Meet Ray Sholes | Sommelier, Wine Educator, Wine Judge, and Founder of The Black Owned Wine Review + Content Creator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ray Sholes and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ray, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
My thought process was one of simplicity, I stumbled upon it. I was a newbie in the world of wine and wanted to learn a lot in a short amount of time. The idea was to taste as much as possible; I decided to start tasting wine by varietal and included all the major regions of the world that it was known for (IE Pinot Noir from Burgundy, Oregon, Ca, New Zealand, etc.). As you can imagine it was pretty darn expensive and a lot of wine to drink. (This was before Coravin was invented) I then said to myself, “Self, why don’t you spread the wine amongst friends and ask them to pitch in to cover the cost”? I did this over the course of 6 months and started incorporating dinner as well, and discovered I had money left over sometimes, and then it clicked. I found a side hustle that made me some change as well as kept me submerged in wine (not literally of course although that sounds like fun) and learning all at the same time. it was the perfect team like the L.A. Lakers in the early 2000’s. This tasting, learning, fun club of friends gave birth to Royal Vines!

What should our readers know about your business?
Royal Vines is an entertaining educational experience of beverage. Wher we focus on wine, spirits, and cocktails by bringing the tasting to you! Many wine professionals are very talented and smart, although, sometimes too heady and analytical to get out of their own heads to make wine fun and approachable. That is where Royal Vines not only makes an entrance but excels! Think about the things in life that go viral: they are either extremely funny, shocking, or tell a juicy story that is captivating. Royal Vines dives deep into the captivating and funny to bring education to its audience. When you can make people laugh, you thus can make them comfortable enough to ask you the burning questions they have about a subject, otherwise too embarrassing to asks.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
There are a few spots to check out and not in any particular order:

1. Amara at Paraiso – Rooftop overlooking the water
2. Tigertail and Mary to Check out the Black Owned Wine Flight Curated by yours truly
3. We have to get out on the water and charter a yacht and jet ski.
4. Happy Wine on Calle Ocho – My man JC will hook it up with some dope eclectic wine selections and charcuterie
5. Head over to the Wharf (Miami and Ft. Lauderdale) we can call it Wharf Jumping lol
6. While we are in Ft. Lauderdale hit Small Wine Shop
7. And I can not leave up north without hitting Unit B eatery and cocktails with a speakeasy vibe
7. Dinner at Macchialina the best Italian one could ask for.
8. Bar One on Miami Beach is a must.
9. To wrap up the week a private party at a private location with all my wine friends in the South FL area! (called Ballers and Bottles). Where everyone would get dressed all fancy and drink some amazing wines each person would bring two bottles.

So that would be an itinerary DM (@theroyalvines) me if you want to be my best friend I am now taking applications.

By the way, was this oddly specific?

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would not be where I am if it wasn’t for Darden Restaurants, I was denied a job at their Coral Gables, Fl Location. I did not have fine dining experience, and everyone knows that struggle of you don’t have experience come back when you do, well where am I going to get the experience if everyone says the same thing right? That was such a blow that quickly became fuel to my fire, I began reading every day about wine and a year later went to another location in Ft. Lauderdale. I blew them away with the theoretical knowledge of wine I had accumulated. At the time it was only theory as I had yet to start tasting wine. Eventually, I created a position to help continue to train people that were on the floor on wine. I essentially was a Somm without knowing I was performing the duties of said position. I was promoted to a manager and moved to Houston then shortly sent for the Court of Master Sommeliers intro class. Once I was there I was introduced to the Houston Somm Association. That’s where things really started taking off. I have to shout out Texsom, and Jared Buffington (My first close friend in the wine world). Professor Brian Connors of FIU Hospitality gave me the books that I still have that gave me the start.

Website: https://www.TheRoyalVines.com

Instagram: https://www.Instagram.comTheRoyalVines

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ray-sholes-310-341-5110/

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/TheRoyalVines

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheRoyalVines

Youtube: https://www.Youtube.com/RoyalVinesMiami