Beverages to boost the festive season
These drinks are delicious as well as being meaningful!
Support women-owned wines, or LGBTQ-friendly beverage makers with these top tipples.
LOVE CORK SCREW
Black Female Founder Chrishon Lampley is a négociant and wine enthusiast who produces her own wine by sourcing it internationally or locally and packaging it to reflect certain palates and values. If you like to drink wine with friends but don’t know what to choose, Lampley’s wine club is a good place to start because every bottle comes with an attitude or intention in its label, a story or inspiration behind it, and often a charitable initiative associated with it. Lampley is doing good by leveraging her platform to mentor young women and other entrepreneurs who are just starting out. Love Cork Screw recently launched “BE THE LIGHT” Sauv Blanc inspired by Amanda Gorman’s inauguration poem. This easy-drinking white wine is smooth with complex aromas of pear and tropical fruit with a palate of Meyer lemon, and notes of grapefruit rind. Enjoy this wine with lightly seared scallops, creamy pasta or Thai cuisine. It’s also lovely on its own as an aperitif. We also thoroughly enjoyed WE GO HIGH, inspired of course by Michelle Obama. And yes, this is a Black-certified business!
HOUSE WINE
The Original House Wine has won the 2021 Social Visionary Award for its partnership with the Human Rights Campaign on a limited-edition Rainbow Rosé Bubbles can which celebrates and supports LGBTQ+ equality and love in all its forms. Wine Enthusiast Magazine announced the honor last month, making House Wine the first wine brand and product to win the Wine Enthusiast social visionary award.
The House Wine partnership with the HRC was conceived out of the brand’s founding belief that “Everybody is Welcome in Our House.” With a grassroots force of more than three million members and supporters nationwide—and serving as America’s largest civil rights organization working for LGBTQ equity— HRC was the natural partner for House Wine to maximize impact for the LGBTQ+ community.
“House Wine’s authentic and unapologetically bold voice are a natural fit for a message of inclusion and acceptance,” said Brad Mayer, vice president of communications at Precept Wine, parent company of House Wine. “I am extremely proud of our HRC partnership and what we have accomplished with the brand to raise awareness both in my community and my industry.”
House Wine donates $2 for every case sold to the HRC. To date, the project has contributed over $100,000 in financial and product support to the important work of HRC.
“We are delighted that House Wine is supporting and uplifting LGBTQ+ equality through this impactful partnership,” commented Luigi Lewin, Human Rights Campaign director of corporate partnerships. “It’s inspiring when well-recognized and respected brands embrace positive change, and House Wine Rainbow cans symbolize a celebration of love and acceptance, and we are proud to partner with House on this unique product.”
House Wine is the leader in the can wine category— it’s the #1 overall wine brand selling 375ml can and the Rosé Bubbles is the # 1 selling can wine in the country among all can sizes. (Nielsen, $ Volume, Period Ending 10/29/21). Additionally, Wine Enthusiast has rated more than 25 House Wine products as Best Buys over the past 10 years. To learn more about House Wine follow on Instagram and Facebook.
TENERAL CELLARS
Talk about a message in a bottle! Teneral Cellars, a woman owned, purpose-driven all-digital winery, recently announced its partnership with World Central Kitchen for the Peace, Love & Joy Collection. Released just in time for holiday sipping, the collection supports the giving spirit with $10 from every sale going toward WCK Direct, a text-to-order program that addresses the dramatic rise in food insecurity, the increased strain on the emergency food system and the struggling restaurant industry.
Jill Osur, president and CEO of Teneral Cellars believes in elevating women and minorities in the wine and food industry, which is why they sought out a collaboration with WCK. WCK uses the power of food to nourish communities and strengthen economies in times of crisis and beyond. WCK is a team of food first responders mobilizing with the urgency of now to get meals to those who need them most.
Featuring recipes from Chef Stacey Poon-Kinney and tasting notes by Master Sommelier Jill Zimorski, the Peace, Love & Joy collection includes a Chardonnay, a Grenache, and a Syrah. Customers may also choose to add the Gratitude Red Blend to the collection; a limited edition blend of Zinfandel and Petite Sirah. Only 50 cases of the Gratitude Red Blend were produced.
Teneral Cellars supports a different charitable organization with every quarterly release, and is committed to social justice issues, women’s health and empowerment, and combating climate change.
NEFT VODKA
NEFT Vodka is the newest kid on the vodka block but it comes with a few big distinctions from those other top shelf brands. Firstly, it’s crafted in the Austrian Alps using pure fed Austrian spring water, which gives it a light, pure, and almost floral taste. This enables it to be enjoyed with any mixer and even neat without burning. NEFT Vodka also has a Pride-themed can in June and has worked with nonprofits such as Project Angel Food and GLAAD.
NEFT Vodka is not only incredibly smooth, but its packaging—a miniature oil barrel that keeps the contents inside cold for up to six hours—is truly unique and means you can always enjoy it slightly chilled. Try this cocktail for a little Christmas spirit!:
NEFT Merry Citrus (aka: Spontaneous Consumption)
1.5 oz NEFT ultra-premium vodka
1 oz fresh clementine juice
.75 oz orange peel oleo sacrum
.5 oz spiced demerara syrup
2 dashes barrel aged whiskey bitters
Dehydrated cinnamon orange slice soaked in Bacardi 151 (or any flammable liquor)
Add all ingredients into mixing tin with ice and stir. Double strain into rocks glass over ice.
Garnish with a dehydrated cinnamon orange slice soaked in 151 and set on fire.
