Wine & the Great Racial Divide
May 10th, 2007 12:40 PM
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.
