Brie Bella, a former WWE star, arrives in Las Vegas this Friday to lift a glass at a restaurant's opening, carrying with her the quieter story of a wrestler turned vintner. Nearly a decade into running Bonita Bonita with her twin sister Nikki, she speaks of the lessons that no business school taught her: that a shipping bill rises with the summer heat, that a missed sales month is a question to be asked rather than a verdict to be accepted. It is the familiar human path of learning a trade by stumbling through it, and the willingness to examine one's own habits is what keeps a young enterprise
Brie Bella on Bonita Bonita's Hard-Learned Business Lessons and Her Ideal Las Vegas Day
No one told me the shipping would be higher in summer
Mark
Why does a wine interview with a wrestler belong in an economy story?
Mimi
Because Brie Bella is describing small-business mechanics. She hired people, priced wine, and got caught by shipping costs that were higher in summer than in fall.
Mark
That shipping detail is oddly specific.
Mimi
It is. She said nobody told her about it, and it's the kind of thing business school would have covered.
Luke
Worth noting that it's her own account. We have no sales figures, revenue, or margins, so we can't say how large the mistakes were.
Mark
She does say she's in a good place now.
Luke
She does, but that's a self-assessment. The piece offers nothing independent showing the brand is thriving.
Mimi
What it does show is a process. Each month they ask whether a miss came from too little promotion or from a wine nobody wanted.
Mark
And then they change course.
Mimi
Yes, and they're planning different moves for 2027 than for 2026, though she doesn't say what those moves are.
Luke
Right, and the millennial-buyer claim is her impression too. No data is cited.
Mark
So what's actually confirmed?
Luke
That she's appearing Friday at JP Brasserie, and that she said all this in an interview.
Il Polso
- Shipping costs climbed in summer, a surprise that exposed how little the sisters had known about the math of their own business.
- Every missed sales month sends them back to the same hard question: did we fail to promote, or did we release wines nobody wanted?
- They are testing and changing their methods in real time, treating each shortfall as a signal to adjust rather than a reason to retreat.
- Their plan for 2027 aims at a higher level of sales, aimed squarely at millennial drinkers, the core of their customer base, as Friday's Vegas appearance marks the next step.
Brie Bella, a former WWE star, arrives in Las Vegas this Friday to lift a glass at a restaurant's opening, carrying with her the quieter story of a wrestler turned vintner. Nearly a decade into running Bonita Bonita with her twin sister Nikki, she speaks of the lessons that no business school taught her: that a shipping bill rises with the summer heat, that a missed sales month is a question to be asked rather than a verdict to be accepted. It is the familiar human path of learning a trade by stumbling through it, and the willingness to examine one's own habits is what keeps a young enterprise standing.
Brie Bella is set to appear Friday at JP Brasserie and Sports Den in Las Vegas, where the restaurant is celebrating its opening with a pour of Bonita Bonita, the wine she runs with her twin sister Nikki. Fans of the former WWE Divas champion will have a chance to meet her and share a glass.
In a recent interview, Bella spoke less about wrestling than about the business she has built since. Without a business background, she said, she learned through trial and error what others learn in school. Hiring taught her that employees rarely share a founder's passion; most simply show up and do good work. The numbers taught her harder lessons. She had not known that shipping would cost more in summer than in fall, and budgeting was difficult for both sisters at first. After almost ten years in the industry, she admits to many financial mistakes but says they now understand the business.
The sisters have made a habit of examining their misses. When a month falls short, they ask whether they promoted too little or whether the wine itself failed to find buyers, then change course accordingly. That habit will shape 2027, when they plan to do some things differently in hopes of reaching a higher level. Their core customers are millennials, with some Gen Z, and Bella credits that audience with helping the brand's growth.
The interview also turned to Las Vegas. Bella described JP Brasserie as a warm, speakeasy-style lounge, and sketched her ideal day: a spa visit at the Wynn with a cold plunge and a hydration IV, then dinner at Delilah's for its music and atmosphere. She prefers lounges to clubs, and at home she is in bed by 9 p.m. Her younger self would have answered differently. Friday's appearance is the next marker, followed by whatever changes the sisters make to their approach.
Brie Bella is scheduled to appear Friday at JP Brasserie and Sports Den in Las Vegas, where the restaurant is celebrating its opening and she will help mark the occasion with Bonita Bonita wine, the brand she runs with her twin sister, Nikki. Fans of the former WWE Divas champion and Hall of Famer will be able to meet her and have a glass.
In a recent interview with OutKick Dropkick, Bella spoke less about wrestling than about the business side of her career, and she was candid about how she learned it. Without a business background, she said, she picked up through her various ventures the lessons others get in business school. She named hiring as one example: she had expected employees to share the same passion and vision she has for the company, and found that they are employees who show up and do good work.
The numbers were another hard teacher. Bella described learning what the wine itself cost, only to discover that nobody had told her shipping would be more expensive in summer than in fall. Budgeting and the broader math of the business, she said, were difficult for her and Nikki at first. The two have now been in the wine industry for almost 10 years. She acknowledged making a lot of financial mistakes along the way, but said she is now in a good place and understands everything.
The sisters have built a routine around reviewing their results. When they miss their sales numbers for a month, they ask what held them back. One possibility is that they did not promote enough. The other is that nobody was buying the particular wine they released. They examine how they are doing things, Bella said, and then change them.
That habit will carry into the coming year. She said they plan to do some things differently in 2027 than in 2026, hoping to reach the next level, and she credits that willingness to adjust with keeping the business afloat. She also pointed to their customers: millennials are the core buyers, she said, with some Gen Z as well, and millennials like to drink, which has worked in the brand's favor.
The interview also touched on Las Vegas itself. Bella described JP Brasserie and Sports Den as having a speakeasy feel, a place where guests can feel warm and cozy. Asked what her perfect Vegas day would look like, she started with a spa day. Her favorite is at the Wynn, which has a cold plunge, and she and Nikki like to add a hydration IV.
Dinner comes next. She wants to feel like she is somewhere else, with the details, the smells and the music, which is why they go to Delilah's for live music and food she called fabulous. She also likes a good show. Clubs are not for her. She and Nikki like JP's because it is a lounge, and she says she cannot have chaos. At home she is in bed by 9 p.m., and in Vegas by about 11. It is different from her twenties, she said, and that version of her would have given a very different answer.
The next marker is Friday's appearance, followed by whatever changes the sisters make to Bonita Bonita's approach in 2027.
Citazioni salienti
She had to learn the hard way what people learn in business school, and has made a lot of financial mistakes.— Brie Bella, to OutKick Dropkick
She and Nikki review missed monthly numbers to see whether promotion or demand was the cause, then switch things up.— Brie Bella, to OutKick Dropkick
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