Today we’d like to introduce you to Joy Sheppard And Brittany Woodland Owners And Founders Of Rose Garden Wines.
Hi Joy Sheppard and Brittany Woodland , we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Rose Garden Wines started from a desire to create more than just a wine brand, we wanted to create a brand that reflected our culture, our community, and the lifestyle we wanted to live. The idea began during the COVID-19 pandemic, when we saw an opportunity to build something of our own and create a wine experience that felt welcoming, elevated, and intentional.
We spent years developing the concept, navigating production, sourcing, funding, and everything that comes with bringing a wine brand to life. We faced plenty of challenges along the way, particularly around funding, rising production costs, and finding the resources to grow at the pace we envisioned. But we stayed committed to the vision.
We officially launched Rose Garden Wines in August 2025 with our award-winning Rose Garden Red, our Spanish red blend made with Garnacha and Tempranillo grapes. Since then, the response has been incredible.
We’ve also been intentional about making Rose Garden Wines about more than what’s in the bottle. Through events, wellness experiences, collaborations with Black-owned businesses, tastings, festivals, merchandise, and our storytelling, we’ve worked to create a lifestyle around the brand.
Today, we’re focused on taking that momentum to the next level and expanding our retail presence, bringing Rose Garden Wines to more shelves, increasing distribution, and continuing to build a brand that people are proud to see, share, and pour.
We’re still a young company, but when we look at how far we’ve come since the idea began, we’re incredibly proud. What started as an joking idea has become a growing wine brand with a loyal community, and we’re just getting started.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
No, it definitely hasn’t been a smooth road. COVID-19 was part of our early story, but the bigger challenge has been navigating what it takes to fund and scale a growing wine brand. Rising costs for bottles, corks, production, and other supplies have made it difficult to invest as aggressively as we would like in inventory, marketing, and expansion. Funding has also been a major challenge, which has forced us to be very strategic about where we put our resources.
One of our biggest goals right now is getting our next product, a white wine entitled, Honey Rose, on the shelves, but doing that requires the capital to produce inventory, support marketing, and expand distribution. As a small, independently owned brand, we don’t have the same resources as larger companies, so we’ve had to grow intentionally and make the most of every opportunity.
At the same time, the road has been incredibly rewarding. Since launching our inaugural product, Rose Garden Red, on the market in August 2025, we’ve sold out at festivals and tastings, expanded into retail, and built a loyal customer base that actively seeks out Rose Garden Wines. So while the journey hasn’t been easy, every challenge has made us more resilient and intentional about how we’re building the brand.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Rose Garden Wines ?
Rose Garden Wines is an award-winning black-ownwed and women-owned wine brand based in the Washington D.C. Metropolitan area, dedicated to creating vibrant and refined wines, with tastes of herbs and spices. The brand was created to be more than just another bottle on the shelf. It was founded to celebrate connection, culture, wine education, and the moments that bring people together. Every bottle tells a story of resilience, intentionality, and community while delivering a premium wine experience that’s approachable, memorable, and beautifully crafted.
Brittany Woodland and Joy Sheppard, the owners and founders of Rose Garden Wines, started the brand in 2019 during the Covid-19 pandemic, after years of working together in the entertainment industry. As a Black woman-owned wine brand, representation matters, but so does quality. Rose Garden Wines ensures consumers have access to exceptional wines that reflect the diversity of today’s wine community while also creating meaningful and educational experiences around every pour.
Rose Garden Wines approached the wine industry with unique flavor profiles and product combinations. Our award-winning Rose Garden Red is a Spanish blend featuring Garnacha and Tempranillo grapes with warm notes of cinnamon, peppercorn, and clove.
Store Locations (including Baltimore) can be found here: https://www.rosegardenwines.com/find-rose-garden-wines-near-you
Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
What we love most about Baltimore is the community. There is so much creativity, culture, and entrepreneurship here, and we’ve been fortunate to connect with people who genuinely want to see local and Black-owned businesses succeed. Baltimore has a strong food, beverage, arts, and hospitality scene, which creates natural opportunities for Rose Garden Wines to collaborate, host tastings, participate in events, and introduce people to our brand.
The biggest challenge is that it can be difficult for a growing wine brand to get the resources and access needed to scale. We would love to be on more shelves in Baltimore but the wine industry is highly competitive, and as a small, independently owned brand, getting shelf space, distribution opportunities, funding, and visibility can be challenging.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.rosegardenwines.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rosegardenwines/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RoseGardenWines
- Twitter: https://www.youtube.com/@rosegardenwines
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@rosegardenwines
