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Supermodel Ashley Graham is familiar with the spotlight. From the moment she landed her first modeling gig over 25 years ago, she’s been a champion for diverse representation of bodies in the media landscape. Now, she’s ready to embark on a new, albeit intertwined, journey: wine.
Lucci Lambrusco, a dry, sparkling red wine, founded by Graham and her business partner, Danny Epstein, officially launched Wednesday morning. “I’ve seen a lot of celebrity brands in the alcohol space, but there isn’t anything on the market [where] you can say, ‘Oh, I know this Lambrusco that I love very well, and just blurt the name out,’” Graham says over a Zoom call ahead of the launch. “There’s many different tequilas, white wines, Proseccos. But when it comes to an actual Lambrusco, there [wasn’t] one.”
The other “Why?” for starting this new brand? Bubbles. “The bubble alcohol business is a $10 billion business,” Graham says. “It’s growing rapidly.”
Our conversation starts with a history lesson, as she explains that Lambrusco was popular in the United States in the ’80s, and as palates changed and people stopped drinking it, the beverage became harder to find. Now she only sees it at “trendy restaurants” or “random little wine shops,” rather than grocery and liquor stores. Graham recognizes that gap in the market as an opportunity to “revive a category that’s been dead for a very long time.”
It’s no secret that the alcoholic beverage sector has grown increasingly saturated with celebrity brands, but bringing Lambrusco back from the dead – at least in the United States – is exactly what Graham says makes Lucci so unique.
Lucci took three years to build, and Graham credits this to meticulous attention to detail. Alongside Epstein, she says it was important that this project didn’t feel like they were “throwing spaghetti on the wall.” She continues, “If I’m not going to eat it, wear it, ride it, enjoy it, have it be a part of my life and my culture, in my home and everything, then it’s not going to sell. It’s not going to do anything for me. What’s it going to do for the people who follow me?”
The intersection of entrepreneurship and modeling is brought up by Graham before I get a chance to ask. She compares reviving a category to her career; she’s used to changing people’s minds — whether it be about body diversity or sparkling red wine.
On the topic of her career, she touches on the current state of the fashion industry and a regression of inclusivity in recent years. “There’s felt like a big shift in the fashion industry for plus-size girls just in the last few years,” Graham says. “It’s been gutting and hard to swallow because there’s just not been as much opportunity.” She does believe that there has been slow and steady progress for brands like Victoria’s Secret, though, saying that they have “literally opened up the doors to more plus sizes.” But naturally, “they still have a ways to go.”
“Do they have all the sizes that they should to be a true body diversity brand? No, they don’t,” she admits. “That’s not okay, but what’s okay is that they’re working towards it.”
As she looks ahead, she teases that she will make a few surprise appearances across film and television this year. In Dec. 2025, Variety reported that she would be a guest star in the upcoming final season of “Survival of the Thickest.” Most recently, she executive-produced and starred in “Side Hustlers,” a reality competition show following several women trying to scale up their side hustles.
Beyond that, she just wants people to enjoy what she’s spent three years creating. If the brand releases additional products, she indicated that consumer feedback would be top of mind; “If we end up doing another SKU, it’ll be one that the people have said that they wanted.”
When first tasked with the challenge of bringing Lambrusco back into the American household, Graham asked herself, “Who better to do it than me?” After tasting it, I’d have to agree.
Lucci retails for $19.99 and is available online at www.reservebar.com and other major retailers, including Whole Foods, Publix, Harris Teeter, and Total Wine.
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