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Heritage tourism
Charleston museum inspires Richland County initiative. Page 3
Mayoral moment
Lowcountry leaders discuss importance of life sciences. Page 6
Key financing
Construction loan secured for apartment hotel. Page 7
FROM GRAPES TO GLASS
La Belle Amie Winery in Little River, owned by Vicki Weigle, is a pioneer in South Carolina’s wine industry and one of several woman-owned wineries in the state. (Photo/Provided)
SC women making mark in wine industry By Christina Lee Knauss
Inspiring women
Female executives share keys to business success. Page 9
INSIDE
Upfront ................................ 2 SC Biz News Briefs ................ 3 In Focus: Growth Report: Made in SC ..........................................27 List: Manufacturers ............34 At Work ............................. 36 Hot Properties .....................37 Viewpoint ...........................39
cknauss@scbiznews.com
W
hen Vicki Weigle set out to develop a vineyard and winery on the grounds of a former tobacco farm in Horry County nearly 30 years ago, many local farmers thought she was making a big mistake. Recently, one of those nay-sayers stopped by her thriving business, La Belle Amie Winery at 1120 St. Joseph Road in Little River, and admitted he was wrong. “This man told me not too long ago that he used to tell everybody ‘That woman is out of her mind,’ and now he realizes how wrong he was,” Weigle said. “He said he just wanted me to know that he admires what I’ve done.” What Weigle did was to convert fields on the tobacco farm that was her mother’s birthplace into vineyards of muscadine
grapes that have now become a wide variety of wines she sells under the Twisted Sisters label. Each year La Belle Amie produces about 5,000 cases of wine. It also plays host to thousands Williams of visitors who come to wine tastings, shop in the gift shop and enjoy live music twice a week. With her success at La Belle Amie, Weigle is part of a small but growing number of women finding success in the wine industry nationwide and in the Southeast. In South Carolina, a diverse group of women are getting involved in the industry at all levels, from winemaking to distribution.
Lowcountry history
North Carolina-based winemaker Lindsey Williams is breaking ground in two
Forty Under 40
CRBJ honors young professionals making their mark in the Lowcountry. Page 11
ways. Not only is she a woman, but she also is one of the less than 1% of American winemakers who are African American. Williams opened her first winery, the successful Davidson Wine Co., in Charlotte, in 2019. She expanded her business to Charleston earlier this year, opening Charleston Wine Co. at 63 S. Market St. in February. “When I first opened Davidson Wine, I think there was skepticism, both because the Carolinas are not generally a wellknown place for wine, and because there are simply not a lot of people in the industry who look like me,” Williams said. “However, I’ve received a lot of support not only from other women in the industry but from members of the African American Vintners Association and others. And we’ve received great response from wine lovers. At both locations, we meet people who See WOMEN IN WINE, Page 28
FORTY