As soon as I stepped past the slate-colored exterior and into the wood-and-metal, industrially designed lounge, I knew this wasn’t going to be a typical Napa wine experience—a hunch later confirmed midway through our tasting. After filling our empty wine glasses with their signature bold, red blends while running through the usual tasting notes and details about terroir, our sommelier then deftly transitioned the conversation to the importance of prison reform.
Yes. Prison reform. At a winetasting.
Though unconventional, this is exactly the kind of conversation you might have while visiting The Prisoner Wine Company, a Napa winery that, after years of working to make the luxury wine industry more inclusive by marketing to—and welcoming—a more diverse set of wine drinkers, has expanded its impact to the broader community. In 2022, it released the wine collection Corrections, which promotes awareness of—and raises funds for—prison reform.