Negus Winery/Habtamu Seyum
Gize Negussie, owner of Negus Winery and Meadery.
An new Ethiopian winery and meadery — which may be the first of its kind in the United States — is open here in Alexandria.
For the Ethiopian community, January was a season of celebration. The month is considered an ideal time to get married, and also includes the important Ethiopian Orthodox celebrations of Christmas (January 7) and Timkat on January 19. This time is preceded by a time of fasting, where observers abstain from meat and dairy.
“Because of that, everybody’s looking forward to eating and drinking. Everybody’s waiting for that time to gather and celebrate, and honey wine is a must-have on the table,” said Gize Negussie, owner of Negus Winery and Meadery, which opened its tasting room in the late fall of 2023. Negussie believes it is the first honey wine tasting room in the United States, conveniently located in the area that is home to the largest Ethiopian population outside of the country itself.
Negussie, who was born and raised in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, entered the alcohol business after being inspired by the enterprising vineyards in the San Francisco area, where he worked for 10 years running a transportation business. He moved to the D.C. area in 2018 with the dream of creating a business producing and selling Ethiopian drinks.
Negus Winery/Hermela Negus
His first venture was brewing beer made from teff, the grain which is used in the popular Ethiopian flatbread. His drinks were successful until the pandemic wreaked havoc on his clients, which were mainly Ethiopian restaurants and businesses.
Returning to San Francisco, where his two siblings still live, Negussie had to regroup. His mother, who lives in Addis Ababa, had also come to San Francisco during the pandemic and she suggested Negussie learn how to make tej. Every family has their own recipe of the 3000-year-old drink, once reserved for royalty and now a central feature of any Ethiopian celebration.
Whenever Negussie’s mother made tej, or Ethiopian honey wine, he and his siblings would race to taste the unfermented drink before it was sealed. The wine needs to be cut off from oxygen as it ferments, but the sweet, unfermented drink, called birz, is given to kids too young for alcohol.
“I remember I couldn’t wait to drink it,” Negussie said, smiling broadly at the recollection. “So before she closed it, we were running in to get that drink.”
Drawn to the idea of starting a business around a drink that is both a source of national pride and a shining childhood memory, Negussie set out to learn his mother’s craft. His first try, with Costco honey, was iffy.
“And then she tried it and she told me ‘dump it,’” Negussie said. “Because it was horrible. It was bad.”
After a while, Negussie had refined his technique and modernized the process with his knowledge of brewing. They tried out 20 different types of honey and decided to use honey from a supplier in Lancaster, Pennsylvania after his mom tried it and said, “this is the right one.”
Negussie moved back to Alexandria in late 2020 — once the COVID-19 vaccine arrived — and they started production in 2021 during a nerve-wracking time when restaurants were still closed and few orders were coming in. But as things began to open up and the opportunity to open a tasting room came along, the response has been positive. The tasting room, filled with live edge tables and colorful artwork by local Ethiopian artists, boasts a welcoming atmosphere and an opportunity to participate in a nostalgic tradition, or find a new favorite drink.
“We see a lot of people fall in love with our honey wines in the tasting room. That actually gives me a lot of joy,” Negussie said. He dreams of expanding the business into a full-sized winery, raising their own bees and cultivating grapes for wine.
For now, though, you can enjoy both birz and several varieties of tej at the Negus tasting room at 5509 Vine St. in Alexandria's Eisenhower West neighborhood, within walking distance of the Van Dorn Street Metro station. Guests of any age can enjoy birz in the tasting room, and they can host events with up to 100 people in their indoor-outdoor space. Tej Tuesday will be starting Feb. 6, with 25% off for Negus Winery and Meadery clients.
Their products are also available at Ethiopian restaurants across D.C., Maryland and Virginia, including Enjera Restaurant, Meaza Restaurant and Nazret Ethiopia Restaurant. Their wine can also be ordered online. Note that the bottled products differ from the honey wine served at the tasting room, which is unfiltered and closer to the traditional way of enjoying the drink. You can also enjoy offerings from a food truck during select hours. For upcoming events, keep an eye on their Instagram account @negus_winery.
Tasting room hours:
- Monday: Closed
- Tuesday: 2 p.m. – 8 p.m.
- Wednesday: 2 p.m. – 9 p.m.
- Thursday: 11 p.m. – 9 p.m.
- Friday: 11 a.m. – 11 p.m.
- Saturday: 11 a.m. – 11 p.m.
- Sunday: 11 a.m.– 9 p.m.
