One great thing about living here in California is the great access I have to amazing wines. I have Napa in my backyard, which is an amazing perk of living in the bay, and honestly, probably one of the top reasons I’m still here. Little did I know that there are plenty of black winemakers here who mostly are outside of Napa. I was happy to have been able to attend this event this year, and it was a great event to close out Black History Month.
This past Saturday, I attended Black Vines, which is a day of drinking fantastic wines curated by black winemakers. I was blown away by how creative and different each of the wines was. I got to taste wines that were made out of honey and flowers. The Honey wine came from Beedivine, which is based on an Ethiopia National Beverage T’ej. I was able to taste all four different variations of the Honey Wine, and I was blown away. My favorite for sure was the Demi-Sec, and all bottles are available for purchase on their website. For my West Coast Folks, you can pick up your containers at their tasting room in the Ferry Building in San Francisco.
Next up, I tasted some wines from the Free Range Flower Winery Where the wine was made from flowers! The RoseHybiscus wine was something I have never tasted before.
At first smell, you could smell the notes of Vanilla and sandalwood, but when you taste it, you can taste the notes of sage and raspberry. This was a medium body red and was one of my favorites. Free Range Flower Winery can also ship your wines out to you if you are not in the area! Winemaker Aaliyah Nitoto was so knowledgeable and friendly. I can not wait to get my hands on my RoseHybiscus bottle; you won’t regret it if you buy it!
The event also highlighted Black Musicians and Black artists. Black Vines takes place every winter, and this is an event you do not want to miss! Your ticket allows you to taste as many wines as your heart desires, and also includes light bites. My suggestion is definitely to have a meal beforehand, so you are not coming to the event hungry. The food served was mostly dishes that complement wine (cheese, crackers, veggies. Aside from the food being on the light side, the wine makes up for it.
I am sharing some of my favorite moments from the event. If you are in the Bay Area, I would follow Black Vines and make sure you are up to date with all of their events. Grab your girlfriends and make it an event of drinking wonderful wines! Who wouldn’t want to miss that?
Some more of favorite wines I tasted at the event:
Till the last sip may be my new favorite brand of Rose, this was founded recently by 3 women who had a love for wine and wanted to create their own brand.
Mcbride Sisters Collection story is amazing. This company was founded by two sisters who found themselves later on in life.
They found that they shared a love for wine, and decided to start their own company. I was so excited to finally be getting my hands on some of this black girl magic rose, rising and red bland. Of course by the time I got back to the table to purchase by bottle they were sold out! You can buy your bottles online for a pretty good deal. Be sure to check out their website.
