You are currently browsing the tag archive for the ‘Family Business’ tag.
On Friday, we departed the bay area for the California central coast. My family and I will be spending a week with my brother and his family, my sister, and my parents. We have rented a home in Cayucos about a block from the beach. Why Cayucos you may ask, well it is situated about half-way between the bay area (were we live) and San Diego (where everyone else lives) . Cayucos is a tiny little town situated right on the coast and is only about 15 minutes from San Luis Obispo or 30 – 45 minutes from Paso Robles.
The drive down to Paso Robles was smooth, although we did see a few too many Highway Patrol cars for my taste. We ended up leaving the bay area a little later than planned which had us rolling into Paso Robles around 1:30pm. We parked downtown just a few blocks of the main square. After a few minutes of searching for a place to eat, we ended up selecting Thomas Hill Market Bistro and Wine Bar.
This little bistro was just right for us. The food was delicious and the setting was relaxing as we choose to eat out in the courtyard patio which will lead you into several other local shops if you like. I had the grilled sockeye salmon salad with a glass of pinot grigio which was perfect on a warm Paso Robles afternoon. The rest of the family ordered the chicken breast sandwich that came with smoked applewood bacon, apple and fresh mozzarella. I managed to score a bite of sandwich and would have been happy ordering that as well. My wife was impressed with how fresh and delicious the fruits were. It turns out the owner of the restaurant also has their own small family run organic farm from which they also sell baskets of fruits and vegetables to individuals who subscribe to the weekly program.
After lunch we headed to the town square for a stroll. While it was warm, there was plenty of shade to be found under some of the well established trees. After a few minutes of walking around I headed over to Edward Sellers as I wanted to make their acquaintance and taste some of their current offerings. Their wine is fairly priced and easy to drink. My favorite of the few wines I tasted was the 2006 Syrah Selectionee. It had good fruit and a nice finish to it. I enjoyed speaking with Kendall, who walked me through the wines and filled me in on whats going on at the winery. Edward Sellers is another winery Uncorked Ventures would like to partner with going forward.
From downtown Robles we headed west on 46 until we reached Vineyard Road where made a right and another quick right. We had arrived at Linne Calodo Winery. I had been planning on coming here for several weeks and knew I would not be disappointed.
As we were trying to locate the tasting room one of the winery staff was kind enough to point us in the right direction and follow us into the building. As it turns out, the staff member happened to be Matt Trevisan, who actually is the winemaker and owner. We talked with him at length about his winery, the wine he makes, and other wine and non-wine related topics. It turns out that Matt lived not to far from where I grew up in San Diego. As they say, it truly is a small world.
The wines that Matt and his staff were pouring on Friday afternoon included: 2006 Outsider, 2007 Problem Child, 2007 Sticks and Stones, and the 2006 Nemesis. I would have liked to acquire multiple bottles of each for my cellar, but ended up purchasing a couple bottles of the 2007 Problem Child (72% Zin, 16% Syrah, and 12% Mourvedre). Linne Calodo represents some of the best of what Paso Robles has to offer, but unfortunately in limited quantities.
From Linne Calodo we headed over to Turly Wine Cellars which is just on the other side of the 46. I have been on the mailing list of Turley for a few years now. I generally order my full allocation and enjoy sharing this wine with several of my friends. Turley is not for everyone as they produce very big wines. Some find their wines too high in alcohol or too jammy. I happen to be a fan and believe some of their offerings are world class. There are several bottles of Turley in my cellar which I look forward to consuming over the coming years. Given the day was getting long, Turley represented our last winery.
From Turley we continued west on 46 and then found our way through a bit of the back country hills until we arrived at Cayucos which is where I am now. I look forward to this next week with my family. Fortunately we all get along as do all the little and not so little cousins. It is great to spend time together eating, drinking, and just catching up over a game of cribbage or walk on the beach.
I hope you are enjoying your weekend too.
Take care.
Wine is much more than what gets poured out of the bottle. It is a culmination of mother nature working with vineyard managers, winemakers, and many more folks. That is why I very much enjoy the opportunity to taste wines with those who helped create it.
Last evening I headed up to San Francisco (Ferry Plaza Wine Merchant) with a couple friends to taste several wines from Copain and to chat with Wells Gunthrie, Co-Founder and Vigneron, along with Copain’s assistant wine maker, John. The wines being poured included:
- 2008 Tous Ensemble Viognier, Mendocino County
- 2007 Tous Ensemble Pinot Noir, Anderson Valley
- 2007 Copain Monument Tree Pinot Noir, Anderson Valley
- 2007 Tous Ensemble Syrah, Mendocino County
- 2007 Copain Baker Ranch Syrah, Anderson Valley
All of wines were quite nice and flavorful. As usual the Tous Ensemble wines were easy to drink and would be very food friendly. The Monument Tree Pinot was a bit more weighty than the Tous Esnsemble Pinot which is to be expected and I enjoyed the additional complexity. My favorite wine of the night was the Baker Ranch Syrah. Not over the top as its alcohol level is 13.5%. It paired well with a couple of the cheeses we were snacking on and I already have a couple meals in mind that I would like to try it with. I made sure to grab a couple bottles for me before we headed out the door.
While I enjoyed tasting the various wines, I probably enjoyed talking with Wells and John even more. Each of them shared a bit about their wine making philosophies and how that was influencing their practices at the winery and within the many vineyards they work with. Beyond wine they shared a bit about themselves. It’s nice to connect with the people beyond wine. It makes for a more personal connection. Last night reminded me why I am a fan of Copain. I look forward to heading up to their winery in the near future and seeing if Uncorked Ventures can partner up with Wells and his team.
Wells Gunthrie and me
As I may have mentioned in a previous blog, two weeks back I was in San Francisco tasting several Syrahs from K Vintners. The wines being poured that night were:
- 2007 K Vintners Syrah, Morrison Lane, Walla Walla Valley
- 2007 K Vintners Syrah, North Ridge, Wahluke Slope
- 2007 K Vintners Syrah, The Deal, Wahluke Slope
- 2007 K Vintners Syrah, Phil Lane, Walla Walla Valley
- 2006 K Vintners Syrah, Royal City, Columbia Valley
I would have liked to bring home multiple bottles of each wine I tasted that evening. The Royal City was my favorite, but at $105 (which I think the bottle is worth), I passed as I need to direct more of my funds to Uncorked Ventures vs. the home cellar. Ultimately, I choose to take home a couple bottles of The Deal as I in fact thought that wine was a deal for the price. Again all of these wines were varying degrees of very good to great.
The Deal
Meeting Charles Smith, the winemaker and owner of K Vintners, was great. Very enjoyable to speak with. You can tell he loves his wine and life in general. I hope to visit his winery and meet more of his team this fall. More to come regarding K Vintners and Uncorked Ventures in the near future.
Charles Smith and me
I am looking forward to heading down to Paso Robles next week. I have a couple wineries in mind to visit with and will share with you my experiences. In the meantime, feel free to drop by our website which more or less officially debuted this week. Current plans have us shipping wines to our first wine club members in late September. Sign-up at our website if you are interested. Based on the wineries we are speaking with, you won’t be disappointed in what we will be offering.
Take care.
A few years ago I read the “The Tipping Point” by Malcom Gladwell. For me it was an interesting and inspiring read and I often recommend to others.
Today was another busy day for my business partner and me as we launch Uncorked Ventures. Some days are more fun, exciting, draining, crazy, and/or all of the above. Realizing that getting our business up and running is no easy task, it helps to have days like today.
What made today great ? Well, it was made great by the interactions we had with others in the wine trade. For me, it was dealing with a particular winery and their sales director. First of all she is just a pleasant person. Second of all, she shares a lot of information and third, she seems genuinely interested in helping us get started and developing a relationship with us for the long haul. What makes this exceptional is that she works and one of the top Syrah producers in the United States and they would survive fine without our business. I look forward to sharing more about this relationship as we get closer to our first wine club shipments targeted for September of this year.
As we continue to build our business, I look forward to the good days with full awareness that they will be countered with more difficult and upsetting days. As long as we have strong business partners and ultimately a loyal customer base, I know things will work out. So on that note, I need to get back to the website and creating some content that adequately communicates our key messages.
In the meantime, if you are interested in learning more about our wine clubs or wine export services, don’t hesitate to drop me a line or visit our website at www.uncorkedventures.com.
Take care.
The last two weeks has been wonderful from many perspectives. I mentioned in my previous blog that we have really good (and somewhat old) friends in town from Albuquerque, New Mexico visiting us for several days. There is something about having lots of memories with friends that makes the next time you see them even more enjoyable. While eating dinner last night in our backyard all together, another good friend and neighbor stopped by with his son. This mix of old and new friends was interesting in that it brought together individuals whom we care for substantially but whom I met at very different points in our lives.
My out of town friends knew me and my wife before we were engaged, let alone married with kids. They knew us when spending $20 on a bottle of wine was completely out of the question and when most of our furniture had been loaned or given to us. My neighbor on the other hand met us many years later when we were both employed and when we moved into our house. We have become closer friends as our kids have begun to grow up together and over the many meals we have shared at one another’s home. Fortunately for me, my neighbor also enjoys wine and is not adverse to opening up his wine fridge and taking out a good bottle to share with us. Over time we have introduced several new wines and wineries to each other. Just last week I opened a bottle of 1996 Chateau La Tour Blanche for my wife and I, but I made sure to pour a glass for my neighbors to try even though they weren’t over for dinner.
In addition to the fun I have been having with old and new friends this week, I was fortunate enough to take a day-trip up to Napa at the end of last week. The purpose of the trip was two fold. The first reason was to visit a couple of top cabernetproducers whom my business partner and I would like work withas we kick off our wine club and export business. The second reason was to spend time with another good friend of mine who lives in the east bay (Oakland) and happens to be a wonderful photographer. He helped me capture some wonderful photos from the trip some of which are posted within this blog and others that may be used on our sooned to be launched website www.uncorkedventures.com.
During our visit to napa, we of course tasted some incredible wines at Pina Winery and O’Shaughnessy Winery. Denise at Pina was wonderful as she walked us through our tasting of three different single vineyard cabernets. We were fortunate to also meet Larry Pina one of the four Pina brothers who was also very pleasant. Pina is located right off the Silverado Trail just north of Oakville Crossing.
From Pina we headed off to lunch at the Rutherford Grill where we both enjoyed tasty ahi burgers. After lunch we made our way back to the Silverado trail and then up north to Howell Mountain for our tasting at O’Shaughnessy.
On the way in to the winery we met Mike, their sales director, who I had spoken to on the phone previously and on both occassions was very nice. Our tour and tasting was lead by Annette who represented the winery very well. Both the winery and the wines themselves at O’Shaughnessy are very impressive. Needless to say, I had to restrain myself at bothwineries and only purchase a couple bottles. I would have love to come home with multiple cases, but I need to direct investments into the Uncorked Ventures and not my personal wine collection. My time in Napa reminded me that there are some incredible wineries that I already have relationships with and there are many more wineries, winemakers, and others in the industry that I want and need to meet as our new business venture takes off. This mix of old and new will be good for the business and our customers just as old and new friends make for a full and enjoying life.
I hope everyone has a great weekend.
We are fortunate to have our very good friends in from New Mexico for a few days. While we don’t get to see them that often they are in our thoughts quite often. Like us they enjoy good food (both eating it and preparing it) as well as a good libation whether that be wine, beer, or a mojito made with mint from our backyard garden.
Last evening we opened up a 1999 Shiraz from Australia that still had a long life ahead of and tonight we stayed closer to home with a 1997 BVTapestry. There is probably a bit more life left in the wine, but it came across as very smooth and well integrated. I do enjoy opening up a well cellared bottle and seeing what patience has rewarded me with. All of us enjoyed our dinner tonight including the Tapestry, but my hunch is that everything tasted better because we are together.
Tonight reminded me once again why I like wine so much and why I have decided to start a business focused on getting great wine to good people. Sitting around a table having good conversation with really good friends while sipping on some fine wine is truly a gift.
Cheers to you and hope you are having a good evening as well.
Good evening and welcome to Wine with Matt. This is my first blog ever so it may take me a little bit to find my voice. I hope you can bear with me.
My business partner, Mark, have officially kicked off our business today as we have filed with the IRS and the Alcohol and Tobacco Trade Bureau office. Uncorked Ventures is official. We will be focusing on deliver high end, quality wines through our various wine clubs as well as exporting North American wines to to Central and South America.
This is my first wine venture. For the last 15 years I have been focused on my career as a human resources professional. While wine and human resources may not seem to connect at first, I do believe that their is a connection. Individuals have particular personalities, outlooks, and desires. Similarly, I believe various wines have their own personalities and speak to an individuals taste and desire.
With the launch of Uncorked Ventures it is my desire to link my interest in wine with my interest in helping others achieve their desires especially when it comes to identifying, sourcing, and consuming top notch wines.
I hope you enjoy reading about this adventure and consider participating by joining one of our wine clubs or by consuming one of our exported wines.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Wine with Matt 