Today we’d like to introduce you to Tahiirah Habibi.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Tahiirah. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Where I grew up, there was not a huge wine culture so I wasn’t introduced to it until I got to college. I was involved with a lot of leadership positions at Penn State including becoming homecoming queen. I had to attend many events with university leadership and that is where I learned how to use wine as a social tool. More importantly, though, I saw how people respected the whole wine thing and it was intriguing to me. On the other hand, I quickly realized this was not a world I or many people who look like me came from. This was many years ago when wine was still bougie.
After college, while working in a restaurant in Philly, I was in awe of the wine director who was a woman. I thought it was so cool and it inspired me to start taking classes at the Wine School of Philadelphia. I worked during the day and took classes at night for about two years. While on break one year, I took a solo trip to Europe for about a month which solidified my determination to break into the wine industry. Wine is so different there. Wine is food there. Shortly after my return, I made a random decision to move to Miami after I finished my last course. I worked as a cocktail server while I pursued my dream of becoming a sommelier. I showed up in Miami with a mohawk and tattoos, people didn’t know how to react. For six months, I studied my ass off! I did not go out much, I took flashcards to work, I was hell-bent on creating this life I wanted. Then, I got my big break when I was hired at new St. Regis, Bal Barbour. I couldn’t believe my first wine job was at a luxury hotel, it was a dream. During my time at St. Regis, I was mentored and groomed by one of the country’s best sommeliers.
There were highs to working at the St. Regis and there were lows. Here I was working at one of the world’s best hotels, drinking 82 Burgundies on any given Tuesday but also feeling a bit lonely and unrelated because I didn’t see myself in these things. It’s a double-edged sword. I wasn’t sure how to navigate the space. I’m a 80’s baby from North Philly, I didn’t grow up around wine. I didn’t know any other black women who were wine professionals at the time. I had heard of a few men but still far and few between. I had no compass for what I was doing, just passion. That passion eventually led me to work at Micheal’s Genuine, one of the best restaurants in Miami. The style here was different. I could finally be myself. The wine team there was so geeky and knowledgeable and I loved it. I learned so much about craft wines there. At St. Regis, I was used to mostly vintage and luxury wine. It was a new world, and it helped me to realize that learning about wine is not only circumstantial but never-ending. I absorbed everything I could.
After Micheal’s, I went on to become a wine director and open other restaurants. During my career, I earned several write-ups including top 5 female somms in south Florida from Ocean Drive mag. Yet, I still felt unfulfilled. I had built this great career and was doing all these great things yet none of it was going back into my community. I knew I needed to focus my efforts on educating and empowering people of color. It was obvious I could not do what needed to be done while working under someone else’s terms, so I became an entrepreneur. My initial wine event company was called Sipping Socials. Wine by nature is intimidating so I had to be strategic and intentional if I wanted to educate the community in a way that was not intimidating and welcoming. I’ve always strived to create events for the culture that were relevant to our experiences. Under Sipping Socials, I did a few events one of which was the Wine & Reggae Festival. Who could resist wine or reggae. The first festival sold out with more than 3000 people showing up. Was a great concept but I made a lot of mistakes that day. Those lessons helped me to see a broader picture when I decided to start Hue Society a few years later. I wanted to create something where people could find all multicultural wine in one space. Hue Society is a umbrella organizational for wine education, events, and empowerment. It’s a connection to the community a means of inclusion and diversity in an industry that traditionally has lacked.
The Black Wine Experience is a cultural celebration of history, heritage, and community. We bring both consumers and businesses together through a wine experience that is relate-able and inspiring. We create a platform for black winemakers, vintners, sommeliers, distributors, and all other industry professionals as well as wine lovers. After I created Hue Society and The Black Wine Experience, I finally felt fulfilled. I feel like I am doing the work I’ve been sent here to do. This is my activism; to create a space and a presence for people who look like me to be able to thrive. We began this event at Essence Music Festival and since we have broken into Black Hollywood by creating an experience at the Wearable Art Gala. There are so many amazing things in the works within the community, I feel like now I’m living my purpose. I’m so grateful for my journey here.
Has it been a smooth road?
There are always going to be struggles when you are in an industry where there is a lack of diversity. I didn’t meet another black person or even hear of one for years after I started working in wine. We were scarce. I’ve been sent away from tables, sent home because of my hair, quizzed on wine lists – that I created, mocked, the whole nine. When I showed up in this wine world I was seen as a Black woman first and then a Sommelier. Whatever that meant to who I was dealing with is how the interaction went. I was expected to know everything, I couldn’t afford to make a mistake. Even though I didn’t know everything I wasn’t ashamed to say it. I had to get past the fear of being caught in those “gotcha moments” and realized that no one knows everything about wine, not a single person and I am ok with that but you wouldn’t catch me slipping twice.
My advice is to stay the course, failure and disappointments are meant to be lessons, not full stops. It’s never easy to carve out your own space but no one is given the same set of tools as you. Whatever it is that’s in your heart, go for it. You cannot allow other people to dictate that. Your path is your path, someone is depending on you to not give up. Use your gifts to create the world you want to live in. For years, I was the black girl who knows about wine, I used my uniqueness to help me change that narrative. I put myself in a position to bridge the gap between people of color and the trillion-dollar wine industry. I earned a seat at the table and I’m extending it. We are creating and cultivating this space because we too belong here.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into Hue Society story. Tell us more about it.
I think these days I’m known for two things; my wine expertise and my sense of style, which I combine with my events. I’m a woman who is passionate about advancing my community and helping to create a legacy for the people in it. My specialty is black wine brands and consumers but I am also well versed in luxury wines, sparkling wines, and California wines. I‘ve had well-rounded experiences from working on the floor as a sommelier to wines festivals to wine director to building private cellars to events. I work with boutique brands and celebrities. I think the best thing I do with all that knowledge is to create dope events that help people understand wine without the foofoo – I don’t do foo foo. Wine shouldn’t be intimidating, it’s a tool whether used socially or in business and I’m helping people understand that. I’m teaching people how to code-switch.
The thing I’m most proud of is the ability to be a resource for the culture. Through my company, Hue Society, I have been able to add real value to the wine world. If you’re looking for education and networking, we provide that. We do placements, promo events, mentoring and create spaces where one may not exist. I’m so proud of the work we do with The Black Wine Experience because it’s a celebration of all of those things that provides a place of inclusion. I’ve done this event at Essence Festival and at celebrity functions. I want everyone to leave fulfilled, valued and proud. Wine is power and it is time for us to tap into our power as brands and as consumers.
The goal is to change the narrative so when you see a black person you won’t automatically assume they only want sweet wine. We have to get past these stereotypes. When t-0.he thing is, everyone starts with sweet wine! If you generally don’t grow up with wine it’s about developing the education to be able to move on to the next level in your journey. I need people to see that there is a black wine community out there and here’s where you’ll find it. It’s hard to be what you can’t see. I want us to feel inspired and confident that despite the late start, we belong in this industry. The numbers are growing. We are working together to create a presence.
For good reason, society often focuses more on the problems rather than the opportunities that exist, because the problems need to be solved. However, we’d probably also benefit from looking for and recognizing the opportunities that women are better positioned to capitalize on. Have you discovered such opportunities?
For women the opportunities are endless! My industry is filled with talented women who fearlessly do the work. We are getting our own bags, raising families and looking good doing it too! Women are pushing society into balance. I’m not going to tell a woman what opportunity she is positioned for because she can get in where ever she chooses. We own our power like never before.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.thehuesociety.com
- Email: info@thehuesociety.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/thehuesociety
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/thehuesociety
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/thehuesociety
- Other: www.theblackwineexperience.com
Image Credit:
Krystal Smith and AlexAndré Fred
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