Black Girl Magic Wine Tasting

On the Monday after Valentine’s Day, I participated in a Zoom wine tasting hosted by McBride Sisters Wine, with special guest, Tren’ness Woods. What a fun way to learn about wine, connect with other women, and eat great food. And in honor of Black History Month, we celebrated the very first Black Girl Magic day. Founders Andrea and Robin McBride introduced the 20 recipients of their She Can grant program, which benefits businesses owned by women of color. Guest Tren’ness Woods-Black, whose family owns Sylvia’s Restaurant in Harlem, discussed one of the favorite dishes, chicken and waffles. I’ve never had fried chicken with waffles before, but friends say it is simply amazing. It’s on my to-do list for my next visit to New York City for sure.

Three wines were sent in advance of the tasting: Black Girl Magic Rose, Merlot, and Riesling. And I learned a lot too. Robin and Andrea explained the five steps to really tasting and enjoying a wine: see it, swirl it, sniff it, sip it, and savor it. They explained that when you sniff a wine to stick your nose into the glass and really smell the aroma. Two other things about wine I did not know: the skin of the grape is what gives a wine it’s smell, and my favorite type of wine, Riesling, comes from the Riesling grape. They shared maps of the regions where their wines come from. For example, their Rose comes from the central coast of California where it doesn’t get too hot to impede growing and then typically cools down at night.

Of course, we discussed pairings of the wines with the best foods. Since it was a Zoom event, those of participants were trading messages about what we were eating with our wines. I had an assortment of cheeses, fruits, and some chocolate. I’m not a big red wine fan, but I have to say that Merlot and chocolate were divine. I look forward to more of these Zoom wine tastings! It was a great way to get to know women from across the country, and support Black-owned businesses.