SevenFifty Daily launched in July 2017 with the goal of becoming the go-to-source of information for the drinks trade, aiming to spotlight the people and ideas moving the industry forward, highlight a diverse spectrum of voices, and uncover new insights to help beverage professionals do their jobs better.
In the five years since, we’ve published over 1,000 stories in our mission to fulfill that goal—and now, we look back on 12 articles that have best defined this publication during that time. They include impactful essays and reports on the issues most pertinent to the beverage trade, such as Dorothy Gaiter’s essay on being Black in an overwhelmingly white wine world, and Betsy Andrews’ report on age discrimination in the drinks industry. But they also include some of the series that have become most popular among readers, such as science deep dives and people spotlights.
As we turn the page on SevenFifty Daily’s next chapter, take a look back at the stories that best embody our mission to cover and celebrate the business and culture of drinks.
Being Black in the White World of Wine
Dorothy J. Gaiter talks about her experience as a Black wine journalist in an industry that has been slow to shed its identity as an exclusive all-white club
In the wake of the May 25, 2020 murder of George Floyd, wine businesses across the U.S. pledged to become more diverse and inclusive. Two weeks later, Dorothy Gaiter penned a forthright, firsthand account of the industry’s lack of progress over her wine journalism career, from being boxed out of tables at walk-around tastings to being excluded—or invited as an afterthought—from industry events.
Since then, many of the points in her essay have reverberated across the beverage industry. Have wine businesses’ DEI initiatives really moved the needle, or were they, once again, empty promises? That remains to be seen—and will continue to be one of the most pressing issues in our industry going forward. [Read the full article]
Unraveling the Master Sommelier Exam Cheating Scandal
More than a year after the scandal that rocked the wine world in 2018, candidates and Master Sommeliers are still fighting for change
In October 2018, a shocked wine industry learned that a Master Sommelier had leaked confidential information from the 2018 Master Sommelier diploma exam, leading the Board of Directors for the Court of Master Sommeliers, Americas (CMSA), to invalidate the results of the exam—and strip all but one of the newly minted Master Sommeliers of their titles.
But over a year later, this powerful organization had released little information about the incident, despite concerted efforts from impacted candidates and a concerned group of Master Sommeliers, raising questions about the CMSA’s structure and governance. With this follow-up investigation, SevenFifty Daily brought previously hidden details to light amidst calls for change. [Read the full article]
Part of SevenFifty Daily’s foundational mission was to showcase the people and concepts moving the drinks industry forward, working to represent a diverse spectrum of voices across the industry. This is what our inaugural Drinks Innovators feature centered on, spotlighting people like Nate Ready, the forward-thinking proprietor of Hiyu Wine Farm, and Kevin Bradford, Kim Harris, and Stacey Lee, the founders of Harlem’s first Black-owned craft beer bar.
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