We were lucky to catch up with Sarita Cheaves recently and have shared our conversation below.

Sarita, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Alright – so having the idea is one thing, but going from idea to execution is where countless people drop the ball. Can you talk to us about your journey from idea to execution?

I’d never been to wine country before attending a wedding in Sacramento, which was my first trip to the state. I was there for a wedding and decided to spend time in Napa because I had been tasting wine for so long but had never visited a winery. My first stop was Artesa winery. After I completed a tasting, I stood outside to take in the views of vines. It looked like a postcard. That moment moved me. I knew I was forever changed and I would spend years chasing that feeling.

After I returned home, I spent a lot of time going to local tastings and reading wine books. I reached out to every winery in Maryland despite some opinions of others about the prestige of Maryland wine country. Black Ankle Vineyards, one of the best in the state, had just opened and they invited me to visit. I was hired on the spot. While working at Black Ankle (2008), I passed my Level 2 WSET certification and created my blog, VineMeUp (2013). Blogging led to networking and I received a scholarship to the WineBloggers Conference in 2015. This was my second trip to California and it was then I realized that wine could be a career. I was invited all over to DC to experience wine from different regions and I blogged about it.
The Swirl Suite Podcsat was developed so organically. I first met Leslie. She visited Black Ankle while I was working there, and I conducted her tasting. We stayed in touch. Through Leslie, I met Tanisha at a local wine festival. Through Tanisha, I met Glynis at another wine fest. As time went on, we bumped into each other at wine dinners and tastings. We automatically had a great camaraderie and started to really hang.
I threw out the idea of a wine YouTube show with all of us. We talked about wine regions, varietals and producers. I didnt know how to edit yet so the show started out very raw. We eventually started to invite special guests to chat with us.
Then I listened to my first podcast in 2016. After some research, I decided to turn the audio into The Swirl Suite Podcast. I wanted to learn more about producing a successful show, so I took a production certification course at DCTV, a local media company. I learned the basics of editing. Now the Swirl Suite is the go-to podcast for the food and wine industry.

I published my first book in 2021 after a dream. It was Fall of 2020, and we were all quarantined. I’m a puzzle girl—word finds, crosswords, connect the dots. I finished them all and scrolled through Amazon for more. I thought, “Someone should create a wine puzzle book, that would be cute.” I didn’t think twice about it. I ordered new books and went on about my day. A few days later, I had a dream that I published a book. It was so vivid that I woke up confused. “Can I publish a book? What would it be about?” As I sat up, I looked to my right, there was a wine glass on top of a word find book. That was it! This was my book! I spent the next six months creating wine puzzles. I reached out to some folks about publishing and decided to join a co-op to self-publish. “VineMeUp: An Activity Book Celebrating the Melanated Wine Enthusiast” was published in July 2021.

I’m the opposite of a perfectionist. Ideas come to me and I dive into execution. Even if it’s ugly and uncomfortable, I’m producing. Its a beautiful thing to see and hear growth through my creations.

Sarita, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’m a proud DC native with a love for food and wine. After college, my girlfriends and I would have “wine and pasta nights” on Wednesdays while we watched America’s Next Top Model. After many nights of good and bad wine, we attended a wine festival. One wine fest turned into several and then we were invited to a wedding in Sacramento. This would be my first trip to California. I stayed an extra day for a solo trip to Napa. I had no idea it would be so life changing.

I gassed up my rental car and printed directions (there was no GoogleMaps back then lol). As I mentioned, my first stop was Artessa winery. I sipped Chardonnay and gazed at the rolling hills of wines. Everything around me stopped and soaked in that moment. It was then I knew, I would spend my efforts chasing that feeling and helping others feel that same joy.

When I returned to DC, I read through used Wine 101 books and signed up for wine shop email lists and attended as many tastings as I could. In 2009, I emailed every winery in Maryland. Note, I had never been to a local winery. I got 3 replies and 1 was serious. That email was from Black Ankle Vineyards. They had just opened in 2008 and they were highly recommended for French style wines in Maryalnd. One of the owners invited me to come visit. I spent the next 5 years there, learning the language of wine. Even with getting my WSET Level 2 certification, it was the winery experience that taught me everything.

Working at tasting room taught me wine but blogging opened the doors to opportunities. I was invited to master classes, embassy tastings, and wine dinners. I noticed that there were very few people of color in these spaces. When I met Leslie, Glynis and Tanisha, I felt a sense of community. I knew that the wine industry didnt look like us and we needed a platform. Thats when the Swirl Suite was born.

The Swirl Suite Podcast interviews everyone in the food and beverage space. We talk to everyone about their path to the industry and what wine they drank while they moved from one position to the other. I’m so proud that I’m fortunate enough to share these stories and motivate people in our community.

VineMeUp Media was born after I published my first book. I wanted to create a homebase for all of my ideas. The VineMeUp brand is very food and wine heavy. People can find approachable wine pairings on my website and Instagram page. The reel music also plays a role too. I’m slowly developing VineMeUp Media and I’m excited to share my knowledge and help others create their projects.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

My consistency and my presence have helped build my reputation. I’ve spent years podcasting and sharing stories without making a dime. If I’m honest, I still yield very little profit but I love it, you see. I love producing and sharing food and wine stories. Each one has its own fingerprint.

I’m passionate and committed to improving my craft. I want to make others look great by the way I tell stories.

Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?

I work a full time job, thats unrelated to wine. My 9 to 5 helps fund VineMeUp Media. The Swirl Suite does have paid sponsored episodes once or twice a year but the rest comes from my pocket. I’m lucky that the overhead is consistent so its easy for me to budget. I’ve had to invest in podcasting equipment, such as a microphone, and software. There are also several subscriptions that keep a podcast live. I’m looking forward to the day when the podcast can operate off of sponsorship dollars.

My wine activity book was self-published and everything was out of my pocket. There is no category for a wine activity book so it was really hard to get a agent who knew what to do with me. I got a lot of “this is a cool idea but I only represent non-fiction or fiction.” Self-publishing was quite the journey. Luckily I joined a group led by Lynda Mallory (https://lyndadmallory.com/a-life-with-a-view-publishing), who helps guide new authors into self-publishing. At the end of the day, book sales were decent and I broke even. More books are certainly coming.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.vinemeupdc.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vinemeup/ https://www.instagram.com/swirlsuite/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VineMeUpBlog
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarita-cheaves-b468a620/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/VineMeUp
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/SwirlSuite
• Other: TikTok – https://www.tiktok.com/@vinemeupdc

Image Credits
Main photo – Carnegie Harty photographer