We had the good fortune of connecting with Nicole Kearney and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Nicole, is there something you can share with us that those outside of the industry might not be aware of?
All wines aren’t created vegan. Once fermentation is completed, wines are cleared or fined to remove any yeast and other fermentation byproducts. Many wineries use animal byproducts containing egg whites, pork gelatin, fish bladder and milk protein to name a few. Sip & Share Wines uses clay to fine our wines. We’re the only Black owned vegan winery in the US.

What should our readers know about your business?
Sip & Share Wines is a Black, women owned boutique winery producing artisanal vegan wines, connecting community and creating SipSperiences for underpresented wine lovers while welcoming all. Our variety of vegan wines are approachable to diverse palates, fun to sip and share and available at sipandsharewines.com and select retailers.

Nicole Kearney is the Founder + Winemaker of Sip & Share Wines, the only Black owned vegan winery in the US. Nicole is a Level 2 WSET wine educator and is a writer with an MFA in Dramatic Writing. She has been in the wine industry for 10+ years. Nicole is among the 1% of Black wineries and .001% Black women winemakers in the U.S.

Sip & Share Wines is community made, where we started selling our Sangria from punch bowls at festivals and events. We became a winery in 2018 and released out flagship 7 Words Wine Collection in January 2019. We pivoted in the pandemic by guiding SipSperiences interactive, educational wine tasting virtually to guests all over the US.

Our wines are shipped across the country and distributed in over 15 retail outlets in seven states. We continue to pour for the people at festivals and events throughout the country as we don’t have a tasting room.

As I entered the wine world, it was glaringly obvious, I was often the only or one of a few Black or Brown people in the space. Following several incidents at corporate wine tastings – my name not being on the attendee list, my guests almost being turned away, being seated in the back and continuously told to be quiet despite our wine tribe purchasing a lot of wine – I wondered, “Where are the Black and Brown winemakers and inviting spaces for underrepresented wine lovers? Not finding any such spaces and seeing the disproportionate share of winemakers drove my passion for creating Sip & Share Wines and propels my desire to connect and hold space and creates a culturally inviting community centering Black & Brown wine lovers, while inviting all to create a more inclusive and diverse wine industry.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
We would of course start at Sip & Share Wines, giving them a tour of the working winery and tasting wine. Then to The Trap for their delicious seafood, to-go lunches. For dinner, we’d go to The Missing Brick, adult only pizza place.

Our travels would take us to SHE Experience in the Circle Center Mall, by Rooted With Ruby’s plant nursery and snacks and coffee at Brownskin Cofee in Brownsburg.

I’d show them The SpeakEasy, Indianapolis’ first co-working space, where I have meetings and belong to the Founders Peer Group and while we’re in SoBro, we’ll head to The Wine Shop and SoBro Spirits for a wine tasting. The trip wouldn’t be complete without visting Cleo’s and getting Trap & Cheese and Trap Chowder. Dinner would be Burgeezy. We’d round out the trip by visiting Beyond Barcodes Bookstore and grabbing dinner and drinks at The Mad Griddle.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My parents, family, David and the SipTeam make all this possible!

Website: sipandsharewines.com

Instagram: Instagram.com/sipandsharewines

Linkedin: Linkedin.com/sipandsharewines

Twitter: Twitter.com/sipandsharewine

Facebook: Facebook.com/sipandsharewines

Image Credits
Leo Soyfer Jennifer Jones Unknown Jarrett Moore

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