By Helen Mitternight / Image courtesy of Mantra Wine Distributors

A lot of these winemakers are so small they have trouble getting a foothold with distributors. Mantra wants to change all of that.

Mantra Wine Distributors is still in the dream stage. If it were a butterfly, this would be the cocoon. But what a butterfly it might be!

Owned by two women, Jonella Orozco and Brooke Lago, the company wants to bring to Charleston wines from the companies that often get overlooked — wines made by women, people of color, LGBTQ winemakers. A lot of these winemakers are so small they have trouble getting a foothold with distributors. Mantra wants to change all of that.

Orozco, pictured above, is the assistant sommelier atPeninsula Grill,but she got the idea for Mantra when the restaurant closed for COVID-19, and from what she witnessed during theBlack Lives Mattermovement. Her buddy, Lago, loved the idea and Mantra was born.

The pair are lining up companies and testing the waters by asking restaurants if they would consider stocking their special wines when life returns to normal. The response, so far, has been good.

This butterfly isn’t quite ready to fly yet, but it's going to be taking off soon. In the meantime, check out their websitemantrawinedistributors.comfor more information and listen to our conversation now onEpisode 30 of the Hidden F&B podcast now!