With a wildly successful inaugural year already under its belt, this year’s Daze of Rosé Festival set its sights on a familiar goal: to continue being an annual celebration of Virginia Rosé that promotes inclusivity, art, and freedom of expression by gathering wine lovers together in a beautiful location.
The brains behind the operation, Matt Harmon, owner of Harmony Wine, a black-owned business focused on making wine accessible and approachable for all, reminds festival goers that, “However you drink, drink in Harmony.” With this mission in mind and a goal to increase inclusivity in the wine industry, this festival is a culmination of both Harmon’s work and his passion to ensure people from all walks of life can enjoy their right to “rosé all day.”
One step onto the Castle Hill Cider grounds on festival day and it is abundantly clear that Harmon’s vision has come to fruition. Tablescapes sprawling with abundant florals, dozens of local purveyors and diverse vendors, and various educational wine sessions are just a few of the highlights from the Daze of Rosé event. The main event? Getting to taste over 20 local wineries and vote in the People’s Choice Rosé Wine Competition, which perfectly embodies Harmon’s wish to make wine accessible to all and representative of the community, many of whom have traditionally felt excluded by the wine industry.
This festival is more than just an afternoon of wine and sunshine, but rather permission to appreciate the leisure and luxury of a space that often Black and Brown people have not seen ourselves represented in.
This annual collaboration between Harmony Wine and Castle Hill Cider works to eliminate the traditional branding of wine culture, which convinces us that a certain amount of knowledge, access, or experience is required to enter it. Instead, it invites us to convene, collaborate, and celebrate Virginia wine.
The festival’s driving message, to dress pink and drink pink, certainly rang true that day, as droves of wine lovers and enthusiasts lined up to participate in tastings within the barn, partake in wine education events in the loft, and take to the discovery lawn to enjoy additional offerings and dance the evening away amid the foothills of Central Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains.
Tasha Durrett, Founder and owner of Black Women Who Wine, photo provided by Tasha Durrett
by Channing Mathews
Black Women Who Wine is a love letter to Black women and our thriving. Initially a small meet-up between sisters and a niece, the group has expanded to connect Black women to explore Virginia wineways, and offer critical social support in the aftermath of COVID-19. “My favorite parts are my efforts to try and support more sisterhood,” notes founder Tasha Durrett. “I am so interested in seeing Black women coming together and supporting each other. I think that it’s so important that we build these spaces for each other and for ourselves.”
Operating since 2019, Tasha has a passion for the visibility of Black women in wine. A communications and marketing expert by training, she was struck by the limited representation of Black women as regular patrons of Virginia wineries, “When I came back here, I started going to wineries I liked on social media, but I found myself really frustrated by the lack of attention to Black women as patrons. I knew we were there, but I didn’t see us being re-shared on Instagram, or us being included in marketing, and I really felt some type of way about that.” Tasha leverages the group as a space to challenge stereotypes about Black people in wine, noting common stereotypes that Black people don’t drink wine or can’t afford it. Thus creating Black Women Who Wine was a space to cultivate her digital advocacy, to highlight beautiful and joyful Black women in spaces that are often both white and male dominated. Hosting monthly events at different wineries across Virginia, Tasha has used Black Women Who Wine as a platform for wine education and access to the wine industry, particularly wine incubators that serve to train the next generation of winemakers. “The wine space is just as male as it is white, so there is also a real gender problem there with women in winemaking.” Tasha’s efforts to shift this inequity take shape by bringing Black women to the table for both joy and education in Virginia wine.
A group picture of Black Women Who Wine (BWWW) at one of its monthly meet-ups at Valley Road Vineyards. BWWW hosts monthly meet-ups to explore new wineries, receive wine education, and fellowship.
Black Women Who Wine focuses on three key goals through their events, namely, 1.) leveraging their spending to impact social change in the wine industry; 2.) educating members about wine; and 3.) forming sustainable partnerships with local wineries to promote diversity in both the hiring and marketing aspects of the wine space. Their most recent event, The Summer Kickoff, emphasized all three of these practices by hosting the event at Sweet Vines Farm Winery in Unionville, known as Virginia’s only Black-owned winery space. The owner, Seidah Armstrong, is an advocate for Black women to come and use the space as a point of connection and investment, and members of Black Women Who Wine have been repeat customers each year investing in the winery’s success. “Sweet Vines offers lifetime memberships for patrons who spend a certain dollar amount. Black Women Who Wine has nearly reached that goal, [as we look to be] key investors in this [Black-owned} wine and event space.”
When asked about her vision for the future of Black Women Who Wine, Tasha is focused on building out her brand while simultaneously creating investment opportunities for its members. “My ultimate vision is [that] we have ownership in something because that’s the way to have power in any space. Looking at what ownership looks like for us, ‘cause I think there is so much power in us coming together for something like that. I see wine and grape growing in [Virginia] as similar to growing any crop. It takes a while to get in there, it takes finances to get there. But there is a lot that is not being said about who controls land and how people got land, and how generational wealth plays into these spaces, in ways that Black people ultimately don’t have.”
The Workshop at The Wool Factory hosted Black Women Who Wine for a private tasting earlier this year.
Tasha looks to shift this narrative with future investments, particularly pointing to the recent success of well known and well loved Black woman sommelier Lee Campbell, who is a partial owner of the new Virginia wine incubator, Commonwealth Crush Co. that seeks to invest in the next generation of winemakers. “[Lee Campbell} is a sommelier coming from New York, but she’s been involved with Virginia wine for a very long time, taking wine from Virginia into restaurants in New York. Her first wine produced through Commonwealth crush is out. So not only are we growing people here, but we are attracting people from other spaces. And she is gonna be a great asset to the Charlottesville wine community.”
Alongside Lee and other Black women making moves in the Charlottesville wine industry, Tasha pushes Black Women Who Wine to be a space that brings Black girl magic to the forefront of an industry that often renders us invisible. “We are gonna be a wine group to be reckoned with because we are gonna know our stuff,” Tasha states. She thrives on the building the success of other Black women, particularly while curating spaces that cultivate Black Girl Joy.
Find Tasha and more Black Women Who Wine events on their website. Their next event will be a July 15, 2023 meet up at CrossKeys Winery and Marceline Vineyards. You can RSVP here to save your spot!
Matt Harmon vibing in his rosé-themed suit. Photo Credit: Niya Bates
written by Channing Mathews, featured photo credit: Niya Bates
If I’ve ever met anyone who has very much embodied the spirit of their own brand, it is Matt Harmon of Harmony Wines. Matt is a Charlottesville native whose roots always seem to draw him back to the city. “I’ve tried to leave Charlottesville multiple times, but it just keeps pulling me back in.” His newest venture, Harmony Wines, has been a labor of love and inclusion in a business that is well known for its pretentiousness. Matt’s approach to wine is simple: “I want Harmony to be the wine that makes people feel comfortable no matter the setting. Putting my wine in cans really pushes the narrative of ‘However you drink, drink in Harmony.’”
But his journey into the wine business was anything but simple. After securing a job in sales and marketing in Richmond, Harmon was laid off after less than six months due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was this loss that gave him the final push to make Harmony Wines happen, manifesting a dream that he had been laying the foundation for throughout his career journey. “Prior to my sales job, I knew I wanted to start my own business. So one of the things I did was start a podcast [Bad Guy Good Wine] centered around wine. I would interview people in the business world, artists, creatives, people in the music industry. And from that I was able to leverage certain relationships to feature my wine.”
Yet, Matt’s love of wine did not stem from fancy wine tastings with splendid mountain views. It all started in his kitchen with an unfortunate dinner and wine pairing. “I love cooking, and one day my dad told me, ‘You should try some wine while you are cooking.’ So I went to the store and picked up a sweet white to have with a pasta I was doing. And it was not good. At all. And I became so intrigued about why it didn’t work. There is a science to it.”
Matt’s unfortunate pairing prompted a deep dive into the science of wine. He pursued the who, what, where, and whys of wine, visiting wineries and wine bars to find out more. In the process, he made an important discovery: “I fell in love with this idea of creating an atmosphere that felt more comfortable for me and my friends. Going to wineries was something that I enjoyed doing, but I noticed that my friends who looked like me were like, ‘Nah, I’m not going out there’.” And some of the biggest [reasons] were about music, dress, and being unaware of the wines and not wanting to look silly.” And it was through this discovery that he curated a wine business focused on curating inclusive spaces for wine through events and teaching spaces that did not require the pomp and circumstance of traditional wine excursions.
Two cans of Harmony Wine’s products, photo credit: Derrick Waller
A prime example of such an event was the inaugural Daze of Rosé event that took place on April 15th. Not one to follow anyone’s tradition, Matt created his own blend of rosé that drew upon both French and Virginia grapes, which are two “no-no’s” in the wine business. “You don’t blend Virginia rosé with an actual Provence rosé. And then you definitely don’t put it in a can.” After being rejected from a wine competition due to his audacity to can rather than bottle his wine, Matt chose to create his own competition featuring local wineries and the community. “The idea behind it was to get the voice of the people. A lot of times there’s judges and people don’t know who these judges are. And we are being told that this is a good wine because so-and-so said so. And I think it was cool to have people who are behind the product to say ‘Ooooh this is what we collectively say is the best rosé’, is a really cool idea. With DJ Nobe spinning smooth beats and weather to match, Matt reported an awesome turn out with folks coming from Norfolk and Richmond to participate in voting on the best rosé. The winner, Castle Hill Cider’s Rosé 2021 may have beat out Harmon’s canned experience, but the Daze of Rosé event was certainly Harmon’s true win.
Matt has come a long way from his original wine pairing mishaps, and now has a clear favorite. “I have this down to a ‘T’. It is a Cab Franc with a blue cheeseburger with bacon and sweet potato fries.” A burger and wine…can’t get more inclusive than that!
