✍🏾: @tiff.chey
#RadaGriffin does it all as a Black woman killing it in every space she’s in…literally! From worming at #NASA to being a private chef, and now a winemaker, Griffon makes dominating three very different industries look easy.
By day, Griffon works as a senior software engineer and subject matter expert for NASA. She’s actually providing support on the initiative that will put the first woman on the moon in 2024. While she’s not getting her Hidden Figures on, Griffon is developing her first vintage wine.
“Wine to me is food,” said Griffin, who also works locally as a private chef. “The same way you view food, when a chef puts a plate in front of you and it’s beautiful and you can’t wait to taste it, that’s the same way I think about wine. So I just wanted to do more.”
In 2019, Griffon took the Wine Essentials Course, an online course authored by Cheryl Stanley and delivered by eCornell. Next, Griffin began the certificate program focused on wines of California, the Pacific Northwest, and New York, which was also offered by Stanley through eCornell.
After becoming more knowledgeable of wine and the wine industry, Griffon launched #AnissaWakefieldWines, becoming the first certified Black woman winemaker in Alabama. Griffin also recently launched a local wine club, the Black Cuvee, for fellow wine enthusiasts in Alabama.
Griffon’s success hasn’t come without complications, but still, she pushed through. Thankfully, Griffin says, things are starting to turn around.
“We watched the grapes just take off this past April – all the way through harvesting in September and October,” she said. “Now I’m blending.” With bottling and packing soon to come after blending, Griffin is looking ahead.
“Ultimately, my goal is to get the wines on the airlines,” she said. “When you’re flying, and you’re choosing between white and red, and you open that booklet and read the wine brands, I want Anissa Wakefield Wines to be there. That’s the level I want to get to. That’s some years away.”
We can’t wait until you reach your goal, sis! This is so amazing 🙌🏾 #BWLM💕
