MEET OUR MODERATORS
FRIDAY | JULY 12 11:00AM-12:00 PM
Silver Oak + Twomey Masterclass
ANGELA McCRAE
Angela McCrae, Founder (Uncorked & Cultured) is a creative strategist and entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience in media, communications, events, and championing diversity. During her 6+ years at NBCUniversal, she's won the Gem Award for excellence and leadership as an advocate for diversity and inclusion for launching the company's first Young Professionals Network in Los Angeles. She’s a creative strategist who developed communications and digital campaigns for three PBS documentaries by award-winning filmmaker Stanley Nelson. As the strategic communications consultant at Firelight Media, she helped lead record-breaking multiplatform initiatives for the EMMY-nominated documentary Tell Them We Are Rising: The Story of Black Colleges and Universities (ITVS), WNET’s BOSS: The Black Experience in Business, and the EMMY-award winning feature film Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool (American Masters).
Angela launched the wine and culture brand, Uncorked & Cultured, from her New York City apartment during the COVID-19 pandemic. The media company is a content, marketing, and engagement solution to the inequitable relationship between the global luxury wine and travel industries with BIPOC consumers. She led the production, publicity, marketing, and audience engagement for the 2021 International Winemakers Summit, State of Black Wine Business forum, and Latinx State of the Wine Industry Summit leveraging industry partnerships and international press coverage.
FRIDAY | JULY 12 @ 12:15PM-01:15PM
Fireside Chat: She Can and She Did
Nina Oduro
Nina Oduro, CEO and Co-founder of Dine Diaspora, is dedicated to establishing a more equitable food system centered on the African diaspora. With a Ghanaian heritage and a global perspective from her upbringing in the United States and extensive international travel, Nina drives strategy and creative direction through her diverse culinary and cultural experiences. She utilizes her expertise in diversity, equity, and inclusion, leadership development, network building, and community development to connect people and brands through food.
With over 14 years of experience, Nina has implemented inclusive marketing, research, learning, and innovation initiatives on three continents for organizations including Facebook, Microsoft, IREX, and the International Organization of Migration. She has been honored for her work as a 2020 Changemaker by Washington City Paper and the Future of Ghana's 30 under 30.
Nina holds a Master's in African-American Studies from Columbia University, a Bachelor's in Political and Social Thought from the University of Virginia, and an eCornell certificate in Diversity and Inclusion.
Pouring Perspectives:
Brands crafted by women
FRIDAY | JULY 12 @ 01:30PM-02:30PM
Justin Trabue
Originally from Washington, DC, Justin Trabue (she her) was destined for the wine industry. With over 8 years of luxury winemaking experience in both the US and Internationally, as well as a degree in Wine Business at Cal Poly SLO, Justin is the proud owner of microwinery Ward Four Wines. The motto? Wines of Joy, No Fuss. In 2013 Justin moved from Washington DC to study wine and viticulture at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. In 2016 during her junior year, Justin moved abroad to Adelaide, Australia where she discovered her passion for winemaking. Shortly after moving back to the US she got down and dirty at her first harvest internship in Santa Barbara CA. Since then she has completed 16 vintages with some of the best producers in the world, gaining a special fondness and appreciation for low intervention, intentional winemaking that honors the sense of place.
Ward Four Wines is inspired by Washington DC, which is split into different wards. Justin, a fourth generation native, grew up in the Fourth Ward, her mother's maiden name is Ward, there are also four people in the family, I've created four different styles of wine to each represent a different person. This is the essence of Ward Four WInes. Growing up, my dad always told me about the beauty of Chocolate City and the rich history of Washington DC. I am lucky to have grown up in the house my dad grew up in, we've had the same home phone number since he was 9 years old. Being a fourth Generation native to Washington DC, is something you see less and less.
Endlessly fascinated by discovery, every wine in the Ward Four collection is inspired by a loved one. Whether it's the playful, lighter and more fun personality of Teddy’s skin contact white wines or the gutsier, fuller-bodied character of Ted’s reds, you can tell every bottle has been made with love, compassion and honour. Our aim is to bring an entirely new level of personal vulnerability to the world of wine - shifting the dial and shining a light loudly and proudly on the beautiful people who inspire me. Every wine tells a story.
SATURDAY | JULY 13 @ 11:00AM-12:00PM
Reggie Leonard
VA Wine Tasting
Affectionately dubbed as the "Virginia Wine Hype Man" by VinePair, Reggie's authentic approach and gregarious personality have earned him a well-deserved reputation. In his role as a Virginia wine ambassador, Reggie partners with the Virginia Wine Marketing Office, championing the state's diverse winemaking scene. Serving as a judge for regional and statewide wine competitions (Shenandoah Cup, Monticello Cup, and the current Virginia Governor’s Cup) have been formative recent experiences in his journey. His influence extends beyond Virginia, as he is an award recipient and alumni ambassador for Wine Unify, an organization dedicated to fostering inclusivity in the wine industry. Reggie's notable presence in esteemed publications like SommTV, VinePair, Punch, and the Boston Globe underscores his rising influence in the industry. Being named part of the '23 class of The VinePair 50 further solidifies his status as a rising star in the wine world.
SATURDAY | JULY 13 @ 12:15PM-01:30PM
Breaking Barriers, Building Brands:
Getting Down to Business on the OTHER side of wine
Nakeia Drummond
Nakeia L. Drummond is an award-winning leader, entrepreneur, and educator with 20 years of diversity equity & inclusion (DEI), organizational and project-based strategy and change management expertise. She views her career as a tapestry of experiences that have unlocked her purpose. After nearly a decade in public education management, Nakeia founded NLD Strategic, an equity-centered management consulting firm that supports strategy development, implementation, and measurement in social impact organizations and businesses. Experiencing and hearing other Black women’s challenges in starting in scaling businesses, she founded She’s WELL Networked, Inc and the membership network, The Women Entrepreneur Leadership Lab, (The WELL) to radically shift and deepen investment in Black Women
entrepreneurs by creating spaces where we can heal, tell our stories and invest in our own assets.
Most important to Nakeia, she is the proud mother of a son, Asher, “bonus mom” to daughter Kaycie, and the wife of her best friend since 5th grade, Jacen.
SATURDAY | JUNE 13 @ 01:30PM-03:00PM
Fireside Chat Jermaine Stone
Tahiirah Habibi
Tahiirah Habibi is a multi-faceted entrepreneur with a mission to inspire others to grow from striving to thriving. As an award winning and internationally celebrated sommelier, Tahiirah Habibi is renowned for her groundbreaking achievements. Recognized as a Wine Enthusiast 40 Under 40 tastemaker in 2020, she became the first Black woman to grace the publication's cover. She earned placement in some of the world’s most prestigious wine magazines, along with other publications such as Vogue and the Robb Report. She is also a brand ambassador for luxury brands, and has starred in her own docuseries by Marriott.
However, her expertise extends beyond accolades, securing her place among South Florida's top five sommeliers in 2014 and a prestigious feature in Ebony's 2023 list of Best Black Sommeliers. Tahiirah's legacy is most powerfully etched through her visionary leadership as the founder of the Hue Society, a beacon of inclusivity and empowerment in the world of wine. Today, she stands poised for her next chapter, eager to further shape the industry with her captivating blend of innovation and purpose.
SPEAKER:
FRIDAY | JUNE 12 @ 2:45pm-3:45pm
Emmy & Beard nominated, Host of Wine & Hip Hop & Star of Street Somm!
Jermaine Stone
SATURDAY | JUNE 13 @ 2:45PM-3:45PM
COCKTALES- the Power of Storytelling in mixology
Veriason
A vibrant and dynamic 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, passionately committed to reshaping the beverage industry. We are a collective of devoted professionals, united by a shared vision of creating an industry that is diverse, equitable, and inclusive.
The name 'Veraison' is not just a term; it's a metaphor symbolizing our mission. In viticulture, 'veraison' marks the pivotal moment when grapes begin to ripen, changing color from their initial green hue to deep shades of purple or gold. It is a period of transformation, of maturation, and of potential realized. This is the change we aim to inspire within the beverage industry - a transition from mere growth to true equity, from blossoming to ripening.
Beyond the Glass
Sunshine
Founder of Happy Cork
Sunshine will moderate the Wine + Culture Fest Summit “COCKTALES - The Power of Storytelling in Mixology” on Saturday at The Sunset Room, National Harbor.
SATURDAY | JUNE 13 @ 06:00PM—07:00PM
Hidden Grains: Unveiling Culinary History
Gurvinder Bhatia
Gurvinder Bhatia is the editor-in-chief and publisher for Quench Magazine – North America’s longest-running wine and food publication. Although he has written for Quench for over two decades and been on the editorial team for the past 17 years, Gurvinder purchased the magazine in 2021, and is committed to the magazine’s evolution to be a much truer representation of our society. Gurvinder is also the wine columnist for Global Television, an international wine judge and the president of Vinomania Consulting. Gurvinder was the owner/founder of Vinomania wine boutique, which was named on numerous occasions among the best wine stores in Canada. In addition, Gurvinder was the wine columnist for CBC Radio for 11 years and is certified by Vinitaly International Academy as one of only 16 Italian Wine Experts in the world. Gurvinder has provided consulting services to the wine industry locally, nationally and internationally for the past 30 years. Though he is known for this knowledge and approach to making quality wines accessible to industry and consumers, he is also known for creating and executing the highest quality, most entertaining and informative wine and culinary events. Gurvinder was the founder and director of Northern Lands, held in 2015 and 2017, which at the time was the largest all-Canadian wine and culinary festival that had ever been held.
In 2017, Gurvinder partnered with Vinitaly to bring Vinitaly International’s show to Canada as part of an expanded Northern Lands festival. Gurvinder is a recovering lawyer and in addition to his law degree (JD), he also earned his master’s degree in business administration (MBA) with honours. In 2015, Gurvinder was named by Alberta Venture Magazine as one of Alberta’s 50 Most Influential People. He is actively involved in the community and has served in leadership with numerous community organizations including the Edmonton Community Foundation, the Alberta Social Enterprise Venture Fund, and the Edmonton Shift Lab initiative to reduce racism as it contributes to poverty. Gurvinder developed and moderated a roundtable on ‘The Media and Racism’ as part of the Centre for Race and Culture’s Challenging Discrimination through Community Conversations series. He has also spoken internationally on how to make the wine industry more inclusive (vs just optics) and the need for the industry to expand its voices and audience in order to ensure a viable and sustainable future.
Rice Demo
Amethyst Ganaway
Born and raised in North Charleston, Amethyst Ganaway is proud of her heritage in South Carolina. A namesake to the state stone, Amethyst uses her position as a chef and food writer to tell the stories of the region’s history, culture, art, cuisine, and environment. Amethyst specializes in Southern and African-American foodways and foodways of the African Diaspora. Over the last year she has headlined Charleston Wine + Food Festival, Southeastern Wildlife Exposition, been featured on Nat Geo, Disney+, and PBS and written for publications like Saveur, The New York Times, The Local Palate, and many, many more. She is a skilled chef, food writer, recipe developer, content creator and cultural curator.