The Wine Report Magazine Archive - African American Wine Tasting Society

There’s a certain level of intimidation that comes with drinking wine—and quite often, some overly affected attitudes, says Reneé Rowe, president and founder of the African American Wine Tasting Society. “There really is a lot of pretentiousness about wine,” she says. Furthermore, Rowe believes that those who perpetuate this elitist mindset“ need to get over themselves.” This type of thinking creates the barriers Rowe strives to tear down.

Resolved to change some perceptions of wine—and perhaps those who enjoy it—Rowe, 38, founded the Atlanta-based AAWTS two years ago. Although membership is open to anyone with a willingness to learn, Rowe’s organization struck a responsive chord within the area’s African-American community. “We’re a true educational wine club,” she says. “My primary goal at each of our sessions is to have members learn at least one new thing about the wine that they are tasting.”

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, African Americans account for nearly 13 percent of the total population. Yet in a 2003 national survey of wine consumers conducted by New York-based Scarborough Research, African Americans represented only 10 percent of U.S. adults 21 years or older who had purchased wine in the previous three months. With a little help from Rowe, those numbers might be changing.

Her original idea involved staging wine tasting meetings at local restaurants. After some initial difficulty, she found a restaurateur who agreed to host the gatherings. Rowe was shocked by the response. “We had 45 people show up for that first tasting,” she says, “and that was with no advertising.” The Atlanta chapter since has grown to 160 active members. Other chapters exist in major cities around the country from New York to Seattle, with 10 additional groups slated to begin in 2004. Clearly, Rowe has tapped into a responsive group just waiting to be recognized.

Targeting A New Market
Wine marketers “have made a big, fat mistake” by overlooking the buying power of African-American consumers, says Carolyn Hebsgaard. A Boston-area attorney, Hebsgaard is a charter member of Divas Uncorked—a group of professional African-American women who enjoy wine. “They’ve failed to recognize that we’ve arrived both professionally and socially.”

Hebsgaard acquired her passion for fine wine mostly through direct experience. “ I do a lot of professional entertaining,” she says, which necessitated a desire to learn more about wine. She and her husband have built an 800-bottle wine cellar and tasting room in their home to hold their collection.

And where wine has slacked, Cognac has attacked. Cognac makers, recognizing this demographic’s power, have prominently positioned their product within the African-American community. Now, African Americans account for more than 60 percent of the Cognac consumption in the U.S. according to Pernod Ricard, U.S.A., which distributes the Martell brand.

With a disposable income of well over $500 billion, African Americans spend $100 billion of it annually on wine & spirits, food and entertainment. Yet only one in 10 wine consumers is African American. And according to Scarborough Research’s recent survey, just six percent of drinking age adults spend more than $20 on a bottle of wine, while African-American adults are 39 percent more likely to spend more than that amount per bottle. Clearly, the potential exists to introduce new faces into the wine experience.