A simple idea from a dinner table and voila, a brand was born. Ayesha Curry and Sydel’s thoughtful discussion about representing the women of the family and the black businesswomen in the country has now turned into a part of a $385 billion business globally, the wine industry. Ayesha and Stephen Curry‘s sister walked some miles from that dinner meeting to form their Domaine Curry Wines. And don’t be surprised — by the looks of it, they know their buyers all too well to make their family venture bigger and better.

During their recent appearance on Food People by Bon Appétit, Ayesha Curry and Sydel Curry-Lee opened up about the major challenges that come along with their business. Mapping the whole business model for what is thought to be dominated by white consumers, Ayesha laid out her numbers on the table. Her fight for black representation was not only in her voice but also was backed by numbers.

Talking about wine consumption by black women, Ayesha said, “You know, it’s interesting. We did a little research and there’s black women have the buying power of about $1.6T when it comes to, the buying power within the wine world. And 12% of the people that are buying wines are black women. And so the market is there and the desire to drink really great wines is there as well. We’re talking about the premium. And so the market is there.”

Looking at the domestic market, the US wine industry is worth approximately $81 billion today. To represent their ethnicity, the two started the brand in 2018. In 2023, it was acquired by Constellation Brands as a part of the Prisoner Wine Company. The aforementioned sum in trillion is due to premium products at $75 plus, according to Ayesha, and hence the need for more representation.

“There just needs to be more representation. And so for us to be able to come forward as Domaine Curry and kind of fill a very small void in that white space is great,” Ayesha added.

To achieve that, Constellation Brands commits to investing $100 million in black and minority-owned businesses by 2030. Sydel even shared glimpses of the first harvest of the season a few months back, enjoyed in the Napa Valley. “The truth of the matter is that the wine industry is predominantly white male-driven,” Curry-Lee told ESSENCE in 2023.

It is worth noting that America’s 90% wine brands are California-based but women-owned wineries count for a meager 10% of it all. The number drops down even further when black women are brought into the conversation.

“It was pretty daunting going in. But we quickly realized we’re smart, we’re strong, we’ve got it, we know what we like, we know what tastes great, we know what works. And I think when you push through that and drown out the noise, the rest is history.” The ladies know their wine too just like their consumers, as they talked about it in detail on the show.

Ayesha Curry and Sydel bring out their inner sommelier in a fascinating wine discussion

Apart from talking about filling a “small void in the white space,” the two raved about their wines too. After being inquired by the host, Sydel talked about the wines and the grapes used in great detail.

“So our Founders Blend, which is our, red blend as well, is a beautiful, red fruit forward, some petite Syrah in there, some Zinfandel, beautiful combination of grapes,” Sydel said.

She also highlighted it’s got some Merlot in there as well, which was a new thing for them. On Ayesha’s insistence, Sydel added how one of their winemakers introduced them to the new blend. And yes, the trial went perfectly with a satisfactory result.

“It’s a very Bordeaux style wine that we have been drawn to, which kind of was the pillar of Domaine Curry and the inspiration behind it, going back to why we started it,” Ayesha’s in-law concluded.

The two reminisced about the 2015 dinner that kick-started the whole process. The optimism and enthusiasm in their voice only makes you root for them even more in their quest for black representation.