Heritage is defined as a person's unique, inherited sense of family identity: the values, traditions, and culture handed down by generations that came before. Entrepreneur and mother of four, Kasi Rosa Wicks embraced her family's Cuban heritage and wanted to tell her family's story. Together with her husband, country music artist and on-air personality, Chuck Wicks, they decided to tell that story through wine. Sharing food and wine with loving family members is at the heart of all family celebrations.
Q: Tell me why you decided to dive into the wine business.
A: It was something that just organically happened. It was something Chuck and I wanted to do together and we wanted it to mean something. That's where we landed with Melorosa. Melo is my mom's maiden name and Rosa was my grandmother's name who I'm named after. My mom's Cuban, she grew up in Cuba and defected from there in the 60s to pursue the American dream. We talked through what that means to us. We're such a big family unit and my heritage is so important to me. Something Chuck & I always say is 'We only have one ask when drinking a bottle of Melorosa, and that’s to make a toast to freedom.' We love working together so this was a fun project for us that we got excited about.
Q: You're really honoring your legacy. Was your family just thrilled?
A: My family are my biggest cheerleaders. They're all so supportive. We went down to Miami and filmed a documentary series with all of my aunts and uncles. It's coming soon. Each one of my aunts is so special and has such a big personality. It's fun to see that come to life and tell the story.
Q: How did you choose the wines?
A: We went out to Napa and did lots of tastings and really figured out what we wanted it to be and how we wanted it to taste. We knew we wanted a cabernet and had lots of options for that. We also knew we wanted a white but weren't sure which direction we wanted to go with it. When we tasted the sauvignon blanc, it was just so refreshing. So we knew that was the one. I've always been more of a red drinker, but with our sauvignon blanc, I drink a lot more of that now. It's just a nice, refreshing flavor.
Q: Do you have plans to release more wines?
A: We want to get distribution into restaurants and stores in the Nashville area - that's our first focus - and then expanding from there. We've already thought in the future that we'd love to release a rose'. We'll slowly expand and hope to do more in the future. Chuck opened his new theater in Nashville so that will probably be one of the first places that will carry it. And Church and Union in Nashville. People can definitely order the wines on our website. Melorosa.com
