VOA慢速英语2021--美国黑人酿酒师希望增加业务的多样性

"Welcome to Happy Cork¹!"

That is how Sunshine Foss welcomes people into her wine store in Brooklyn, New York. She opened the store in 2018.

Today, Foss is one of a growing number of Black people in the wine industry.

She said she speaks with Black winemakers who tell her many owners of wine stores are not interested in buying wine from them.

"So, for me, it's extremely important to be able to give this platform to a lot of these Black-owned winemakers."

Foss carries wines from all over the world, but she pays special attention to those made by African-Americans. The store now sells wine offerings by American singers Mary J. Blige and John Legend, and basketball star Dwyane Wade².

When she first opened her store, however, she found it hard to find wines made by Black people. But now people know about her store and ask her to sell their wine.

Phil Long lives in Northern California. He started the Association of African-American Vintners. He also owns a company called Longevity³ Wines.

He said membership in his organization has grown by 500 percent since 2019. But he noted⁴ that people like him have a lot of work to do to reach their goal of making more people know about wine made by Black winemakers.

He said there are only about 25 Black-owned wineries out of the thousands in the U.S.

"Once I realized how few there were and I started understanding the non-diverse landscape, that's when it became more of an element of who I am."

Long said he chose to get into the winemaking business after having to wait a long time to be served while visiting a winery near Santa Barbara, California.

"I stood there waiting...and no one ever acknowledged me," Long said.

Kristin Braswell owns a travel business. She started holding wine-tasting events by video during the coronavirus pandemic. She thought it would be a good way to show winemakers that Black people are just as interested in learning about wine as white people are.

Steve Byfield owns Nyarai Cellars in Ontario, Canada. He said he and other Black people in the wine business are trying to show "that our place is very much valid⁵ like anybody else's in this industry."

Words in This Story

platform –n. something that allows someone to tell a large number of people about an idea, product, etc.

diverse –n. made up of people or things that are different from each other

landscape –n. a particular area of activity

acknowledge –v. to show that someone has been seen and recognized : to look at or talk to (someone)

valid –adj. fair or reasonable

1 cork   

n.软木，软木塞

参考例句：

• We heard the pop of a cork.我们听见瓶塞砰的一声打开。
• Cork is a very buoyant material.软木是极易浮起的材料。

2 wade   

v.跋涉，涉水；n.跋涉

参考例句：

• We had to wade through the river to the opposite bank.我们只好涉水过河到对岸。
• We cannot but wade across the river.我们只好趟水过去。

3 longevity   

n.长命；长寿

参考例句：

• Good habits promote longevity.良好的习惯能增长寿命。
• Human longevity runs in families.人类的长寿具有家族遗传性。

4 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

5 valid   

adj.有确实根据的；有效的；正当的，合法的

参考例句：

• His claim to own the house is valid.他主张对此屋的所有权有效。
• Do you have valid reasons for your absence?你的缺席有正当理由吗？