The next time you reach for a glass of wine, consider this: the wine in your glass, the label on your bottle, the reviews written about the wine, and the shop where you purchased your wine mostly likely did not involve a single person of color. And as a person of color enjoying that wine, YOU were not factored into the wine equation. You were basically ignored.
But not anymore, amiga. NOT anymore.
The wine industry continues to exclude people of color despite the fact that both African American and Latinx consumers represent a combined $3 trillion in buying power and are the fasting growing demographic sectors in our economy. In fact, according to reports from Nielson, people of color represent one-third of the legal wine-drinking population of our country and we are growing. To dismiss us is economically foolish and morally irresponsible.
But not anymore, amiga. NOT anymore.
Here’s how are we are making a difference at the Latinas Wine Club:
We are going to educate ourselves.
Wine education is empowering and creates a community of evangelists who want to engage, share, and experience this venerated beverage together. We are going to learn about the story behind the bottle, the diversity of wine regions, and the challenges and opportunities of the wine industry. We are going to be able to express what WE want to enjoy, not what others tell us to.
We are going to encourage and support each other in our wine journeys.
Having been excluded ourselves, inclusivity and approachability is critical to our mission. The path to becoming a wine professional is challenging, circuitous, and costly—even more so for those coming from economically-disadvantaged or non-traditional backgrounds. We know first-hand—we are moms, we are Latinas. And the Latinas Wine Club is a community to support you.
We are going to support Latina winemakers and other wine professionals of color.
The wine business has some of the highest barriers to entry of any industry making it doubly challenging for those from economically-disadvantaged backgrounds to become a wine producer. For us, Hispanic Heritage Month is a year-round celebration, we will support our Latinas, and fight to make their wines mainstream.
We are going to hold the wine industry accountable.
It’s time for the wine industry to make deliberate efforts to reach, employ, and support people of color. We will impress upon the industry to source wine from Latina and winemakers of color and hire Latina wine professionals. And we are going to help train you so you can be ready for these new and growing opportunities.
Amigas, we are tech savvy, socially-conscious, community-focused, and family-centered. We are the fastest-growing segment of the economy and we are going to change the way the wine world acknowledges us.
Let’s be part of this movement, this wine activism, together. Juntas
