Jam Out to Whitney Houston at This Inclusive Natural Wine Club in Brooklyn
Party it up with certified wine curator Joan De Jesus at these monthly fêtes around NYC.
The wine world remains an overwhelmingly white one. And while BIPOC sommeliers continue to fight for representation on the highest levels, groups catering to Black and brown consumers are slowing trying to change the culture. There's Maria Calvert and Lydia Richards’s Hispanics in Wine and Julia Coney’s Black Wine Professionals to name just two groups, both of which are carving out cool and approachable spaces for young people interested in grapes. Last year, Joan De Jesus joined the club with Wine For Me.
Wine For Me is a monthly, natural wine club in Brooklyn, described as “just some nice people drinking nice wine.” Inspired by her weekly gatherings drinking wine on her Bed Stuy stoop with friends, De Jesus, a wine lover and certified wine curator, wanted to cultivate a welcoming community where people of all backgrounds could have a place to relax, catch up with friends, and sip on glasses upon glasses of wine whilst listening to local DJs or Whitney Houston. She hosted her first party on the roof of Cherry On Top in Bushwick, and the club recently celebrated its first year anniversary in July, where nearly 80 people flocked to Prospect Park to spread out their picnic blankets and rejoice with some wine.
Wine For Me partners with bars around the city, like Prima in Clinton Hill and Cafe Erzulie in Bushwick, and De Jesus works with the sommeliers or bar managers to customize a wine menu. You don’t have to have any prior knowledge of wine to take part in the festivities—and even better, De Jesus purposefully advocates for affordable yet still delicious wines so everyone can take part, which usually end up being $12 or less.
Wine For Me’s next meeting is back at Cafe Erzulie in Bushwick on August 13, where DJs Ella Hu$$le and Maddylane are performing sets. It is free to attend with RSVP before 4 pm, or a $10 cover at the door after. Keep tabs on the group's Instagram for updates.