Department of Viticulture and Enology in 2021. At the time of appointment, David Block , a professor and chair of the viticulture and enology department, shared in a statement: “All of our new board leaders have really unique skills to help the department achieve our strategic goals. They bring excellent communication skills, a passion for diversifying the industry and making sure students receive a great education and fulfilling career, and a passion for wine. Past and current members will help us to reach even a higher level of teaching, research and continuing education for the industry.” Wade’s participation was to serve as a doorway for expanding...

Carmelo Anthony has turned his passion for wine into a full-on business endeavor. The NBA star and wine connoisseur announced the launch of a global wine estate brand, VII(N) – The Seventh Estate, according to Haute Living.

Florida woman Desiree Noisette founded her wine brand Mermosa four years ago, and today she’s recognized for making history as the state’s first-ever Black woman winemaker, Click Orlando reports. According to the outlet, it was Noisette’s family’s own love story that inspired her to create her own wine company. “Mermosa is inspired by our family’s first mermaid. Her name was Celestine Noisette,” she recalled of a story that goes back to the late 1700s when Celestine met and married a white Frenchman named Phillipe in Haiti. “Then shortly after they moved to Charleston, South Carolina. And when they moved to Charleston, Phillipe, unfortunately, had to protect his family from being sold into the slave trade because his wife was black and his children were mixed.” Phillipe reportedly wrote a fake bill of sale to purchase his wife and children, but the state of South Carolina denied his petition. Nonetheless, Phillipe continued his efforts to save his family and even wrote in his will...

Donae Burston is behind a history-making wine company. Before becoming founder and CEO of La Fête Wine Co., “a fresh, modern, and inclusive wine brand,” in 2019, Burston entered the spirits industry as a brand ambassador. It wasn’t long before he had scaled to promotions manager at Heineken then allocated eight years at Moët Hennessy, launching the first and only champagne bar in the Miami Heat American Airlines arena, Uncorked and Cultured reports. He also dedicated three years with Jay-Z’s champagne brand, Champagne Armand de Brignac. Burston would pivot to entreprenuership following a visit to Saint-Tropez, France, during his 30th birthday celebration, his website mentions. Many locals were drinking what he believed to be White Zinfandel, but he discovered it was a Côtes de Provence Rosé and was immediately drawn to its taste. Another catalyst would be meeting the owner of a local winery. “Being in a chance encounter in the south of France and meeting the owner of a winery, I was...

Dexter and Marilyn Meadows are not only united in marriage but in business too. Love Story The couple of 52 years grew up in a small town in Tuskegee, AL, attending the same church and high school. They would establish a steady friendship and begin dating when they attended Tuskegee Institute, now known as the Tuskegee University. By their junior year of college, the two officially tied the knot. Upon graduating in 1972, they packed their bags and moved to the University of Michigan so Dexter could advance his education in landscape architecture. “All we had with us was our ambition to succeed and a few hundred dollars,” Marilyn, a biology graduate with a minor in chemistry and mathematics, told AFROTECH. Dexter would ultimately obtain another degree and land a job offer at the Forest Service in Southern California. Marilyn recalls working several jobs at the time, which included a role at a Steward Pharmaceuticals in quality assurance and as a substitute teacher in math and science...

There is a Black family-owned winery operating out of the state of Maryland.

The days of men being the face of the spirits industry are behind us as women are being ushered to the forefront and making their mark along the way. Black women specifically have found a way to become trailblazers in this space as they’re not only the owners behind some of today’s most popular spirits brands, they’ve also managed to build successful businesses based on powerful origin stories. As we celebrate Women’s History Month this year, we’re also honoring the Black women who are becoming leaders across the spirits industry and breaking barriers with their brands. Check out the below spirit brands and the powerful Black women owners behind them: AVEC Drinks Courtesy of AVEC Drinks AVEC Drinks was founded by Bronx native Dee Charlemagne and U.K. native Alex Doman and successfully launched on the market in June 2020 amid the pandemic. Within its first four months, AVEC managed to bring in roughly $100,000 in revenue, selling through its first batch of 40,000 cans. AVEC is...

This Black-owned wine shop is making its way to Oakland’s Black Arts Movement District. CoCo Noir Wine Shop & Bar was co-founded by Bay area natives Mari Kemp and Alicia Kidd and will open during the first quarter of 2021 with a focus on BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) along with women-owned brands made around the country. They will also work globally to pair them with a curated menu of small bites, reports EURweb . “We founded CoCo Noir to be a disruptor in the wine industry by offering a platform and a space for winemakers of color and women producing amazing wines and also expose those wines to an amazing demographic of people,” said Kidd, wine distributor and founder of The Wine Noire. Both of these women entrepreneurs aim to influence the wine culture that has continuously risen in Oakland’s nationally recognized culinary scene. Located at 13 th and Webster, Kemp and Kidd want CoCo Noir to be a place where all wine lovers (no matter the level) can not only...