When I have a glass of amazing wine, the experience transports me to a specific place and time. Sometimes, the wine shows me the hands who’ve spent time lovingly hand-harvesting its grapes—the vigneron and family who stood over its vats and pressed their souls into its juices. But it remains a rarity that the vision includes hands the same color as mine. 

It is not that Black people don’t make wine. We’ve been making wine since 3150 BC. Yet, more often than not, we are barred from the access, one way or another, to the capital, land, and time world-class wine requires. So while truly great wines from Black winemakers remain sadly rare, examples like those that follow are a joy to find. The Black experience can mimic that of a vine: a beautiful product that can thrive in struggle. There is unspoken familiarity between the souls of vigneron and vine that allow these Black winemakers to etch their names into the terroirs that surround them—from a historic 100-acre estate in Oregon to a sleepy family property in the Mosel and beyond.

Black-Owned Wineries to Know, From Oregon to the Mosel

Meadows Estate Winery and Vineyard - Oakland, Oregon

Dexter and Marilyn Meadows met at a great agricultural school—Tuskegee University in Alabama—and discovered they shared a dream of living on a small vineyard. This is something each learned from their own family: Dexter’s mother made blackberry and plum wines, while Marilyn’s father produced Muscadine from wild vines on their property. “It is ingrained in me, and in us, to grow things,” he says.

When the couple discovered their current property MarshAnne Landing—a former Native American trading post—its 17 acres of Bordelaise and Provençal varieties were going fallow. After walking the rows, Dexter and Marilyn felt a spiritual connection to the land. It was the work they craved. As they revitalized the vines, they were again connected to their home and family, tilling the earth as they had always done. As they began producing and bottling their own wines, they utilized that sense of connection to and deep understanding of the earth, to convey the refined terroir of Southern Oregon.

2016 Meadows Estate Umpqua Valley Pinot Noir ($35)

A beautiful showcase of the land they now own. Deep red fruits with savory sage and rendered morsels of candied pork belly.

2017 Meadows Estate Umpqua Valley Syrah Reserve ($37)

Allspiced plum and blackberry fruit smoked with hickory, this was delicious even in barrel. Now bottled with age, this Syrah reserve is medium-plus body, silky, and perfectly rustic for slow-cooked meats.

Ward Four Wines - Sonoma, California

Justin Trabue is one of the more technical and classical winemakers on this list. Trabue left her home in Washington, D.C., to pursue a degree in viticulture and wine business from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. After that came internships at Heitz Cellar in Napa, harvests in South Africa and Australia, and working with Lane Tanner at Lumen Wines in Santa Barbara. Eventually she settled in Sonoma and secured grant funding to launch what she calls her love letter to the industry, Ward Four Wines, in 2021.

Ward Four sources grapes from California vineyards that adhere to sustainability and fair labor standards—but they aren’t always household-name properties. With the average price per ton of Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon currently around $13,380, Trabue cites the cost to access fruit from the blue-chip vineyards as one of the biggest barriers for Black winemakers. Her solution has been to prioritize people and relationships over site prestige when deciding what to buy. “I can make incredibly beautiful wine from these small family vineyards that I feel more connected to,” she says.

2022 Ward Four Wines Cecchini Ranch Vineyard Contra Costa County Muscat Blanc ($36)

A citrusy, peach-fuzzed white wine with a medium body. The few hours of skin ferment work well with fresh green herbs like basil, and the slightly frangipaned, underripe apricot and zesty Meyer lemons call out for yellow and green tomatoes over burrata with a pinch of fleur de sel.

2022 Ward Four Wines Grist Vineyard Dry Creek Petite Sirah ($57)

A lusciously silky tannin covers up a wine as powerful as Trabue felt when she began her wine journey. A perfect balance of windswept blue and black fruits mix with the smoky char of beef tallow and rosemary.

Love Echo/ABV Ferments/By the Hand - New York, New York

Jahdé Marley believed there was a place for her in the beverage industry, but she had some trouble finding it. She studied biochemistry and food and beverage management at Cornell, began a career in bartending, and focused her sights on wine while working as head sommelier at L’Amico in New York. But when she was at tastings alongside her fellow certified sommeliers or attending her WSET and Court of Master Sommeliers programs, she often found herself the only face of color in the room. That inspired her to become a champion for representation. 

In 2021 she created By The Hand in collaboration with her employer, the noted natural wine importer Zev Rovine Selections. By The Hand is a distribution, events, and education company that brings consumer awareness to regions, grapes, and people outside of the “traditional” view of wine, often highlighting BIPOC and queer communities. Next, Marley launched Anything But Vinifera Ferments, an educational project aspiring to create a more “people first, planet first” wine industry. Through ABV Ferments, she often champions small growers producing quality wines from hybrid and native grape varietals that aren’t allowed in European wines—and some wines that don’t use grapes at all. The organization stages summits on fermentation practices, land ownership, and other winemaking knowledge. Now she’s making wine of her own. Working with Common Wealth Crush Co., a custom crush operation and winery incubator, Marley debuted her first label, Love Echo, in July 2024.

2023 Common Wealth Crush Co. x Jahdé Marley Love Echo Shenandoah Valley Pét-Nat ($31)

Fifty-nine percent Cayuga White, 27 percent Vidal Blanc, and 14 percent Petit Manseng infused with wild foraged pawpaw, an apple-like fruit that was once a regular snack for enslaved people. This Virginia wine is an ode to all of Marley’s passions and is an homage to the native fruits of the region. It’s an explosion of exotic orchard fruits like guava and gooseberries topped with acid, and a perfect addition to a summer cookout.

Weingut Günther Steinmetz - Brauneberg, Germany

Tucked away in the sleepy village of Brauneberg in the Middle Mosel is Weingut Günther Steinmetz. It looks like your typical, traditional German producer, but go for a visit and you will be greeted by Sammie Steinmetz, a dark-skinned, loc-wearing, Air Force veteran from Ohio. 

First, Sammie fell in love with Riesling; then, she fell in love with Stefan Steinmetz. Her now-husband comes from a family that has made well-respected wines since the 1900s. For the past 17 years, the couple and their three children have taken up the tradition. 

Sammie Steinmetz shies away from being labeled a “Black winemaker” herself, and spends her time overseeing the family business’ administrative and customer-facing duties as well as working in the vineyard, but her passion for the wine they produce is obvious. “If you love what you do, it’s clear in what you make,” she muses. And she hopes that will carry on to the next generation. “It is my husband’s legacy and I want [my kids] to have the same passion for it as their father does.” Right now, the future for the next generation of this winemaking family looks to be as brilliant and bright as the light reflecting off the Mosel itself.

2018 Weingut Günther Steinmetz Dhroner Grosser Hengelberg Auslese Monopol Goldkapsel ($34)

When somms talk about high-acid whites, this is what they mean. White tobacco wraps, juicy yellow peaches, and green apples hit with the sting of oxidation. A mouthwatering addition to any curried meat or Thai noodle dish.

2018 Weingut Günther Steinmetz Mülheimer Sonnenlay Pinot Noir ($36)

A special plot planted by Stefan’s father, this Pinot Noir is a combination of old-vine German and French Pinot variants, creating a distinct, acid-driven, Bing cherried wine. It dances on the palate with enough texture to pair with everything from schnitzel to apple salad.

Rüdger van Wyk, Winemaker at Stark-Condé, Kara-Tara Wines, Doolhof, and New Dawn - Stellenbosch, South Africa

When Rüdger van Wyk took his brother’s advice to work in wine, neither of them could have had any idea that his career would lead him to be a face of change in South African wine.  

Originally from the small South African town of George along the Karatara River, van Wyk attended Stellenbosch University and participated in the Cape Winemakers Guild Protégé program before interning at Kanonkop with Abrie Beeslaar. But it was when he secured a trip to work a harvest in Burgundy that his love for that style of winemaking truly took root. Armed with new knowledge of the wonders of cool-climate Pinot, van Wyk returned to South Africa to work for Jose Condé of Stark-Condé. Three years later, in 2018, he was named Diners Club Young Winemaker of the Year. Kara-Tara, his own label, was born shortly after. More recently, he accepted the winemaker position at Doolhof Estate and will soon release his newest line, New Dawn, under the auspices of that estate. 

In all his projects, an attention to detail remains constant—he’s particularly recognized for his ability to make the most of the region’s cooling Cape Doctor winds—as does his commitment to biodiversity. His wines have received high praise from critics; Jancis Robinson has named him a “champion winemaker.”

2022 Kara-Tara Reserve Western Cape Pinot Noir ($37)

Super-limited, 741 bottle run made from only the finest barrels of fruit, all sourced from the isolated, cool-climate Overberg. Pinot in a Pinot dream. Perfectly-ripened Rainier cherries, dancing with the essence of strawberry, wrapped in candied applewood-smoked bacon.