Wineries with Black Proprietors, Winemakers and Growers - Wine & Spirits Magazine

Wineries with Black Proprietors, Winemakers and Growers


The recent political unrest that followed the killing of George Floyd has shed a spotlight on racial inequities in the US. Winemaking is one area where African Americans are significantly under represented compared to their white counterparts. In fact, less than one percent of US wineries are black-owned or have black winemakers—a statistic that parallels the number of US farmers who are black.

Phil Long. Photo by Ron Essex.

“I believe the small percentage is due to the fact that there has been a serious lack of awareness: both that a career path exists and that there actually are black winemakers and proprietors in the industry,” says Phil Long, owner of Longevity Wines and president of the Association of African American Vintners. “One of my primary goals as president is to increase exposure for black winemakers in the industry today and establish a career path through scholarships and internships to help inspire the black winemakers of tomorrow.”

Here is a list of wineries that are black-owned, or have black winemakers or winegrowers.

California

Central Coast

Indigené Cellars
Paso Robles, CA
indigenecellars.com

Longevity Wines
Livermore, CA
longevitywines.com
Proprietor Phil Long is the president of the Association of African American Vintners.

McBride Sisters Collection
Oakland, CA
mcbridesisters.com

Oceano Wines
San Luis Obispo, CA
oceanowines.com

Mendocino

Theopolis Vineyards
Yorkville, CA
theopolisvineyards.com

Thomas T. Thomas Vineyard
Philo, CA
thomastthomasvineyard.com

Napa Valley

Brown Estate
Napa, CA
brownestate.com

Darjean Jones Wines
Napa, CA
darjeanjoneswines.com

J. Moss Wines
Napa, CA
jmosswines.com

Okapi Wines
Napa, CA
okapiwines.com

Sonoma

Bodkin Wines
Healdsburg, CA
bodkinwines.com

Corner 103
Sonoma, CA
corner103.com

L’Objet Wines
Healdsburg, CA
lobjetwines.com

Monte Rosso Vineyard
Sonoma, CA
gallo.com
Brenae Royal, the vineyard manager for E & J Gallo’s Monte Rosso Vineyard, is one of California’s few (if not only) black female winegrowers.

P. Harrell Wines
Sonoma, CA
pharrellwines.com

Tympany Vineyards
Healdsburg, CA
tympanyvineyards.com

Vision Cellars
Windsor, CA
visioncellars.com

Oregon

Abbey Creek Vineyard
North Plains, OR
abbeycreekvineyard.com
In 2012, Bertony Faustin of Abbey Creek Vineyard became the first known black winemaker in Oregon.

Maison Noir Wines
McMinnville, OR
maisonnoirwines.com

ROCO Winery
Newberg, OR
rocowinery.com

Kansas

Jenny Dawn Cellars
Wichita, KS
jennydawncellars.com

Vermont

ZAFA Wines
Burlington, VT
zafawines.com
In 2018, Krista Scruggs started converting a 10-acre vineyard in Grand Isle to biodynamic farming and, in two years, has expanded her farming to more than 100 acres.

Washington

Frichette Winery
Benton City, WA
frichettewinery.com

is the tasting coordinator for US wines at Wine & Spirits magazine.


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