Cha-cha-changes! i.e. The Next Chapter
Posted: Thu Feb 05, 2015 12:44 pm
Well, a few people know already but it is now time to let The Borg know should I become scarce in the near future. Over the past 8 months or so, my wife and I have been trying to chase the dream of moving up north to get more involved with the hops, grapes, and other fruits. When we first met she was offered a job on the spot at the hospital when I took her up north to see if that was a place she would eventually like to move to when pursuing the hops growing and plant. Little did I know this would take on a life of its own.
Well, it finally came to fruitation (no pun intended). 8 months ago, my parents mentioned a small boutique winery was going up for sale that was run primarily by a husband and wife team. We went up and looked at it and fell in love. The house was everything we could want (and for me, the kitchen has three ovens and ten burners so I can get my chef on!). They have a nice tasting room, a small rental cottage, and to my wife's delight a pond with a small island in it where they hold weddings and such. Of course, the wife wants it as her fortress of solitude from me - may have to build her a draw bridge.
For the past almost half a year we have been jumping through hoops looking at business loans, licensing, business plans, inventory, and of course a wine maker to help out for the first year. Luckily, with my parents in the vineyard business, we have lots of connections and in fact one of the award winning wine makers up there was an ex boyfriend of my sisters (yes, they are still on great terms so no mice in the wine if he decides to help). We have learned that cider is part of the license, so after the first "learning year" we plan on introducing that as the parents have several acres of heritage apples that they said we can get on the cheap. D (SWMBO) has been very encouraging of my brewing hobby (ie she doesnt want to run out of beer) and we hope after bringing cider online to start a nano, although we learned beer and wine can not be made in the same facility so would need to build a brew out building. Our thoughts are that when couples and friends go on the wine trail, there is always someone who is thinking "enough with the wine, give me a beer dagnabit" so it would be a perfect compliment to put a few taps online. If it doesnt work out, well, it aint going to go to waste.
With the hops plant on the other peninsula and with harvests coinciding, it is going to be very difficult to try and keep both a hops and wine business going consecutively, so we have made the decision to put the plant up for sale. We are hearing some big operators are coming in so seems to be a good time. The two we have head about are looking at putting in around 200 acres each and one has the ambitions of building a brewery on the scale of Bells. We will keep growing the hops (free hops for ME!), but hope to be able to farm out the processing.
Her house sells on 3/11 and the boys are going to rent mine for the time being, so we look at being up there sometime before the end of March to tart up the wine trail season in April. BTW, both the west cost and Traverse City area of Michigan have some AWESOME wine trails!!! So, with all the craziness, will most likely be more of a lurker than a poster until things settle down - or winter comes, whichever comes first. Have a LOT to learn as my wine experience has been small batches in the basement and NOT industrial equipment or batches. Yup, I could swill down a not great basement batch no problem, but not a hundred cases. What was encouraging is that the owner said that if I can make good to great beer, making great wine should not be an issue. Whew!
So, it looks like The Borg has been a gateway to yet another of it's members to go pro, albeit not yet brewing beer at this point, but at least playing with the yeastie beasties. For the wife, she will be working like crazy both at the hospital and tasting room (and mowing the fields). The saying up there is "half the pay but a view of the bay" which I found didnt apply to her since it appears they really want her up there. Which is good, since this will now be my full time job and need some food money coming in. Her youngest is also excited and wants to get TAM certified (Techniques of Alcohol Management, a requirement to be in charge of tasting and dispensing), although I think he just wants to claim the big guest room before big brother decides he wants to move to lol.
Wish us luck! When things get going and if anyone happens to be up on the Leelanau Wine Trail make sure to look us up. I'll even buy ya a glass!
Well, it finally came to fruitation (no pun intended). 8 months ago, my parents mentioned a small boutique winery was going up for sale that was run primarily by a husband and wife team. We went up and looked at it and fell in love. The house was everything we could want (and for me, the kitchen has three ovens and ten burners so I can get my chef on!). They have a nice tasting room, a small rental cottage, and to my wife's delight a pond with a small island in it where they hold weddings and such. Of course, the wife wants it as her fortress of solitude from me - may have to build her a draw bridge.
For the past almost half a year we have been jumping through hoops looking at business loans, licensing, business plans, inventory, and of course a wine maker to help out for the first year. Luckily, with my parents in the vineyard business, we have lots of connections and in fact one of the award winning wine makers up there was an ex boyfriend of my sisters (yes, they are still on great terms so no mice in the wine if he decides to help). We have learned that cider is part of the license, so after the first "learning year" we plan on introducing that as the parents have several acres of heritage apples that they said we can get on the cheap. D (SWMBO) has been very encouraging of my brewing hobby (ie she doesnt want to run out of beer) and we hope after bringing cider online to start a nano, although we learned beer and wine can not be made in the same facility so would need to build a brew out building. Our thoughts are that when couples and friends go on the wine trail, there is always someone who is thinking "enough with the wine, give me a beer dagnabit" so it would be a perfect compliment to put a few taps online. If it doesnt work out, well, it aint going to go to waste.
With the hops plant on the other peninsula and with harvests coinciding, it is going to be very difficult to try and keep both a hops and wine business going consecutively, so we have made the decision to put the plant up for sale. We are hearing some big operators are coming in so seems to be a good time. The two we have head about are looking at putting in around 200 acres each and one has the ambitions of building a brewery on the scale of Bells. We will keep growing the hops (free hops for ME!), but hope to be able to farm out the processing.
Her house sells on 3/11 and the boys are going to rent mine for the time being, so we look at being up there sometime before the end of March to tart up the wine trail season in April. BTW, both the west cost and Traverse City area of Michigan have some AWESOME wine trails!!! So, with all the craziness, will most likely be more of a lurker than a poster until things settle down - or winter comes, whichever comes first. Have a LOT to learn as my wine experience has been small batches in the basement and NOT industrial equipment or batches. Yup, I could swill down a not great basement batch no problem, but not a hundred cases. What was encouraging is that the owner said that if I can make good to great beer, making great wine should not be an issue. Whew!
So, it looks like The Borg has been a gateway to yet another of it's members to go pro, albeit not yet brewing beer at this point, but at least playing with the yeastie beasties. For the wife, she will be working like crazy both at the hospital and tasting room (and mowing the fields). The saying up there is "half the pay but a view of the bay" which I found didnt apply to her since it appears they really want her up there. Which is good, since this will now be my full time job and need some food money coming in. Her youngest is also excited and wants to get TAM certified (Techniques of Alcohol Management, a requirement to be in charge of tasting and dispensing), although I think he just wants to claim the big guest room before big brother decides he wants to move to lol.
Wish us luck! When things get going and if anyone happens to be up on the Leelanau Wine Trail make sure to look us up. I'll even buy ya a glass!
