José A. Alvarado Jr.

Photographer
 
Location: New York City, New York
Nationality: Puerto Rican American
Biography: José A. Alvarado Jr. is a Puerto Rican photographer dedicated to documenting class inequality, civic engagement, and contemporary issues in Puerto Rico and New York City. He works primarily in long-form storytelling, using visual imagery... MORE
News
for The New York Times: Black Wine Professionals Demand to Be Seen
josé a. alvarado jr.
Jun 29, 2020
Location: New York City
Tammie Teclemariam, a freelance food and drinks writer in Brooklyn (who has contributed to Wirecutter, which is owned by The New York Times), calls herself a “wine unprofessional” to set herself apart from what she sees as an exclusionary industry. “Just the nature of what wine is makes it really hard to separate it from racism,” said Ms. Teclemariam, whose recent tweet of a photo of Bon Appétit’s editor in chief helped spur his resignation and a reckoning over institutional racism at the magazine. “In order to trust a wine person, you have to respect their humanity as someone who can physically enjoy and understand an experience as well, or even in a more nuanced way, than you. That’s the whole humility of wine appreciation, and I think it’s hard for some people to relate to me equally even on a sensual level.” Rampant class and generational issues play a part as well in what she sees as wine’s old-boy network and bro culture. Adding racism to the mix creates an impregnable wall, she said. “The fact is in order to really be a trusted voice in wine, most black people have to be co-signed by a white person or celebrity alliance, or else be in constant recitation of their work history,” she said. —

Photographed for The New York Times, words by Eric Asimov.


Black Wine Professionals Demand to Be Seen
It’s an old story, of being ignored, patronized or dismissed. But for black retailers, sommeliers, writers and winemakers, the days of invisibility are over.
LinkedIn Icon Facebook Icon Twitter Icon
1,529

Also by José A. Alvarado Jr. —

News

for The New York Times: Former Rikers Employees Are Charged With Smuggling in Contraband

José A. Alvarado Jr. / New York City
News

for Seven Days VT: 'Safe Haven'

José A. Alvarado Jr. / East Harlem, New York City
News

for The New York Times: Lawmaker Is Left With ‘Lifetime Trauma’ as Attacker Pleads Guilty

José A. Alvarado Jr. / Connecticut
News

for The New York Times: Health Insurers’ Lucrative, Little-Known Alliance: 5 Takeaways

José A. Alvarado Jr. / New York, New York
News

for The New York Times: Baruch College, an Upward-Mobility Machine

José A. Alvarado Jr. / New York, New York
News

for The New Yorker: The Haunted Juror

José A. Alvarado Jr. / Long Island, New York
News

for Bloomberg Originals:

José A. Alvarado Jr. / Guayana
News

for Bloomberg: Guyana Is Trying to Keep Its Oil Blessing From Becoming a Curse

José A. Alvarado Jr. / Georgetown, Guayana
News

for The New York Times: Audit Finds Fatal Lapses in Mental Health Program Meant to Curb Violence

José A. Alvarado Jr. / New York, New York
News

for The Wall Street Journal: America’s Biggest Bank Is Growing the Old-Fashioned Way: Branches

José A. Alvarado Jr. / New York, New York
Media

for The New York Times: The Young Black Conservative Who Grew Up With, and Rejects, D.E.I.

José A. Alvarado Jr. / New York, New York
Media

for The New York Times: How Rikers Island Became New York’s Largest Mental Institution

José A. Alvarado Jr. / Rikers Island
News

for The New York Times: This Venezuelan Family Won Asylum. Days Later, They Lost It.

José A. Alvarado Jr. / New York, New York
News

for Southern Foodways Alliance: Offsides Fowl

José A. Alvarado Jr. / New York, New York
News

for Anglers Journal: End of an Era

José A. Alvarado Jr. / Hancock, New York
News

for Bloomberg: ‘Market’s Wrong, I’m Not’: Mike Mayo Loves Playing a Provocateur

José A. Alvarado Jr. / New York, New York
News

for Brooklyn Vegan: Glassjaw celebrated 30 years with career-spanning Brooklyn shows

José A. Alvarado Jr. / New York, New York
Media

for The New York Times: Kendra’s Law Was Meant to Prevent Violence. It Failed Hundreds of Times.

José A. Alvarado Jr. / New York, New York
News

for The New York Times: A New Push to Improve Mental Health Care for Homeless New Yorkers

José A. Alvarado Jr. / New York, New York
News

for Bloomberg: The Other Side of Greenwich: Hunger Among the Hedge Funds

José A. Alvarado Jr. / Greenwich, Connecticut
News

for CULTURED Magazine: At 25, Artist Oscar yi Hou Has Already Had a Solo Museum Show—And Written a Memoir

José A. Alvarado Jr. / Brooklyn, New York City
Media

TIME’s Top 100 Photos of 2023

José A. Alvarado Jr.
News

for The New York Times: Behind 94 Acts of Shocking Violence, Years of Glaring Mistakes

José A. Alvarado Jr. / New York City
News

for The New Yorker: What Will It Take to Win Brooklyn’s First Majority-Asian District?

José A. Alvarado Jr. / New York, New York
for The New York Times: Black Wine Professionals Demand to Be Seen by José A. Alvarado Jr.
Sign-up for
For more access