Mermosa wines celebrate
Raising a glass to honor her ancestors’ courage, a Jacksonville native is the first Black woman in Florida to own a wine brand.
Desiree Noisette is the founder and president of Mermosa — a vintage that symbolizes her family legacy and reflects her desire to encourage entrepreneurship among women of color.
The 38-year-old traveled a winding road to become one of the very, very few Black women vintners in the nation. It was a path from lawyer to swimwear boutique owner to winemaker and entrepreneur.
Inspiring that journey as well as her wines, Noisette says, is the audacious spirit of her ancestors whose love story shattered the chains of slavery seven generations ago in South Carolina.
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Born and raised in Jacksonville, Noisette graduated from Stanton College Preparatory School, earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Florida and then a law degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Mermosa is available on store shelves in five states and online where local laws allow. The wine is recognizable by a distinctive mermaid label that pays homage to the spirit of strong, resourceful and innovative women.
As an attorney, Noisette specialized in construction law. Although good at it, that was not her passion.
Winemaking is more challenging but equally more satisfying, she said.
Perfecting the flavor and actually making the wine in compliance with federal law is only part of the challenge. Selling it is complicated because different states have different regulations, she said.
“Because I’m more passionate about the wine side, my wine career, it becomes more challenging because I challenge myself more,” said Noisette, noting her company’s marketing strategy is aggressive because it works to be fully compliant with regulations in all 50 states by the end of the year.
“The wine industry is more challenging, but it’s also more satisfying because I walk into stores and I see our family story on the shelf through the brand,” Noisette said.
“Knowing that we’re creating this legacy that’s being told, and telling our family’s story not just in the United States but really around the world as the brand grows is an amazing feeling. I just wouldn’t get that kind of legacy practicing construction law,” Noisette said.
Noisette left the legal profession in 2012 and opened a swimwear store in St. Petersburg. The whole idea of the store was to create “a really fun, safe space for women to go find swimwear and get fitted properly.”
She started serving wine at the store. But none of the brands she tried were as refreshing as she and her clients wanted. So, Noisette set out to make her own.
“Next thing you know, I’m researching how to make wine. I called wineries all over California and Oregon. Fortunately, I got set up with a very experienced winemaker who showed me the ropes,” she said.
It was a matter, she said, of doing what consumers really wanted but was missing in the market. And she had a story to tell through the wine.
Family legacy
Mermosa honors Noisette’s ancestors — Celestine, a resolute Black Haitian woman, and her devoted husband, Philippe Noisette, a white French gardener — whose love defied slavery in the late 1700s in South Carolina.
Noisette said Celestine was a woman of indomitable courage, resourcefulness and love for family. She said Celestine was the “original mermaid whose siren song set her free and has inspired generations of strong voices and unstoppable spirit.”
But her story didn’t come to light outside the family for many years until Noisette’s cousin, Peggy Clement, the family historian, discovered a treasure trove of letters, historic documents and other records in the attic of her late mother’s home.
The discovery led to a series of family reunions. Noisette’s father, Andre, attended one of the first, and when he returned home, shared the story of Celestine and Philippe with her that prompted her to research her ancestors.
Noisette learned that to save Celestine and their children from the slave trade of antebellum South Carolina, Philippe claimed ownership of them. Then, in one last act of devotion before he died in 1835, Philippe ensured that all of his money went to Celestine and their children so they could travel north and be free, she said.
Celestine, however, took matters into her own hands. She negotiated their freedom, Noisette said.
“I want every sip to feel like it’s infused with Celestine’s audacity,” Noisette said. “She was a woman and a Black woman at that time in Charleston in the early 1800s, calling the shots on the destiny of her entire family and her freedom. It’s incredible.”
When she faces challenges of her own and to her family, Noisette thinks of Celestine. That makes every obstacle feel more surmountable, she said.
In tribute to Celestine, who Noisette says was the first mermaid, she chose a mermaid as the brand’s logo to reflect Celestine’s spirit.
“I realized what Celestine had to go through to create her own future and negotiate her own freedom. To me, she sounded like a siren, like a woman with an incredibly powerful voice during a time when women were not supposed to have a voice. So, sirens are mermaids and that’s how I’ve always envisioned her,” Noisette said.
‘Wine everyone can enjoy’
Noisette’s journey into winemaking began in 2017, when she started researching, learning the science and art of winemaking and developing the flavor profiles. In early 2018, she got her license and launched Mermosa.
“This was something I worked on every day,” she said of the process to get Mermosa on the market.
Her philosophy about wine debunks the iconic snobbery that surrounds the fermented grape juice.
“One of the things I like to do with my brand is demystifying the wine world for people,” she said. “My wines are made for everybody. They’re supposed to be crowd-pleasers that help create memories and bring people together.”
Billed as the “Official Wine of Boats, Brunch & Beaches,” Mermosa is handcrafted from grapes harvested in Oregon and neighboring Washington state.
Mermosa is headquartered in St. Petersburg, but the wines are made in the Van Duzer region west of Salem, Ore., where Noisette says maritime air currents from the Pacific Ocean shape the flavor profiles.
Mermosa currently offers three wines: Noisette Rose, Mersecco Blanc de Blancs and Mermosa Bubbles. A bottle sells for $14.99; a two-pack of cans sells for $9.99.
The wines are available by special order at 107 locations throughout Florida including ABC Fine Wines & Spirits, Total Wine & More, Manifest Distillery and Carrera Wine Cellar in Northeast Florida.
“For now, it’s a special order, but we are working on getting that shelf space,” she said.
The wines are also sold throughout Texas, Oregon, Washington, Massachusetts, South Carolina and soon will be available in Georgia, she said.
Black vintners
Noisette is among an as-yet small group of Black women winemakers, according to the nonprofit Association of African American Vintners.
“We are aware of approximately 70 Black-owned wine brands. This includes both wineries and brands that outsource and oversee the actual winemaking. Approximately one-third of the brands we know of are woman-owned,” said Phil Long, association president.
Those are among a total of about 11,000 nationwide, according to Wines Vines Analytics, which is deemed the leading source for wine industry data.
Long said one of his goals as AAAV president is to increase public awareness as well as celebrate African-American winemaking.
“I believe the small percentage of African Americans in the wine industry is due to the fact that there has been a serious lack of awareness, both that a career path exists, and that there actually are Black winemakers/proprietors in the industry,” Long said.
He said that “more exposure for Black winemakers in the industry today and establishing career paths through scholarships and internships will help inspire the Black winemakers of tomorrow.”
Data show the major obstacles facing Black winemakers are a lack of financial capital, systemic racism, and confusing wine regulations, Forbes magazine reported this month.
Forbes cited the findings of a recent study by Monique Bell, a marketing professor at California State University-Fresno. Her research included 40 interviews with Black vintners. Black female wine entrepreneurs said they faced double discrimination of being both African American and women, according to the Forbes article.
Noisette said she hopes to use her success to help people of color — especially women — to become vintners.
“There are two ways that I look at it. One is, I want to have visibility so that women of color know this is a career path and that you’re welcomed into it,” she said. “And that we’ve got an infrastructure set up to help educate and pave the way.”
She also wants “to help pave the way for that infrastructure” through scholarship programs and mentorships.
As a Stanton student, Noisette never thought she’d be a winemaker although she knew she’d be an entrepreneur.
Noisette says Mermosa wouldn’t be possible without the support of her family. Her mother and brother are involved with the business, and her father is an advisor.
“It’s been kind of a dream come true to be able to celebrate our family in this unique way,” she said.
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