NOLADrinks Show – Association of African American Vintners – Aug20Ep1

On this edition of The NOLADrinks Show with Bryan Dias, we welcome Mac McDonald and Phil Long of the Association of African American Vintners. We discuss the organization and many ideas connected to African Americans in the wine industry.

Pictured above from left – Mac McDonald, founder of the Association of African American Vintners and owner/winemaker of Vision Cellars, Phil Long, President of the African American Vintners and owner/winemaker of Longevity Wines, and Ms. Lil, Mac’s life and business partner.

NOLADrinks Show – Association of African American Vintners – Aug20Ep1

We are fresh off our summer break and back with new shows! We start letting you know what’s up on this show and about our next one – our annual Tales of the Cocktail preview show!

Then, it’s off to our featured interview from our home studio. We welcome Mac McDonald and Phil Long of the Association of African American Vintners (AAAV). Mac is the organization’s founder and Phil is its current president. Also, Mac is the owner and winemaker of Vision Cellars located in Sonoma County and Phil is the owner and winemaker of Longevity Wines found in the Livermore Valley (both are in Northern California.)

We discuss the history of the organization, including its founding in 2002 by Mac. We also talk about what the organization seeks to achieve – building awareness and creating opportunity across all segments of the wine industry. Phil and Mac discuss some of the numbers related to African American vintners, economies of scale in smaller wineries, and much more.

Pictured above – Mac McDonald, founder of the Association of African American Vintners and owner/winemaker of Vision Cellars.

Phil and Mac stick around for our podcast-only segment, “Another Shot with NOLADrinks.” For the most part, during this segment, we talk wine! This includes a chat about their programs, consumer preferences, and a lot more viticultural and vinicultural conversation!

We close things out with our Parting Shot talking about Jackie Robinson Day in Major League Baseball and more.

The map below shows the location of Longevity Wines and Vision Cellars. Please be aware that, at the time of our taping, their tasting rooms were not open due to covid and the wildfires in California were not as widespread. However, you can order their terrific wines online or get them at a retailer near you!

You can subscribe to, stream, and download The NOLADrinks Show with Bryan Dias podcast using the links and player at the top of this post.

Cheers and Be Well, You All!

~ Bryan