A Letter From Our Founder
We’ve just finished contending with bushfires affecting our harvest and regional tourism; and now a global pandemic has induced panic and isolation - hitting us where it hurts: our customers, supporters, restaurants and retailers, all around the world are feeling the financial pinch brought about by the fear that’s taken a grappling hold on the general populace.
What hurts the most though, is that isolation is the number one thing our company fights against on a daily basis. Our products are meant to bring people together, in respect of a land we belong to: championing conviviality and bringing a light-hearted playfulness to an increasingly complex world.
It’s so damn hard to feel connected to a community, a land or a place - when we’re hoarding necessities off supermarket shelves and out of compatriot hands, locked up in our homes and apartments - prevented from truly enjoying the company of another or a few.
Don’t get me wrong, the health and safety of our suppliers, our team and myriad of customers is a concern, and any decisions surrounding this are made with the appropriate level of seriousness it entails. Isolation is happening whether we like it or not.
We’ve drastically reduced the co-mingling of team members, separating key people so they’re operating out of different locations. We’ve done the same as everyone has: stocked up on sanitiser, surface disinfectant, and introducing stringent cleaning regimes and schedules - and yes - we have bought toilet paper - but that’s no unusual.
What’s unusual is that now we’re isolated from each other too - and that’s painful for a team that values the camaraderie and jovial relationships of their co-workers.
I myself, am in Melbourne right now: in the last three days i’ve had an array of cancellations from events to sales meetings - and am being forced to get my butt back to South Australia to be with my family. Interestingly, in this sense: i’m forced to isolate myself - and I don’t even want to. So it appears that we’ve hit (or are about to) critical mass.
But I refuse to be satisfied with defeat - COVID-19, Bushfires, Rural Tourism be damned - let’s do something crazy:
Our dream has always been to build an everlasting community around great drinks, and right now: fear is threatening to undo that hard work - so:
Starting from Friday 20th of March, and every single day after - at 5pm Adelaide Time - I’ll be jumping on a Facebook Live Stream - where i’ll crack a bottle and share a couple glasses with anyone that wants to tune in.
You can come with questions, comments - hell, I don’t even care if you want to troll me - if you want to have a face-to-face conversation with someone whilst raiding your own wine stocks, i’ll be there - wine glass in hand and ready for banter, good or bad.
If you haven’t already followed our Facebook Page - you can do so here.
If you don’t have your own wine stocks to raid - we’ve sorted that out too! We’ve assembled ISO-6 PACKS you can purchase below - and have a hand-selected 6 pack delivered to your door!
I’ve been told that AusPost will now happily leave packages without signature - just to avoid further social contact!
Brendan Carter - Winemaker and Co-Founder