Meet the Boston Couple Behind Shaw’s Hot New Wine Shop | Eater DC

"Operating since 2010, this Boston-born wine shop has grown into one of America’s biggest Black-owned wine retailers and is opening its first location outside Boston on January 25 in Shaw, selling 800 bottles from 25 countries under one roof. The couple behind it aim to demystify wine for everyday buyers, using TJ’s signature progressive scale that groups wines by body on a 1-to-10 scale (a 1 might be a Basque Txakoli, a Sancerre groups around a 3, chardonnays begin entering the scale at about a 5, and a 10 would be a big California chardonnay like a Rombauer). The shop deliberately carves out shelf space for BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and women winemakers who are often underrepresented, and its wildly successful South End location was named one of 2023’s best wine shops in the U.S. by Wine Enthusiast and currently generates nearly $7 million in annual revenue. The new 4,300-square-foot D.C. store—nearly double the size of the Boston original—includes a private events room, will serve as the brand’s main distribution hub to enable nationwide shipping, and opens with a long weekend of tastings featuring free pours from several producers." - Lulu Chang