McDonald, Edward Lee "Mac"
1942-present · Contribution: 1995-present
Founded Vision Cellars in 1995, becoming one of the first Black-owned premium Pinot Noir labels in California, and co-founded the Association of African American Vintners in 2002 to expand Black participation in the wine industry
Portraits are AI-generated interpretations, not photographs.
Impact on the world
After a chance taste of Burgundy at age twelve and a 30-year day job at Pacific Gas & Electric, McDonald spent weekends for over a decade learning winemaking and viticulture from Charlie and Chuck Wagner of Napa's Caymus Vineyards before founding Vision Cellars with his wife, Lil, in 1995 — one of a small handful of Black-owned wine labels in California at the time, and still one of fewer than 60 African American-owned wineries nationwide. Vision Cellars' Pinot Noir has earned 90-plus-point ratings from Wine Spectator and been served at the White House on multiple occasions, including a 2005 Black Music Month dinner. In 2002 McDonald co-founded the Association of African American Vintners with Ernie Bates and Vance Sharp, growing it from three members at a backyard barbecue to more than 200, including major industry partners; the Sonoma County Library Foundation's Mac McDonald Leadership Award now honors emerging Black wine professionals in his name.
Life & background
Born November 28, 1942, the son of a moonshiner in a small East Texas town without a stoplight, McDonald moved to Oakland, California, in 1962 after high school, working for three decades at Pacific Gas & Electric while spending weekends in Napa and Sonoma asking questions at wineries that, for years, would not hire him. A chance friendship with Caymus Vineyards founder Charlie Wagner and his son Chuck gave McDonald fifteen years of hands-on mentorship in farming and winemaking, and in 1995 he and his wife, Lil, planted Pinot Noir clones on land in Sonoma County, releasing their first vintage in 1997 under the Vision Cellars label, still produced at Caymus to this day. Known for his trademark overalls and straw hat, McDonald has spent decades mentoring aspiring Black winemakers and pouring lesser-known Black-owned labels alongside his own at festivals and tastings nationwide; he announced his retirement and the closure of Vision Cellars in 2025 after three decades in business.
Sources
- Wine Spectator; SevenFifty Daily; The Press Democrat; Sonoma Magazine; Tasting Diversity (Mac Award)
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