They told TODAY Food in an interview how they connected in a fairytale-like story to form The McBride Sisters Wine Company and discuss how they're making the wine industry more accessible to marginalized communities. Following a lengthy search by his family, Robin and Andra met for first time in 1999 at LaGuardia Airport in New York. . [1][2] The company was founded in 2005 by African American winemakers Robin and Andra McBride, who first met as adults and bonded over a shared passion for winemaking. They launched the She Can Fund in 2019 and have invested more than $3 million to date in women particularly Black women and other women of color in the food and wine industry. He died seven months later, before he was able to find Robin (he'd loss touch with her after divorcing her mother). The sisters launched their newest brand in February. We first wanted to make wine affordable and accessible, says Robin. Their wines range from $16.99 to$19.99. What has been the most challenging and rewarding parts of owning your own wine distribution company? What do you think about the current Rose trend? They each thought they were only children.. Their story is proof that a bond can form over a bottle of wine; a truth that comes to life with every McBride Sisters . As with the substance of the larger brand, the label is drawn from the sisters experienceits bright red VW bug the getaway car that ferried Robin and her mother up the state way back when, with the Big Sur bridge in the background. The movie is all about the McBride sisters who reunite in Alaska to celebrate Suzanne's birthday and connect their past to the present. The key to learning about wine is tasting, so try out new wines you havent had before and keep educating your palette until you learn what you like. There is always something more to experience and learn about wine so were constantly trying to educate ourselves and perfect our skills! But not for. By subscribing, I agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Andra and Robin grew up on separate continents, each one believing they were an only child. Andra McBride: We share the same father, but were raised separately by different mothers. We like fruit driven, cooler climate wines that express the environment where they were grown. [3][1] The brand uses grapes from both California and New Zealand,[4] and is focused on providing quality bottled and canned wines that are affordable and "celebrate inclusivity". [5] The Black Girl Magic 2020 California ros was awarded "Best for TV Binges" by the editors of Cosmopolitan magazine in the Second Annual Cosmo Wine Awards. McBride Sisters Wine Company is a Black-owned female-led wine company in the United States.12 The company was founded in 2005 by African American. There was a lot of basic access to information that we didn't have that we felt like shouldn't have been one of the things that could have made or broken our company," so they're teaching it. One of their icebreaker questions was: What was it like where you grew up? Even celebrities can disappoint their parents. Although their father, Kelly McBride, was not much part of their lives, it was his dying wish for the two sisters to be united. He told her he was dying of cancer and wanted to do one last. Enjoy Responsibly. Its a great wine drinking city and we wanted to connect with people that weve connected with on social platforms. As luck would have it, Andrea was visiting from New Zealand and sitting next to her aunt when Robin called. In honor of their brand-newTruveros launcha 2015 Grenache ros from the Paso Robles region of Californiawe spoke with the sisters on drinking pink, food pairings,and the ethos of their sisterly wine labels. We took the lionesses from our McBride Sisters Collection logo and placed an enlarged version on each SHE CAN. They initially settled on the idea of importing and selling wines from New Zealand to restaurants throughout California, a concept they pivoted and grew into the McBride Sisters collection that exists today. The McBride Sisters story began in 1999, when Robin and Andra, long-lost sisters raised on opposite sides of the world, were reunited. The entrepreneurs encourage women with a passion for wine to fully immerse themselves in the industry, from following brands on social media to participating in industry-related programs and conversations. They can be found at many Metro Markets and Pick n Save stores throughout the Milwaukee area. A bright, silky palate is balanced between sweet-seeming fruit and earth, delivered with artful plushness. Not just because they bear a striking resemblance from their trademark curls to their nearly identical smile and eyebrow shape, but the duo navigate a room in lockstep and have an unmistakable energy that is often only detectable when youre among siblings. We definitely do look like sisters., She added that they soon discovered they had grown up in similar places, small places agricultural communities with up-and-coming wine regions.. Among the bestsellers of the McBride Sisters roster are the wines in the Black Girl Magic Collection, which include a bright ros packed with notes of raspberry. "And now we do.". "Like, 'What do you girls know about wine?'" Design is a wonderful way to express a message through illustration, and were glad we had the creative opportunity to pay tribute to three extra special women. EN RU CN DE ES. Newly found sisters who had been raised across the world from one another, Robin and Andras love affair with wine was planted within them from an early age while growing up in two of the worlds most iconic wine-growing regions. "Andra gets on the phone and we're both pretty stunned and shocked because nobody thought that this was going to be happening at this moment because, according to the letter, she is in New Zealand, she's not in Alabama," said Robin. We are everywhere our consumers are, it's important for us to never be detached from that experience. We (Robin and Andra) consider ourselves to be a pride. Both have the same biological father, but have different mothers in Los Angeles. The duo also partnered with Simon & Schuster for the Black Girl Magic Wine and Book Club, where two Black Girl Magic wines are paired with a book from a Black woman author. The House of Pure Vinin downtown Detroit will host winemakers Robin and Andra McBride today. The two lionesses represent each of our mothers, supporting us from each side, the strongest women we know. The two shared the same father but different mothers, and werent aware they had a sisterly half until their father and other family members helped to unite them through an endless trail of handwritten letters and phone calls lasting five years. Born nine years after Robin, also in L.A, Andra was unaware of her older sister. Robin was raised in Monterrey, Calif., and Andra, born 9 years later was raised by her mother in Marlborough, New Zealand. Theirwines will also be sold at Kroger stores. Black Girl Magic, the-phrase-turned movement started by Cashawn Thompson in 2013, celebrates community and the consumers that have supported McBride Sisters Collection since the beginning. McBride Sisters: We'll have a LOT of announcements coming over the next year! Both sisters were born in the Los Angeles area to different mothers but to a mutual fatherColen McBride. 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The story of their journey starts with a man, their shared biological father, Kelly McBride. Robin and Andra McBride, founders of McBride Sisters Wines, are the first African-American sister duo to found and establish a wine company. McBride Sisters: We are focused on making wines that are both accessible and that express each of the places we grew up in. [1], Robin and Andrea McBride started their business as a boutique import firm with a limited selection of New Zealand wines. Its about getting the necessary attention from consumers and wine distributors alike to showcase how important representation is in the wine industry and how important accessibility is to wine education for all., Young wine drinkers and wine lovers of color are often overlooked by major wine brands, who have historically positioned wine, whether through events, marketing and messaging, to an older, white consumer. Her estranged dad shared his terminal diagnosis of stomach cancer and how he wanted to use his remaining energy to help her find Robin. Do youhave tips for wine neophytes who want to learn more? And the Black Girl Magic collection, Robin and Andreas personal ode to their culture and story, is inspired by the magic and resilience of Black women, to be enjoyed by all. This collection is inspired by the beauty, power and resilience of Black women and offers a variety of wines to suit any palate, to be enjoyed by all., Andra and Robins upbringing in prominent wine regions helped them to understand each other and the industry on an intimate level, but (according to How I Built This), they quickly realized that their vision of building a wine company would have to involve them making a visible effort to change the face of the wine world as a whole. I literally just found out about her a few minutes before I called And she had a lot to share with me.". For their part, Robin and Andra have doubled down on supporting Black and women-owned small businesses through their SHECAN initiative. A couple years following their first meeting, Robin moved back to California to spend more time with Andra who had just started college there, and the rest came naturally. That search was carried out by his siblings using a method they heard about on an Oprah Winfrey Show featuring a private detective. "He was a 'Hollywood guy' who had rough relationships," said Robin. The McBride Sisters crest weve created, which is a part of each bottles label, really illustrates and captures our story quite perfectly. Both sisters will tell you that they each take an equal share of the responsibilities. & D.H.H.). Culinary Masters Andra McBride was a 16 year old living in foster care in New Zealand when she got a phone call from her biological dad in Alabama. Robin said the industry is "very complicated" due to heavy reliance on gatekeepers wholesalers, distributors, retailers and more before it's greenlit into production. Finally in 1999, Robin received a note from her father's sister. StyleCaster is a part of Penske Media Corporation. Since launching McBride Sisters Collection in 2010, the entrepreneurs have been at the forefront of making wine more inclusive alongside Black-owned wine brands like Napas Brown Estate Vineyards, but the sisters are quick to identify where the industry falls short. Anne Schamberg is a freelance writer who lives in Waukesha. Robin McBride: It was 1999 and I was 25 and Andrea was 16. Robin was raised by her mother, Karen, more than 6,500 miles away in Monterey, California. To expand their reach with their consumers, the sisters launched a private Facebook group called McBride Certified: Wine 101 with Robin and Andra, a class and community that features an eight-module course explaining the basics of wine and serves as a hub for the McBrides most devoted fans. [11] Another is a red blend of merlot and cabernet sauvignon. The wine event is open to the public and the sisters will be there to sign bottles of wine. Although their father, Kelly McBride, was not much part of their. They told us we CAN do anything we set our minds to because they knew that no goal or dream is too big. The largest Black-owned wine company in the United States, McBride Sisters can now be found everywhere from Trader Joe's to Target, but the journey to building the thriving family business is even more impressive given that Robin and Andra didn't even know about one another for the first half of their lives. Half-sisters Robin and Andra launched their California wine company, the McBride . Their. [6] In the 12 months leading up to October 2020, the McBride Sisters had sold 35,000 cases of wine at retail outlets, according to Nielsen, making it the largest Black-owned wine company by volume. We encourage the wine consumer to explore outside of the old expectations of wine, it's more than a gray winemakerit's much more than just a beverage, it's an experience. "The world brought us together; we're invincible, we can do anything," Andra said. [3], The Black Girl Magic Collection debuted in 2018, and was created "to honor and cater to underserved Black women wine lovers. Breaking into the wine business isn't easy, especially if you're a woman or a minority, but two half-sisters who hadn't met for the first halves of their lives did just that after uncorking a crucial part of their past, reports CBS News correspondent Michelle Miller. Their winemaking story is unique in many ways. The sisters met in New York's LaGuardia Airport one day after Robin received the letter. eco.love wines are made in New Zealand and Truve is made in the Central Coast of California, so we have the best of both worlds with having two brands made in the places we both grew up in. Robin: We are big believers in sustainability because you get a higher quality grape and its right for the planet. And a hint of roundness speaks of the effect of a restrained, 16 percent new French oak. "We laugh to this day because Andra was very excited because, of course, she's known about me for a long time. And so obviously for us coming in as opposite really of everything that, to that point had been successful in the wine world, which was an older white man we definitely were looked at as not just not belonging, but really incapable of being successful.". Robin and Andra McBride, founders of McBride Sisters Wines, are the first African-American sister duo to found and establish a wine company. The strong and empowered lionesses on the sides of the Sauvignon Blanc and Ros cans pays tribute to the women who encouraged and inspired us throughout our lives. Subscribe to RR1 Live+ for exclusive virtual events all year long (at least 1 per month), conversations with Robb Report editors, special perks, and more. "A lot of our experiences of us being curious about wine and how we were treated when we were in those tasting rooms and stuff is really a lot of the foundation of what our company is built on today, which is making wine accessible for everybody and helping people on their journey and making it fun," said Andra. Ros is an incredibly versatile wine and really easy to pair with a number of different foods. Fluker: What do you envision for McBride Sisters wine for the next 3-5 years? And so they collaborated on a delightful ros, just when thirst for pink was surging. "We had these dreams and had we not met, we probably wouldn't be in the wine industry, but we kinda felt like the stars lined up," Andra said. James stated, "I asked if I was black or white. They're black women in a field dominated by white men. McBride Sisters Wine Company is a Black-owned, female-led wine company in the United States. [15], The SHE CAN wine collection also sponsors a professional development fund, which awards scholarships to women. Robin had launched her journey first, having decamped Los Angeles with her mother, embarking on a post-divorce road trip up Pacific Coast Highway and landing in Monterey. By the time the two of us met, our father had passed away. But, on most days you can usually find Andrea sipping the New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc and Robin enjoying the Central Coast Red Blend, both are amazing expressions of our hometowns. The packaging for the McBride Sisters Collection 2018 Reserve Pinot Noir ($50), on the other hand, exudes a little more attitude, from the showy peacock on the label to the name, a fond reference to their fatherahem, Cocky Motherf*cker. The man behind the ode might have been, in their words, electric, charismatic and confident in his style, but the interpretation in the wine has a wonderful irony to it. They had a dream . **. First they built a boutique import firm focused on New Zealand wines. Fluker: Share your experience as two African-American women vintners. Andra: Coincidentally, we were both raised in emerging wine regions and that is how we each developed our own appreciation for wine. November 26, 2015 / 7:24 AM For an industry as complex as the wine industry, family-owned-and-operated businesses are commonplace. The McBride Sisters have ignited the movement to change that. Now the largest African-American-owned wine company in the United States, McBride Sisters Wine Collection includes Chardonnay and Red Blends from Robin's home state of California, as well as. Sign up today and save 15% on your first purchase. Their father, a rakish, Alabama-born 6-foot-6-inch wanna-be actor with 11 siblings, had a way with the ladies. Quality and quantity! And it was after college that their dreams of going into the wine business began to take shape. Following a lengthy search by his family, Robin and Andra met for first time in 1999 at LaGuardia Airport in New York. . Where Will Wine Take You? Birth date: July 29, 1966. And I definitely lost my breath," Andra recalled. This piece originally aired July 2, 2015. But when their father's family sought out to connect them nearly two decades later, the McBride sisters were reunited, and with open hearts and curious minds, they got to know one another. After meeting in 1999, their curiosity for wine became a true passion as the sisters began a wine import business, importing unique New Zealand wines into the US Market. [8] In 2019, the McBride Sisters also launched an eco-friendly line of canned wine,SHE CAN. This wine is not about us, the McBride Sisters, but as a thank you for all of the support and inspiration that we get from so many amazing women over the years. ", Robin remembers feeling more surprised than Andra. The McBride Sisters Collection, launched in May 2017, is composed of four wines, including a Chardonnay and a red blend from Central Coast, California and a Sauvignon Blanc and a sparkling brut . We've decided to honor our mothers in the packaging for the SHE CAN line. To us, black girl magic is that drive, it's the creativity, resilience, and innovation that shines brightly. Sign up today and save 15% on your first purchase! The other two are Chardonnay from the central coast of California and a red blend of Petite Shiraz and Merlot Zinfandel. Since 2005, The McBride Sisters mission has been clear - to transform the industry, lead by example, and cultivate community, one delicious glass of wine at a time. Robin and Andras journey has provided them with a lifetimes worth of insight they hope will make pursuing a career in wine a little easier for the next generation of women interested in the field. [3] The scholarship fund initially focused on helping women in the wine and spirits industry,[15] but was later expanded to include female entrepreneurs across all industries, and provides mentoring and leadership coaching in addition to financial assistance. wine for the new world. And theyre growing. In March, they launched a new initiative that funds scholarships for women in agricultural programs at Southern University, a historically Black college in Louisiana. In 1999, in a made-for-the-big-screen scene at La Guardia airport, Robin and Andra McBride met for the first time, each having only just learned that she had a sister in the world at all, let alone on an entirely different continent in a different hemisphere. The sisters started small. They had a dream between them, of making wine. 2023 SheMedia, LLC. At their website, mcbridesisters.com, youll find more information, as well as wine-paired recipes. Includes digital magazine access + a free gift. Robin and Andra McBride, founders of McBride Sisters Wines, are the first African-American sister duo to found and establish a wine company. "Both of us were growing up thinking we were only children-- completely, you know, opposite ends of the Pacific Ocean.". SevenFifty Daily, an online magazine covering the business and culture of alcohol, surveyed 3,100 industry professionals in 2019 and found that of the respondents, 60% were men and 84% were white. The story of how the McBride sisters, Robin and Andra, reunited and started the McBride Sisters Collection, the largest African American owned wine company in the country, is something straight out of a movie.The sisters, born of the same father but unaware of each other until they reached adulthood, finally found each other in 1999. Robin: I think we just jumped in and we were naive about the lack of diversity and we just wanted to produce good wines. The family had been sending letters to every Robin McBride in the phone book until finally one made it to their intended recipient in Monterey, California. The McBride Sisters Collection, launched in May 2017, is composed of four wines, including a Chardonnay and a red blend from Central Coast, California and a Sauvignon Blanc and a sparkling brut ros, both from Marlborough, New Zealand. It was several years later, in 1999, when Robin, 26 at the time, opened a letter from her fathers sister asking her to call. This venture launched their first production, eco.love Wines a sustainable wine company from New Zealand. Robin was raised in Monterrey, Calif.,and Andra, born 9 years later was raised by her mother in Marlborough, New Zealand. Robin McBride and Andra McBride John grew up on opposite sides of the Pacific Ocean, Robin in Marlborough, New Zealand and Andra in Monterey, Calif. Working in the industry with our first wine import business surrounded by wine, winemakers, and wine professionals certainly helped too, so weve learned a lot along the way and have also taken classes to further deepen our knowledge. [16], In July 2020, McBride Sisters joined other Black-owned businesses on social media on Blackout Tuesday, by sharing a list of 86 Black vintners on Instagram. Their aunt answered and, after praising God, immediately handed the phone to Andra so the sisters could talk for the first time. We didnt even know about service hours and would show up at a restaurant at lunchtime, not knowing that the sommelier only tastes wines at certain times.. Sauvignon Blanc is dedicated to Andra's mums (birth mother and foster mother) so their initials are by the lioness (P.J. Andra McBride was a 16 year old living in foster care in New Zealand when she got a phone call from her biological dad in Alabama. Please enjoy responsibly! The aforementioned "Cocky Motherf*cker," is a tribute to the sisters' father and his confidence and presence with his trademark afro featured prominently on the head of a peacock. "The phone rang, and I picked it up, and the person on the other end of the phone, said, 'Hey, Andra, it's your dad.' The crest reflects our Sisterly bond and is designed with our shared father, represented as a proud peacock (he was known to be quite cocky) over the initials MS for McBride Sisters. The sisters said with the doors they've opened, they're committed to doing their part in leaving them open and helping others through. He told her he was dying of cancer and wanted to do one last. We acknowledge that we alone as a company cannot change the wine industry, but it is our hope that weve inspired women to embark on careers in the industry and that weve also inspired other companies and wineries to follow suit, Robin says to TZR. Please enter valid email address to continue. "We grew up on opposite sides of the . "We've been in the business so many years. The search involved sending letters to a long list of people named Robin McBride on Department of Motor Vehicle lists. "I think we actually underestimated that." Separated by geography but united through their love of wine and family, the McBride sisters embody the spirit of entrepreneurship through their passion and determination to fulfill their fathers last wish, for them to be reunited again. We were in our early twenties and thirties the industry had never seen wine company owners like us before. Absolutely! "No Facebook, no Google searches," Robin said. The most rewarding parts are knowing how hard we've worked and how much we've sacrificed to get here and seeing the smile on someone's face when they first taste the wine. That we have our very own! Andra didn't visit her family in Alabama again until two years later. Based on the show's recommendation, the family pulled the records of every Robin McBride listed at the Department of Motor Vehicles and started writing dozens of letters. Q: What attracted you to sell your wines in the Detroit area? Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. The McBride sisters and their staff make the wines at custom crush facilities in California and New Zealand. document.write(new Date().getFullYear()) McBride Sisters Wine Company, San Luis Obispo, CA. Robin: When Andra was a junior in college, we both began working in the wine industry, our first business was as wine importers to gain experience and expertise in the business of selling wine, and then later launching eco.love wines from New Zealand and now Truve Wines. While wine is excellent enjoyed on its own, food can really elevate a wines flavors so dont be afraid to experiment with food pairings and dont limit yourself to rigid rules like red wine with meat and white wine with fish. Youll surprise yourself! So, in an effort to bond, they went to wine tastings and vineyard tours. Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. We dont have any other siblings. Another challenge was not having any investors or advisors at the onset and how the wine industry is "notorious for its gatekeeping," said Robin. Was it difficult? according to Nielsen data cited by Wine Spectator. "It was crazy and awful and amazing sort of all at the same time. Q: The McBride Collection includes a sparkling Rose wine. Founded by sisters, Robin and Andra McBride, The McBride Sisters Wine. We need to dispel any otherism around Black Americans or women in the wine industry, as too often it is assumed that they do not take wine seriously enough or do not have the same capabilities as others to have a notable palate in the industry, Andra says, explaining that while the wine industry has made strides in recent years, it still has a long way to go to be more reflective of the world. It was life changing. In just the past 12 months, McBride Sisters Collection has sold more than 35,000 cases of wine in retail outlets, according to Nielsen, up 40 percent from the previous year. Older sister Robin McBride was raised in Monterey, Calif., by her mother, Karen. The lionesses and peacock represent the Sisters' mothers and father, and together, they have the McBride Sisters Collection. Big sister Robin McBride grows up in Monterey, California unaware that thousands of miles away, she had a little sister, Andra McBride. "We didn't know about each other at all when we were growing up," Robin said. two connected over their shared experiences while exploring wine regions, wine brands, who have historically positioned wine, hope will make pursuing a career in wine a little easier for the next generation of women. The McBride sisters started their wine business in 2005, six years after meeting each other for the first time. Hannah is hiding a life-changing secret, and Beth is weathering her own personal crisis. But we knew that we were both biracial, Robin said. Our mothers led us to where we are today, and for that, we are so grateful! So 16 years later, their banner now distributes wines to major grocery chains throughout the country. These wines, priced between about $12 and $17 a bottle, became available at Kroger-owned stores this fall.