Adding colour to wine

By Andrew Catchpole

Published: 26 August, 2020

September will see the launch of The Colour of Wine, the first in a three part online series of events aimed at raising awareness of the contribution of people of colour in the drinks trade.

Organised by BAME in Hospitality, in partnership with English sparkling producer Nyetimber and the Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET), the event is being billed as the first ever all Black, Asian, Ethnic Minority wine discussion panel in the UK.

BAME in Hospitality’s Lorraine Copes, also head of procurement at Corbin & King restaurant group, will be joined by wine communicators Aleesha Hansel (@_spillingit) and Sumita Sarma, plus English rosé producer Elisha Rai and Saira of Instagram account pursuit_of_grapeness, for a live tasting and panel discussion on Wednesday 2 September at 8pm.

The series aims to explore the wine industry “from perspectives that have previously been unheard within the UK and Europe”, with a panel discussion being followed by a wine pairing session with foods rooted in the heritage of the panellists.

On 1 September a separate early autumn event focused on people of colour will also take place, the second in the Sweet Spice Wines series of talks, featuring Jermaine Stone, founder of Cru Luv Wines in Brooklyn, and founder of The Original Wine and Hip Hop Show, bringing music and wine together.

Sweet Spice Wines was founded by south Londoner Anoushica Matthews of Liberty Wines, who is of mixed Mauritian and German heritage, in response to the lack of representation and engagement of people of colour in the UK wine world.

The initiative has made its mark with relaxed discussion and tasting events, mixing up music with oenology and viticulture, with each session led by a prominent person of colour within the industry.

Both the Colour of Wine series and Sweet Spice Wines talks aim to raise the visibility of BAME drinks professionals, while driving awareness of the importance of furthering diversity in the trade in the face of the Black Lives Matter campaign that has swept the globe.

To register on Eventbrite for The Colour of Wine on 2 September, click here.

Details of the Sweet Spice Wines talk on 1 September can be found via the Sweet Spice Wines Instagram account here.

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