The idea to create a TV show about a Black family in the wine business started eight years ago for Kings of Napa creator and executive producer Janine Sherman Barrois. On a visit to Santa Barbara's Rideau Vineyard, Barrois was inspired by Iris Rideau's winery and her trailblazing career as a Black woman in the wine business.
"To see a Black family not only having their own business, but owning land was amazing to me, and I knew I had to get something as inspirational as this on-air," Barrois told Wine Spectator via email. "I then started looking at other vineyards and building characters, amalgamations of people I knew and didn't know, and crafting a story that I thought would be both dramatic and compelling."
The result is Kings of Napa, a drama about a wealthy Black winemaking family (the Kings) in Napa Valley. The show premiered Jan. 11 on the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN TV) and Hulu, joining NBC's Grand Crew and ABC's Promised Land as the latest shows to cast wine and diversity in leading roles.
The first season of Kings of Napa follows three siblings—Dana (played by Rance Nix), August (Ebonee Noel) and Christian King (Ashlee Brian)—as they battle over the future of the family winery in the wake of the death of their father, Reginald (Isiah Whitlock Jr.). The show was filmed in summer 2021 at Château des Charmes in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario.
Barrois, who previously served as showrunner for TNT's Claws, says she's been a wine drinker for 15 years, and enjoys supporting Black vintners such as Rideau, McBride Sisters and Georgia's Tilford Winery. (Tilford owner Robert Taylor also served as a wine consultant on the show.) She adds that she had to get informed about how the wine business works, from harvesting at night to bottling the wine to proper wineglass etiquette.
As with many on-screen portrayals of the wine industry, it's not hard to find inaccuracies, such as the King family's plan to introduce a Port-style dessert wine on a six-month timetable. But, like ABC's Promised Land, it also approaches topical wine industry subjects like marketing wine to Millennials.
But Barrois' goal has more to do with supporting Black-owned businesses and igniting others to create their own legacy. "I would love it if Kings of Napa inspired someone to start a vineyard or see that people who look like them own land and create their own wine, and also provide awareness that Black-owned vineyards are out there and that we should be making a conscious effort to support, find and buy from them," she said. "All of those efforts expand the playing field and the business."
Kings of Napa airs Tuesday nights on OWN TV and is streaming on Hulu.
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