Carlton McCoy’s leadership in the wine industry has opened the doors for dozens to create careers of their own.
“When I first started studying wine, I only knew of two Black sommeliers—Andre [Hueston] Mack and Nadine Brown—it was very rare at the time to see myself in the industry,” says Carlton McCoy of becoming a master sommelier in 2013. “Had I an organization then that could have given me a sense of community and guidance, it would’ve made the road a lot easier.”
This difficulty of starting his wine journey, coupled with participating in the Careers Through Culinary Arts Program (C-CAP), is ultimately what inspired McCoy to cofound The Roots Fund with Ikimi Dubose-Woodson and Tahiirah Habibi in 2020.
“From the beginning, we knew we had to address the lack of wine education and career opportunities available to communities of color,” he says. The hard work of the small-yet-mighty board of directors of The Roots Fund has, over the course of just four short years, opened the doors for dozens of students who receive funding for wine education as well as hands-on experience in various sectors of the wine industry. McCoy credits his cofounder and fellow board member Dubose-Woodson for her passionate and focused approach for getting so muchn done so quickly. “We get a lot done for a small organization because everyone’s really committed, and we don’t just talk about things—we get them done.”
As cofounder and CEO of Lawrence Wine Estates, McCoy heads legendary Napa Valley estates
This Article was originally published on Wine Enthusiast
