We Bet the Farm

Oh yes we did, well, we bet our life-savings & on our ability to create world-class wine.  We'd like to have a farm of sorts in a few years though!  Since announcing Smith Story Wine Cellars to the world on May 14, 2014 we've already moved mountains it seems. Just under 1500 cases of wine was crushed this harvest season while managing full responsibilities of our day jobs.

Letter sent to Ali from the Buyer of the Austin House!

It's been a whirlwind this past year with Ali's travel schedule to visit markets for her TexaCali Wine Co. clients,  Eric's responsibility at K&L - including his European travel all while launching a new winery simultaneously.  We also managed to sell our home in Austin, Texas, raise $26,001 in 30 days on a  Kickstarter Campaign and finalize a partnership with a dynamic and supportive Angel Investor for Smith Story Wine Cellars. It's all coming together!

But back to "we bet the farm"... many of our friends in the business have used this phrase when talking to us about our first harvest and the winery.  Betting our lives away seriously drives our desire to achieve success as a couple producing wine.  We get this, we got this, are heads are down crossing every T and dotting every i along the way, if there is such a thing in this business of wine.

So what's next?  

As the wines are aging and resting in tank and barrels in Santa Rosa now, we are busy behind the scenes.  Accounting systems, banker meetings, compliance needs...a ton of items that sound like a bore but are super important to the foundation of the winery. Many folks are awaiting our wines to release already, so we are first and foremost working on our eCommerce engine and Wholesale permits in a handful of states.  Another priority is bottle selection and label approvals...our bottling date is set already for the 3rd week of January for our Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon. Oh these wines are tasting delicious.  WE CAN NOT HARDLY WAIT!

Also, exciting news to share with you soon about our wine club offering and allocations.  A few fun surprise bottlings we hope you are going to LOVE.

So thank you for signing up on our mailing list, our go-to supporters from the very beginning, we hear and feel your support and enthusiasm each and every day. A fun place to follow us online besides our website, twitter and Facebook is http://instagram.com/smithstorywines where we enjoy getting to know our fans on a daily basis.  Please don't hesitate to reach out if traveling through the RRV wine country, we would love to meet you and taste some of our wines with you too.

This is Our Story.

 - Eric & Ali

It's all over...

Harvest 2014 is in the barrel & tank that is!

So - here it is folks, we envisioned, created, produced and now patiently await for our wines to properly ferment and age in preparation for bottling and release. Both Eric and I can't think of a busier time in our lives and more exciting time too.  We crushed our last few tons of fruit - Sémillon from the Sonoma Mountain AVA 2 weeks ago (pictured here in action at the winery).

Thank you all for your unsolicited support and enthusiasm for our new wines. It's been great fun to see our mailing list members grow each day, a small thing that is the most important to us!

We have so much to say and share with you all in the coming weeks, big news and interesting news we hope.   In the meantime, we're off to cheer on the San Francisco Giants in Game 2 tonight - over a few bottles of very cold wine - it's 100 degrees today in the Bay Area.  Tomorrow we're off to select bottles and capsules for our Sauvignon Blanc, everyday is full of new beginnings & big decisions. 

This is Our Story,

Ali & Eric.