WeRise Wine Bar, dedicated to diversity, opens in downtown Seattle

Conley worked for over a quarter of a century in the tech industry. She had an epiphany at a wine dinner celebrating Black women in the wine industry. Of the wineries represented, Conley only knew two of them.

“It got me wanting to learn about, what does diversity look like in wine?” Conley says.

She subsequently went on a fact finding mission, asking winemakers questions. They centered around the barriers to selling and distributing wine, as well as gaining broader awareness.

Where Conley ended up was launching WeRise, a mission-driven business to help raise awareness for underrepresented communities within the wine industry. WeRise showcases women, LGBTQ, BIPOC, and other minority owned wineries and winemakers, both locally and worldwide. The company also aims to provide access to communities less familiar with wine...

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