What do you define as a special occasion? Some people toast with a glass of wine at a wedding reception or kick their feet up and pop a bottle of champagne after working a nine-to-five. For L.A. native Cyrina Yarbrough sometimes the special occasion is having a bottle of wine in your refrigerator.
Yarbrough launched Suite Four sparkling wine company in 2016 after seeing the lack of young Black millennials who are kept out of the wine industry.
“I have seen a lot of sparkling wine companies try to market to a young, urban, hip audience,” said Yarbrough. “The problem is, it is coming from people who are not young, Black, urban or any of these things and they are trying to form these products on to these people in their way. Then on the flip side, you have people who are trying to keep this young group out of this industry—but we’re consumers.”
Soon after Yarbrough began researching and studying the champagne industry. What started as a joke became a reality but not a surprise to Yarbrough who always saw herself as a business owner.
What sets Suite Four a part from any other wine company?
Yarbrough is intentionally trying to target people who are young, Black, fun—people who want to have fun with their wine. It’s not always going to be for a special occasion, sometimes a special occasion is simply relaxing with a nice glass of champagne.
Prior to launching Suite Four, Yarbrough worked in entertainment and corporate marketing.
“Yes, I like my job and yes, I like what I do however I felt like there was an opportunity out there for me to manage a brand,” said Yarbrough. “I kept thinking everybody else has a thing, all I do is drink champagne and I kind of made a joke saying how would I go about making champagne.”
Five years from now, Yarbrough would like to open a relaxing and educational space for women to be able to enjoy and drink Suite Four. “I want women to feel empowered with the wine. The same way that men have cigar bars, I would love to create some kind of Suite Four bar,” said Yarbrough.
Yarbrough also encourages young Black women who are interested in becoming business owners to expect the unexpected.
“Whatever it is that you think is going to happen, be prepared to be flexible because that is the only way you are going to be successful. Also, you can’t do it all on your own, the moment you think that you can, you are setting yourself up to not enjoy what you are doing and if you aren’t enjoying it then you aren’t going to give it your all,” said Yarbrough.
Wine and champagne lovers around the U.S. can purchase a $30.00 bottle of Suite Four online at http://www.drinksuitefour.com. Looking for a way to incorporate Suite Four into your favorite desserts, cocktails and savor meals? Check out the websites recipe tab for cool tips using Suite Four.
Yarbrough is offering a special deal for L.A. Sentinel readers. Use the promo code, ‘LASentinel’ to receive 25 percent off a bottle of Suite Four. The code expires on Friday, January 20.
Don’t forget to follow Suite Four on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest @DrinkSuiteFour