The Roots Fund is a non-profit organisation created in 2020 to support people of colour in the wine (and recently spirits) industry through education, career placement and mentorship. It was founded by Carlton McCoy, Ikimi Dubose-Woodson, and Tahiirah Habibi, all of whom saw the organisation as a way to help aspiring wine professionals overcome some of the obstacles and challenges they had faced in their own careers. The Roots Fund auction takes place on 28 October 2024 at the Crown Club at New York City’s Barclays Centre.
‘I got into wine, like so many, from the culinary side. I started when I was 15, polishing silverware for the Marriott at the World Trade Center. When I finished college, the culinary programme at Johnson & Wales, I went to work for the Ritz Carlton organisation. I was fortunate to get to travel the world, and set up new businesses globally for them. I’m a chef by training.
‘While I was back in New York, I suffered a serious back injury, and as a result, I wasn’t able to work in the kitchen, even light duty. The timing just worked out. Our front-of-house manager was about to go on maternity leave, and she gave me a crash course on working the floor. I never went back.
‘I hadn’t been exposed to the beverage side, so I had to learn quickly. The other thing I learned quickly was while we were busting our asses in the kitchen, the beverage side was making all
