Female and Latinx founder Mary Anna Ossa was formerly a stay-at-home mom for 12 years, and at the time, she didn't have any interest working in the wine industry.
In January 2020, that all changed after she enjoyed a glass of organic wine at a bar in Barcelona, Spain, with a friend.
Ossa, for a long time, has had a strong love of wine but couldn't drink more than a glass or two without experiencing a lingering headache. She said she is prone to severe food allergies, and her body would typically react negatively to the additives that some winemakers use. But after discovering organic wine during her visit to Spain, she no longer suffered from those complications.
"So, I had about four glasses of wine, and I knew for a fact that I was going to feel terrible," she said. "And the next day, I didn't. I felt great. I called her and I said, 'What was different about these wines?' And that's when she said, 'Oh, they're organic.' I had no idea that organic wines existed."
Ossa said she knew she wasn't the only person to suffer from unpleasant reactions to nonorganic wine. So later in 2020, she was inspired to create her own brand — Partners and Grapes. The Fort Mill-based company distributes a variety of wine blends made with organic grapes and without harsh herbicides, pesticides and sulfites that can cause headaches.
"So you can really taste the terroir, and one way to describe our wines is they're actually very clean," she said. "So my goal is to provide a healthier and cleaner drinking experience."
Partners and Grapes is growing across Carolinas
In December, the company expanded to several retailers across the Carolinas such as Earth Fare in Concord, Assorted Tables in Charlotte, Southern Spirits in Indian Land and Acadia Food in Winston-Salem. It's also now available in Columbia, Greenville, Spartanburg and Aiken in South Carolina, among other locations. The wines are accessible in parts of Georgia as well.
In addition, Partners and Grapes just started offering online ordering and shipping in more than 40 states. And its website details a full list of retailers it has partnered with across the Carolinas.
Partners and Grapes crafts red, white and rosé wine blends in 750-milliliter bottles priced at $21.99. They are also available in a trio-pack for $65.97 or a six-pack for $131.94, according to its website.
Grapes selected for the wines are harvested in the Alt Penedès region in Catalonia, Spain.
"Due to the organic and vegan certification, everything has to be done in the vineyard," Ossa said.
Each blend is created differently, she said. The red blend, for example, is fermented on lees — or residual yeast — for 16 days, then aged for four months in French oak barrels. Once the blends are bottled and sealed, they are shipped from Spain to the company's Fort Mill warehouse.
This spring, the startup will also be introducing an organic cava blend, which is a Spanish sparkling wine that's made similar to champagne.
Ossa said she aims to reach larger retailers in the future, such as Harris Teeter and Whole Foods.
"My goal is to not just make and sell wines, but also, I want to create a platform for other women to go after what they want," she said. "It is the dream I didn't know I had. I know that there are women out there who have dreams, who have goals, and they don't think they can do it. But I want to show people that they can."
