It all started as a joke.
“Have you ever noticed that Pointe Coupee Parish looks like a lady drinking wine?” said Aimee Moreau.
She hadn’t either until a friend pointed it out to her. So Moreau, a graphic designer, put it on a t-shirt and printed it on cups to hand out to her wine-loving friends.
A few years later, Paula Lambert, Director of the City of New Roads Main Street program, wanted to organize a wine festival and knew just who to call: Moreau, Codi Brown, and Caryl Ewing. They call themselves the “women of Wine Down.”
“We all live within a few blocks of each other and always gather for wine on the pier,” said Ewing.
“We grew up together,” said Lambert. “It just kind of fit.”
Brown had lived in Napa and worked in the wine industry for years, so she called her winemaker friends. Within a few weeks they were booking flights to Louisiana.
“It all came together so fast,” Brown said.
The first Wine Down on False River was a success, and this year’s is set to be even bigger. From April 21-22, visitors can wander New Roads’ Main Street and take part in wine tastings, art, live music, and shop at local businesses.
The festival is part of an effort to revitalize Main Streets across Louisiana. Fifteen percent of proceeds benefit the Pointe Coupee Arts Council and the rest goes toward historic preservation grants for businesses along Main Street.
After living in Napa, Brown moved to North Carolina, but always knew she would return home eventually. Ewing, who left New Roads for Tulane and then Chicago, felt the same.
“I always thought, New Roads could be so much more, it has so much potential,” said Brown.
She and Ewing felt like the city was at a tipping point, and when they moved home they surrounded themselves with people like Moreau and Lambert who wanted to make a difference.
Moreau moved from Baton Rouge to New Roads in 2005 and said in the years since, she’s seen a big change.
“I remember joining the Historical Society and I was the youngest by 30 years, but now I see more people my age finding interest,” she said.
Gale Roy, who has been retired for 16 years yet is the executive director of the Pointe Coupee Arts Council, said she’s thrilled to see more people in their 30s and 40s getting involved.
“It’s inspirational to see young people embrace their community,” she said. “We didn’t have that before. But it’s a wonderful community and if you’re not involved, you can’t make it better.”
The women of Wine Down say there’s nowhere else they can imagine living.
“Look, we love Wine Down because we get to drink wine and have fun, but we also understand Louisiana has its problems with poverty, with education, et cetera,” said Ewing. “We’re all involved with helping young people, on boards, teachers–we’re all here trying to make it a better place.”
“If you want this to be a place your kids will want to come back home to, you have to make it interesting,” said Moreau.
This year’s Wine Down festival will feature 15 Napa wineries, 21 local artists, food from Morel’s Restaurant, Ma Mama’s Kitchen, and more. They’re expecting around 1,000 visitors.
“One of the best things about last year’s Wine Down was seeing the excitement of people on the street,” said Roy. “People from all over Louisiana, Mississippi, people who had left New Roads but came back for this––it was like a reunion.”