While this newsletter has been a long time in the making, it now feels more important than ever. I have been writing for wine magazines since 20191, but after George Floyd’s murder, I began focusing on what mattered to me most: Stories on the margins of the wine industry. Mostly about Black winemakers.
In 2022, I wrote “A Vineyard in San Francisco’s Black Belt.” It was about a furloughed sommelier, Christopher Renfro, who used his free time during the pandemic to rehabilitate an abandoned vineyard in the city and set a vision into motion. During the writing process, Renfro inspired me to wonder: As Black Americans, what were our origins in wine?
"A people without knowledge of their past history, origin, and culture is like a tree without roots." — Marcus Garvey
The following year, I purchased a little red journal at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. The cover's first and last lines said: “Red Drink… Red is the Color of Resilience.” It was the journal that I took to Thomas Jefferson’s plantation, Monticello, and first began jotting down stories of enslaved Black winemakers. I have since started a research fellowship here. You can learn more in the upcoming piece, “Descending into the Archives.”
My early journal entries were more experimental and raw than the voice I had developed in my magazine writing. Red/Drink is a continuation of that exploration. Here, I’ll share updates on my latest projects, events I’m attending, where I’m traveling, what I’m drinking, the people on my mind. I look forward to cultivating this space as we come together to remember our origins.
Thanks for being a part of the journey ❤️
If you’re curious about my previous work, the pieces I’m most proud of can be found in Wine & Spirits Magazine, the San Francisco Chronicle, and Alta Journal. Here’s a link to my writing and ways to support it.