Black Woman Educates And Expands Palates With Fly Wines

Fly Wines has a subscription service as well as a wine tasting kits. Photo provided by Fly Wines.
Fly Wines has a subscription service as well as a wine tasting kits. Photo provided by Fly Wines.


 Black Woman Educates And Expands Palates With Fly Wines

By Tia Carol Jones
Stephanie Franklin started Fly Wines after sharing a wine tasting kit with a friend. The wine was horrible, but it sparked something inside her.

During the pandemic, Franklin’s mother passed away and it awakened the urge for her to want to do more. One day, she was having wine with a friend from a wine tasting kit.  A lightbulb clicked and Franklin had the idea that she could start her own wine import and distribution company.

Franklin, who always enjoyed wine, started to do the research and reached out to a friend who is a sommelier. In 2021, Fly Wines started officially. The Fly Wines experience enables people to taste and elevate their wine palate, with exclusive wines from independent wineries from all over the world. They also help people discover local undiscovered gems.

The first step is a tasting kit that is with wines from Fortino Winery, which is located in Gilroy, Calif. When Franklin moved to California, all she could think of was Sonoma or Nappa, not realizing there were so many different wine regions within the state. Fly Wines focuses on underrepresented regions or countries. Fly Wines also partners with Mosole, a winery in Northern Italy, as well as Likya, which is in Turkey.

In addition to the wine tasting kit, Fly Wines also works with different corporations for virtual wine tastings. Once people get educated on the wines, they move to the wine subscription, which lets them buy wines that are from exclusive wineries.

“Our focus is all about educating on wines, too. A lot of people get intimidated by wines, because they don’t understand it. Once they understand the basics and their palate, they’re more open and receptive to it and it becomes a different ball game,” Franklin said.

Fly Wines recently launched its Wine Club and they are looking to expand. In the Wine Club, a member receives two wines a month, a bottle of white and a bottle of red, which is curated by the sommelier. The member is educated about the wine and how it can be paired with different meals. The goal is to enable the member to create their own wine experience at home.

Franklin said people are surprised when she tells them she is in the wine industry. There is also an educational aspect. When she tells people she is in the industry, they think she is making wine. She believes there needs to be more knowledge about the different ways people are involved in the wine industry, outside of making wine. As an importer and wholesale wine distributor, Fly Wines is a small portion of the less than 1% Black people in the wine industry.

In addition to the Wine Club, Wine Subscription and Wine Tasting, Fly Wines also sells wine to four- and five-star restaurants and wine shops. It is one way for them to increase their reach. Those places like the exclusive wine experience.

Franklin’s favorite part of what she does with Fly Wines is doing the wine tastings. She likes to see the surprise on people’s faces when they are tasting the wines, uncovering their palates and understanding their palates.

“I like to see people’s senses awaken once they taste the wine and you can see someone’s mind churning and they’re trying to figure out the notes in a particular wine,” she said.

Franklin wants people to understand their palates more, because people’s palates are different. Understanding and cultivating a person’s palate is really intriguing for her. Her favorite wine is a Pinot Grigio from Mosole. When she tasted it, she was surprised at how good it tasted because she is not usually a Pinot Grigio wine drinker.

“We’re not here for people that like their one favorite wine they have and they don’t really want to enhance their palate. We’re here for people who like experiences, who enjoy cultures, who like travel, that’s who we’re here for,” she said.

Franklin wants Black people to understand that there is room for us in any environment and not to be afraid to pivot and not to be afraid if there are not people who look like them in an industry. She wants them to understand the impact on the culture as they make those inroads.

For more information about Fly Wines, visit flywines.club.

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