We recently connected with Nakia Hudson and have shared our conversation below.

Nakia, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. So, naming is such a challenge. How did you come up with the name of your brand?

My Mom and Dad taught me winemaking. They asked me to make labels for their bottles. They told me they came up with a name for the wines. My Dad started with, “Hear me out… sex sells right?” I agreed. Then he asked what I think about “2 Nasty, Keeping it 100%” I couldn’t stop laughing! I told him no one’s drinking the wine with that name! When I decided to open a winery, the first thing I did was create the name. I wanted to keep some part of what my parents started. It took awhile to come up with something considering what I had to work with, but eventually we came up with 2 You Wines. It’s a celebration of you. #cheers2you

Nakia, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My name is Nakia Hudson. I am the winemaker and owner of 2 You Wines, an urban winery established in 2018, located in S. Euclid, Ohio. My fiancé Michael Butts is also my partner. I learned the craft of winemaking from my parents and I attended Kent State University for Enology which is the study of wine. 2 You Wines specializes in premium hand-crafted wines, wine slushies, wine gift baskets and accessories. We currently carry fifteen amazing wines, some vegan-friendly. The brand is available at several locations including Cain Park and The Haunted House Restaurant. As a winemaker, I not only create wines for 2 You Wines, but I also create wines for other brands. I am currently the winemaker for four other businesses.

It was a bit of a challenge getting into my industry because I didn’t have anyone to guide me. Women make up only 17.8% of winemakers and of those only 1% are African American. It’s funny, at the time I was working on opening 2 You Wines, I had no idea about the statistics and the fact I was embarking into a business few Black women are a part of. I was just excited to have the grand opening with my family, friends, wine lovers, music, food and of course great wine! It never dawned on me until later on that I was the first African American female winemaker/winery owner in Cleveland, Ohio.

I truly enjoy winemaking. I’m a big foodie so it’s important to me to create quality, delicious wines people can enjoy over and over again. My motto is, Whether it’s a celebration, a nice meal or an end of day wine-down, you have made an excellent choice with 2 You Wines! There’s something special about a good glass of wine.

I’m most proud of putting together my first wine and beer festival in 2023. It’s something I wanted to do since I started making wine. The event was held at Cain Park. I was able to feature eight black owned wine brands and one Ohio brewery. There were food vendors, merchandise vendors, a health and wellness check, three live bands and a dj. Our first year brought in over 400 people! It felt good to help bring awareness to a good portion of the wine brands available in Cleveland. There was so much great feedback! We look forward to growing our audience every year!

Regular wine drinkers increased by 14.8 million from 2021-2022. When people walk through the doors of 2 You Wines I want them to have a pleasant experience no matter how many times they come back. I appreciate the fact they choose my wines when there are so many others out there.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

A lesson I had to unlearn is I can’t do everything myself. It takes a team if you want to be successful. You can’t do it all. As an independent woman, always did things for myself. In business that is just not sustainable. You need help! You need people around you that are good at what they know. A business cannot be a one woman show for the long haul.

Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?

My fiancé/partner and I met several years ago when I was a residential appraiser and he was a loan officer. We did business together. We lost contact for some years and then ran into each other one day I was out with my son. We were both single so we started dating. He’s actually the one who pushed me to take winemaking serious. He’s always been very supportive.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.2youwines.com
• Instagram: 2youwines
• Facebook: 2youwines
• Yelp: 2 You Wines

Image Credits
Stretch