Wondry on Shark Tank: Meet founders Whitney and Chaz of the unique wine company

Founders of Wondry wine, Whitney and Chaz Gates, are all set to appear on the sixth episode of Shark Tank season 14 on Friday, November 11, 2022, at 8 pm ET on ABC. In the upcoming episode, the husband and wife will pitch for their product in the hope of finding an investor.

The synopsis of the new episode of Shark Tank reads:

“A husband and wife from Plano, Texas, hope to get the Sharks buzzing in the Tank with their re-imagined, higher-alcohol level, fruit-infused wine collection.”

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Shark Tank: Everything you need to know about Wondry wine

Shark Tank’s Wondry is a cocktail wine that “are 100% natural & infused with organic berry, citrus & exotic fruit extracts – no artificial ingredients,” as per their official website wondrywine.com.

Based in Dallas, Texas, the company makes semi-sweet, fruit-infused cocktail wines with 13.9% alcohol content. The wine costs from $15-$60 and can be ordered from their official website. It is also available in the Dallas area’s Target and Total Wine stores.

The “BLACK-OWNED BRAND” is also a “5-TIME MEDAL WINNER at the oldest, most prestigious texas wine competition,” Lone Star International Wine Competition, as per Wondry Wine Instagram.

With every purchase, they “make a donation to under-represented entrepreneurs as we help bring our communities one step closer to unity & inclusion.”

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Who are Wondry founders Whitney and Chaz appearing on Shark Tank?

Married couple Whitney and Chaz Gates co-founded Wondry Wine. Chaz is a practicing attorney who practiced law in New York before moving back to his hometown in Texas.

Whitney earned an MBA from Washington University in St Louis and has worked at several major companies, including Coca-Cola and 7UP.

The idea of Wondry was born when Whitney was a little girl and too young to drink. She was inspired by her uncle, who was an expert in winemaking. She told SHOUTOUT DFW:

“Around the age of 10, I began visiting my late Uncle LC, who was paralyzed from the waist down but stood tall as the beacon of his Nashville community.”

She added:

“He was a master of all trades – barbequing, baking, conversating…but most of all, homemade winemaking. I would watch in awe as he rolled his way through his garage using the oddest of tools to turn the most interesting foods into wine.”

“With just a nylon glove & gallon jug,” her late uncle would turn fruits like “peaches, grapes, pears – & even corn on the cob – into this refreshing looking “happy juice.”

Although she was forbidden from drinking then, she saw how her family and “community drank this wine like it was water.” The wine was a conversation starter for all “but most importantly, a unifier that brought people together for carefree moments of enjoyment & escape.”

Years later, she recreated her childhood moments in her kitchen and created wine. She said:

“8 years ago, as an adult of legal drinking age, I craved to recreate those moments. So, just like my Uncle LC, I began toiling around my kitchen. I combined a range of fruits with yeast & after a few failed attempts stumbled upon something shockingly delicious – a semi-sweet, fruit-forward wine with a noticeable alcohol kick.”

Finally, in 2017, mother-of-one Whitney decided to start Wondry. She said:

“One evening in 2017 I had a couple of drinks & an aha moment. Memories of my Uncle LC floated in my mind & collided with newfound observation: the wine industry is so pretentious & exclusive. It was when I recognized this tension, WONDRY Wine Co. was re-born.”

The couple packs, produces, and labels every single bottle of Wondry Wine, and now they'll be appearing on Shark Tank to look for investments.

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Tune in to ABC on Friday, November 11, to find out if Whitney and Chaz were able to impress Sharks Daymond John, Kevin O’Leary, Lori Greiner, Mark Cuban, and guest Shark Peter Jones on Shark Tank.