Princess Margaret builds Sister Love’s fruit and herb wines from a single bucket

Jamaican entrepreneur Princess Margaret is turning familiar local fruits and herbs into fruit wines under the Sister Love’s Wines brand, offering an uncommon alternative to fresh produce and juices sold across the island.

Margaret said her aim was not merely another drink but a healthier lifestyle product that keeps the benefits of those ingredients in a form people will enjoy. The range includes sorrel, mango, ganja, and bamboo wine made from young bamboo shoots, along with Ribena and Medina varieties. She noted that the wines can be taken on their own, over ice, or mixed with a favourite juice or other drink. Garlic wine is also among the lines she has developed.

The venture did not scale quickly. Margaret recalled starting around 2014 and 2015 with almost nothing—one bucket at a time. She would process a batch of guinea hen weed and wait for it to firm before she could begin another. A bucket, she said, cost about $500 in those days.

Money has remained the main obstacle. Relief came after representatives spotted her at a pop-up event, took interest in the garlic wine she was making, and provided financing.

Sister Love’s Wines currently relies mainly on pre-orders and deliveries while Margaret looks for a distributor. Longer term, she wants the wines stocked across Jamaica and sold abroad. She argues the category is still new and unusual on the local market, and she believes that novelty will help it grow once more consumers encounter it.