All Dressed Up With Nowhere To Go: Stylish Sommelier & Wine Activist Tahiirah Habibi

If anyone saw their schedule clear up in the age of quarantine, it certainly wasn't Tahiirah Habibi. 

Between her continuing work with the Hue Society, the acclaimed community of Black wine professionals and consumers she founded in 2017, the recent launch of the Roots Fund, a non-profit that provides funding, opportunities, and education to address the lack of diversity in the wine world, and the management of her celebrity-favorite accessories boutique, Statements by Habibi, this expert sommelier, entrepreneur, and industry activist has been kept quite busy these past few months. Oh, and did we mention she's also raising a toddler? A true wine world Wonder Woman.

Of course, her dedication to improving the industry she loves has paid off. She's been one of the leading voices of change in the wine arena, and even landed the very glamorous cover of Wine Enthusiast's "40 Under 40 Tastemakers of 2020" October issue. As busy as she is, Habibi can clearly find time for a statement accessory and feel-good look at home, especially if she's filming a socially-distant segment to present at the virtual James Beard Awards, airing this Friday. 

We caught up with her all dressed up for the occasion to talk meditation, motherhood, and, obviously, her go-to wine right now.

What are you wearing? Earrings are mine, Statements by Habibi.

Where have you been riding out the storm? I'm in Atlanta. I've mostly been in my townhouse with my toddler. 

What do you put on to feel empowered these days? It's either jewelry or lipstick. A good lip or a good pair of earrings will do it every time. And I try to keep my skin regimen. It's not rigid but I keep up with my skin so I don't wear a lot of makeup, but lips! Lips is my thing. Lips and earrings.

What has been keeping you busy these past few months? What hasn't been keeping me busy?! Obviously motherhood, that's always my first priority. Motherhood, self-care. I'm running and launching a couple of initiatives. I launched my nonprofit The Roots Fund. The Hue Society is actually opening chapters and the first chapter will be open this month in New York so I've spent a lot of time putting that together. My jewelry boutique [Statements by Habibi] is also kind of booming! I just saw my earrings in a new Jay-Z video and the necklace that Brandy has on in her "Baby Mama" video, so it's going pretty good! 

What are your self-care rituals? I meditate. I run (or walk, depending on my mood) in the mornings after I drop my daughter off at school and then I come home and I meditate. I'm just very conscious of that. I meditate in the morning and I meditate at night. I have to stay balanced. I give so much of myself to other people and I need to one, keep my head clear so that I can be a good parent and two, so I can be the best that I can be for my work. My new favorite meditation is called "Fuck It." It's like "fuck it, let that shit go!" And that's the meditation. It's amazing. It's on YouTube. And that's really it. I try to eat healthy. I'm not the best at it because I have so much going on but I do try to make sure I get all my vitamins and all that. But I definitely ate pizza all weekend because I was tired and I wanted it! But that's also a part of self-care, allowing myself those moments and just giving myself grace and space to do that. That grace that we have to give ourselves and each other is [so important]. I have to talk to myself like I would talk to a friend.

We obviously have to ask, what wine have you been drinking? I've been obsessed with Walter Scott lately. They sent me some wine - and I'm not saying this because they sent me wine, a lot of people send me wine - and it is so good. I'm a little bit obsessed with it right now. I also just had Bodkin's sparkling Sauvignon Blanc and it is WHEW! Amazing. And Bodkin is Black-owned and I'm very proud to say that they're the first [American brand] to create a sparkling Sauvignon Blanc so I'm really impressed by that. And not only by that part of it, but it's really good! Now it's a wave, now everyone is making sparkling Sauvignon Blanc, so I'm just really impressed by the innovation of it. 

What are you looking forward to when the world opens up again? So I was supposed to take my daughter to Italy this year. I took her to Burgundy and Champagne last year and I try to take her out of the country at least once a year. So I am looking forward to getting out of here for a second or two when the coast is completely clear. I would like to go see my family, too, they're all still in Philly. But if Trump wins in November he might be forcing my hand - I won't come back!