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I love sparkling wine and recently discovered McBride Sisters Wine Company and this particular bottle. sparkling brut roséI was hooked. I brought my new favorite bottle to her dinner party, opened it when guests came over, and gifted it to my girlfriend. My friend likes wine as much as I do.
“My curiosity about wine began as a child,” says co-founder and president Robin McBride. McBride Sisters Wine Company“I remember trying to ferment Welch’s grape juice in a baby bottle under my bed. My sister and I were always passionate about wine. Few people were like us.” .”
The size of the US wine market is approximately $63.69 billion, The projected compound annual growth rate (CAGR) is 6.8% (2022-2030). My favorite sparkling wine category is Fastest growth at 7.7%driven by Prosecco and Champagne.
Enters the McBride Sisters Wine Company, run by the sisters. Established in 2005 In California, first as an importer, then as a winemaker. Collections of still, sparkling and canned wines have taken the industry by storm in recent years.
Robin McBride and her sister Andrea McBride-John co-founded a company in an industry notorious for its lack of diversity of expression. “About 1% of all winegrowers are black,” says Phil Long, president of the African American Winegrowers Association (AAAV). interview with a wine searcher. “There are over 50 winemakers and brand owners overall, but if you are looking for African Americans who are both winemakers and brand owners, there are only a few dozen.
Image credit: McBride Sisters Wine Company
The McBride Sisters ignited a movement to change that. “My sister and I are on a mission to transform the industry, lead by example, and nurture our community,” says Robin McBride. “Good wine one glass at a time.”
Here are the three most important lessons McBride and her sister learned as they founded America’s largest black- and woman-owned wine company.
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Stop Thinking Money Solves Everything
McBride has always been a problem solver. In her childhood she loved taking things apart and putting them back together. She also recalls asking many questions. “I got on everybody’s nerves,” she says. “I was always on a mission to find out why and find a solution.”
Now as co-founders, the sisters are always in problem-solving mode. On their journey to build their company, they are short on resources and manpower. The pandemic is a reminder that money doesn’t fix everything. “We can’t be paid to play in this industry. Other players are too big and will always pay more than we do,” he says McBride. “During the pandemic, we have had to innovate in the way we engage consumers. Free Online Wine School We filmed the module on Facebook, filmed the module from home, and it didn’t cost us more than our time.Not only did we engage with the community, we grew it [by providing] Useful content. “
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“Prejudice is a business killer”
It wasn’t easy for the sisters to build their business. “There is an immediate lack of credibility felt by investors who are skeptical of your success as a black woman founder. Who makes your wine? Do black women drink wine too? Prejudice is a business killer.”
Early on, investors actually recommended that the sisters get a white man as a partner to help them raise the money. However, the sisters did not give up. they are not ignored. “We are great business leaders and know our consumers well,” he says McBride. “Her 80% of wine purchases are made by women, and yes, despite what some investors think, black women actually drink wine.”
Today, the McBride Sisters Wine Company employs 51% people of color and 93% women, including an all-female winemaking team.
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celebrate and give back
In 2019, the McBride sisters essence festivalThey decided to make a wine to commemorate the moment and named it Black Girl Magic Riesling. He made less than 100 cases for the event, and the demand was enormous. The sisters were unprepared for how well it would be received.
“People loved the wine,” says McBride. “For my sister and I, this was an opportunity to celebrate our culture and community and honor black women.For too long, the industry has not catered to us as consumers. It is a wine for us as
The McBride sisters continue to overcome barriers to provide their customers with wines that represent cultures, stories, tastes and celebrations. “This collection is meant to be inspired by and celebrate the incredible Black women in our families, our communities, and everyone who celebrates them,” says McBride. “This is an opportunity to give back to the many black women who continue to support us.”
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