MY PEN IS MIGHTY
Art Imitates Life With ‘Kings of Napa’ and ‘Grand Crew’ Featuring Black Women in Wine
With two new TV shows, Oprah and NBC are further normalizing the presence of Black women in wine
We’ve come a long way since Blair Underwood’s “Buppie from the bank” character did a double take in Set It Off when Jada Pinkett Smith’s tough girl “Stony” knew the difference between a merlot and a cabernet.
That was in 1996 when a band of ill-fated female bank robbers became instant film icons and inspired a generation of Black women to imbibe and enjoy vino. But let’s get real. That entire scene was jarring because no one expected a Black woman — particularly one who grew up in the “‘hood” — to have even the most basic wine knowledge.
That misperception has mostly disappeared. Within the last few years alone, Black women’s visibility in the biz is off the chain. Industry wide, Black women have served as experts in every capacity in the wine world. That includes négociants like Chrishon Lampley of Love Cork Screw, educators such as Shall We Wine’s Regine Rousseau, and winemakers like Diana Hawkins of the famed McBride Sisters.
Many of them have been on covers of prominent wine magazines, and this year, the ultimate has happened: Oprah is behind The Kings of Napa, the first-ever dramatic television series featuring a Black-owned winery. Even better is that a Black woman is at the helm of this fictitious winery — and another Black woman is the winemaker. And no, you won’t find any moscato on premises even though some people think that’s all we drink.
Also of note is NBC’s Grand Crew comedy series, which follows a tight-knit group of young Black professionals as they navigate through relationship and career woes over glasses of wine. Star Nicole Byer as “Nicky” and her pals may not be experts of the grape, but they certainly know how to appreciate it.
The best part about these two new shows is that the characters navigate the wine lifestyle effortlessly and without pretension. The wine actually serves as an awesome supporting character, and some scenes are already memorable.
