We recently connected with Tim Kweeder and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Tim, thanks for sharing your insights with our community today. Part of your success, no doubt, is due to your work ethic and so we’d love if you could open up about where you got your work ethic from?
Early on in life working at a restaurant with a management team that put a lot of effort into what they were doing, cared about the products they made and services they provided and did not cut corners. Working every position in that place, starting as a dishwasher, instilled passion, a sense of urgency and attention to detail that sticks with me to this day.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I produce vermouth & herbal liqueurs in the city of Philadelphia under a label called Fell To Earth. If you see that label, it indicates that the libation was produced primarily with ingredients from the Mid-Atlantic, mainly PA & NJ right now. This project was essentially birthed at a restaurant owned by my biz partner, Zach Morris, with whom we created miniscule batches of vermouth starting back in 2019. From there we produced larger batches of vermouth with the PA winery, Vox Vineti, which we were able to sell under their label. As of late December 2023, we have been producing vermouth officially in our own space and growing into other markets of Pennsylvania. We hope to enter 1-2 other states by year end 2025.
Despite being pushed into an obscure corner post-Prohibition, vermouth has a long history in this country and appreciation is slowly regaining ground. We emphasize the use of local ingredients for what we do is not a marketing ploy, it has deeper roots in a sense that most of the classic vermouths in the world are loyal to their locale and their products showcase flavors & aromas from herbs, spices, barks, etc. from their region. We are especially inspired by new-age producers like Mauro Vergano (Piedmont, Italy) and Uncouth Vermouth (Hudson Valley, NY) who are transparent about their sustainable sources and who are making a more pronounced product that is representative of their respective areas.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
When it comes to selling & marketing vermouth, especially one that is not blessed with industrial pricing, it is quite the uphill battle and educating both the public & beverage purchasers for restaurants/bars/retail shops is more than half of our job. Growing our company to where it is now came from hustle and conducting countless tastings both public & private, showcasing our products at events in different festivals and events throughout the year, travelling to far away parts of the state for an appointment and cold calling on places along the way and hours & hours of researching potential clients online.
With both of us coming from wine backgrounds and being fans of vermouth for quite some time now, our palettes have become a skill when it comes to creating balance in our products. As we are still quite new in our own vermouth journey we can only really say to those who are getting started in a similar project to “do something that is meaningful and important to you and never stop learning.”
Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?
We have partnered up with a few people over the past years on different projects including Vox Vineti Winery, Wildings Events (one of the most hyper-local caterers) and have a few projects with local cideries & breweries on the horizon. We are always open to new collaborations and always on the look out for new partners in terms of farmers, foragers and grape growers in the region. As we expand production we will need to seek new sources of ingredients which are primarily for our core products but also for new products be they seasonal releases or one-off collaborations.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.felltoearth.com
- Instagram: fell.2.earth
- Facebook: fell.2.earth
Image Credits
Eli Silins of Camuna Cellars
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
