This is it, folks. Crushpad has moved to Napa, taking with it my 300+ remaining bottles of wine (bon voyage, ladies) and my last vestige of hope for a successful wine business. Well that was dramatic, Sarah. It’s not so much the move that’s the problem, but Crushpad’s accompanying re-evaluation of its own business model. In particular, they’ve discovered that they are not making enough money to cover costs and therefore need to begin charging non-producing wineries (i.e., moi) $200 a month to remain in the partnership. I would need to sell 100 cases of wine per year to counteract that cost, so let’s just say, nuh uh.
New fees go into effect September 1, 2010, so I’m outta there before then. What exactly am I saying? After this summer, Je Suis Wine, the online retail store and world’s smallest winery becomes—not entirely unfortunately—the best thing ever to reside in my basement. Maybe it’s time to think about one of these guys again. It’s rather poetic: I will have started the business (and this blog) almost exactly three years before it all disappeared in a whiff of ripe berries. And how much I’ve learned since then!
Moral of the story: Buy wine now or forever hold your peas.
First I need to figure out the logistics of closing down and moving my cases 50 miles in a hybrid sedan, but then I’ll let you know all the important dates and such. Sigh. More reminiscing and thoughtful pondering to come, I’m sure…
