by staff at retail shops. Other Black wine professionals tell of being assumed to be servers at wine tasting events. Some report being grilled about their qualifications at wine events, asked who they knew who had invited them, or treated as if they were "either an imposter or an assistant, never the boss." Until June 2020, the Court of Master Sommeliers required students to address Master Sommeliers as "master"; after sommelier Tahiirah Habibi related her discomfort during her 2011 introductory-level exam when she was the only person of color in the room, writing that her discomfort had been profound enough that she never again pursued any wine credentialling, they revised that requirement. Brenae Royal, vineyard manager at Gallo’s Monte Rosso Vineyard, describes being mistaken for clerical staff in meetings. Heather Johnston, a Brooklyn wine shop owner, describes having wine sales reps address their comments to her white male employee. Developments Mac MacDonald founded the AAAV in 2002 with Ernie Bates and Vance Sharp to not only "find the needle in the haystack that is the Black winemaker, but also know it's there in the first place." The organization was founded with the help of Urban Connoisseurs and the United Negro College Fund and supports African Americans pursuing careers in the wine industry. In 2005 Selena Cuffe co-founded Heritage Link Brands to support Black South African and Brazilian winemakers. Habibi in 2017 founded the Hue Society to provide a safe space for Black wine connoisseurs to enjoy wine without experiencing racism. San Francisco sommelier Tonya Pitts reported in June 2020 that Millennial and Gen Z wine drinkers proactively requested wines from women and persons of color and were willing to pay more for those wines. Long and winemakers Theodora Lee and Danny Glover reported profoundly increased sales during the US racial reckoning. In June 2020 the organization was reporting a surge in both memberships and donations. Coney created the Black Wine Professionals database in 2020 because she was tired of "being the only Black person invited to a tasting or on a sponsored trip to a wine region" and "seeing the wine industry toss money only to white social-media influencers" and because industry "gatekeepers" had said they didn't contact black wine professionals because they didn't know how. A group of wine professionals published Actionable Items for the Wine Community, a list of demands, in June 2020. Robinson and Mags Janjo were