The Death of a Winery
Well my friends,
this is the end.
Or the beginning of the end.
We can only put off saying it for so long. If you don't say it, it's not real right?
But it is real.
And close enough to Halloween that I have to tell you that this is not a joke or prank.
But it is real.
And close enough to Halloween that I have to tell you that this is not a joke or prank.
I wouldn't say it's been a huge secret, nor will it come as a surprise given the current challenges of the industry at large – but we wanted to let you know here before we make it more public.
Naturally we were extremely hesitant and upset about leaving behind something really special we've built over the last 7 years.
Then we started to feel better.
Because this industry is extremely challenging.
Financially, operationally, and emotionally.
But ours is NOT a sad story.
We've had an amazing time.
We've made some amazing wine.
We've been recognized for it.
We've met amazing people.
We've exported to 5 provinces.
And most importantly,
we've learned so much.
And learning by doing will always be the most rewarding thing anyone can do.
The Business
It wasn't just the most recent growing season that caused this. There's a number of factors. For one, Kevin + Raina, and Jayme + Me both have growing families, and running plot as a 'side-hustle' steals time from that. We've been feeling that a lot more over the last two years.
And second, as you might have guessed, the business of wine is tough.
Like really tough.
Most people don't think of it this way, because it's not sexy, but 'wine' is farming, with a thin veneer of glamour.
Kevin really loves farming 🍇
I guess I must love the thin veneer of glamour? 😂
That's not to exclude all the toiling in the cellar not covered by 'farming' and countless other operational and detail oriented tasks that go into it.
It's unlike any other product out there.
That's why the end result is so special.
I find the gap between public perception and the reality of running a winery to be quite shocking. Industry vets will laugh reading this and say:
No shit!
Of course!
What did you think you were getting into?
Again – learning by doing.
Yes we were naive.
We know.
We hand bottled the first 300 cases.
We hand labelled the first 300 cases.
With later vintages also hand applying those beautiful orange neck tags to 600+ case runs...
It was the first time as a designer I had felt the operational pain of an aesthetic choice.
BUT
I don't know of anyone else who runs as efficiently as our 3 person team.
Each of us works a separate full-time job outside of plot.
It's wild what we've accomplished.
And second, as you might have guessed, the business of wine is tough.
Like really tough.
Most people don't think of it this way, because it's not sexy, but 'wine' is farming, with a thin veneer of glamour.
Kevin really loves farming 🍇
I guess I must love the thin veneer of glamour? 😂
That's not to exclude all the toiling in the cellar not covered by 'farming' and countless other operational and detail oriented tasks that go into it.
It's unlike any other product out there.
That's why the end result is so special.
I find the gap between public perception and the reality of running a winery to be quite shocking. Industry vets will laugh reading this and say:
No shit!
Of course!
What did you think you were getting into?
Again – learning by doing.
Yes we were naive.
We know.
We hand bottled the first 300 cases.
We hand labelled the first 300 cases.
With later vintages also hand applying those beautiful orange neck tags to 600+ case runs...
It was the first time as a designer I had felt the operational pain of an aesthetic choice.
BUT
I don't know of anyone else who runs as efficiently as our 3 person team.
Each of us works a separate full-time job outside of plot.
It's wild what we've accomplished.
If one factor could put our current business model into perspective, it would be this:
Plot would have to scale 200-300% in order to become sustainable enough for one of us to go full-time – leaving our current career and becoming an official plot employee.
None of us felt compelled to make this leap given our current business model, changing landscape, and personal desires.
The choice became logical. And easier.
In contrast to other wineries, we have it easier than most because we operate very differently. This comes with pros and cons, but at the end of the day we don't own a winery facility, so our exit is an exercise in selling the wine we have left.
There will not be another vintage from us, so snag more of your favourites before they're gone! We've applied a 25% discount to bottles of Neighbour and Pinot Noir.
The irony of our name combined with our demise have come together to form a designer and copywriter's wet dream.
Please feel free to enjoy the following months of funeral related content.
Please feel free to enjoy the following months of funeral related content.
Life after Death
Is plot for sale?
We've certainly talked about this internally. For the right group it could be a great addition to an existing winery. It's built up a ton of awareness online, on liquor store shelves, in restaurants, and beyond.
Reach out to chat, or connect us with the right people and we'll hook you up.
Funeral
Thanks for making it this far. Really.
I think we're going to have a funeral of some type.
We'll send out an email soon.
To all the people who have supported us over the years, we can't thank you enough, and we have been so thrilled to talk to, meet, and share our wines with you.
Love you all
❤️ 💀 🍷
Adam + Jayme + Kevin