Actress Regina King has introduced MianU, a limited-release orange wine named for “me and you” and created in honor of her only child, Ian Alexander Jr., who died in 2022. The first vintage, 500 cases (6,000 bottles), is available online and was crafted from Mendocino County fruit to reflect the pair’s shared love of food, flavor, and making ordinary moments feel special.
King says the project emerged from her ongoing ways of staying connected to Ian, including reading his journals. A stylized “M” he doodled appears on the label, and the name MianU nods to their bond, pronounced “me and you.”She’s described the launch as a spiritual extension of the memories they created together, including Ian introducing her to orange wine years ago.
MianU’s debut is a 2024 orange wine, a skin-contact blend of 75% Gewürztraminer and 25% Chardonnay sourced from McFadden Farm and Hawkeye Ranch in Mendocino. Tech specs list 12.75% ABV, low-intervention winemaking (neutral oak aging, bottled unfined and unfiltered with 27 ppm total SO₂), and organic vineyard sourcing (CCOF).
King’s tasting notes highlight apricot, melogold, Seville orange, honeysuckle, and white pepper. The wine is priced from $34, with nationwide shipping via the brand’s site.
Skin-contact whites have moved from niche to mainstream conversation in recent years. In the U.K., retailer Ocadoreported +99% year-over-year orange wine sales ahead of summer 2024, and menu tracking firm Datassential notes orange wine now appears on 1.1% of U.S. restaurant menus, up 32% in four years—small but growing pockets of curiosity amid a generally softer U.S. wine market. For King, who intentionally kept MianU intimate at 6,000 bottles, the style’s texture and versatility match the way she and Ian liked to cook and host.
MianU’s site frames the wine as an invitation to connection—“Made for Me & You”—and pairs the release with short conversations King leads with friends and creators about art, food, and the memories that linger. It’s a brand story built less on celebrity scale and more on presence: a small, personal label, meant to be opened at a table where stories are told.
Quick facts
- Release size: 500 cases (6,000 bottles).
- Blend: 75% Gewürztraminer / 25% Chardonnay; Mendocino County.
- Winemaking: Skin-contact Gewürztraminer; Chardonnay whole-cluster pressed; neutral oak aging; unfined, unfiltered; 12.75% ABV; 27 ppm total SO₂; organic vineyard sources.
- Price & availability: From $34 at MianUWines.com.
- Inspiration: Named for “me and you”; label features an “M” from Ian’s journals.
Regina King is an Academy Award–winning actor and director whose career spans four decades, from the sitcom 227 to acclaimed turns in American Crime and Watchmen, where she tied the record for most acting Emmys won by a Black performer. She won the 2019 Oscar for If Beale Street Could Talk and made her feature directing debut with One Night in Miami…, cementing a reputation for emotionally precise, socially observant storytelling on both sides of the camera.
