“What type of wine would you like with your meal”, may have been the question that changed the entrepreneurial fortunes of Greg and Sean forever. Neither recalls quite how the conversation began, but Sean distinctly remembers Greg’s mention of starting a wine company. A few days later, Greg had presented Sean with a profitable business case- based on extensive research on African American Wine Mak
ers, and the wine industry. After reviewing the data and growth opportunity, Sean quickly agreed that starting the venture was a great idea. However, both men knew they would need more than just a “great idea” to make Markell-Bani the world class brand they believed it could become.
“We grew up in downtown Cincinnati, and there weren’t any vineyards around our neighborhood…” says Greg. They knew that educating themselves on the craft of wine-making would be essential to growing a successful company, and that’s just what they did over the next 2 years. Greg and Sean immersed themselves in the wine industry; travelling the world over visiting vineyards, participating in wine showcases, and learning the craft of wine-making. Often the only African-Americans
participating in the events, Greg and Sean quickly realized the elite nature of the wine-making industry. “We felt a lot like Tiger Woods early on…” says Sean. Determined to use their African-American heritage as an asset instead of a limiting factor, Greg and Sean pressed forward. “At the time, I was just hungry for success”, said Greg. The discovery of a micro-winery in the heart of Cincinnati produced the first batch of wine for the young winemakers. Greg and Sean had been invited to the winery to learn more about the process of wine-making and within a couple hours, were draped in aprons and producing what the world knows today as Markell-Bani wine. By the time the first couple cases were produced, they had already been sold to family and friends. At the time their wine was made, Greg and Sean had not settled on a name for the company. “What name would capture the essence of class, distinction, elegance, success, and upward mobility”, Sean thought. After a couple weeks of brainstorming, Sean called Greg with what he knew would be their brand name. A golden crest was designed to accompany the Markell-Bani name and the brand had been born. Within months, Markell-Bani wine was being sold by a local supermarket chain, and demand for the product outgrew the local micro-winery all together. Greg and Sean settled on a California based winery to continue producing the Markell-Bani wines; which consisted of a Blackberry Merlot, Kiwi Pear Sauvignon Blanc, and Rose’. As wine sales increased, the “great idea” Greg thought of years earlier was truly beginning to materialize into a “great business”. Read more of the Markell-Bani story at www.markellbaniwines.com
