She’s ‘still building’
B’klyn entrepreneur launches black-owned champagne brand
A Brooklyn woman is turning her passion for bubbly into a trailblazing business — and is now one of the only black entrepreneurs in the city to launch her own line of champagne.
Marvina Robinson was inspired to create Stuyvesant Champagne — named after the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood where she grew up — while drawing up plans for a champagne bar set to launch later this year.
The 43-year-old sparkling wine enthusiast was unsatisfied with the different brands on the market, so she traveled to France to concoct her own.
“I wanted the champagne to have some meaning, some depth to it,” she said. “So I went to France to meet different people, visit different vineyards and grape owners.”
Robinson came back to New York earlier this year with several different cuvées — a French term for batches of wine — and invited a dozen friends to a blind tasting at the Brooklyn Navy Yard.
Two variations came out as winners: a salmon-colored Brut Rosé and a goldencolored Grande Réserve.
“The Grande Réserve is actually my favorite,” Robinson gushed. “They’re like kids, you’re not supposed to have favorites, but that’s my favorite. It’s 60% Pinot Noir, 22% Pinot Meunier and 20% Chardonnay grape.”
The public can buy Stuyvesant Champagne on the company’s website and several shops in Brooklyn, including Happy Cork, a blackowned liquor shop on Buffalo Ave. in Crown Heights, where Robinson hosted a complimentary tasting
Wednesday night.
The company has also attracted attention from celebrities like Tamron Hall, who posted an Instagram video of her tasting the champagne in January.
But being one of the only black-owned bubbly brands comes with its challenges.
“I don’t have a guideline to follow so I’m creating it along the way,” Robinson explained. “Sometimes it’s difficult, but I’m very thankful for my friends and family to bounce ideas off of.”
Robinson’s love affair with sparking wine began in college when she would split a bottle from a Fulton St. liquor store every Friday night with a group of girlfriends.
“I always loved bubbly, it always made me feel good whether I was up or down or if I just needed something to sip on,” she said. “It’s the perfect balance.”
She plans to call her upcoming Bedford-Stuyvesant bar Coupette NYC, after the original champagne glass. There’s still much to do before opening day.
“I’m not finished. I still have a long way to go. I’m still building, still paving the way,” Robinson said.