Meet Mac McDonald, Winemaker

By Lucinda Anderson, Special to AOL BlackVoices

Mac McDonald is one of a select few. As the head of Vision Cellars, a California vineyard and winery in Sonoma County, he is one of only a handful of African-American vineyard owners in the United States.

McDonald, founder and president of the Association of African-American Vintners, broke into the industry in 1995 by forming a relationship with Caymus, a respected wine label. Then, he raised $82,000 in venture capital on his own, pocket change in the cash-rich wine industry. Most winemakers, he says, come from old money and most successful people in the business are obsessed with the bottom line. McDonald stresses, though, that he wants to make money but he doesn’t make it his sole focus. He and his wife Lil use their own money to travel around the country, cultivating a new crop of African-American aficionados.

BV spoke with McDonald recently about what it takes to break into the winery business.

You’re known for wearing coveralls and a hat everywhere.

I could wear Armani suits but I purposefully don’t. I come from mud, down in the Texas sticks. When I speak, I’m astounded at how many non-black people shout out from the audience, “You know about possum!” Or, “How about that moonshine?” It seems my background breaks down a lot of the pretense people associate with wine. No matter what nationality you are, if you’re over 50 and you’ve lived in Texas, you’ve eaten squirrel and all that stuff.

How much does it take to start a winery?

It can be millions depending on the location and how big you want the operation to be. The startup costs for buying the [grapes], the manager’s salary and so forth are about the same.

What are the biggest challenges for African Americans?

Finding someone with a big name to work for. If you’re associated with a big winery, that company’s reputation gets you noticed. It’s just like working in corporate America. [The AAAV] wants to encourage wineries to give African Americans the opportunity to work. I see changes already. Yeah, you can read Esquire and see an article about starting a winery, and toss that off as just someone rich starting a business. In Jet, Ebony and Black Enterprise, it’s a different story, you relate.

The rap culture talks about other liquors, cognac, champagne, beer, but this hasn’t happened with wine yet.

How did the AAAV begin?

I met Vance Sharp, owner of Sharp Cellars at a Sonoma County wine event. We were the only “faces” there. We were making eye contact with each other, got together and decided it was a good idea to form an organization with some of the other African-American winemakers we’d heard about.

What’s the minimum education required?

You can go to the wine programs at a good junior college or you can get a job at a winery and learn on the job. A regular starting position, like laborer, involves washing barrels, working on a crusher, the machine used to bring the grapes in, caretaking of the barrels’ whole fermenting process, lab work from time to time. Lab technician is good for a science background.

So working in the field is not a grunt job?

Tell me about it! The more you know about the farming, the area, the way the vines are pruned, the better product you produce.

What if you don’t live in a wine region like California, Virginia or New York?

Wineries are popping up everywhere. Contact the wineries and tell them about your interests. Just like any other major -- once you’ve gotten the education or degree, you have to go out and learn from people who are doing it. The University of California at Davis has self-study tapes about making wines. There’s also a magazine called Home Winemakers that gives an overview of what you’ll need to do.

How does the AAAV assist people who want to enter the industry?

We are working with the University of California to try to get a student through a program. We also formed a scholarship that we’re trying to fund. We also met someone who had her own wine-tasting club. Now, she has her own wine and alcohol distributorship.

How can the general public meet you and the other vintners?

Our 3rd Annual African-American Vintners Panel Discussion and Wine Tasting takes place on June 18 at COPIA Center, in Napa, Calif.

What’s the biggest reward for you?

I want to look back and say I gave Joe a chance to taste my pinot noir. Joe may not have liked it, but he is now open to drinking wine and will start shopping for those he likes.