Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Stephen Hemmert. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Alright, so we’re so thrilled to have Stephen with us today – welcome and maybe we can jump right into it with a question about one of your qualities that we most admire. How did you develop your work ethic? Where do you think you get it from?
My father mainly, but also my mother! They went through the 1929 Great Depression as young adults! If you didn’t work, you didn’t eat. Plus back then they had less technology and opportunities we have now. So, jobs were a lot more difficult than most jobs now! My dad was always up at 4:00 ready to get to work. Used to say, the early bird catches the worm.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
I am a winemaker and co-owner of our family owned winery with my fiancé Nicole. My job, since I retired is focused on making great wine, adding new members to our wine club and promoting our brand to the public. The most exciting part of my life in our winery is the making of the wine. I love harvest and the ability to take something beautiful and make it the best I can! Harvest and winemaking is ancient agriculture and I love not only the grapes that come in perfect but the ones that don’t which creates a challenge. Life is a challenge isn’t it and so figure out how to deal with something imperfect and make it wonderful! Nicole runs the tasting room and designed it herself! People love the intimacy and beauty of what she has created! Since opening in November of 2018 we have grown every year. In fact we are expanding into another space next door which will be the barrel room and wine club members lounge. We also host various parties, events and wineclub pickups!
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Study your craft! Know everything you can but also be open to learning other peoples views about your business. You also must create a style you can call your own. Not everyone is going to love every wine you make or even your style but who cares? If you’re chasing someone else’s template in making wine why not, as a customer, just buy the original creators product.
Also work diligently to get better and more efficient at what you do. Maybe it’s just me but I feel almost every wine I have made in style I could still make it better.
Also if your business is not growing it’s dying. Figure out how to get more people and customers interested in your passion and your business. Ask questions of your current customers to find out how you can get them to help you grow!
Who is your ideal client or what sort of characteristics would make someone an ideal client for you?
An ideal client or customer is one that wants to explore your product and invest themselves in learning more about what you do and want to help you grow! We have some customers that have truly made a big difference in our business. Introducing us to people in the area that are passionate wine drinkers or the get us involved in special events that expose our wines to people we may have never met! We call these people our Grand Cru members.
Contact Info:
- Website: stephenhemmertwines.com
- Instagram: Instagram.com/stephenhemmertwines/
- Facebook: Www.facebook.com/stephenhemmertwines
Image Credits
Adam, Nancy
