Melanated Wine | 4608 Industry Lane Unit F, Durham | 919-695-3303
Opening a new business is an inherently stressful pursuit, requiring a level of determination, faith, and chutzpah. Lashonda Modest is an “entrepreneur at heart” and is no stranger to that pursuit: before opening Melanated Wine in August, she’d run several businesses in the past, ranging from a commercial cleaning company to a jewelry store.
But opening her new South Durham winery felt more intense than her previous efforts.
“The hardest part has been the lack of financial resources for a business in this industry,” Modest told INDY Week while perched on a stool in her strip-mall storefront near the intersection of MLK Parkway and Fayetteville Street. The financial barrier for an alcohol-related business is higher and comes with its own unique hurdles, she adds.
“Before you can even apply for an ABC license with the state of North Carolina, you have to have a facility, and that’s before you even know you’re getting approved to do anything in alcohol,” Modest explains. “When you’re doing commercial retail facilities, they want you to sign a two-to-three-year lease. So it’s like, I’m on the hook for something I’m not certain I’m going to get approved for.”
Luckily Modest managed to find a space, a midsized spot with a compact store area at the front and a larger rectangular tasting-room area stretching back from the parking lot. The Industry Lane unit used to be occupied by former NBA All-Star Stephon Marbury’s shoe company, and it’s almost in view of Graybeard Distillery, maker of Bedlam Vodka. Once all her paperwork was in order, Modest quietly launched Melanated Wine.
She already needs a bigger space.
“We’re only three months in and we’ve outgrown it,” she says. “We really want a space with this ambiance but three times bigger.”
Melanated Wine’s rapid success can be attributed to the company’s four quality wines and their affordability—they range from a $16 fruity white sangria made with mango to a $19 red blend made with Cabernet Franc and Syrah grapes aged in oak barrels. The fruit-forward but immanently drinkable Riesling, and floral white blend relying on unoaked Chardonnay, fall in the middle of the price range.
All four wines are intentionally approachable crowd-pleasers. While three have screw tops, they’re the kind of easy-riding experience where two friends will be inclined to polish off the bottle.
The company’s popularity extends beyond the wine itself, though—it’s also tied to its founder and its intentional naming.
“We wanted to be very explicit and have people know it was a Black-owned brand,” Modest says. “Everyone likes drinking wine, but why should you buy from me? We wanted to bring something that was by us into the industry. What we really wanted to bring to the industry was our culture. We wanted people to know we’re on an even playing field.”
Modest hopes that her visibility will motivate more women of color to join the wine industry or open their own businesses, and she said several people have already reached out to her about following suit.
“I do hope it sparks an interest,” she says. “People are actually seeing me and being motivated. Even if it was a seed that was planted a while ago, they see it’s attainable.”
While there are several prominent national Black-owned wine businesses such as Longevity Wines and Maison Noir Wines, Black wine professionals reportedly make up just 2 percent of the industry (and ownership stats are even lower). Most Black-owned wine brands aren’t readily identifiable as such to casual consumers, save for a few possible examples like the McBride Sisters “Black Girl Magic” series.
But Modest wanted consumers to know what they are buying and feel an instant connection.
“We tell people our wine is ‘culture in a bottle,’” she says. “I don’t see that in a store. I don’t see anything I can directly relate to or feel a connection with.”
Touted as Durham’s first and only Black-owned winery, Melanated Wine is actually one of the lone Black-owned wine businesses in the entire state. There are others, of course, such as Seven Springs Farm and Vineyard in Norlina, close to Virginia up I-85, and Davidson Wine Co., a winery outside of Charlotte. The Association of African American Vintners, of which Modest is a member, doesn’t explicitly list any other Black wine professionals in North Carolina besides Modest and Davidson Wine owner Lindsey Williams (some members don’t have a location provided).
Modest’s product and branding have helped her stand out, as has the openness of North Carolina’s wine industry. Modest doesn’t have a background in wine but describes herself as a voracious learner who has always been fascinated by wine, adding that part of what attracts her to the industry is the fact there’s always more to learn about wine.
She has been planning this business for several years and says that everyone she’s met in the state has embraced her and offered assistance navigating various challenges.
“It really feels like a family and I love it,” she says. “North Carolina has just been amazing.”
All of the grapes for Melanated Wine are grown in North Carolina’s famed Yadkin Valley wine region, and Modest works directly with their winemakers to bring forward the exact tastes and final products she’s looking for.
For now, production and bottling are handled externally, vinted, and bottled by powerhouse Childress Vineyards in Lexington, but as the business grows, Modest wants to bring the wine-making process in-house, giving Triangle residents an opportunity to witness the process without traveling out of town. Until then, she’s trying to keep up with demand, and encouraging locals to come in for a tasting—either by reserving a spot in one of Melanated Wine’s regular tastings or by reserving the intimate space for a private event.
“I am so confident in the wines we have that when you come here for a tasting, you’re going to walk out buying something,” says Modest, noting that the space has already been in demand for events like bachelorette parties, birthdays, and other private events.
“We really wanted to create an experience for people,” she says.
This makes sense: Melanated Wine may be nondescript and unassuming from the outside, but behind a curtain separating the storefront, the tasting room is decked out with an artificial green wall flanked by a branded step-and-repeat that begs for selfies and tipsy group photos.
Between tastings, Modest’s small team is constantly fulfilling online orders that have been pouring in from around the country. The crisp and semisweet Riesling and red blend—which is well-rounded, medium-bodied wine with minimal tannins—are the top sellers online, but when people try the four wines in person, the white sangria “tends to be more popular,” Modest says.
For now, direct orders in-store or online are the only ways to buy a bottle, and local support has been strong, which makes sense considering the Bull City has been home to Modest and her husband since they moved from Illinois a decade ago to provide a better future for their kids.
“The history and the culture and the richness of Durham—we love it,” she says. “We knew Durham was the place for this.”
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