James Moss created his first wine alongside his wife for their wedding. Today, the couple have built a family-owned business that is among the “less than 1% of the 11,500 wineries across the U.S. are Black-owned,” according to Napa Valley Register. Call it a match made in business as the couple connected during a time when Moss’s now-wife Janet worked at Domaine Carneros while obtaining her winemaking degree. They had an instant connection that would lead them to move in together and eventually say their “I Do’s” with their wine to celebrate. “I asked her, ‘Hey, let’s just make some wine in the garage,’” Moss told Napa Valley Register. “And it came out great. It was Merlot. And so we served it at our wedding, and it was a big hit. So I said, ‘Let’s make some commercial wine.’” The wine venture marked a pivot for James, who initially wanted to pursue a sales and marketing career when he moved to California from Texas. James’ career transition would be further affirmed after he...

Tim Duncan was one of the biggest NBA superstars in the early 2010s. But in 2013, he enlisted a financial advisor. And according to Bleacher Report, that’s when all the problems began. The outlet confirms that thanks to a series of bad investments by his financial advisor, Charles Banks IV of Atlanta, Duncan was defrauded out of more than $20 million. What’s more, thanks to his role in the fraud, Banks was sentenced to a four-year prison sentence for wire fraud in 2017, per the San Antonio Current. Despite the loss, Tim Duncan is completely unfazed. “Luckily I had a long career and made good money. This is a big chunk, but it’s not going to change my life in any way. It’s not going to make any decisions for me,” he said to Bleacher Report. That said, Duncan still felt the sting of betrayal by Banks, whom he counted on to follow through on an investment that would help him “make a living that would last [him] for the rest of [his] life.” Instead, Duncan and his attorneys said there...

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...

Wine is more than just a drink for the Nichols sisters, it’s a lifestyle! Nichelle and Nicole Nichols are co-founders and SHE-eos behind The Guilty Grape, a wine brand that is committed to breaking barriers and showcasing representation. These are not just your average sisters, Nichelle and Nicole are identical twins who took their frustration of the lack of minority representation and turned it into wine! We sat down with them to discuss their why, their commitment to lifting and their climb, and their idea of longevity within the wine space through their brand. On The Guilty Grape Before they were running a wine business, both Nichelle and Nicole had similar paths, both working in corporate retail management and the entertainment industry. “We reached a point where we were coming home and we just weren’t passionate about what we were doing anymore,” said Nichelle. “It wasn’t making us happy.” They wanted a business in something that not only piqued their interest but something...

Netflix’s new original movie “Uncorked” released over the weekend highlighting an industry many are unfamiliar with — the wine industry. The film followed the journey of main character Elijah as viewers witnessed his path to becoming a master wine sommelier. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Strong Black Lead (@strongblacklead) The film highlighted a huge cultural shock in the industry for African American consumers and called attention to the widely-untapped market. According to the Wine Market Council, African Americans make up about nine percent of wine drinkers in the U.S. and they make up an even smaller population in the U.S. that accounts for those knowledgeable of wine. It’s become increasingly challenging for people of color to break into the industry, especially women. “Women of color have more of a challenge—No.1 because nobody expects them to know much about wine,” Mac McDonald, president of the Association of African American Vintners (AAAV), told Forbes ....