Grey Stack Cellars going on hiatus

WINE TALK
1

I got this email today. Disappointed…I thought they had some good wines…

Folks,

It is with considerable regret and a great deal of sadness that I announce that Grey Stack Cellars is going on a ‘hiatus’ from wine production for the indefinite future. This hiatus means that Grey Stack will not be making wine 2013 or bottling any wine from previous vintages still at the winery.

I know the first question is: ‘Why? The wines are so good.’ Well, it turns out it takes more than good wine to make a financially successful winery. I have tried everything I could think of over the last 4 years to try to get Grey Stack through the transition from large hobby to successful business without a lot of success. Then, over the last year, a series of events (including the sale of Dry Stack Vineyard) made continuing to operate Grey Stack on my own impossible.

The Grey Stack Cellars web site will remain up until the wines from 2012 and prior vintages are sold out - which won’t be much longer. So think of this as ‘last call’ on Sauv Blanc, Syrah, and Pinot - I’ve added an additional 10% discount (total now 15%) on orders of a case or more on top of your existing wine club discount. I expect everything to be gone in the next couple of months.

For those interested in the gritty details, Grey Stack has/had two problems. First, Grey Stack wasn’t big enough; it needed to double in size. Second, Grey Stack needed to increase its direct sales percentage dramatically and I could never find the right genius to take on the marketing and sales side of the business. Believe me, over the last 4 years, I tried everything I could think of and I could never gain the necessary traction in the market place.

I want to thank everyone for their support over the years. One of my biggest regrets is that I will no longer being able to supply my customers the wines they have come to enjoy. My only other regret is that these great wines from Bennett Valley probably won’t be made any more. Life isn’t fair.

Thanks again for your support.

Peter

Sincerely,
Peter Young
proprietor & wine maker

2

That sucks. I like these wines.

I ride by these vineyards on my bike all the time. Beautiful area.

3

Bummer. I enjoyed the wines from them that I tried as well.

It’s a difficult business. Good for Peter. I’ve noticed it’s often hard for people to just stop the bleeding when they love it so much. That can lead to much more pain at a later date.

4

Very nice Sauvignon Blancs.
ATL crew went through a period a few years back when we were all drinking a lot of that stuff.
Too bad it didn’t work out to keep GS alive.