The weather outside has finally transitioned from hellish August humidity to the cozy and calm late summer breeze of September and chilly October. It’s Harvest season where apple picking, pumpkin picking and wine tasting is at its peak. This marks the start where wineries begin turning the finest of grapes into wine. Luckily for us, Fine Wine Series at CitiField offers opportunities for Black owned or founded wineries to host unlimited wine tastings, enjoy good music, connect with other Black professionals and dress your best.
For as often as we order bottles of wine at birthday dinners, weddings, graduations, girls nights and date night, only 2% of the wine industry professionals identify as Black and less than 1% of wineries are fully black owned in North America. Fortunately, that space for Black sommeliers and wine owners is slowly being filled with brands like McBride Sisters Wine company, driving the top 1% of volume of Black-Owned and Women owned wineries. The experience of being a Black founded and owned winery is a new development in the US with Brown Estate,located Downtown Napa, being the oldest running estate established in 1980.
Fine Wine Festival featured Black-owned and women-owned brands including Domaine Curry, J-Harden, Lovelee, Bent Wine, Wine Not, Love Cork Screw, Madison Marcel, Castlebridge and Moedi. No Alcohol Company was also a featured brand that markets itself as a No-Alcohol wine brand. Mocktail lovers like me, that one was for us.
Here are a list of my Do’s and Dont’s for attending Fine Wine Series Festivals to level set your expectations and maximize your enjoyment:
Do:
- Arrive early to have a seamless check in, take pictures and actually try wine. The later you are the longer and more crowded the lines will be, you might not be able to try everything.
- Research each brand in advance to determine which notes best resonate with you before blindly tasting, it will save you the trouble of indecision when waiting in a packed space.
- Eat before you attend, I actually hate stadiu and park food and waiting in line to eat anything.
Don’t:
- Wear heels. Now, I get that part of the experience is to dress to impress but there is not enough adequate seating for you to comfortably enjoy the day and the vibes, in the heat, after waiting in line for drinks and pictures for hours. A good flat would suffice.
- Get a silk press, this is the second Fine Wine Series I had to put my hair in some sort of claw clip or bun. There are just too many people to support the sleekness of a good silk press, you’d be wasting your time and money.
- Expect to be “lit” off of wine tasting alone because of the pour size and wait time, you’re better off pre-gaming beforehand and eating a couple crackers to cleanse your palate before going in.
My most recent experience of Fine Wine vastly differed from the one in 2022, check out my TikTok here (2022 vs 2024) to see what I mean. I arrived early, took pictures and was drunk by the end of the night, (the wine pours were a lot more generous then vs now). This year I was late, sober, saw many old friends, subscribers and my feet were safe from the drama of a laced open toe heel and I still had a good time. I easily enjoyed people watching, dancing to the music and connecting with new and familiar faces. I’m glad I did not get caught up in curating an outfit or taking pictures because I genuinely just enjoyed the overall atmosphere. The next time you come, be sure to follow my checklist and have a great time!