Tiffany Harvey, founder and CEO of Thee House of Harvey, is like a grape that grew from concrete. Born and raised on the hard-knocks South Side of Chicago, Tiffany was blessed with role models who exposed her to different parts of the city and infused into her an appreciation for the finer things.

“Escaping my neighborhood environment created a sense of curiosity in me to explore more, and this familiarity was triggered when I started to experience wine tastings,” Tiffany recalls how she feel in love with wine on her first sip.

The pediatric nurse visited Niagara on the Lake in the summer of 2013 and was instantly enamored with wine culture — the adventure and mystery, the rewards of pouring, sipping and exploring different wines from various regions. Tiffany became a passionate student of wine, traveling to Black-owned tastings rooms across the country and making regular trips to vineyards, particularly in Napa, where she received her WSET certification in 2023.

Working as a frontline healthcare provider during the COVID-19 pandemic brought Tiffany a couple of realizations: that the dedication and sacrifice she had poured into 14 years as a pediatric nurse was largely unappreciated, and that it was time to pour as much into herself as she had served others.

After partnering with a custom grape-crusher in Chicago, Tiffany selected varietal choices that she enjoys and believes are welcoming to new wine explorers, and in 2023 launched Thee House of Harvey’s first two varietals: a Prosecco with notes of apple, melon and peach with a crisp finish, and a Pinot Grigio with strong notes of citrus, green apple and floral with a smooth finish.

“Being so new to the industry, I felt like these varietal choices are great introductions to the world of wine,” Tiffany says. “They are straightforward and not complex.”

The Black Wine community has been an invaluable tribe for Tiffany as she navigated an adventurous and challenging first year as a winemaker, and her immediate goal is to have Thee House of Harvey poured in tasting rooms and other venues that provide patrons with personalized luxury. A long-term ambition is Thee House of Harvey becoming a Napa-style tasting room catering to urban sophisticates.

“I was raised, ‘It’s not where you live, but how you live,’ and I’m excited more people from my community and background are seeing themselves as deserving of luxury and finer tastes,” Tiffany says.