The Color Purple star Fantasia Barrino Taylor has two business ventures in the works and popping bottles is first on her list.
Barrino Taylor has accomplished a lot since being crowned the winner of American Idol in 2004, including performing for President of the United States and turning her life story into a movie. But she has interests outside the entertainment industry that she’s ready to explore. In a recent interview with ELLE for the publication’s Women In Hollywood issue, she shared that she’s set to launch a wine collection in the near future.
In her desire to become more knowledgeable about wine, Barrino Taylor attended wine school and passed her Certified Sommelier Examinations to let consumers know she’s serious about the craft.
“I have a wine coming out. I went back to school, so I got my sommelier certificate because I didn’t want people to think that I was just a Black girl putting my name on a wine to try to make money,” she told ELLE. “I really love the process of it, and I also love to drink it because it’s good.”
The Grammy winner said her interest in wine sparked after she and her husband went to a winery for date night.
“I felt like, this may sound crazy, but I kind of felt like my life was like what wine has to go through — the pressing,” Barrino said. “I wanted to know more about it.”
As for what people can expect from Barrino Taylor’s wine collection when it debuts, “We’re coming out with a red wine; we’re coming out with a rosé,” she said.
She also teased a nightwear line, which is inspired by her late grandmother’s affinity for nightwear.
“I sketch out gowns that I want to bring forth, my grandmother loved robes and gowns,” she said in the same interview with ELLE. “Back in the day, remember when the older mothers had their robes and their nice gowns? So, I’ve decided to put time into creating.”
In the meantime, fans can see Barrino Taylor as the beloved character Celie in the long-awaited film adaptation of the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical The Color Purple, in theaters on Christmas Day.
“I was out here vulnerable, thinking that every man that says they love me, loved me. I’m in abusive relationships, getting my ass whooped. I’ve been spit on. My life is so much like Celie’s,” she said before adding “This Tasia is different.”
The mother of three continued, “It feels like Idol all over again, except that I’m a woman and I get it.”
Check out the trailer for The Color Purple below!
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