By Gibron Rahim
“WINE is just a conversation waiting to happen.”
The above words spoken by noted wine expert, Jessica Altieri, illustrate that wine is more than simply a beverage. A staple at many social events, many an amusing or riveting conversation has been had over a glass of wine. Enduring relationships and friendships have been formed through these interactions. It is with this in mind that Winedays was created.

Winedays is owned and operated by married couple Keon and Michelle Howard. The business has most recently been the recipient of the Roraima Wedding Expo 2018 Best Booth Award and the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) Small Business of the Year Award. Before all of that; however, Winedays started from the couple’s search for quality wine. Michelle related to the Pepperpot Magazine that she and Keon had difficulty locating quality wines on their visits to Guyana while they were living overseas.

Wine had become a part of the couple’s lives during their time abroad. Michelle related that they would visit different wineries where they took part in wine tastings. “We did it often when we were courting,” she said. The couple would visit Keon’s relatives who live in Guyana. Since wine was so second nature to the couple, “When we would visit we would always bring our wines in but we could never be able to find it when we ran out,” she explained. Eventually, due to this mother’s illness, Keon and Michelle decided to permanently relocate to Guyana. While the relocation was ongoing, Michelle suggested the idea of importing wines to Keon. “He said to me, ‘Yeah that would be fun, let’s try it’,” she recalled.

The concept behind Winedays is, at its simplest, to sell wines. However, it is more complex than that in the Guyanese context. Michelle explained, “Guyanese folks don’t indulge in wines the way North Americans and the wine world, in general, indulges in wine.” Consequently, Keon and Michelle have had to come up with creative ideas to get the Guyanese public interested. One of these ideas is Winedays’ mobile wine bar, “Vinny”, which is for hire and shows up at private functions, such as weddings, and events such as Curl Fete.

All of the wines that Winedays offers are imported. The wines are boutique wines. Michelle explained that they seek out wines that are not the traditional bottle of wine in the sense that the winemakers take their time with the wines. “They’re small family wineries and they’re passionate about their craft,” she said. “It’s very artisanal.”

Keon and Michelle try to source wines from all over. They currently primarily source from Brazil and the Niagara Peninsula of Ontario, Canada. She noted that they are currently in talks with South African wineries. The problem with importing the wines is keeping it cost effective. “Shipping logistics is difficult for Guyana because we’re kind of super cut off from the world,” Michelle pointed out. She emphasised Winedays’ dedication to not making it difficult for customers to access the wines. “Our purpose is that we really don’t want it to be exclusive to certain price brackets and certain incomes,” Michelle said. “We want it to be accessible to anybody, anybody who loves it and wants to immerse themselves in it.”

Winedays hosts monthly wine tastings every last Sunday of the month. Michelle explained that patrons can come and enjoy four 3.5 ounce pours of red and white wines at the cost of $4000 for one person and $7000 for two persons. In the beginning, Winedays would do popup wine tastings to familiarise the public with the business, though those have tapered off. However, Michelle noted that those tastings are something they are hoping to bring back in this new year. Winedays is also present at festivals, events and parties. “We like to offer you an experience,” Michelle said.

In that same vein, Winedays also offers fun backyard games at its events. These include oversized games of Jenga, dominoes and Connect Four. These are to encourage patrons to be more interactive rather than simply standing and drinking wine. “We’re not selling wines, we’re trying to offer an experience and the experience is not very stuffy but rather, very down-to-earth.” Winedays intends to continue its regular events while also introducing some new events this year. Among the continuing events will be “All you can Wine!” It will also be collaborating on an event called “Vin de Nude” with photographer Brian Gomes, a photography exhibit with wines.

There is also an interactive art exhibition being planned.
Winedays has recently begun collaborating with Delven Adams of the Backyard Café to offer a “wine bike” tour of Georgetown. The attention and response to the initiative have been exceptional. “People are just yearning for things like this in Guyana so we’re super excited,” Michelle related. A short tour running up and down Main Street is planned, as well as a longer one along Church Street to Irving Street and then onto Carifesta Avenue, ending at the Bandstand.

Winning the Roraima Wedding Expo 2018 Best Booth Award and the GCCI Small Business of the Year Award were absolute validation, according to Michelle. She related that many people questioned whether they were making the wrong decision when they decided to start Winedays. The fact that Winedays won those two awards, as well as the excellent reviews that it receives for its customer service is validation of Michelle and Keon’s hard work. It’s a lot of work,” she said. “It’s a lot of networking and collaboration in the background.”

Wine inspires social connections. Wine is the quintessential drink where so much can be discussed, according to Michelle. “A simple bottle of wine can invoke amazing conversations about the nuances, about what you taste and don’t taste,” she said. The palate is very subjective she pointed out. She noted that the traditional rules of wine no longer apply. Millenials, she related, are drinking more wine than their parents and in unconventional ways.

Michelle and Keon have more plans in store for Winedays. “I want amazing things for Winedays,” Michelle said. She explained that she would love a place where people who love wines can come and sit down. “We want to make and bottle our own wines,” she related. “We want to be distributors that are known for our superior wines.” She humbly noted that they have been told that a number of their wines are some of the best on the market and Winedays wants to continue to offer such wines. “The dream is so scary to have that I want amazing, huge, massive things for Winedays!”