We Rise Together: Inside the Seattle Wine Bar Elevating Underrepresented Makers
Photo: Erik Kalligraphy
By Ashleigh McCurdy / @Life_DesignedByAshleigh
An afternoon of thoughtful wine pairings, layered flavors, and a conversation with WeRise Wines founder Jamila Conley about community, access, and building something bigger.
There are some spaces you step into and immediately feel that they were created with purpose.
Not just in the decor or the menu, but in the way the room holds people, in the way the seating invites conversation, and in the way the energy feels both elevated and welcoming at the same time.
A few of my fellow Converge colleagues and I were recently invited to WeRise Wines in downtown Seattle for a private tasting of the new menu and wine pairings. What unfolded was an experience rooted in hospitality, thoughtful curation, and a larger mission centered on visibility and community.
During our visit, I had the opportunity to sit down with founder Jamila Conley to talk about her journey into the wine industry, the inspiration behind WeRise, and her hopes for the future of the space. As we talked, Chef Dane introduced dish after dish, sharing the stories and cultural influences behind each one.
By the end of the afternoon, one thing was clear: WeRise is a place designed to connect people to stories, makers, and one another.
A Third Place for Adults
When I asked Jamila what she wanted people to feel when they walked into WeRise, her answer was immediate and intentional.
At its core, WeRise was created to expand access and awareness for underrepresented wineries and winemakers, connect those makers to their communities, and introduce the broader public to wines they might not have encountered otherwise.
But from the beginning, Jamila also knew she wanted the space itself to feel different.
She described her vision as “Starbucks meets wine bar” ---a true third place for adults. Somewhere a person could walk in alone and feel just as comfortable as a group of friends meeting up after work. She saw a place where guests wouldn’t feel awkward taking up space by themselves, and where community could gather in a way that felt natural, warm, and unforced.
That vision carries through in every part of WeRise. From the cozy seating to the flexible private room and reconfigurable gathering spaces, the design reflects a deeper understanding of what people actually need from a place like this: comfort, intention, and room to connect.
“How do you bring in community? You thoughtfully fit various community needs,” Jamila said. That thoughtfulness is what makes WeRise stand out.
Photo: Erik Kalligraphy
From Curiosity to Calling
Jamila’s wine did not begin with a traditional industry route, but with curiosity.
She shared that attending a Women in Wine event in 2023 became a turning point. Seeing Black women in the wine industry opened her eyes to possibilities she had not fully seen before, and that moment sparked what she described as her own “learning journey.”
Once her interest was piqued, she did what many visionary founders do: she started asking questions.
She reached out to winemakers, gathered information, and began identifying market gaps and considering where her own skill set could have the greatest impact. By the summer of 2023, an idea had begun to take shape. Friends encouraged her to keep pursuing it. Visits to wine country gave her the courage to start saying the vision out loud.
And once she did, the response was immediate. People lit up when they heard the idea. Winemakers were interested. The concept resonated. What started as a quiet seed of inspiration quickly became something more tangible.
Even the name WeRise came together in a way that felt meaningful. Inspired in part by Maya Angelou’s poem "Still I Rise,” Jamila and her wife landed on a name that spoke not just to her own path but to collective elevation.
Not I rise. We rise. And that distinction says everything about the brand's spirit.
Curating With Purpose
The wines at WeRise are not chosen randomly, and that intentionality shows.
Jamila explained that some wineries came to her through early relationships she built while exploring the industry. Others found her through Instagram, where she began building the WeRise brand before the physical space even opened. Distributors also started reaching out, though not all with the same level of alignment.
As she put it, it quickly became clear who genuinely understood the mission and who was trying to make a sale. That discernment matters when your business is rooted in representation.
WeRise is dedicated to spotlighting women-owned, Black, Brown, queer, and other underrepresented winemakers, and that mission informs the wine list, the programming, and the overall experience. Even when every bottle cannot fit on the menu at once, Jamila has created additional pathways, including the wine club, online store, and merchandise offerings, to continue amplifying those makers.
Jamila also left me with a crystal clear message: “Buy with intention.” Those words felt especially timely during Women’s History Month. Instead of defaulting to large retailers, she wants people to remember that small businesses are already doing the work of centering the makers they claim to support.
Chef Dane’s Menu Brings Story and Texture to the Table
As thoughtful as the wine program is, the food deserves just as much attention.
Chef Dane, who had recently joined the team, introduced a menu shaped by Mediterranean and African influences, with dishes created to complement and enhance the wine program.
The tasting began with the burrata, served over Kalamata olives and sun-dried tomatoes. He spoke about its texture and preparation in a way that made the dish feel as educational as it was inviting, the kind of introduction that immediately lets you know a chef is thinking beyond the plate.
Then came the seared pork belly over collard greens, one of the afternoon’s dishes. Inspired by his years in Georgia, Chef Dane reduced the pot liquor, layered it with brown sugar and spices, and used it as a glaze over the pork. The result was rich, savory, slightly sweet, and deeply satisfying.
For wine pairing, the recommendation was something with high acidity to cut through the richness of the fat, exactly the kind of detail that showed how closely the wine and food programs are being developed together.
The potatoes offered a creative reimagining of a local favorite, inspired by Seattle jojos. Without a fryer in the kitchen, Chef Dane used chickpea flour to retain moisture and achieve a lightly crisp, almost-fried texture, finished with a spicy red sauce.
The vegetarian entrée pulled inspiration from Spanish paella, specifically that beloved crusty bottom layer everyone fights over. Here, that textural element became the centerpiece, flipped and highlighted in a dish that felt both clever and comforting.
Dessert continued the playful creativity, with one course featuring toast, brigadeiros, vanilla whipped cream, and red wine reduction, and another centered on peanut butter cookies, strawberry rhubarb, and house-made vanilla ice cream.
Each dish felt layered with story, memory, and intention.
Leaving Corporate, Building With Vision
As a fellow entrepreneur, I was especially interested in Jamila’s perspective on moving from a tech background into entrepreneurship. Her explanation was grounded and honest.
Rather than thinking of herself as someone simply launching a passion project, Jamila made a conscious decision early on to view herself as a CEO, even before the company reached its fullest form. That mindset helped shape how she built WeRise: not as a one-woman hustle that depended entirely on her, but as a company with room to scale, evolve, and bring others along.
She spoke candidly about the trap many solopreneurs fall into: creating something beautiful, only to find they can't relinquish enough control to let it grow. Jamila wanted to protect herself from that cycle. She wanted to build something sustainable, something that could grow beyond her alone.
That perspective feels important, especially for entrepreneurs building mission-driven businesses. Jamila is building an infrastructure for community, collaboration, and long-term impact.
Photo: Erik Kalligraphy
What’s Next At WeRise
The future of WeRise sounds just as dynamic as its foundation. Jamila shared that she wants the space to be top-of-mind not only for casual gatherings, but also for intimate events, corporate wine partnerships, and intentional community building.
As Seattle continues to celebrate various cultural and identity-centered months throughout the year, she hopes both individuals and organizations will think more carefully about where they source their wines and whom those purchasing decisions support.
She also highlighted several upcoming activations, including FIFA watch parties, private event packages, a Black Women in Business mixer, and a Pour Explorer fundraiser in partnership with Fred Hutch and the American Cancer Society to support breast cancer awareness.
That lineup reflects how WeRise is becoming a gathering place with range, relevance, and growing cultural significance.
Photo: Erik Kalligraphy
The Final Pour
What stayed with me most about our afternoon at WeRise was not just the wine, or even the food, though both were memorable.
It was the care Jamila has put into the mission, the care in how the space is designed, the care in how the menu is being built, and the care her staff extended to each of us throughout our visit.
Jamila and her team went above and beyond to ensure we enjoyed our time there and that hospitality was felt in every detail.
WeRise Wines offers something many places aspire to create, but few truly achieve: an experience that feels both intentional and inviting, elevated and accessible.
It is a space rooted in the belief that community matters, representation matters, and the stories behind what we eat and drink matter too. And in a city that continues to evolve, spaces like this matter.
Because at WeRise, the mission is in the name itself.
We rise together.
Until the next time. With Love Always,
— Ashleigh, The Sanctuary
Learn more about WeRise Wines and their upcoming events here.
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