Megan Holland, co-founder of InWine (Photo by Jay Paul)
Megan Holland, co-founder of the Richmond-based group InWine, has been a part of the hospitality industry since her teens. After relocating from Arlington, Holland first worked in youth outdoor education with Blue Sky Fund. Eventually, she combined her love of the nature, teaching and food and beverage with a career focused on wine, including stints at Barrel Thief, Alewife, Saison, Penny’s Wine Shop and currently, Jardin. For Holland, learning about grapes and sharing her knowledge with others is a lifelong journey. Through classes and tastings, Holland and InWine partner Emily Abshire aim to break down the barriers that keep people from diving headfirst into the world of wine.
Richmond magazine: How was InWine formed?
Megan Holland: I was working at Alewife, and that’s where what was formerly called Women in Wine, now named InWine, started. I started that with [mixologist] Katy Best. We wanted to create an atmosphere for people to learn about wine in a nonjudgmental and fun way. That was December of 2018. After I left Alewife, I headed to Saison, and I was there in the fall of 2019 when I got my Level Three WSET [Wine & Spirit Education Trust qualification]. In 2020, when I was at Saison, I had a chance to meet my now-partner of InWine, Emily Abshire. They are a wealth of technological knowledge and are just really excited to learn about wine.
RM: Why did you decide to change the name from Women in Wine to InWine?
Holland: We basically formulated Women in Wine initially, before Emily came on board, for women, without explicitly stating that it was including LGBTQ [people]. I wanted to rebrand to open spaces for people that don’t just identify as women.
When we can, we do monthly events around wine; some are more directly related to wine education, and sometimes it’s anything from a dance party to a yoga event. It’s really fun in that it is open to us, just working with all the amazing creative enrichment [activities] and then picking wines that loosely relate. And sometimes it is diving deep into a topic like sparkling wine or skin contact or a region.
RM: What is your process for directing a guest to a specific glass or bottle of wine?
Holland: I always think of this sort of like those Choose Your Own Adventure books. “What are you in the mood for today?” Or, “What do you typically drink?” And then I always love asking, “Are you in the mood for sparkling or still?” and really try to give them a sense of confidence to answer some of their own questions. Everyone sort of knows what they like, and I think that’s the most important thing at the end of the day — if you enjoy what you’re drinking and enjoy the atmosphere. If the customer service is great and the wine is solid, then the atmosphere is going to feel good, and that’s going to bring people in again because they don’t feel dumb or silly for asking a question.
