Today we’d like to introduce you to Lydia Richards.
Hi Lydia, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
From a very young age growing up in Panama, I learned that wine is more than a beverage, it is a bridge. I watched my mother and aunts gather around the table for hours, sharing bottles and stories about life, love, and resilience. Wine, in their hands, was community. That early memory planted a seed that would shape my life’s work.
My experience in the industry spans wine education, retail, marketing, public relations and events. After graduating from college and forging a successful career in fashion marketing and PR, I felt the wine industry calling. I began taking wine and food pairing classes at night, eventually enrolling in formal sommelier and WSET studies. After earning my Sommelier Certification and WSET Level 3 Advanced Certification, I made the leap into wine full-time.
Along the way, I recognized something deeply personal: as an Afro-Latina immigrant, I rarely saw people who looked like me represented in the wine industry. So instead of waiting for change, I decided to help create it.
In 2017, I founded Vino Concierge, a private wine education and consulting company serving clients with an emphasis on Spanish-speaking consumers and multicultural audiences. I later co-founded Hispanics in Wine & Spirits (HiWS), a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to amplifying Hispanic and Latine voices in the beverage and hospitality industries. What started as a small idea has grown into a national movement: a directory of Hispanic/Latine professionals, a 1,000+ member community, over 20 scholarships awarded, mentorship programs, trade masterclasses across four cities, and large-scale cultural events.
In 2021, we launched the first-ever Hispanic/Latine wine festival and trade fair in the U.S., the LatinX Wine Summit. In 2024, we reimagined it as the Sip & Sabor Festival — a two-day cultural and professional exchange featuring 30+ Hispanic–owned brands of all sizes, from regions including Napa, Sonoma, Oregon, Mexico, Argentina, Italy, Paso Robles, and Lodi. More than 250 attendees gathered not just to taste wine, but to experience representation, pride, and possibility.
This work has been recognized by leading industry platforms, including Wine Enthusiast’s 40 Under 40 Tastemakers, Wine Business Monthly’s Industry Leaders, Imbibe’s 75 People to Watch and USA Today’s Black Changemakers in the Wine Industry.
While this work is amazing and will always continue to drive me, I have been wanting to start a new chapter in my life. In January 2024, I decided to finally fulfill my dream of launching my own wine company.
So for me, Teffy Wines is more than a wine brand. It is the intersection of identity, culture, and craftsmanship. It is proof that women of color belong not just in conversations about wine consumption and trends, but in ownership, leadership, and generational wealth creation. My vision is to build a profitable, purpose-driven wine company that redefines what the future of American wine looks like, reinvests in community and creates pathways for underrepresented professionals.
With Teffy Wines, I hope to inspire more people who look like me to join this incredible industry. Representation is everything: seeing yourself in spaces that traditionally excluded you changes what feels possible. Wine brought my family together in Panama; it’s more than what’s in the glass: the pop of a cork, the first sip, the laughter, the ritual, the connection and joy. It’s community, made to be shared, and as the wine industry enters a moment where consumers seek authentic, passionate producers with a story to tell, I believe that my wines share that sentiment.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I rarely saw anyone who looked like me in the wine world growing up as an Afro‑Latina immigrant, so I had few role models, mentors, that looked like me, or clear pathways into the industry. I had to figure it out all on my own, which is why I created Hispanics in Wine & Spirits.
A new challenge has been creating my own wine brand, Teffy Wines, which will launch this summer. As with most startups, the most pressing challenge is capital, especially as a wine company. Winemaking and production requires significant upfront investment (grape purchasing, barrels, bottling, compliance, packaging, storage, and marketing/e-commerce costs, among others) long before a single bottle is sold.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Teffy Wines is a boutique wine producer focused on minimal intervention wines. We are based in Santa Barbara County in California, crafting low-intervention wines that express site, varietal, and vintage. It is a partnership between my partner Stephen Searle and myself, two passionate wine professionals from diverse backgrounds, brought together by a shared love of wine, food and culture. What began as a mutual appreciation has grown into a lifelong collaboration, and a dream realized: crafting and sharing wines that reflect who we are and what we love.
After moving to Santa Barbara in 2023 and immersing myself in the region’s dynamic winemaking community, I knew this was where I wanted to build something lasting.
We partner with distinct vineyards in our region with whom we have cultivated close relationships and share the common goal to grow and produce exceptional wine, with a keen eye towards environmental impact and sustainability. The inaugural 2026 release will feature three delicious wines: a vibrant Chenin Blanc, a bright and juicy Gamay, and a bold, spicy Syrah.
The wines will launch this summer and our business model focuses on three strategic channels: direct-to-consumer sales through a wine club membership program via the Teffy Wines website; on-premise placements in restaurants and bars and off-premise retail stores, e.g. wine shops, in California and New York.
The name comes from a very funny story. When I was born, at my sister’s insistence, my parents agreed to name me Stephanie but on the way to the registration office, my dad forgot the chosen name and instead printed my mom’s name on the forms – Lydia, because apparently, “I looked just like her.” From then on, and to this day, my nickname “Teffy” (short for Stephanie) is how I’m known to family and friends in Panama. I decided to name this project Teffy to honor it and finally make it official on paper!
Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting out?
Network, network, network! Take advantage of every opportunity you can get to interact with people already working in the industry you are looking to be a part of.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.teffywines.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lydia_vinoconcierge/
- Other: https://www.instagram.com/teffywines/
