Raising a Glass To The Disabled
David-Elijah Nahmod is an American/Israeli of Syrian descent who has…
In July 1990, Congress enacted the Americans With Disabilities Act, a wide ranging civil-rights law meant to prevent discrimination based on disability.
Disability comes in many forms: blindness, deafness, loss of limbs, as well as emotional and mood disorders — all are among the conditions covered by ADA Law.
“The numbers are staggering,” Scott Monette said. “Almost 57 million Americans are living with a disability. Two thirds of whom are completely outside of the workforce. It struck me that this is the last significant minority group that is outside of mainstream society in the country.”
Monette feels that raising disability awareness and visibility will bring some much needed positive changes to the lives of people who are disabled.
“Disability could touch each and every one of us,” he said. “Disability cuts across race, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation and income levels. On top of the 57 million Americans living with disabilities, there are another 100 million Americans where someone they love has a disability. That is almost 53% of the total American population.”
These are issues that Monette understands all too well. His son Matthew, 20 years old, is deaf and is on the autism spectrum.
Inspired by his son’s disabilities, Monette launched 100 Percent Wines out of St. Louis, Missouri, a company dedicated not only to fine wines, but to helping the disabled find their way into the workforce.
“I wanted my work to have meaning and to try to address an issue that was becoming more and more relevant for our family as Matthew got older — his employment,” Monette said. “I started talking to everyone about potential job opportunities and really did not see a pathway for Matthew or others that I was excited about. The more people I spoke to, the more I didn’t hear anyone talking about fundamentally changing the employment prospects for this population. I was naive enough to want to try.”
100 Percent Wines is a wine distributor on the surface, but at its core works to help progress a community that often goes unnoticed. Donating all profits from the company to nonprofit organizations working to create jobs for those living with disabilities, Monette took something nearly everyone enjoys and put it to a greater mission.
“Wine is about celebration,” he said. “I wanted to have this conversation in a positive and uplifting way, not focused on social justice or discrimination. You have a bottle of wine with family or friends because you are celebrating something. I thought that if we could bring people living with disabilities into this conversation over a glass of wine, that would be interesting.”
It’s also giving those who benefit from the program something to celebrate. A job not only unlocks economic possibilities, but gives people a sense of dignity and respect. This is something Belo Cipriani knows all too well.
At age 26, Cipriani was fully sighted, but a violent assault in 2007 left him totally blind. Seven years later, Cipriani, author of the acclaimed, award winning book Blind: A Memoir, is an in-demand speaker and columnist who addresses disability issues and now an important asset to 100 Percent Wines as he stands as an advocate for the company and vision of Monette.
“We are honored that Belo agreed to represent us publicly,” Monette said. “He is helping us in ways far outside of his comfort zone, which speaks to how important our mission is to him as well. Belo is as passionate about employment creation as we are, so we are a great team. I have learned a lot from Belo and look forward to continuing our relationship. On top of being a great spokesman for our cause, he is a good businessman who understands what it takes to be successful.”
In addition to making people’s lives better, partaking in 100 Percent Wines is a guaranteed taste bud pleasing experience — we were able to sample the company’s red blend before filing this column.
The red blend and Sauvignon Blanc have already been rated 90+ points and have been endorsed by Master Sommeliers. They just introduced a moscato wine as their third variety.
“We knew that we had to have a great product experience,” said Monette. “The bar is high, but we would not have gotten into the business if we could not deliver.”
Their wine is made with a musque clone grape, so it has more fruit and less acid than a traditional wine.
If you’d like to enjoy a superb wine tasting experience, or to get involved with 100 Percent Wines disability mission, please visit drinkwinehelppeople.org. After all, we all love a good celebration.
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David-Elijah Nahmod is an American/Israeli of Syrian descent who has lived in New York City and Tel Aviv. Currently in San Francisco, his eclectic writing career has included LGBTQ and Jewish publications, and monster magazines. Follow him on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/David-Elijah-Nahmod-Author-633417923400442/ and Twitter:DavidElijahN