Andra: In the hills looking down on Queenstown in New Zealand. The two shared the same father but different mothers, and werent aware they had a sisterly half until their father and other family members helped to unite them through an endless trail of handwritten letters and phone calls lasting five years. After meeting in 1999, their curiosity for wine became a true passion as the sisters began a wine import business, importing unique New Zealand wines into the US Market. Barbecue, grilled fish, meats, and veggies, burgers, French fries, fish tacos, fruits, cheeses, grilled cheese, and coastal cuisines like Mediterranean dishes and Spanish tapas. You know, I was 16, and I have a big sister," Andra said. McBride Sisters: We'll have a LOT of announcements coming over the next year! After connecting for the first time in 1999, we realized we had this shared passion for wine and it became such a central part of our bond, and we knew the universe had put us together for a reason to make a future together out of our separate pasts. When did you meet? Since the inception of their namesake brand in 2010, they've turned it into the largest Black-owned and. Her estranged dad shared his terminal diagnosis of stomach cancer and how he wanted to use his remaining energy to help her find Robin. In the year 1999, 25-year-old Robinand 16-year-old Andra McBride met for the first time at LaGuardia Airport in New York. Now the largest African-American-owned wine company in the United States, McBride Sisters Wine Collection includes Chardonnay and Red Blends from Robin's home state of California, as well as. For Andra and Robin, the company's success feels like the culmination of their journey as sisters. Over time, McBride Sisters has grown into what is not only the largest Black-owned wine company in the United States, but one of the most inclusive, accessible, socially aware and sustainable. "It was just kind of like one thing in my mind was like, OK, yeah, yeah. Robin had launched her journey first, having decamped Los Angeles with her mother, embarking on a post-divorce road trip up Pacific Coast Highway and landing in Monterey. Andra said. First they built a boutique import firm focused on New Zealand wines. Email her at aschamberg@gmail.com. "Losing our father, he was one of 12, meeting family and a lot of people that I'd never seen before but looked a lot like me. Birth State: Kansas. The story of their journey starts with a man, their shared biological father, Kelly McBride. Q: How did you get started? We Googled the top 100 restaurants in California and started knocking on doors., They were more or less clueless, she admits. The crest reflects our Sisterly bond and is designed with our shared father, represented as a proud peacock (he was known to be quite cocky) over the initials MS for McBride Sisters. Robin: We are big believers in sustainability because you get a higher quality grape and its right for the planet. [8] Andra was raised in Marlborough, New Zealand. Our experience when we first started, our credibility was challenged a lot. Long-lost sisters Robin and Andra McBride turned a mutual love of wine into a winery spanning Monterey and Marlborough. After all, lionesses are the true leaders of a pride. The perfect tummy control bodysuit, a popcorn gadget, more bestsellers starting at $8. That search was carried out by his siblings using a method they heard about on an Oprah Winfrey Show featuring a private detective. The McBride Sisters continue to withstand the elementsin both business and in life. Meanwhile, if you hurry, theres just time to toast the New Year with their pink bubbly. Gender: Female. And a large part of opportunities and success has come from being associated with those people and those families. From that aunt, who lived in Georgia, she learned both about her fathers death and about the existence of her 16-year-old sister. "So I didn't know I was going to be talking to my sister as soon as I make the initial phone call. Andrea: Our wines are from two regions. The sisters were born to different mothers, both in Los Angeles. Two wines hail from New Zealand, the Sauvignon Blanc, and Sparkling Brut Ros, and two wines from Californias Central Coast, the crisp Chardonnay, and Red Blend, not to mention their Black Girl Magic California Riesling limited exclusive collection. Both of use like barbecue and we make a barbecue sauce with our wine. Their story is proof that a bond can form over a bottle of wine; a truth that comes to life with every McBride Sisters . Though they were raised in the far-flung, enormously iconic wine regions of Monterey, California and Marlborough, New Zealand, both sisters were destined to share a love of the grape. What inspired each of youto go into wine? Sep 16, 2021, 12:00 ET. As the two got to know one another, they discovered a shared passion for making wine, something they each developed growing up in the major wine regions of New Zealand and central California. The sisters say they made it against extraordinary odds, but it shouldn't be that hard for Black women or minorities to join the wine industry. Our story is proof that a bond can form over a bottle of wine; a truth that comes to life with every McBride Sisters wine. Birth date: July 29, 1966. Ninety percent of the wine produced in the U.S. is made in California, but only 10 percent of the state's wineries are led by a female winemaker. **. 2023 BDG Media, Inc. All rights reserved. "We've been in the business so many years. But because Andrea spent some of her summers as a kid in New Zealand helping out at a vineyard owned by her uncle, she takes the lead on vineyard management, with an emphasis on sustainability. The family had been sending letters to every Robin McBride in the phone book until finally one made it to their intended recipient in Monterey, California. Enter the McBride Sisters Collection Reserve wines: a Chardonnay and a Pinot Noir from Montereys cool Santa Lucia Highlands. The packaging for the McBride Sisters Collection 2018 Reserve Pinot Noir ($50), on the other hand, exudes a little more attitude, from the showy peacock on the label to the name, a fond reference to their fatherahem, Cocky Motherf*cker. The man behind the ode might have been, in their words, electric, charismatic and confident in his style, but the interpretation in the wine has a wonderful irony to it. OAKLAND, Calif., Sept. 16, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- McBride Sisters Collection, Inc., the largest Black-owned wine company in the U.S., today announces that it has received a . In 2010, they started the McBride Sisters Wine Company. He told her he was dying of cancer and wanted to do one last. Andra McBride was a 16 year old living in foster care in New Zealand when she got a phone call from her biological dad in Alabama. Andra McBride was a 16 year old living in foster care in New Zealand when she got a phone call from her biological dad in Alabama. Includes access to the digital magazine. "Both of us were growing up thinking we were only children-- completely, you know, opposite ends of the Pacific Ocean.". [14], As of 2015, McBride Sisters had a team that was 80 percent female, including their head winemaker and vineyard director. McBride Sisters: You can't pick between your children! Dont miss the food event of the year. They said it's also important to them that their wines are affordable. Most of the options from theirtwo labels, eco.love andTruve, retail for under $20 and are sold around the country at more than 1,000 retailers. Thanks to one icebreaker question, Robin and Andra McBride are now closer than ever and running a multi-million dollar company together. So when I found out about Andra, I knew my life was about to change. Not just because they bear a striking resemblance from their trademark curls to their nearly identical smile and eyebrow shape, but the duo navigate a room in lockstep and have an unmistakable energy that is often only detectable when youre among siblings. Both women were born in Los Angeles, but Andrea McBride spent much of her childhood in Marlborough, New Zealand, first with her mother, Pauline, who passed away, and then with a foster family. Meaning, all those people have to buy the idea, granting access to the next in line, until the product finally makes it to shelves, where the profit can be made. The fund also doubles as a mentorship program. The sisters felt discriminated against as young Black women attempting to join an industry in which they'd be a small minority. Through their core values: sustainability, empowerment, innovation, and community, the McBride sisters were able to curate a unique wine experience for their customers for more than 13 years. We wanted it to be inclusive, comfortable, unintimidating, says Robin. And theyre growing. And we admire the craft of wine making and had hopes to do it ourselves one day. We describe our signature style as old world style with new world finesse. Subscribe to RR1 Live+ for exclusive virtual events all year long (at least 1 per month), conversations with Robb Report editors, special perks, and more. Please enter valid email address to continue. We were in our early twenties and thirties the industry had never seen wine company owners like us before. [5] As of 2020, Wine Spectator noted that it was the largest Black-owned wine company in the US by volume. The key to learning about wine is tasting, so try out new wines you havent had before and keep educating your palette until you learn what you like. Both sisters were born in the Los Angeles area to different mothers but to a mutual fatherColen McBride. Their father, a rakish, Alabama-born 6-foot-6-inch wanna-be actor with 11 siblings, had a way with the ladies. Fluker: With both of your backgrounds heavily rooted in Monterey, California and New Zealand, how do those environments influence the unique style of McBride Sisters wine? The reunion story of long-lost sisters Andrea and Robin McBride stems from exactly the person you'd imagine would be involved in such a tearjerker: Oprah. How do you seamlessly merge the heritage of both New Zealand and California together with your brand? Consider adding The McBride Sisters Wines to your wine cellar and support a Black owned business at the same time! Andra: Coincidentally, we were both raised in emerging wine regions and that is how we each developed our own appreciation for wine. Explore the prestigious Santa Lucia Highlands, where we hand selected rows of vines for this exclusive McBride Sisters Collection Reserve Pinot Noir "Cocky Motherf*cker" 2019. In meeting, the bond between Robin and Andra was instant, and intensified when they realized theyd both grown up as often the only mixed-race children in small, mostly white agricultural communities known for producing wine. Sign up today and save 15% on your first purchase! The process was a grind. Crushed raspberry and black cherry aromas are dusted with loam and layered with beautiful florals, sandalwood and spice. eco.love wines are made in New Zealand and Truve is made in the Central Coast of California, so we have the best of both worlds with having two brands made in the places we both grew up in. The S is styled to look like a loc of our curly hair. This piece originally aired July 2, 2015. Robin: I think Rose is great. Andra McBride John and Robin McBride. Often times, brands miss the mark because they arent reaching their target consumers correctly by meeting them where they are, or they arent participating in conversations and topics they are passionate about.. Love you, Mom and Mums! They each thought they were only children.. We acknowledge that we alone as a company cannot change the wine industry, but it is our hope that weve inspired women to embark on careers in the industry and that weve also inspired other companies and wineries to follow suit, Robin says to TZR. Birth City: Sharon. We each had a similar background in wining making regions. Its a great wine drinking city and we wanted to connect with people that weve connected with on social platforms. Fluker: Share your experience as two African-American women vintners. Now we want to make the kind of wine we fell in love with.. Birth Country: United States. "I think we actually underestimated that." Q: Do you both like the same kinds of wines? Expect a Gamay and a Pinot Noir from New Zealands Central Otago region to join the Reserve tier soon. "The catalyst was one of his brothers, our uncle, was in his living room, watching an 'Oprah' episode, and she featured private detectives on how you find people that owe you money or how you find displaced loved ones," Andra said.