Wine & the Great Racial Divide
Imagine a glass of wine. Now, look at the hand holding that glass. To whom does that hand belong? I bet it’s some white guy.
In general, there’s a certain stereotype that most people easily imagine when they think of wine drinkers: middle-aged balding white men. And for good reason, most wineries seem to be owned by them. However, this has recently begun to change. The shift in areas like California shows increasing numbers of Hispanic vintners.
Napa now has names like Renteria, Ceja, Madrigal, and Fernandez cropping up, and quite importantly, “The best winemakers in Napa Valley are mostly women,” says Madrigal.
How? Lots of elbow grease, hard work, and equal opportunity. These are stories of the great American dream, and in the world of wine, it seems that such dreams can be actualized. Very cool.
May 10th, 2007 at 4:40 pm
There’s still a long way to go here, but it is fantastic that it’s starting to pick up. And who better to understand complexities and trying to balance many things than a woman wine maker?
Man this place rocks.