Founders of McBride Sisters Wines, Robin and Andréa McBride, are the first African-American sister duo to found and establish a wine company.
Living across the world from each other – Robin in Monterey, California and Andrea in Marlborough, New Zealand – the McBride sisters, with different mothers but the same father, grew up without knowing the other existed until they got united through their love of wine and family.
“We had no idea the other existed for nearly half our lives. Despite the 7,000 miles that separated us, we eventually found our way to each other in 1999. Our story is proof that a bond can form over a bottle of wine; a truth that comes to life with every McBride Sisters wine”.
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“Upon meeting, we quickly discovered we shared the same passion for wine and had remarkably similar upbringings. After spending time traveling to wine regions around the world to fine-tune our craft, we created the McBride Sisters Wine Collection, uniting our parallel lives and passions” the sisters said.
Now the largest African-American-owned wine company in the United States, McBride Sisters Wine Collection includes Chardonnay and Red Blends from Robin’s home state of California, as well as Sauvignon Blanc and Brut Rosé from Andréa’s native New Zealand.
The sisters combined the love of their environments and their passion for wine to create the collection crafted in the McBride Sisters’ signature style – a blend of old world elegance with new world finesse.
The Collection is present in over 1,500 retail locations nationwide.
Also, there is the Black Girl Magic California Riesling limited exclusive collection. “Our Black Girl Magic collection is an ode to our culture and story, inspired by the magic and resilience of Black women, to be enjoyed by all. These are premium wines that respect her palate and showcase the flavours of the finest single vineyards in California. These are wines that SLAY,” the sisters said.
“Wine and the wine industry has historically been a white man’s world and that’s changing quickly. We encourage the wine consumer to explore outside of the old expectations of wine, it’s more than a gray winemaker…”
“It’s much more than just a beverage, it’s an experience. It’s how you feel…what you see, smell and hear as you prepare to taste the wine. Our mission is to create your perfect wine experience,” the African-American women vintners told Forbes in an interview.
Just like many black entrepreneurs, the McBride sisters said that “they are often met with skepticism and automatically dealt with a lack of credibility.”
“You have to have an extreme case of optimism and thick skin to be successful in this business. But the proof is in the bottle, we’ve been owners, makers, and innovators for fourteen years!”
To the McBride sisters, the most rewarding parts are knowing how hard they’ve worked and how much they’ve sacrificed to get here and seeing the smile on someone’s face when they first taste their wine.
