Black-Owned Winery in Hollywood Celebrates One Year in Business With A Wine & Art Soiree

By Tiffannie Ramos

Wine, art, and music were the perfect combination for a beautiful Saturday at the English- Brown Winery celebration for their one year in business. The Black-owned winery, one of the few in South Florida, opened in Hollywood, Fla a year ago and has made it through a year of business– no small fete during a pandemic and economic crisis.

The night of celebration, which took place Jan. 8th, consisted of wine samples that included their popular flavors like Key Lime and Blackberry Beach, along with Classic Merlots. Cool musical vibes were provided by Keenan the Saxophonist and Ian Mann the sultry playing violist who both entertained the crowd with their renditions of classic R&B and Neo soul music setting the tone for a perfect Saturday evening. Guests were greeted by the staff and ownership of the winery and were encouraged to head to the sample bar. Small bites from a local Ceviche and Taco truck were stationed just outside the winery and patrons could buy tacos, nachos and all of the fixings to be paired with their wine.

Lauren Odom, founder of Imperfect Pictures, impressed us with her live painting skills. She also held conversations with guests as she discussed her journey into becoming an artist and how she viewed art and wine. She said she was elated to be a part of the anniversary event. She shared that art was her outlet to navigate her personal relationship with perfectionism.  

When asked how does she feel about art being paired with wine and why being showcased at the Anniversary was so significant she said, “Art is an expression of feeling and wine makes you feel good, so they go well because you can just vibe.”

And I can agree that was certainly the vibes English-Brown winery gave that evening.

Later that evening, guests choraled with Ian Mann as he set the mood for the best karaoke R&B night experience playing the likes, of Beyonce and Usher. I saw all the ladies with wine in their hands who couldn’t help but to belt the lyrics. They seemed to have their hearts filled as smiles plastered on their face. What a moment!

I was able to meet the winery’s Managing Owner, Shavon Brown-Robinson, who was gracious enough to share a glass of wine and a few laughs with me in between entertaining a place full of guests. I was able to discuss with her the significance of being successfully open for one year during a time when businesses were closing in the height of the pandemic.

“I didn’t realize how much this would mean to me until we actually got here and then I realized, we did that. Like I actually got here in a totally new era for me and now I see myself a bit different,” said Robinson. “Ive always gone into things that I know I can excel at and this I was winging it and I’m proud.”

Robinson went on to tell me that she’s thankful to those who have supported this journey and attributes that to their success.

For me, a beautiful evening, in a Black-owned Micro Winery in the heart of Hollywood is exactly what was needed to start off this new year. I’m excited to see all of the programming English-Brown is putting together to create a culture of wine appreciation in South Florida– something rare to our Brown community and I fully support it!

Check out some of my pics from the event and see what you missed out on.