Sydney Love
Wine Writer and Researcher,
Sydney Love is reassessing the origin stories we tell about American wine. After several years of profiling California wine’s contemporary Black and women-led movements, they began exploring the history of African American winemaking and its roots in Virginia. In 2024, Sydney was one of 17 recipients awarded a short-term residency at the International Center for Jefferson Studies, where they researched the wine and beverage culture at Thomas Jefferson’s plantation, Monticello, through the lens of the enslaved. Their writing has been featured in Alta Journal, the San Francisco Chronicle, and Wine & Spirits, among others. They also maintain a Substack newsletter called Red/Drink, where they share their research and writing, according to their Substack.