Walking into WeRise Wines’ location in Seattle’s Belltown, is like walking into what wine tastes like. Surrounded by different hues of Bordeaux reds and purples and nestled in between cozy sitting arrangements, bottles you have never seen before greet you with a warm welcome.
Jamila Conley, owner and founder of WeRise Wines, started her love for wine over two decades ago when she partook in an international business class in France. Ever since then, her interest in wine led her to immerse herself into the world of wine, organically developing her palate and wine knowledge.
Eventually, in early 2023, she attended an event highlighting Black women in wine, piquing her curiosity to learn more about diversity in wine, realizing that wine is a $500 billion industry in the United States, expected to reach over $600 billion by 2028 (Horizon Grand Research, 2025).
When Jamila Conley talks about her wines, she talks about the people behind the wines – How she met them and why they do what they do. She talks about the mission behind the wines and its impact on the respective communities. It doesn’t take long until you realize that at WeRise Wines, you don’t just consume wine, beer, or a non-alcoholic alternative – you consume a beverage that creates an impact.
What’s your name role and business’s name?
I am Jamila Conley, CEO and founder of WeRise Wines.
What does your business do?
My business focuses on diversity in wine by providing better access and awareness of wine producers that are either women, BIPOC, Queer, or mission-based.
A couple of things actually motivated me. One was my own learning around the lack of diversity in wine and understanding the gaps of why you don’t see more diverse producers in major outlets, like total wine or the grocery store. But then the other thing was I wanted to be part of the revitalization story for downtown [Seattle] as well and to bring more community together as we’re still trying to recover from the pandemic.
Talk to me about the journey of your business. How did you start off and where are you now?
It’s been an interesting journey. I’m coming out of the tech sector – I’ve been in corporate America for almost the last 25 years. I decided to make a big pivot. That in itself has been a journey – learning commercial real estate and building partnerships, both within the business network and in the wine world has been a very enlightening experience.
It took a lot just to learn everything you need to do to start a business and be an entrepreneur. Now we are just opening our doors and pivoting to bringing in the community. It’s been great seeing the response and how excited people are to be able to experience not only what we’ve built, but [also] all the producers that we represent.
How did you get to where you are?
I would say I’ve gotten to where I am by continually utilizing what I call the ‘learning mindset’ and leaning into: ‘What are the things that I think I can drive impact in?’ and then knowing that, ‘Okay, I’m going to learn along the way and pivot as I go.’ That’s helped me continue to build my career in very different facets and ways. And now has led me to this journey as an entrepreneur.
What do you love about your business?
Oh, I love what it stands for. I love that I can help be a pathway for other small diverse businesses in the wine industry by helping people know their product. I’m really loving being able to connect the community and people to wines they may never have heard of if it weren’t for WeRise Wines. So to me, the power of connection is the thing that really drives me and keeps me thriving here.
What does it mean to you to be a minority business owner?
For me, to be a minority business owner, it means that we’re helping to continue to plant our flags in the community and bring people together in thoughtful ways. So not only is it about exposing the broader community to what we offer, but also, how to bring in communities of color and other diverse communities.
Not just into the space, but into learning about different wine producers that may look like them or resonate with them. So to me as a diverse business owner, what’s important to me is to be able to open up those pathways for other people to see examples of what other diverse people are doing and getting a sense of what is possible for them.
What are some challenges you must face with your business?
I would say some of the biggest challenges so far on this journey have just been navigating, starting a small business and all of the things that come along with owning a business. ‘How do I resolve and persevere?’ is the way that I look at those things as I continue to come up to those obstacles. ‘How do I move them out of the way?’
How do you move them out of the way?
Well, that’s interesting. Sometimes I move them out of the way by thinking, ‘Okay, how do I need to pivot my strategy?’ So, sometimes it’s me that needs to change. Sometimes it’s: ‘Who in my network do I know that can help me get past this obstacle?’ Or three – just learning more about the obstacle and figuring out, ‘Okay, what do I need to do to keep moving forward?’. So, I think there’s always kind of three things that you have to apply depending on what the situation is.
What do you wish for others and your customers to know about WeRise Wines?
To me, I think the biggest thing that I want people to know is that we are a diverse business, helping other diverse businesses get seen and known. I think that the other thing that I just want people to know is that we’re an inclusive space – that I want people to come in wherever you are on your wine journey – whether it’s your wine journey or you don’t drink wine. We have non-alcoholic options. Maybe you don’t like wine at all. We have beer and cider.Whatever your journey, you get to try and experience a lot of different things and a lot of different types of wine. And we want to be on that journey with you.
You’ve only been recently certified, but in what ways has the NWMMSDC supported you?
I think that the organization has supported me already just from having the certification and being able to have that on my website. Being able to promote our certification speaks volumes to other people of how serious we are about diversity. There are other ways we’re going to grow; there’s a lot of great programming that comes out from NWMMSDC. I’m excited to continue to engage, but just having the certification helps serve my mission and it will be a reciprocal relationship.
What advice would you give to other minority business owners?
I think the advice I give to other minority business owners is we need to be a network, we need to be a support system for each other because there are resources out there that we may not know about. Leaning into other small businesses, and especially diverse businesses, can be huge because there’s so many moving components to being a diverse small business.. Lastly, [be] resilient, don’t give up. It’s going to get hard, but you can keep moving forward.
WeRise Wines also has an extensive offering for corporations and their members:
- Corporate Gifting
- WeRise Wines personally curates wine in their online bottle shop and ships or delivers.
- Corporate Wine Supplier
- WeRise Wines, as a preferred vendor, curates and sources wines to support any size function or one-off purchase. They allow companies to buy directly from our online bottle shop or work directly with us to select wines.
- Corporate Tasting Events
- WeRise Wines offers curated tastings with storytelling to create an engaging experience
- Private Event Rentals
- The WeRise Wines wine bar offers a private event space where they can help plan and host the perfect event
WeRise Wines’ Website: https://www.werisewines.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/werisewines
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/werise-wines/?trk=public_post_follow-view-profile&original_referer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.linkedin.com%2Fposts%2Fwerise-wines_werisewines-activity-7200278628658548736-miRZ
WeRise Wines’ Bar: 1913 2nd Ave, Seattle, WA 98101
Thank you, Jamila, for sharing WeRise Wines’ story with us!
Sources
Horizon Grand View Research (2024). Wine Market Size & Outlook, 2028. Global Wine Market Size & Outlook, 2020-2028.
https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/wine-market
About the NWMMSDC
The Northwest Mountain MSDC, an affiliate of the National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC), is a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering minority-owned businesses by certifying, developing, and connecting Minority Business Enterprises (MBEs) with major corporations and public agencies.
Since 1978, the Council has been a driving force for advancing supplier programs and creating opportunities that enable minority-owned businesses to thrive. Serving the Pacific Northwest Mountain region—encompassing Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming—the NWMMSDC is committed to fostering meaningful business partnerships and driving economic growth.
For more information about the NWMMSDC and its programs, visit www.nwmmsdc.org.
To learn more about how certifying your minority-owned business can benefit you, click here.