POLAND TOWNSHIP, Ohio – L’uva Bella Winery has a new owner, but the business is staying in the family. S’quared Holdings recently closed on the purchase of the wine products company. The investment fund is jointly owned by Marisa Sergi, CEO and winemaker of RedHead Brands, and Evan Schumann, an entrepreneur and fifth-generation whose family owns Bedford-based metal refinery I. Schumann & Co. Sergi’s father, Frank, started L’uva Bella 15 years ago.
Is it possible that the mere mention of free hot wings could alter one’s destiny? For Marisa Sergi, the answer to that question was a resounding “Yes.”
As a student at Cornell University studying enology and viticulture, Sergi had been developing a unique wine blend as her capstone project for graduation, but never imagined it would turn into a full-blown business. That all changed when Sergi got an email about a student entrepreneur organization’s meeting offering free hot wings. Read more
Talk about #SparkGoals—Marisa launched RedHead Wine at age 19. Now she’s looking to make it bigger and better than ever.
Marisa Sergi’s goal to be a winemaker was set before she could legally drink wine: She crushed her first grapes with her father and grandfather when she was just a child. By the time she graduated from Cornell University’s viticulture and enology program, the third-generation winemaker from Youngstown, Ohio, was forming her own business plan. Read more
Over the course of ten months, about 1,000 nominations poured in from a public online portal, 30 Under 30 alumni and our own industry sources. We vetted trailing financials and discussed velocity with independent investors. We ate mouth-numbing dry hot pot in New York’s East Village, tasted orange corn grits in Indianapolis and visited a natural winery in the hills of Santa Clara. Read more
LOWELLVILLE, Ohio —Marisa Sergi says, for her family, winemaking is a tradition.
- Youngstown native Marisa Sergi launched her wine company at just 23 years old
- The 26-year-old is traveling around the state to promote her signature red blend and rose
- She produces her wine out of her family winery, Luva Bella, just outside Youngstown
People sometimes say “the media” focus only on bad news.
Folks, that’s not us. We’re not “the media.” We’re just your humble home-town newspaper, and we’re doing some cool stuff to celebrate the goodness of Cleveland
First up will be Homegrown Heroes, a celebration of local entrepreneurs. We and our sister newsroom at cleveland.com (which is leading the charge on this effort) asked our readers for nominations, and scores of folks replied. Thanks for that. The nominees are a fantastically diverse group, ranging from medical innovation to neighborhood entrepreneurs. Read more
We met Marisa Sergi at Walmart’s “Open Call,” where she pitched her RedHead Wine that is now in over 150 Walmart stores! Read more
Redhead Wines is an offshoot of the third-generation winery, L’uva Bella, located outside Youngstown. Owner Marisa Sergi studied winemaking at Cornell University and was determined to make a name for herself in the wine industry. Read more
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