Our Black Asses ❤️ Wine, We Just Need Winemakers to ❤️ Us
Welcome to the twentieth installment of This Black-Ass Life! After a few newsy newsletters in a row, we want to take a lighter approach so we’re talking wine. Please keep reading to learn about Black-owned wines and wineries, high-profile Black wine drinkers and makers, and how we can support! Also, we’re including updates on Pose, Drake and a healthy/helpful reminder from Jumoke’s dad. Enjoy!
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I. The Facts
WINE
Rihanna. Mitu. Shonda. Jumoke. Oprah. What do all these Black women have in common? We are part of the 25% of Black people who drink and love wine.
Black people drink less wine than our White counterparts (34% to 25%). We’re also often excluded from the wine industry and typically have sweet or sparkling wines pushed on us by advertisers since we’re more likely to be novice wine drinkers.
As Andrea McBride, a young Black woman winemaker said, “If you have first time wine drinkers, it doesn’t matter if they are White or Chinese or Black— you start drinking sweet. I’ve never seen someone who’s never drunk wine pick up a dry wine and say this is excellent. As you go along, your palette adjusts.”
Fun fact: Fermentation processes actually date back to ancient civilizations across Europe, Asia and Africa. I (Mitu) present the unbiased opinion that Ethiopians do it best with our honey wine, Tej.
Why is this important?
Black wine consumers don’t get the same opportunity to enjoy a wider variety of wine as we’re relegated to Moscatos and the like because, again, advertisers be racist.
The current wine industry fails to recognize the Black buying power. Unlike other luxury companies like Mercedes, Rolex, Tiffany and Hennessy that all recognize the potential of the Black dollar and advertise accordingly, winemakers are still out here playing.
This is both terrible for Black people who love wine and for Black winemakers who are struggling to break-into the wine-making business.
According to one winemaker, only 1 percent of the wine industry around the world is made up of Black women and according to one analyst, in South Africa, the largest wine producing majority Black country, Black people only have a two percent share in the wine industry.
What can my Black Ass do?
You can visit some Black-Ass wineries across the world from California to Oregon to South Africa.
OR take a tour of Black-owned wineries in the South, including one that started in the generation after slavery.
Nicki Minaj, Mona Scott-Young and E-40 (we recognize the random nature of this list), among other notable Black-ass figures, own wine companies! Check out 15 Black winemakers you need to know.
You can also buy Vanilla Puddin from Gabrielle Union and Dwyane Wade, and Legend Vineyard Exclusive from John Legend and Chrissy Teigen.
II. Other Things
Y’all better watch Pose
I (Mitu) don’t mean to start Other Things with such an aggressive tone, but truly delete me from your life if you don’t start Pose, an FX TV show about trans and queer folks of color navigating New York City in the 80’s starring actual trans and queer people and not ScarJo. They also have trans/queer writers, directors and producers! Watch here and be warned, there are SOME references to Limoncello Lucifer because it is NYC in the 80’s.
Only European teams are left in the World Cup, but Nigeria’s World Cup fit remains the most fire. Please if you have a plug let us know.
This is a really good take on the recent publicizing of the very-not-new phenomenon of White people calling the police on Black people for just existing. Cops:White People::Cousins:Black People.
Drake scored his 8th number one on the Billboard 200 Chart, broke a streaming record and saw an online dance trend launch from his song “In My Feelings.”
Our Black-Ass song of the week (Mitu):
I have very positive, but also mixed feelings on Everything Is Love. My current favorite song off the album is Nice.
Things we are looking forward to / things we are not looking forward to:
I (Jumoke) am not looking forward to any more Meghan Markle updates. While I am so happy that the House of Windsor is getting some much deserved melanin, incessant reports about this poor woman are just exhausting. What about Pippa, Sarah, Kate ‘n’ em?! Where they at? Get up all in their business and leave Meghan aloooone.
I (Mitu) look forward to the conclusion of the World Cup. I love watching the games, but my heart ain’t in it now that only European countries are left. It is still nice to see so many new/rare entries in the semi-finals.
We are not here for the Priyanka Chopra-Nick Jonas union. She’s too much of a woman and a Brown-ass beauty for this. He is a former Jonas Bro and she is a former Miss World 2000. Y’all. Y’ALL!!!!
III. Text from a Black-Ass Papa
A reminder from my (Jumoke’s) dad to take a breath when it comes to work worries.
Stay Black, stay beautiful, know we’re watching Mamma Mia 2 on opening night and we’ll hit your inbox next on July 23.