Black women who drink wine are a mood.
Wine is a mood that every good sis can enjoy when she finds the wine for her. Wine is an evolution. Where you start is not where you finish and where you start definitely impacts if you’ll continue. The McBride sisters are two black women who drink wine. Not only do they drink wine they make it. They are trailblazers in an industry that’s unsurprisingly dominated by white men. Read about their story here, it’s pretty amazing. These sisters both with an affinity for wine, grew up in two separate continents. They came together and created several collections, including the Black Girl Magic collection. I recently purchased the BGM Collection from OST Liquors, a new black-owned liquor store in Houston, TX. The collection features a Rose, Riesling, and a Red Blend. As a black girl who drinks wine, these are my go to varietals!
The Black Girl Magic Wine Collection can be a great girl’s gift to those new to the wine world.
You don’t sacrifice taste for the luxury and feels that come with enjoying a nice glass of wine. Because let’s be honest; nobody likes drinking a glass of wine that tastes horrible, no matter how cute it looks for the gram. We want to enjoy the wine too! I thought it was a nice touch to introduce these varietals with a primary focus on black women. We generally are not considered viable consumers in the wine industry. But now, Black women are representing in the form of ownership in the wine and spirits industry and I love it. I’ll never forget my manager teaching me how to open my first bottle of wine.
Starting out, I was definitely nervous.
I was working at Seasons 52 off Westhimer –– a fresh grill and wine bar –– as a server and bartender. I had never been exposed to a form of dining where people were truly interested in knowing which wines paired well with what dishes. Suddenly I ended up charged with pairing wine to foods for guests and didn’t even know how to open a bottle y’all! So as you can imagine, in the beginning, most of my tip money came from good manners and being polite rather than my extensive knowledge of wine and food pairings.
Once I got the hang of it and a true appreciation for what I was doing under my belt, my money went up and sitting at my table was an entire experience, curated by yours truly feating whichever wine I felt you needed in your life lol. It was also an added bonus that we had wine taste tests before each shift. I started to be able to speak to my guests with personal knowledge on the bottles I was selling them while simultaneously developing my own pallet for wine. I was good I can’t even lie and I could put you on a good bottle…or two!
What it means to be a black woman is taking on an entirely new meaning for me.
As I get more in tune with my surroundings and grow more in my professional life I’ve found myself wanting to make a conscious effort to enjoy the experiences I’ve always wanted while simultaneously supporting women who look like me that happen to own, sale, and promote those experiences! I’m thankful that there are black women who drink wine on the other side of those experiences that allow me to do that. So, needless to say, I’ve found a new party favor to bring to girls night! 🥂
XOXO
ELAYNE MESHELL