Our Story
A Black Woman-Owned Wine Company Bringing Turkish Wine to America
How a love of wine, travel, and Türkiye became a mission to bring the world's best-kept wine secret to the United States.
The Journey
How We Got Here
A Passion Takes Root
Lisa and Alexis Richmond begin their wine journey: visiting vineyards, studying with the WSET, and falling in love with wine culture.
Türkiye Captures the Heart
Alexis travels to Turkey and discovers extraordinary wines from indigenous grape varieties, wines virtually impossible to find in America.
Ruby Imports is Born
The gap between Turkish wine quality and American access becomes a mission. Ruby Imports launches to bridge that divide.
Growing the Portfolio
Working directly with three exceptional family producers across Türkiye, bringing their wines to American tables with story, context, and care.
The Founders
Lisa & Alexis Richmond
The genesis of Ruby Imports began with a simple frustration, and an unshakeable love for a place.
Lisa and Alexis Richmond are lifelong enthusiasts of winery exploration and culinary adventure. For years, they spent their time visiting tasting rooms, studying through the Wine and Spirits Education Trust, and immersing themselves in the growing Virginia wine scene.
But it was Türkiye that captured Alexis's imagination. After falling in love with the country's wines during her travels, she returned home to find them virtually impossible to find in the United States.
That gap became a mission. Together, they founded Ruby Imports to do what no one else was doing: bring high-quality Turkish wines to the U.S. market with the story, context, and care they deserve.
Our Mission
What We're Here to Do
“To expand access to premium wines sourced from exceptional Turkish producers, and to share the stories, places, and people behind every bottle.”
Breaking Barriers
Representation in Wine
The wine industry in the United States has historically lacked diversity. According to industry research, fewer than 1% of American wine businesses are Black owned, and even fewer are owned by Black women. Ruby Imports is proud to be part of the movement changing that reality.
As a Black woman-owned and mother-daughter founded company, Ruby Imports brings a perspective that is rare in the import wine business. Lisa and Alexis Richmond did not inherit a wine empire or come from generational wealth in the industry. They built Ruby Imports from a genuine love of wine, a deep connection to Turkey, and the belief that extraordinary wines deserve to be discovered regardless of where they come from or who brings them to market.
Ruby Imports is committed to representation, to excellence, and to proving that Black women belong at every table in the wine world, from the vineyard to the boardroom to the dinner table.
Industry Recognition
Certifications and Affiliations
Ruby Imports is a minority-owned business and a woman-owned business. We are actively pursuing formal certifications including:
- ◆Women's Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) certification
- ◆National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC) certification
- ◆Small Business Administration (SBA) 8(a) and Woman-Owned Small Business (WOSB) designations
- ◆State of Florida minority business enterprise (MBE) certification
We encourage corporate buyers, restaurants, and retailers committed to supplier diversity to reach out directly for partnership opportunities.
The Opportunity
Why Turkish Wine?
Turkey is home to some of the oldest vineyards on earth. Indigenous grape varieties found nowhere else. Regions shaped by volcanic soil, Aegean breezes, and millennia of tradition. Yet Turkish wine remains one of the world's best-kept secrets. Ruby Imports exists to change that, one bottle, one producer, one story at a time.
Black Women in Wine
Our Mission at Ruby Imports
Why Representation Matters in Wine
The American wine industry is one of the least diverse sectors in the food and beverage world. Fewer than 1% of wine businesses in the United States are Black owned. The number of Black woman-owned wine companies is even smaller. And when it comes to wine importers, the number is nearly invisible.
Ruby Imports was not founded to fill a diversity quota. It was founded because Lisa and Alexis Richmond fell in love with Turkish wine and realized nobody was bringing it to America with the care, context, and passion it deserves. But the fact that Ruby Imports is a Black woman-owned business matters. It matters because representation creates possibility. When young Black women see a mother-daughter team running a successful wine import company, it expands what feels achievable.
A Mother-Daughter Team in a Male-Dominated Industry
Lisa and Alexis Richmond are not just business partners. They are mother and daughter, best friends, and the driving force behind one of the most unique wine import companies in the United States. Their journey started at Mediterranean restaurants, continued through WSET wine education courses, and led them across the world to the vineyards of Turkey.
What they found there was remarkable: 7,000 years of continuous winemaking history, over 600 indigenous grape varieties found nowhere else on earth, and wines that rival anything coming out of France, Italy, or Spain. The only problem was that almost none of these wines were available in the United States.
So they built the bridge themselves.
What Makes Ruby Imports Different
Ruby Imports is not just another wine importer. Here is what sets us apart:
We are Black woman-owned and mother-daughter founded, one of the only Black owned wine import companies in the United States.
We specialize exclusively in Turkish wine, making us the first and only dedicated Turkish wine importer in America. Explore our Turkish wine portfolio to see what we offer.
We work directly with family-owned producers in Turkey, building personal relationships that ensure quality, authenticity, and fair partnership.
We are committed to education, providing resources that help Americans discover Turkey's extraordinary wine heritage.
We believe that the wine industry should look like the people who drink wine: diverse, curious, and welcoming.
Supporting Black Owned Businesses in Wine
If you are looking to support Black owned businesses, buy from a Black woman-owned wine company, or add minority-owned wines to your restaurant or retail selection, Ruby Imports would love to hear from you.
We welcome inquiries from:
- Restaurants and sommeliers seeking unique, story-driven wines from a minority-owned supplier
- Retailers and wine shops looking to diversify their shelves with Black owned wine brands
- Corporate buyers and procurement teams with supplier diversity goals
- Event planners looking for distinctive wines from a woman-owned business
- Media and press covering Black entrepreneurs, women in wine, or the Turkish wine industry
- Consumers who want to buy wine from a Black woman-owned company and discover something completely new
Contact us at hello@rubyimportswine.com or visit our Trade page for wholesale information.
Our Vision
Ruby Imports envisions a wine industry where Black women are not the exception but the expectation. Where the question is not “why Turkish wine?” but “why did it take so long?” Where every bottle tells a story of heritage, craft, and the courage to build something new.
We are just getting started.