female announcer: "Fresh Glass" is brought to you by Visit California.

University of California.

Cal State University San Marcos.

CCAE Theatricals, transforming lives through theater, creating career pathways in the arts, inspiring the next generation of arts leaders.

Maya's Cookies.

You can Visit their locations, or order online at mayascookies.com.

The County of San Diego Black Chamber of Commerce.

Computers 2 Kids.

Lifetime Smiles of Escondido, with additional contributions from "Fresh Glass" Innovators.

Thank you.

For a complete list of financial contributors, visit aptonline.org Cassandra: On this episode of "Fresh Glass."

Cassandra: Welcome to New York.

I'm on the East Coast, my home away from home.

I take a walk down memory lane, visit family and friends.

Marvina Robinson: Standing on business.

Nah, I'm just playing.

Cassandra: And hang with a legend.

André Hueston Mack: I'm representing my mother and my family.

Like, I wasn't supposed to be here.

I, like, I could've ended up anywhere.

I just want to make my mama proud.

♪♪♪ male: Cheers.

Cassandra: I'm Cassandra Schaeg, entrepreneur, advocate, and enthusiast.

Food, beverage, and entrepreneurship are growing, with diverse innovators creating brands and making a name for themselves.

both: We are the McBride sisters.

Cassandra: Join me exploring unique flavors, captivating stories, and the entrepreneurial spirit of America's tapestry.

I'm creating a space for people who look like me to share their stories and their spirits.

This is "Fresh Glass."

♪♪♪ Cassandra: Welcome to the East Coast, the birthplace of independence and my roots.

Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, I spent childhood summers between Philly and Brooklyn, New York.

I was overdue for a visit, so I ventured east to hang with family and friends and take a sip down memory lane.

Seeing Brooklyn brought back memories.

So when my friend Marvina Robinson, founder of B. Stuyvesant Champagne, opened her tasting room in the Brooklyn Navy Yard, I had to stop by for a glass.

Cassandra: Marvina!

Marvina: Cassandra, welcome to B. Stuyvesant Champagne.

Cassandra: I missed you.

How are you?

Marvina: I am Marvina Samantha Robinson.

I am the founder and CEO of B. Stuyvesants.

I'm born and raised in Bed-Stuy, do or die, and we are in my tasting room located at the Brooklyn Navy Yard.

Cassandra: Her tasting room in the historic Brooklyn Navy shipyard is a must, since you know I'm a bubbles gal.

Cassandra: The last time I was here I was at your old tasting room, and then you came to Fresh Glass Fest, the first one we had.

Marvina: That's the year I launched.

Cassandra: And I'm just, I'm happy to see her-- you just do your thing.

Marvina: Thank you very much.

Cassandra: Cheers.

Marvina: Cheers.

Cassandra: Champagne is my thing.

Marvina: It's my thing too.

Cassandra: I want you to tell me about everything I need to know about champagne, but I really wanna know why you drink out of these flutes.

Marvina: B. Stuyvesant started from my love of champagne.

As we got these fresh glasses poured, we can always tell that champagne is fresh actually by the rise of the bubbles, right?

Anytime you get, like, a flat champagne, you won't have as much bubble formation.

The bubbles are very important for champagne.

The bubbles enhance the flavor of the champagne.

So when we took our first sip, right, we sip with--we taste with all our senses.

This glass allowed us to take a sip and also smell at the same time.

So your nose fits in there, right?

We have other glasses where when it's the cool.

Cassandra: I'm a cool person.

I said it.

Marvina: I'm not-- standing on business.

Nah, I'm just playing.

Cassandra: Okay, all right.

Marvina: And then we have--this is a bell shape, but it's still kind of like a standard flute.

To get the most out of your bottle, what you're tasting, you want a--glassware plays a very important role.

Coupe is cute, but it's so open, right?

So your wine will go flat faster and it will actually get warmer faster.

You see how open this is?

And remember, the bubbles enhance the flavor.

Imagine opening up a bottle of champagne two days later, it's flat.

It tastes terrible.

Then you have--this is pretty and dainty, don't get me wrong with it, but when you sip, it doesn't allow the bubbles, the wine to open up.

You want the wine to open up and breathe.

This is why I am partial to tulips and also standard white wine glasses.

Cassandra: When did you fall in love with champagne?

Marvina: Legally, at the age of 21.

Legally at the age of 21.

And you know what it was?

It was myself and my childhood friends.

We would--we--two of--I was the only one that went to a different college.

I went to Norfolk State University.

And we would come home, we would meet up, and you know, watching the videos.

We were the fly girls, so you know, we wanted to be fresh and, you know, we wanted to be in the mix.

So, you know, looking at TV videos, so of course, you always had to be drinking champagne.

So we would chip in and drink out Moet White Star.

Not out of fancy glasses.

We would have our cups and we would split it, and I would be the one to open it all the time because I would divvy it up.

Of course, I gave myself the extra pour.

It started my love for champagne.

And also, working in the finance industry, those Cosmos add up real quickly.

Cassandra: Finance industry.

Marvina: Yes.

Cassandra: So in a previous life you worked in finance.

Marvina: Yes, so I got a temp job working on a treasury desk, and that was my introduction to finance.

And I was like, oh, this is cool, like, I've never, like, I--it's so funny.

When I walked onto the floor, the doors, these big double doors, opened up.

Then I realized this is where I wanted to be.

So then I started working directly at a hedge fund.

And I realized I wanted to be competitive in the industry, so I went back to Columbia for grad school.

Cassandra: Wow, say it again, say it louder.

Marvina: I ended up going to Columbia for grad school and I studied statistics with a concentration in finance.

Cassandra: Working on Wall Street, Columbia graduate, statistics guru, and then you decided to get into the champagne.

Marvina: And I actually started traveling back and forth to France on the weekends.

And I would fly--I would leave Friday evening, I would get there Saturday morning, shower, change, head over to Gard, Alès, get on my train, and get to the Champagne region.

And I would go by myself, like I didn't have friends out there and I was just getting on like, "I'm gonna figure this out."

And I think that's, like, one of my good skill sets.

Like, I'm good at figuring things out.

I'm not afraid to do things alone.

I'm not afraid to, like--I'm the risk taker.

Cassandra: Why the name?

Marvina: I wanted the brand to reflect myself.

Where I'm at and where I'm going is really important to me, and it really starts from my roots, the foundation.

So I was born and raised in Bedford-Stuyvesant, so the brand is named B. Stuyvesant after the neighborhood.

When I was younger, you know, I went to Epiphany Lutheran, so my bus stop was on Decatur and Stuyvesant.

I went to high school, Boys and Girls, the best high school in Brooklyn, and I was on Fulton and Stuyvesant.

But all those memories just, you know, built up and I wanted the brand to really reflect me.

Cassandra: What's the future hold for B. Stuyvesant?

Marvina: B. Stuyvesant, we're looking to expand.

We are rolling out something special in the summer of 2025.

You want me to tell you?

That's why you're here.

We have a series of champagne trucks that's gonna be rolling out.

Champagne trucks.

I feel like it's important--as we switch seasons, we bring on new experiences.

So, it's all about creating experiences, one of the things I love to live by.

Cassandra: It's a different experience when you step out of your comfort zone.

Marvina: It is.

Cassandra: And so, those who may be here, looking like us, who are afraid to step out of their comfort zone-- Marvina: It's important to do so, and you have to get uncomfortable to become comfortable.

And anytime you get comfortable, you gotta make yourself uncomfortable again.

Cassandra: What would you tell your younger self today?

Marvina: I would say you're--for the ups and downs and the hard times you've been--you've went through, because I have challenges--I had my own challenges while working on Wall Street, challenges in all aspects of life.

I feel like everything happens for reasons, you know, and I would just say, you gotta go through the trenches.

At your own time, you will be where you're supposed to be.

Cassandra: I appreciate you.

I am so happy for you, cheers.

♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ Cassandra: Three miles from the shipyard is Rogers Ave, a quiet street in Brooklyn.

It is also home to a dynamic entrepreneur.

André: André Hueston Mack here, sommelier at-large, restaurateur, winemaker, AKA the Black Sheep.

Cassandra: André Hueston Mack is a multifaceted entrepreneur who thrives on life's opportunities.

From his award-winning wines and multiple endeavors, he stands out in the crowd, and it's not because of the red beanie.

When I met André in 2021, his words of encouragement changed my life, and his story will change yours.

I linked up with André for a tour of his businesses around the neighborhood.

André: Welcome to the VyneYard.

I wanted to fill the shop with friends and family.

That's, really, kind of speaks to me and it's a really kind of fun thing about it.

This is the next block, and here we have our bakery, Chickadee Bakery, and these guys have been grinding out of here and, like, just, you know, people coming from all over parts of the city to come and enjoy the pizza.

And so, you know, it's, kind of, it's involved in kind of trying to have its own space.

This will actually be the home of our pizza place, Wizard Hat Pizza.

The idea of, like, designing the space, you know, having a hand in building it and what it will look like is a really kind of fun process as well.

I was always taught that you spend extra on the things that guests will touch: glassware, silverware, table tops, and stuff like that.

Cassandra: It's the details.

You pay attention to the details.

André: Next spot.

So here is the Mockingbird.

We just do breakfast tacos out of here Thursday through Sunday.

It's like, when I'm feeling homesick, you know, I'll come over and grab a taco, and what better way to get to know your neighbors than to feed them?

Cassandra: After the tour, we sat down for a drink.

Cassandra: Here we are.

André: Here we are.

Cassandra: Do you remember when I asked you to be on the show?

André: Yup, I remember when you came in and you sat right over there.

Cassandra: Damn, you got a good memory.

André: That's what we're supposed to do.

We're here at the ham bar and this is everything I ever dreamed of having.

It's an all-American charcuterie bar, all-American cheese, all-American wine back to the '60s.

Twenty-two seats, 400 square feet, so really small, a gem, something that's manageable for me, I think, like, if it was just me.

Cassandra: Tell me about the significance of Rogers Ave. André: Rogers was just interesting because, you know, it become--it became the showcase, you know, like, you know, a portfolio of, like, what I was capable of, in a way.

And these were things that I felt, like, that I wanted to see in my neighborhood.

These were things that I was traveling to other neighborhoods to spend my money, and then I thought like, well, how about we just spend it in our neighborhood?

And so, Roger's is kind of this sleepy avenue block that I think all of my neighbors, we've always felt it had potential.

And so instead of talking about it, I put my money where my mouth was and opened this place, signed the lease next door.

Cassandra: What's next door?

André: Next door is the buttery, so it's our little, like, provision store, so all the things that we sell here, you can buy there.

Cassandra: Who is André Hueston Mack?

André: Nobody's ever asked me that.

I don't know what to say.

I'm a lot of different things: father, husband, restaurateur, entrepreneur, winemaker, sommelier, whiskey blender, you know, just a spirits kind of entrepreneur, I guess.

Cassandra: How does the world know you?

André: How does the world know me?

I think most people probably know me from YouTube, which is pretty interesting.

Not where I thought I would end up, but pretty fun.

Cassandra: What did you do in a previous life?

André: In a previous life, I'm not sure.

I think I was somewhat lost.

I went to finance for a little bit and, I don't know, it didn't have the kick or the feel.

Like, I didn't interact with people in the way that I wanted to.

And I quit, and then found myself back in restaurants, and that was kind of it.

And I just had more time than money, so I sat at home.

And then, you know, I'd wake up and back to back to back episodes of "Frasier" would be on, and that show kind of really gave me the courage to invite wine in my life.

And from there, I caught the wine bug, and I guess the rest is kind of history.

I think in 18 months from that day, I was a sommelier at The French Laundry.

Cassandra: There you go.

Speaking of wine, before we get into The French Laundry, I'd like to talk and drink at the same time.

André: Oh, that's the best.

That's the best.

You're a great host.

That's the only reason why I signed up.

It's like, can we drink?

You're gonna let me drink?

Yeah, okay.

Cassandra: So I see you pulled out the good stuff for me.

André: So we've been making wine since 2007, and so that's kind of my day job.

I think a lot of people see me on TV and think I just play a sommelier on television, but you know, I wear many different hats.

But I wanted to share a little single vineyard wines that we make here from the Willamette Valley in Oregon.

So this is Oregogne, so this is our single vineyard Chardonnay.

Cheers.

Cassandra: Mr. Keller is the--yep.

The French Laundry, what was that experience like?

Because that's, you know, that's the who's of the who--the how do you get in.

André: Unlike any other place I'd had ever worked in my life.

It was really hard, really fulfilling, really rewarding, and just a really hard thing to do.

And like in--you're chasing this thing that you're never supposed to catch, which is perfection, and it taught me a lot of things.

And you know, when--it's interesting, we just had a 20-year anniversary and, you know, over those 20 years I've only worked--I worked at Per Se the first three years and, you know, I just have a newfound respect for what he was able to build.

I mean, doing it on my own now, it is a really hard thing to do.

And to create a culture where people actually care and people feel, you know, a part of something bigger than themselves, it looks so easy and seamless, being a part of it, but it is--it's a really hard thing that I'm chasing now.

Cassandra: What are we drinking next?

André: All right, so next up we're gonna, still in the Willamette Valley in Oregon, this is our single vineyard pinot noir, also known as Oregogne.

Cassandra: So I think this is what I'll have you do: your famous wine tasting analysis.

André: Here we're just aerating.

You know, I think for a lot of people, like, the easiest thing is understanding that, you know, 80% of taste is actually smell.

So you wanna put your nose in the glass.

You want to inhale through your nose and exhale through your mouth.

You know, here it's like dark bean cherries.

Cassandra: I smell pepper.

André: There definitely is a little bit of pepper.

I'd say probably more like a little bit of white.

So like, cola there.

Cassandra: Okay, pepper cola.

André: So like, almost like a cherry coke.

It's herbaceous.

There's some herbs there.

Probably even more sage than rosemary.

It's not as strong.

As I start to push it to my teeth, that tells me something.

You know, if my gums are stimulated, you know, that tells me it's a different type of tannin that--and tannin normally sucks the moisture out of your mouth, so it dries the inside of your cheeks.

So think about drinking black tea.

There's a little tea component here, a little bit of oolong.

You don't get oolong?

Do you drink oolong?

Cassandra: No!

André: Yeah, so there you go, because I drink oolong.

Yeah, no, I mean, it's, you know, it's so funny because it's not really a party trick.

Like, it's like, years of training.

You know, there's gifted tasters and there's some people that work really hard at it, and what I'm saying is is that if I can do it, I think most people can do it.

It's a job, it's a skill that you can actually learn.

Cassandra: Why wine to whiskey?

André: Wine to whiskey, that's interesting because it all started with whiskey.

Cassandra: Oh, okay, so we're backtracking.

Okay, so we're just taking it back.

André: Let's run it back and do something different, and that was the birth of Rye & Sons.

And so, we love it and, you know, it's really about bringing craft back to the well.

Cassandra: Dark liquor is not my thing, I'm gonna say that, but I'm always open to new experiences.

André: Yeah, so you just--you don't even have to sip it.

You can just smell it.

All right, so this is a special glass here.

Cassandra: Yes, please tell me about this glass because I thought it was very interesting.

André: So it's a hollow stem.

Cassandra: I can't shake nothing.

There's nothing to shake.

André: So you don't shake, and so you don't stir.

You roll it, and that serves the same purpose.

So the fact that, like, this is the portion, so now you wanna turn the glass slowly on the side like that, and now you can roll it, and now it coats the glass.

So you roll it back and forth.

Cassandra: Only André Mack, only André.

André: Right, and then you can pick it up.

Cassandra: I don't want to-- André: No, you have it.

Just really slow.

It's foolproof, somewhat.

Cassandra: Slow, okay.

And then I just-- André: Roll it.

Cassandra: Look at me learning some things.

André: Yeah, and so the idea is the same thing of, like, swirling it.

Cassandra: I'm gonna go home and be like, "You don't know how to roll your whiskey?"

André: No, it's amazing, like this is, like, the first tasting glass I ever had, and the fact that it's versatile, that you could use it for wine and you could use it for whiskey, it portions it out.

Okay, so difference--like, smelling wine, you put your nose right here in the glass.

When you want to nose a spirit, you wanna rest the top part of the glass on the bridge of your nose, right, so you don't have to have it all the way up, right?

So that would--that's how you would avoid that crazy, like, whiff that you got right there.

Cassandra: Okay, now this smells like cinnamon, honey.

André: Yeah, definitely honey.

Cassandra: Okay, I'm going to say the strangest--cardamom?

Got it, okay.

Yes, okay, so now I know: do not just put my whole nose in there.

André: Yeah, no.

So, yeah, that was kind of, you know, something that was taught to me, just like, rest the top part of the glass on it like--so 'cause like, one, you're thinking you go here and you're like, wow, just like, singes all your nose hairs.

But if you put it on the top, that, you know, it's a little bit better.

Cassandra: You've learned.

André taught us.

André: So, yeah.

So this is Rye, you know.

I think most people felt that it was more enjoyable in a cocktail, and I think that it is, but also just enjoying it on its own kind of, to me, is kind of what I would like to drink.

You know, cabernet, I think, is more akin to like bourbon, so rich, round, robust.

And this is kind of more like pinot noir, so aromatic, there's a little bit of spice.

Cassandra: As it opens, it smells really good.

This season of the show, what I really wanted to--one of the things that I wanted to point out and really focus on is black men in the industry, in the industry and entrepreneurship, and just, you know, being those change agents in spaces where you don't see us, right?

Like, you don't see us.

What does that mean for you?

André: You know, it's interesting because I think I had to wrap my head around that because, for me, I was--you know, my mom told me you could be anything you ever wanted to be, and I believe that, right, so it wasn't--I didn't really need to see people who look like me doing stuff, right?

And then also, like, you know, I was a military kid.

We always showed up, and I was probably the only kid that looked like me, and I always showed up in the middle of the year and, you know, you had to learn how to get along with people and communicate with all different walks of life of people.

And so, that never dawned on me, that whole thing until, you know, I started to do my own thing and it started to grow, and then, you know, you get all these DMs, all these emails of people saying, "Oh man," like, "I didn't even know this was a job."

And you know, I proudly carry that torch, you know, to illuminate the path for the people behind me.

Like, really, like, I want to--this is to show everybody what a rock star sommelier can be.

Like, what you--what this industry can do for you and how far you can take it, I think I'm a living example of that, and I think I've made a lot of people in our industry more comfortable in their skin, no matter what they look like.

Cassandra: What would you want the world to know about André Hueston Mack?

André: Oh, jeez.

Cassandra: This is it.

This is like that one--this is that story for you that is going to be cemented in history.

André: I don't--I'm just the biggest mama's boy.

I mean, I guess that--I mean, that's just it.

Like, you know, I have--I've always had this drive, and I don't know why, you know, of like--I think part of it was to make my mom proud.

And the year that I was gonna turn 50--you know, I talk to my mom a lot.

We talk for hours on the phone and always, you know, we have this conversation and it kind of veers off, and she said, you know, she goes, "You never know what kind of people will come into your life."

I'm like, "Okay, cool."

And she goes, "Do you remember Bernice?"

And I'm like, "Huh?"

It's like, yeah, and I thought she was our relative.

And she's like, "No, she was a social worker."

And my mom proceeded to tell me the story that we were both in foster care.

My mom had me when she was 16.

But then my mom gave up, you know, a full ride to go to Purdue to go into the army because that was the best thing.

She had me, but she had to go off to basic training and she was afraid--she didn't know who to leave me with because she didn't think these people would give me back.

And I share that story because I feel like that was, I wouldn't say missing piece, but that was one of the things of like, oh, that's why I go so hard.

I didn't know it, but that's why I just go so hard.

Like, I'm not supposed to be here.

And I realized, like, I'm representing my mother and my family.

Like, I'm not--I wasn't supposed to be here.

I, like, I could've ended up anywhere.

And the fact that I got to travel all over the world?

You know, I just wanna make my mama proud, you know, and that's it.

Cassandra: Thank you.

Thank you, thank you.

♪♪♪ Cassandra: Life comes full circle.

Being home reminds me of how much I've learned, how far I've come, and how fortunate I am for my experiences.

I encourage you to buckle up and enjoy the ride.

You never know where it will take you.

♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ Cassandra: On the season finale of "Fresh Glass," hip-hop and entrepreneurship unite.

Cassandra: What does 50 years of hip-hop mean?

male: We become the driving force of popular culture.

They need us more than we need them.

Cassandra: My journey ends in the city of dreams.

female: Welcome home.

Cassandra: Where our guests make history.

male: Everything about my career was because I was nice to someone and didn't know who that person was.

So being kind to people should be the easiest thing to do.

announcer: "Fresh Glass" is brought to you by Visit California.

University of California.

Cal State University San Marcos.

CCAE Theatricals, transforming lives through theater, creating career pathways in the arts, inspiring the next generation of arts leaders.

Maya's Cookies.

You can Visit their locations, or order online at mayascookies.com.

The County of San Diego Black Chamber of Commerce.

Computers 2 Kids.

Lifetime Smiles of Escondido, with additional contributions from "Fresh Glass" Innovators.

Thank you.

For a complete list of financial contributors, visit aptonline.org.