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“Wine brings people together, which is really special,” Marissa A. Ross tells me, while we sit atop barstools inside [Kismet](https://www.kismetlosangeles.com), the Mediterranean favorite in Los Feliz. She pours me a glass of Apoline, a deep red natural rosé as bubbly as herself. _New York Magazine_ discovered Ross’ blog where she reviewed wines purely for passion, and profiled the then-unknown blogger in 2012. A hopeful comedy scriptwriter and assistant to Mindy Kaling, she never imagined she would be a part of the exclusive, almost $220 billion wine industry, let alone the natural wine industry. However, she awoke the next morning to an inbox piled high with offers from literary agents and publishers.
“What made me who I am,” she says, “is that I love film, I love music, I love reading. I love living, and that is what I bring to wine.” Her refusal to be placed in a singular box while allowing her passion to guide her through life is what makes her a breath of fresh air on a balmy summer’s day. “I’ve always had a very deep-rooted opinion about things. It’s taught me to not be afraid of adversity,” she says. Like the rosé we sip on, she is complex, her sweetness never recedes, yet behind her kind laugh there is a ferocity that ignites her soul. Her unrelenting authenticity has allowed her to gain access into an exclusive and elite community, that, until recently, was dominated by older white males of a certain socioeconomic status. Ross glimpses into the pervasive misogyny she continues to face by being a trailblazer in her profession. Having never taken a formal wine class, Ross was fueled by an intense curiosity. “Being self-taught and genuinely self made in this industry made me strong and able to face a lot of criticism.”
As a woman, Ross receives great scrutiny for her lack of formal education and her unconventional approach to assessing a wine’s value based on her acute intuition. “Honestly, if I were a man, I think I would already be so much further along,” she continues. “But because I’m a woman, people are angry about that.” She alludes to the worst critics of all: other women. “I think what really hurts me is how many women were actually really, really critical of me.” Her palpable frustration is valid. It shines a light onto the continued cycles of oppression we perpetuate onto society and each other.
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Ross’ resilience is intoxicating. Written in the cozy comfort of her Silver Lake home, her book, _Wine. All the Time.: The Casual Guide to Confident Drinking,_ diminishes the exclusivity that resides in homogenized parts of the wine industry. Within California, female CEO’s run only 13% of the state’s wineries. Ross rejects the ideology that previous wine knowledge is a prerequisite to formulate opinions on the beverage. ”I wrote a book because there wasn’t a book for me to read,” she says. It is clear that her capacity to follow her intuition wholeheartedly, to be a storyteller, and truth seeker, is what has allowed her to take control of her success.
“I had no idea I was drinking natural wines when I fell into them,” the now-natural wine connoisseur tells me. While natural wines don’t have a finite definition, Ross describes them being, “as little added or taken away in both the vineyard and the seller.” Originally from rural France, natural wines, while not new, have become a global phenomenon. Known for their lack of sulfites, additives, and pesticides used on grapes, natural wines yield tart flavor profiles. Within the last 5 years alone, sales have doubled and are consistently on the rise. By 2022, over 1 billion natural bottles of wine are predicted to be consumed. Explaining that wine is an agricultural product after all, Ross notes, “if you care about your kale, you have to care about your wine.” By immersing herself into the natural wine world, Ross is able to simultaneously support small businesses and cultivate intimate relationships with wine sellers from across the world. “It’s incredible. You’re connecting with people, meeting their children and their spouses. It’s a really beautiful thing.”
When Anthony Bourdain shockingly passed away over a year ago, everyone’s hearts skipped a beat. In response, Ross wrote an article for Bon Appétit, titled, _Please Don’t Drink Wine When You’re Sad._ “I am really public about my mental health. I struggle with anxiety and depression. I’m OCD and I’m also ADHD.” Although she is a comedy writer, and a wine humorist most well known for her hilarious stream-of-consciousness remarks, she is also more than that—she is human. “Because I started writing about wine as a passion, I really do have to drink the wine and see where it takes me.” She explains, “I really genuinely cannot do both, and I don’t want to do both. I sacrifice my career, but at the same time my health is way more important to me.” At her core, she is someone who thrives off of good wine and human connection, navigating life through exploring her passions and herself. She especially loves her job, “it’s a fucking skill to be able to drink a bottle of wine and then write about it,” she laughs.
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Photographed by: [Tracy Nguyen.](https://www.instagram.com/tracythnguyen/?hl=en)
Styled by: [Mui-Hai Chu](https://www.instagram.com/muihai/?hl=en).
Hair: [Mikey Lorenzano](https://www.instagram.com/mikelorenzano/?hl=en) using [R+co.](https://www.randco.com/)
Makeup: [Mel Daniel Sandoval](https://www.instagram.com/mdanielmakeup/?hl=en) using [NARS Cosmetics.](https://www.narscosmetics.com/)
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