Today we’d like to introduce you to Cornelius Anthony Jr.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Cornelius. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I got into the wine industry by accident. I had been laid off from my job and I’ve always been a worker, so I had to find something to do. I applied for several positions in my field of being a project manager, but nothing really came out of that. So, I applied for an overnight position with Kroger’s in Sugarland. I went to the interview and I usually always wear suits daily, so I did that day and the assistant manager asked me if I was interested in their wine steward position. I had no idea what that was or entailed, I simply wanted to work. I accepted the position but not without the warning of that I would have to go through wine training. I really didn’t think it would be serious or did I know that, that conversation would change my life. I began training with my first mentor Mr. Jaime Deleon and the Awwsomm group at Kroger’s in the Heights. We would have these intense wine classes every week. The purpose of class I found out early was more than just simple wine training for the job but to become a sommelier through the Court of Masters. The classes, my colleagues, and my mentor at the time helped me fall in love with wine.
I passed my certified sommelier exam in July of 2017 in New Orleans and three months later I took on my first wine bar manager position, being the wine bar manager of the original Vino and Vinyl in Missouri City. To keep myself fresh on wine theory, I began to study a lot on my favorite wine region which always has been Champagne. The more I began to dive into the region of Champagne, the more I began to love the place as much as the wine that I drink daily.
So, I changed my focus from such a broad industry such as wine but particularly just to that wonderful wine. I began to host private events around Houston as well as doing some educational classes as well. I quickly began to see that I wasn’t the only one with this same passion for champagne. All champagne really needed was simply some exposure and that’s what drove me to starting my company DeMousse Sparkling Wine Club. Besides trying to get the sparkling wine club off the ground, I have been doing a lot of freelance work with different distributers trying potential champagne & sparkling wines to see if they should add them to their portfolio and how would these wines fit in the Houston market. Lastly, I started my Champagne Talk series on Instagram where I highlight different Champagne professionals, winemakers, and influencers. That caught on way quicker than I thought and I’m very thankful and humbled by the support that I get from that platform.
Has it been a smooth road?
With anything the road is never smooth. I’ve with a lot of things on this Champagne journey. The biggest struggle I’ve dealt with and still currently dealing with is COVID. The pandemic has put a halt to some of the things I potentially had lined up to do with DeMousse getting started but everything happens for a reason. I’ve learned along the way to trust the process but more importantly trust God. So that is what I do.
DeMoussé Sparkling Wine Club – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
DeMousse Sparkling Wine Club that will specialize in Boutique small production champagne and sparkling wine from around the world. I am a lover of grower champagne. I would say the best analogy of what grower champagne is, it’s simply like the craft beer of champagne. Your big houses such as Moet, Taittinger, Bollinger and so on would be like Budweiser and Coors. Grower champagne would be like Karbach and Saint Arnold. The goal is to highlight these small producers and get them the exposure they truly deserve. This club will do just that. It’s a 3-tier system with pricing between 90$ to $250 max with options of being a part of the club monthly, bi-monthly, quarterly or yearly. Along with the wine, members will be part of exclusive events and wine tastings that will provide that educational aspect so the customer can learn the process and meaning behind these wines. What will set DeMoussé apart? Simply the service we provide, good wine, good education and unique events that will continue to give exposure to these great winemakers.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
The biggest change I hope to see is more people who look like me in higher influential positions in the wine industry. The lack of diversity must change, and the conversations are finally being had and you can see some changes, but we have a long way to go. I’m confident we will get there but we must continue to demand change. Hopefully, in five years we would have recovered from this Pandemic. COVID has truly hurt the wine industry in so many ways. Sales are down, bars and retail shops are closing and its simply hard to get wine more less champagne shipped in a decent amount of time due to the concerns over hand to hand items. I will say this that, the rise of the industry is going to be awesome and I can’t wait to see what it has instore and happy to be a part of that newness locally and hopefully in the world. Wine is a forever changing and evolving industry. There will always be new trends that come and go so I’m not too concerned about that. The biggest shift my come from simple things such as climate change. Champagne has been warmer now more than ever. Typically, Champagne has weather that is like the Pacific Northwest but over the last few years the weather trend has been going up. Things like that can really affect the grapes and the whole wine making process. Things such as that very important to watch out for, so I try to pay attention to that very closely.
Contact Info:
- Email: corneliusanthonyjr@gmail.com
- Instagram: c.anthonyjr
Image Credit:
@lovegoldseas
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