“Sometimes, it’s just perception”

“What excites me is big challenges.”
Mexican-born musician Diana Roca is telling me about her latest venture. To me, it sounds like an enormous challenge: creating a luxury wine brand – Mexico’s first – from scratch!
“Yes, it’s a big challenge but someone has to do it,” she continues.
The Anclados Wine brand, started by Diana and friends Irma Rios and Jesus Villarreal in 2019, gained a commended medal at this year’s International Wine Challenge with a blend of Syrah, Tempranillo and Cabernet Sauvignon.


The wine is currently available in fine-dining restaurants in two states in the USA: California and Texas. “They’re big states – big, big markets. So, there’s a lot to do,” Diana smiles.
These are also states with high numbers of Hispanics, who tend to be more receptive to Mexican products.
Annual production is relatively small and retail prices are between $65 in liquor stores and $90 to $250 in restaurants. But Diana declares: “I want to expand quickly. I want to open states and I’ve just contacted distributors in Colorado, Nevada, New York, and Florida, but what I’ve learned is that no-one follows up with your project, and it’s a product that does not sell itself – it’s Mexican, and it’s not cheap.
“It needs the storytelling.”


The charismatic entrepreneur is good at storytelling. She’s a singer-songwriter first and foremost.

‘I’m in the rodeo’

She’s in Texas – telling her story and building the brand and a salesforce – when we catch up on a video call.
“I’ve found out so many things that you wouldn’t know if you don’t come here,” she says. “There’s a lot of Mexican vineyard owners that stay in Mexico, and just hire someone here. But I’m in the rodeo – I get out there, I talk to waiters, I see all the mistakes.
“Basically, the main strategy is I go to restaurants, mainly Mexican restaurants. There are so many here, so for now I don’t need to do any more than that. There’s a lot of Mexicans here, a lot of Mexicans with money.
“I started with the Mexican restaurants – fine dining, of course. I go for the sommelier, wine buyer. I talk to them about my wine. We taste together. They usually like it and bring it in the menu. And then I do a staff training. I talk to all the waiters, and we taste together. And I give them tech sheets. I’m doing a lot of training, a lot. That has been, for me, the most effective way to connect with all the waiters and to give them incentives – like whoever sells more in the month, I’ll give you this and that.”


She’s opening accounts with two cases of wine. “I go restaurant by restaurant, and each restaurant asks for 24 bottles. Then they run out. It’s the fastest way I can multiply right now, as I’m just by myself.
“I don’t have salespeople, I don’t have anyone, and I don’t have any money to push it. So, taking that into account, I don’t think I’m doing that bad.”
Even with these limitations, she sets her sights high: “I’m focused on fine dining and want to go against big names in wines because, why not? We focus on quality, classic style and we have a chance to be out there with the big ones. Sometimes, it’s just perception.”


As well as singing the praises of this new wine brand, Diana is trying to advance her music career in tandem. Following her appearance in 2020’s La Voz México singing contest, she is recording jazz-tinged covers of hits from the 1980s and 1990s in Los Angeles at music producer Humberto Gatica’s LionShare Studios. Videos have been filmed in Barcelona, Cancun, Las Vegas and Los Angeles.
Diana came to Los Angeles originally to pursue her dream of a career in music. While there, she saw an opportunity to promote the wines from the region where she grew up and provide something different for LA diners – as Diana noticed the top restaurants in Beverly Hills listed similar wines. So, she teamed up with Jesus Villarreal, who is one of the visionary entrepreneurs behind Vinicola Parvada in Parras de la Fuente. Vinicola Parvada (founded in 2017) produces a wide range of red, white and rosé wines for the domestic market and visitors who come to its beautiful tasting room, restaurant and boutique hotel. Diana set up Anclados Wine to export the best of these wines to high-end restaurants in the USA “because that’s what I’m interested in”.
“My goal originally was to put fine Mexican wine on every wine list in Beverly Hills,” she says.

‘It’s too much’

Trying to hit the right notes in the music and wine industries simultaneously seems an even bigger challenge. I wonder if it’s too much.
“Yes, it’s too much,” she admits, “but I already got into it, and I don’t know how to get out of it either – out of either of the two – so, I better just push as much as I can, as best as I can. I thought about just doing one thing – and I’ve tried it before – but I get bored.
“I think my mind needs more than one subject in my life, and I like to go back and forth. Like when I’m reading a book – I get bored just reading one book, so I need to be reading two books at the same time. I read every day, it’s my morning ritual. Before I get out of bed, I meditate, and then I kind of do a quick prayer, and then I read 10 pages every day, so I cannot be doing the same book.”
The books reflect her current interests – they could be about business or business leaders or writing poetry.
From the books, we return to the subject of storytelling. It seems to be her key selling point. It’s what makes Anclados Wine stand out.
I suggest she is the story; she is the brand.


“Yes, I’m selling myself when I sell the wine,” she confirms, before going on to explain the wine’s other strongpoints: “It’s the label as well – the look and vibe of the brand. The fact that it’s from Mexico also kind of makes people curious. When I tell them it’s a fine wine, I’m challenging them to see if it’s true. ‘Really, from Mexico? Let me taste it,’ they say.
“Even if people are not initially interested in Mexican wine, maybe the story or something in the story grabs their attention. Like, oh, this girl from Torreón, Mexico, is doing this. Someone else could be hooked on something different, like the music and wine. It’s not just one element.”
The wine is made by the highly rated Lucia Garcia at Vinicola Parvada in the Valle de Parras, Coahuila, a small region that has been producing wine since the 16th century (Casa Madero, established in 1597, is the first and oldest operating winery in North America).
Diana says the warm and arid climate and high vineyards make it a special area for Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Tempranillo – which has a different flavour profile to Tempranillo from Spain.
The winery also produces a Cabernet Franc varietal for the brand.

Future plans

We finish our conversation talking about the future. Diana wants to be in more states in the USA and export to other countries, such as the UK. She also wants to expand the range of wines by taking the best wines from five or six Mexican wineries and rebranding them as Anclados Wine.
“My vision is clear – bringing only the best out of Mexico, teaming up with the best wine Mexico has to offer,” she says.
But this expansion requires money, so the next step is to find some investors.
“I now know how to do it, but I just cannot multiply my time and myself,” Diana points out. “I need the money to be able to do all these strategies and grow faster. So, I’m working on a business plan with a venture capital company. I want to do it right, and I want to present it to a bunch of investors, and I want to raise a good amount of money with a well-made plan, and I want to stop playing small.”
Her ultimate goal is to turn her wine brand into “the first Mexican luxury house like Hermes. Starting with wine and slowly turning it into a lifestyle brand that represents the fine taste of Mexico”.

‘I want to stop playing small’