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Good Morning Brute Pack!
With my coffee in hand, I am starting my day--as many of your are--with a heightened level of uncertainty. Over the past three weeks there hasn't been one day that presented itself with any resemblance of what I'd consider normal or certain. And I'd be a fool if I didn't say that I'm scared, and I'm sure that on some level we all are. But maybe a little fear is a great fuel for motivation. I've seen it everywhere. I've seen people fiercely supporting one another, relentlessly buying local to keep their favorite mom & pop shop afloat, crafting masks and shields, donating time and money and resources to a greater good. And sure there are some naysayers that will never get it and just want to push an agenda, but f*** that noise, the good has BY FAR outweighed the bad.
For me personally, this situation has presented me with two things--reflection and action...
Reflection has come in the form of a question: where do I want to be when the dust settles? I've been candid with everyone from the start about my business. I started off as a kid, fresh out of college on a shoestring budget with aspirations of being a businessman. I spoke at Alfred State's graduation last year and told all of the graduating class that "from what I can see, I'm only 1.5 million dollars away from being a millionaire." All jokes aside, I've been very successful in many other ways and still managed to create a great life with a great wife and two pups in a modest house. But, this crisis has got me thinking about the future and what I REALLY want to do. And that circles back around to the winery. I've been reinvesting my time (when I'm not making hand sanitizer with Kevin), into getting my wines where I want them and I'm going to (slowly) re-start my vineyard. We've got a few acres of land that is suitable for grapes. And we had some vines there, but I truthfully didn't know what I was doing at the time and planted varietals that were not cold hardy enough for my zone. So, I'm replanting my vineyards with a new cold hardy grape that I've been doing a lot of research on and should be perfect for the winery. If nothing else, it has rebirthed my passion for agriculture!
Action has been displayed through the hand sanitizer program that Cider Creek started. Although we are local "competitors," I can't think of a better group of people to be doing this with. I cannot thank Kevin enough for bringing me into this project. Him and his crew (which there is quite a bit of great people in his crew) have reinforced some faith in humanity for me. Carlton from Krooked Tusker is just as selfless and one of the best people I've come across in the industry. Chris Missick too has been an outstanding individual, a wealth of knowledge, and political leader during this time. I'm a fan of superhero comics and movies and this is like the real life Avengers team. Except we aren't battling Thanos. We are battling COVID-19 through the power of ethanol!!!!!
So brining this opening to our newsletter full circle, times are uncertain, but it has motivated me in a great way. Attached to this newsletter is a bit on an upcoming event, as well as information on the sanitizer and some vineyard news. Thanks for continuing to support the cause! The Brute Pack rocks!
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