By Megan Sayles,
AFRO Business Writer,
msayles@afro.com
Husband and wife Jon’ll and Matthew Boyd have opened the first Black, family-owned wine company in Maryland. The two created Boyd Cru Wines last spring, after years of sharing and appreciating wine together.
According to the Association of African American Vintners, less than 1 percent of wineries in the U.S. are Black-owned. The Boyds are hoping they can demonstrate how African Americans can gradually build a wine business from the ground up, as they often lack the capital and land required to enter the industry.
“There’s a huge economic gap in being able to start a winery as a person of color. Neither myself nor Matthew come from generational wealth,” said Jon’ll Boyd. “We did not have land that was passed down to us. We did not have any family members who were in the wine industry.”
Marketing professor and researcher Monique Bell said limited capital and distribution challenges are the top two barriers faced by Black wine businesses today. Bell, a Morgan State University alumna, is the author behind “Terroir Noir,” a study analyzing the state of Black winemakers.
“In both my 2020 and 2023 studies, a clear barrier was financial capital followed by a lack of distribution options. What’s interesting is that the broad label of ‘racism/bias’ is difficult to disentangle from these barriers,” said Bell. “It is difficult, perhaps impossible, to parse out the widespread effects of racism or bias from the barriers of access to funding, bias by distributors and limited industry knowledge.”
The 2023 report also discovered that 80 percent of wine producers were motivated to start their businesses to change the current condition of the wine industry for the better. The Boyds fall into this category.
Although they were not familiar with the details of the wine industry, they both had strong examples of entrepreneurship in their families. Jon’ll Boyd hails from a long line of women running hair salons, while Matthew Boyd’s grandfather opened one of the first deli shops in Indianapolis.
The Boyds currently offer a red blend, white wine and rosé. (Photo courtesy of Boyd Cru Wines)
The Boyds spent years researching the wine industry in Maryland, discovering organizations like The Hue Society, which seeks to increase Black representation in the industry. But, it was the COVID-19 pandemic that finally pushed the Boyds to pursue starting a wine business.
At that time, they noticed a greater focus on supporting Black-owned businesses and diversifying the wine industry.
“When you don’t have representation, you don’t feel welcomed. It does not feel inclusive. That’s what sparked a fire in us to find a way to step into this industry in a non-traditional way that allows us to build from the ground up,” said Jon’ll Boyd. “Hopefully, we’ll provide an example or motivation to others who are trying to figure out how to get into this industry and don’t have the capital, brick-and-mortar or land.”
Boyd Cru Wines manufactures and produces all of its wines in a facility based in Poolesville, Md. The Boyds only use grapes grown in Maryland from a single vineyard. They’re involved in every step of the winemaking process, from harvesting the grapes to pressing the wine.
Currently, Boyd Cru Wines offers three wines, the Living Legacy Red Wine Blend, the Community Vidal Blanc and the Free Spirit Rosé. On the back of each bottle, the Boyds have added recommended moods and moments for when best to enjoy the wine. Boyd Cru Wines’ Living Legacy Red Wine Blend won silver at the Maryland Winemasters Choice Competition this year and their Free Spirit Rosé won gold and best-in-class.
In 2024, the Boyds hope to open a tasting room, and they are set to release three new wines. The tasting room will not only enable patrons to enjoy wine together, it will also be used as a community space for other local small business owners to promote their products.
“We didn’t think we could do this, but we have full faith and confidence that we’ll get to where we’re going because we’ve started. That’s what we want to help other businesses do,” said Jon’ll Boyd. “Just like us, people need help finding places where they can get in front of their customers. With our tasting room, we’re able to allow that to be a space where other businesses that don’t have a brick-and-mortar can come and get in front of their audience.”
Megan Sayles is a Report For America corps member.
