Check Out Shaunna Cooper’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Shaunna Cooper.

Hi Shaunna, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
My sister Shayla and I both have a love for wine. I started drinking wine shortly after college. My very first wine was White Zinfandel. For a while, that was the only wine I would buy. Then I started exploring other sweeter wines like Riesling. I didn’t take a specific interest to wine until working at an Italian and really learning more about different grape varietals and wine pairings. My sister Shayla wanted to start a wine blog a few years ago. At the time, I just had a baby so I wasn’t in the proper mindset. In 2019, I was ready to start something new. We revisited the wine blog idea but added in the wine education element. We both received our certification and thus, Wine Spencer was created. I know enjoy the drier styles of wine but enjoy tasting all different wines to make recommendations for all different palates.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
We wanted to officially launch in March of 2020. Our business model was to conduct in-person wine tastings for events and in people’s homes. Well, once COVID shutdowns began, that aspect went completely out of the window. We pivoted and started doing virtual wine tastings in August 2020. We still liked the idea of everyone having the same shared experience virtually but quickly learned the distribution of wine across the country was a challenge. Towards the end of 2020, we partnered with a wine importer/distributor that has given us the opportunity to expand our reach with corporate clients and create a shared virtual experience.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Wine Spencer is a wine education and wine consulting business. We host an in-person wine tasting and virtual wine tastings. We currently offer nine classes and our most popular class was our Black Winemakers class. I think last year was an important time to highlight Black winemakers. We started the class in February of 2020 and really wanted to showcase Black winemakers in the industry making great wines. We were honestly thankful but overwhelmed at the influx of requests we received for virtual wine tastings featuring Black winemakers.

Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out?
Anyone just starting a business should make sure it is truly something you want to do and passionate about. Having your own business requires a lot of work and if you don’t have the passion, it can be easy to give up when things get challenging.

Contact Info:

• Email: shaunnac@winespencer.com
• Website: winespencer.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/winespencer_
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/winespencer/

Image Credits
Brittany Arroyo & Daniel Black