Q&A: Maria Calvert and Lydia Richards, Hispanics in Wine & Spirits

In the five years since drinks professionals Maria Calvert and Lydia Richards co-founded Hispanics in Wine & Spirits (HIWS), a lot has changed. Pandemic restrictions ended, acronyms like DEI went from descriptive to divisive, and many of the communities served by HIWS are subject to new and rapidly shifting legislation. 

What remains constant is Calvert and Richards’ commitment. What started as a social networking and digital hub has grown into a 501(c)(3) nonprofit with major brand partnerships and programs under its belt. Recently, HIWS worked with Wines of Bourgogne on a national educational campaign for Chablis, collaborated with The Roots Fund to provide aspiring and up-and-coming drinks professionals with WSET Level 1-3 scholarships, and created a culturally driven wine pairing tool for the tech company Sippd. Last winter, HIWS hosted its first-ever festival, Sip & Sabor, in Napa, California; the 2026 installment is currently in the works.

We sat down with Calvert and Richards to talk about how they’re adapting to meet the moment, and what the future holds for HIWS on an ever-changing landscape.

Imbibe: Tell us your origin story. How did HIWS come to be?

Maria Calvert: Hispanics in Wine was founded in September 2020 by Lydia Richards and me, driven by our shared commitment to championing diversity, equity, and inclusion in the wine and spirits industry. We launched the organization to amplify Latine voices and create more accessible pathways for Spanish-speaking professionals across the sector. Our mission is to uplift the next generation of Latine-Hispanic talent while helping companies in the wine and spirits space better connect with Spanish-speaking audiences.

We’re such a huge part of the industry and the country, and we’re incredibly diverse.—Lydia Richards

Hispanic communities are such enormous parts of the cultures and economics of drinks in the U.S. What are you hoping to amplify with HIWS?

Lydia Richards: One of the biggest things with HIWS is creating visibility and representation. There’s an assumption that all the Latinos in the wine world work in the vineyard. That’s an incredible job, and truthfully there are huge numbers of us who do work in that area. But we want to honor that valuable work while also flagging that we’re not a monolith. We’re such a huge part of the industry and the country, and we’re incredibly diverse. Working in production is amazing, but that’s not all we do—we also own companies, we work in sales and marketing, we’re distributors. For people who aren’t born and bred in the wine industry, like myself, it can feel hard to break through. We want to show that it’s possible, and to connect you to people to work with. 

That’s a fascinating misconception about such a diverse group of people. Is it important to you to provide counternarratives, or is that not where you spend your time and energy?

MC: We absolutely see value in providing counternarratives—showcasing not only the labor and dedication behind the scenes but also the innovation, artistry, and entrepreneurship that Hispanic and Latine professionals contribute. A clear example of this was the Sip & Sabor Festival we hosted in 2024. It drew over 250 attendees in person and online, including trade professionals, press, and wine enthusiasts. It had over 20 speakers, and our Grand Tasting Celebration featured more than 30 brands from regions like Napa Valley, Sonoma, Oregon, Mexico, and Argentina—bringing the diversity and depth of Hispanic and Latine influence to the forefront. Events like these are core to our mission: not just to tell a different story, but to ensure our community is seen, heard, and valued across the entire industry.

For people or companies solely focused on their bottom lines, there are economic arguments for prioritizing Hispanic consumers and professionals, too. Can you say more about the size and spending power of Latino demographics?

MC: The U.S. Latino GDP reached $3.2 trillion in 2023—a 14 percent year-over-year increase and growing 2.5 times faster than the non-Latino equivalent. The rapid growth of the U.S. Latino population is also reshaping the national palate, with Latin American cuisine becoming a favorite among Millennials and Gen Z. 

LR: As consumers, we’re a huge bulk of the demographic. We have data that we have collected over the years about the percentage of adults who are Hispanic who are expected to be of drinking age by 2030, and it’s enormous, something like 23 percent of the country. 

How can drinks businesses best reach Hispanic audiences?

LR: People have these conversations about Gen Z and Millennials: “What do they want? Do they not want to drink anymore?” And I don’t think that’s true. They want people to speak to them in a manner that’s authentic. There are people who want to drink wine, but they don’t know about you because nobody is communicating with them. If you don’t have someone in your company who is connected to these communities, hire content creators or consultants. They’ll tell you, “Hey, there’s a big bulk of the business and that demographic that could potentially be into your drinks. Why don’t we create culturally relevant content?” Sometimes people do these marketing campaigns and it doesn’t hit the mark because it misses the real aspect of authenticity. Beer brands do well, and spirits have done a much better job than the wine industry in marketing to these communities. 

Invest in your work force and invest in the partnerships you create. Those diverse audiences will pay off in the long term. That’s the reality. At the end of the day, people want to sell their products. Be smart about it. Be authentic. It will pay off. 

Since you founded HIWS in 2020, the landscape for organizations focused on DEI initiatives has completely transformed. How do you navigate that?

LR: One member of our board is this amazing guy called John Reyna, who also works as an attorney with hospitality businesses and nonprofits. As we’re navigating these times—we saw it coming for a while—we’re using different types of language on our website. We keep things a little more generic, essentially. We’re broadening our communications and our language to focus on things like scholarships and networking and mentorship opportunities. We’re making sure we’re spreading the word about the contributions of Hispanic people, but also that this is something that benefits everybody.

You can come to our events whether you’re a Hispanic person or not—and you’ll definitely learn a lot from it. Events like Sip & Sabor are open to everybody. Obviously, we will be highlighting Hispanic brands and working with people who are Hispanic leaders in the industry, but we’re also going to have panels about allyship and things like that.

The good thing about being a small nonprofit is that I don’t think people are looking at us super closely. Even so, I’ve been on a list, and the way I communicate even on my own personal channels has changed. I used to be more vocal, but I try to tone it down because I think it has repercussions that could affect Hispanics in Wine & Spirits and other things.

Have these changing attitudes toward DEI affected your bottom line?

LR: Absolutely. Over the years, we’ve had good support from a diversity of brands across the board, and that has certainly dwindled. We saw it with Sip & Sabor. Some companies who would have jumped at the opportunity to be part of an event like that in the past were nowhere to be found [in 2024]. After seeing the vocal support of 2020 dwindling a bit, we started rethinking our strategy. Let’s look at this from a data perspective. It will help your bottom line. Why don’t we work together? We can connect you with consultants, we have a great network of people who do all sorts of different things. We’re maybe changing our outreach or looking at things in a different light, but we’re still as passionate as we were in year one. 

What I have noticed recently is most of our donations coming in are from individuals. Obviously, you want the bigger partners, but it warms my heart to see people donating $5, $10, whatever they can. That they want to support with whatever they have is remarkable. Every single dollar that we get is welcome and is very appreciated.

This summer, HIWS created a fundraising campaign for immigrant communities targeted by immigration and law enforcement. Why did you decide to do this?

LR: Whether you’re Hispanic or not, seeing those images and seeing what was happening was devastating, to say the least. We have this privilege that a lot of people who are from the same places do not—Maria and I are immigrants but we’re American citizens, too, and Gabriela [Fernandez, an HIWS board member] was born here. We needed to use our privilege, to use our voice. It would have felt very disingenuous of us to work in an organization that’s all about amplifying and supporting the community and to just stay still.

We felt so hard for our people, seeing the suffering and the mockery that was being made. People work so hard, they’re here for a better life. We all just happen to be born where we’re born. We have a colleague in Oregon who was working here for 20 years, and he was one of the people who was affected by this. There are so many cases like that.

It’s something we just can’t compromise on. We had to make sure people know where we stand.  Wherever we can shine the light on issues and fundraise, we’re absolutely going to do that. 

My vision is for our community to gain greater visibility, increased access to opportunities, and the resources they deserve, enabling them to thrive and confidently lead the future of wine and spirits.—Maria Calvert

What do you hope the future holds for Hispanic immigrant communities in the U.S., in and beyond the drinks industry?

MC: What I hope for the Hispanic and immigrant communities—who have undeniably built and continue to shape the wine and spirits industries in the U.S.—is that they discover a deep sense of belonging and feel empowered to ask questions, seek support, and share their stories openly. We’re at a crucial moment for both the community and the wine and spirits industries, where uplifting and supporting one another isn’t just valuable, it’s absolutely essential. By coming together—within our community and alongside allies—sharing knowledge and encouragement, we create a powerful foundation that strengthens and elevates the entire industry. My vision is for our community to gain greater visibility, increased access to opportunities, and the resources they deserve, enabling them to thrive and confidently lead the future of wine and spirits.

What’s on the horizon for HIWS?

MC: We are currently fundraising to support our 2025-2026 programming, which will include educational pop-up networking events, career advancement initiatives, industry research funding, and the return of the Sip & Sabor Festival in 2026. 

LR: With the Chablis partnership, it was incredible to see the knowledge and the enthusiasm, and we’d love to work on more projects like that. We’re also focusing on events, networking, and career development opportunities—and on people. What can we do for the communities who follow us? For the people we work with? How do we help people who are interested in learning more about the drinks industry but don’t know where to start? We’ve always been a communications hub. Anyone can reach out to us and we’ll tell you, “Okay, let me connect you with this person.” That’s at the core of what we’ve always done and will continue to do.

Editor’s note: This conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity. Calvert, Richards, and Imbibe use the terms Hispanic, Latino, and Latine interchangeably.