The Black community is specifically and significantly underrepresented in the wine industry. Structural racism is front and center in beverage and its harmful effects are clear when looking at the landscape of employment in wine.
The Problem
Though these stats exclude the winemakers, suppliers, wholesalers, retailers, and writers that make our industry so dynamic, these leaders wield power. They define trends, drive nationwide demand and prices, and influence hiring decisions.
If the industry does not change―if we, as industry leaders, don’t change―we limit the perception of who wine is for, and continue to obstruct, even erase, the rich insights and experiences that Black people can bring to the table. We effectively keep Black people away from wine. This defies the very notion of hospitality and limits the potential of our industry.
Our Purpose
Fulton St. Fellowship is committed to diversifying the wine industry, with the express goal of driving change within industry leadership so that leaders reflect the ethnic and cultural diversity of those who enjoy wine, thereby naturally inspiring the next generation of winemakers, wine sellers, and wine drinkers.
Our work is focused on creating pathways to employment for Black professionals aspiring to work in the wine industry. We do this in three ways:
We do this in three ways:
FUNDING WINE EDUCATION
Leveraging existing educational structures prepares students with widely-accepted professional certification.PROVIDING INDUSTRY ACCESS
Wine industry contacts, event invitations and networking opportunities minimize systemic discrimination too often experienced by Black people in wine.FACILITATING INDUSTRY CHANGE
Providing fellows and partners alike with valuable resources, including education and training, to help the industry understand its origins and make the changes necessary to reap the cultural, social and economic benefits of diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Why This Needs to Happen
Wine can be a safe haven within the turbulent world of hospitality.
While education and experience are required, four years of college are not. With wine roles in high demand and few people with the credentials or experience, there’s a high level of job and income stability rarely seen in hospitality. There are clearly delineated career paths and learned skills that are translatable across markets (in and outside of the U.S.) and within multiple industry sectors.
But again, this unique safe haven is occupied by a disproportionately white workforce and consistently excludes Black talent - dangerously fortifying the implicit bias of those working within the industry and ultimately limiting the industry’s growth.
It’s not enough to be not racist toward Black people. As an industry, we must be anti-racist. To this end, wine will become a more equitable, more inclusive, and more creative industry by actively fostering the development of Black professionals.
What Success Looks Like
Michele J. Thomas
Wine Educator, Certified Sommelier
& Assistant Manager, Greene Grape Wine & Spirits
“I’m a Brooklyn kid, came up in the housing projects. Wine came from a jug at Christmas. I came to wine through my work as an Executive Editor at the International Culinary Center. My job was editing educational materials and the school was beginning to develop its benchmark Intensive Sommelier Training program with Scott Carney, MS, as its Dean of Wine Studies. Scott and I worked together for hundreds of hours designing the curriculum, his passion for wine infectious as he patiently explained the terms that sounded like Klingon. (Anbaugebiete? What did you call me?) I fell in love with the topic and Scott’s approach to teaching, and enrolled in the program in late 2014. Since graduating, I’ve built a new career, and worked to pay the mentorship I received forward by writing about wine and spirits, mentoring students, teaching classes, and working as a core member of the wine and spirits program at The Greene Grape in Brooklyn. Still, the number of Black sommeliers I’ve met can be counted on one hand. Fulton St. Fellowship is a way to change that.”
George W.C. Walker, III
Founder, Graped Out
“My great grandfather was a janitor at Tuskegee Institute where he befriended the great American inventor and agriculturalist George Washington Carver and vowed to name his first son after him. Three generations later, I carry the weight of being named after such an amazing man, with great pride. I humbly strive to translate his love for innovative agriculture to my passion for viticulture and wine. I am always learning, watching, and creating – trying to innovate within the wine industry while also paying homage to those who have come before me. Through wine, I have found my home and my life’s work. The essence and mission of Graped Out is to take the “boujee” out of wine. I want all people, regardless of their knowledge level or background, to enjoy wine and feel like it is for them. This is important to me because I am someone who doesn’t often see myself reflected in the wine industry. At 26 years old, I am a young black man who has had to search for mentors and examples of success who look like me. Thankfully, the list of black wine professionals continues to grow and I feel privileged to be able to contribute, especially because seven years ago, I didn't know the difference between a cabernet sauvignon and a sauvignon blanc. It has been my vision to be able to create an environment wherein all people can explore and learn in a space that embraces that exact feeling of curiosity.”
There’s not enough written about the racial imbalance in wine. Here are a few pieces and resources that have helped guide us.
READING
“Black Wine Professionals Demand to Be Seen” - Eric Asimov, NYTimes
“Too white wine: Jancis Robinson on the industry’s diversity problem” - Jancis Robinson, Financial Times
“It’s Time to Decolonize Wine” - Miguel De Leon, Punch Magazine
“NYC’s Most Powerful Wine Players Are a Fratty White Blur, and It Needs to Change” - Victoria James, Eater
(incl. survey cited above)
LIKE-MINDED RESOURCES