Grape Expectations

With Ink Grade, Master Sommelier Carlton McCoy is creating a collection of sublime wines

- Terry Zarikian

NAMED A MASTER Sommelier at just 28 years old, Carlton McCoy was one of the youngest inductees into the organization as well as the second African American to earn the prestigious title. Raised in Southeast Washington, D.C., he grew up working in his family’s catering business, which sparked his interest in the restaurant world.

In 2002, he won a citywide cooking contest, earning a full scholarship to attend the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York. There, something different caught his attention: a wine class with the James Beard-winning writer and professor Steven Kolpan, which he says “opened my eyes to a completely new world.” With its complex classifications, varietals and global regions, oenology can be intimidating, but McCoy purposefully attended all the sessions to learn as much as he could from Kolpan.