Cultureshift

Rolling Out- WONDRY Wine started with a dream. Whitney Gates learned how to make wine from her uncle growing up in Tennessee, and her husband, Chaz Gates, eventually persuaded her to turn the passion into a business. The Texas couple has since taken the business to ABC’s “Shark Tank” and have seen their product featured in retail stores like Target throughout the state. According to a 2021 report from the Wine Industry Advisor, less than 1% of wine and spirits owners are Black. What does that mean to you to be in such an exclusive group? It’s everything. Even as an adult, representation matters....

EBONY - Black-owned liquor brand Uncle Nearest Whiskey continues to raise the bar. The brand, which was recently named the most successful Black-owned distillery, announced an initiative aimed at raising $1 million for 58 underfunded historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs). Owner Fawn Weaver says the inspiration comes from former Jackson State University head coach, Deion Sanders' push to bring more visibility to the schools.

Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey, the most-awarded Bourbon and American Whiskey of 2019, 2020, and 2021, announced today that its sales exceeded $100 million through October 2022, with an on-track forecast to more than double that total by the end of 2023. Its recently expanded 323-acre distillery has already welcomed more than 100,000 guests with that number increasing significantly every week. The company was founded by its CEO Fawn Weaver in 2017. She was then joined by Chief Business Officer Katharine Jerkens and, shortly after, Victoria Eady Butler, the great-great-granddaughter of the company's namesake, Nearest Green, and four-time Master Blender of the Year recipient. Last year, Uncle Nearest announced it...

Andréa McBride was a 16 year old living in foster care in New Zealand when she got a phone call from her biological dad in Alabama. He told her he was dying of cancer and wanted to do one last thing before passing: connect her to another daughter he had — her sister, Robin.