0:04

Hi . I'm Michelle and I'm Sandy . We're

0:07

two sisters tasting and reviewing wine

0:09

with the goal of taking the WTF out

0:11

of Wines to Find . Welcome

0:18

to Wines to Find . Our wines today are

0:20

from 1111 . We have the 2021

0:23

Chardonnay and the 2020 Chardonnay

0:25

Samoyan . Our guest is Ellie Ennest

0:27

, co-founder and CEO of 1111

0:31

Wines . She's here to tell

0:33

us how a real estate investment opportunity

0:35

pivoted her career into starting a winery

0:37

. That sounds really fun . We can't wait

0:39

to hear about it . Welcome , ellie , to Wines

0:41

to Find .

0:42

Thank you so much , Michelle and Sandy . I'm excited

0:45

to be here today to talk a little bit about our

0:47

wine and all things 1111

0:49

.

0:49

Oh , I was so excited when I saw your bio

0:52

that you were a real estate agent . I

0:54

used to be a real estate agent and Michelle's

0:56

real estate adjacent

1:02

. When we first started to do this podcast

1:04

, we were thinking maybe have some real

1:09

estate component to it and it ended

1:11

up not panning out . It was very

1:13

interesting to see you started this

1:16

winery with a real estate investment

1:18

.

1:21

Yes , in fact it's less

1:23

of an agent and more on the investing

1:25

side . I worked in

1:27

accounting and finance for

1:30

my co-founders

1:32

company , actually when I was in college

1:34

in San Diego . Their whole entire

1:37

company is about real estate investments

1:39

and in large apartment

1:41

complexes and developments of that nature

1:44

. It was always brewing , even

1:47

back when I was in college , that it was a real

1:49

estate bent of some sort .

1:51

Very good . Before we

1:53

hear any more , let's go ahead and jump right

1:55

into this wine number one , which is a beautiful

1:58

Chardonnay , one of our favorites

2:00

from Dutton Ranch .

2:02

It's the Russian River Valley , sonoma County

2:05

. It's one of the original wines

2:08

that we started in 2012

2:11

, rather , with Kirk Bengi

2:13

. He had this amazing contact

2:15

there and I was excited to

2:18

bring a beautiful wine from

2:20

the Sonoma Valley to our portfolio

2:22

.

2:24

Before we started recording , we broke the news

2:26

that we had to pull the corks because our Coravan was broken

2:28

. I'm really not sad that we get to drink this Chardonnay

2:30

tonight . We

2:33

like to let the listener know what's in our glass

2:35

. We see a very nice yellow color , pale

2:38

, though a little bit pale on the pale side .

2:41

On the nose . It's very lovely smelling

2:44

and we've got a lot of floral on

2:46

the nose , maybe honey suckle . Let's

2:49

go ahead and taste . Oh

2:51

, definitely Got that clean crisp

2:53

, definitely that Chardonnay

2:55

, but not overly

2:57

oaky , just like a hint of it

2:59

. But a nice mouthfeel , very

3:02

nice . Can you tell us a little bit about

3:04

this ?

3:05

Absolutely . This is aged

3:08

in 14 months , 100%

3:10

French oak , 25%

3:13

of it's new , so you don't have that overly-oaked

3:15

flavor , but enough to

3:18

round it out and give it a

3:20

warm mouthfeel . We make a very

3:22

small production less than 400 cases

3:24

of this wine and

3:27

I'm excited that it has

3:29

been in our portfolio from the—like

3:31

. This is our 11th year of making wine

3:34

and it's been a fan

3:36

favorite and part of our wine club

3:38

and it's been with us for quite a while

3:40

. I love it . I

3:42

think it's one of the richer wines

3:44

, but it's not a typical

3:47

Chardonnay that you maybe would have had

3:49

in Napa from the early days

3:51

, if you will .

3:53

Well , it definitely doesn't have that—it's

3:55

not so-oaked like you said , that it's

3:58

not as what you might would expect coming

4:00

out of it .

4:00

But I think a lot of Napa's kind of moving away

4:03

from that here in recent years , yeah , the pendulum

4:05

definitely has swung , and

4:07

we have just recently even had another Dundton

4:10

Ranch , chardonnay , so it's kind of that

4:12

same terroir . So if you like it , this is a

4:14

great example here , so

4:17

you are mainly—we're in

4:19

real estate investment . Give us the back

4:21

story and how that real estate investment

4:23

led you to where you

4:26

currently are now .

4:27

Yeah , so I've been working

4:29

in Southern California since

4:31

my college years , originally from

4:34

the Midwest in Nebraska and

4:36

moved out to San Diego and always

4:38

had been kind of in that entrepreneurial

4:41

mode , always working going to college

4:43

. I did quite a

4:46

long stint in corporate America

4:48

in public accounting and finance

4:51

and worked for large companies like Yum

4:53

Brands . At Yum Brands

4:55

, which was the Taco Bell side

4:58

of that company

5:00

, I worked in Irvine . They had

5:02

a development business because

5:04

it was real estate too , because they had stores

5:07

. So there was a lot of interest

5:09

and learning that I learned in finance

5:11

and business planning about development . So

5:14

kind of still had a little bit of that bent

5:16

as well as marketing . But what got me

5:18

to Napa was an

5:21

entrepreneurial bug in me

5:23

. I've been working on my own and

5:26

I had said to my co-founder

5:29

I said maybe there's something else we

5:31

can do . I've no longer worked with their

5:33

company in real estate and

5:35

she says , well , you come to me and let me know if

5:37

you have an idea . So an idea

5:39

was to have these luxury rentals

5:42

. So any home

5:44

you saw or went to that

5:46

was one of ours from El Lagoons

5:48

Properties would be the same experience

5:50

. So we said let's get one

5:53

in Napa , let's get one by the ocean , let's get

5:55

one in the mountains . But anywhere

5:57

you went , you know you would have this luxury experience

5:59

, but it would feel like home . It wouldn't be like you're

6:01

at a way , at a hotel . So

6:04

we found one in Napa and this

6:06

home . The minute we saw it , it was amazing

6:09

because you drove through the vineyards

6:11

and landed at the back of this

6:13

property where the home stood

6:15

, with a pool in the backyard

6:17

and the vineyard just wraps around it and

6:19

it felt like just this hug of a vineyard

6:22

around the home . And the home itself is

6:24

a French-inspired three-bedroom

6:27

, three-and-a-half bathhouse , and that vineyard

6:29

is essentially what started us and

6:32

it's here in the Oak Knoll ABA . And

6:35

it was one of those things where we had to make a decision

6:37

what do we do with these grapes ? The

6:39

grapes were coming along with the house that

6:42

harvest . It was 2012

6:44

. And initially , I will tell you

6:46

, I said we need to sell the grapes , it's

6:48

an asset , and

6:50

then help pays for the house . But

6:54

it was a series of conversations

6:56

and meetings and then meeting up with

6:58

Kirk Venge and sitting down and talking

7:00

to him and he says you know , these grapes

7:03

are tested , they're great , they're

7:05

currently going into an existing

7:07

winery that's very reputable as wine

7:09

. I think we should make some wine of our own , which

7:12

is kind of what you would expect any great

7:14

winemaker to say when they see you know

7:16

, a vineyard full of grapes , let's make wine

7:18

. So it took

7:20

some time and it took some analysis and

7:23

thinking and you know why should we

7:25

do this ? It's a little bit of a

7:27

departure , a lot

7:29

of a departure actually , from going in

7:31

and doing more single family homes , but

7:34

honestly , it kind of turned into

7:36

where we are today and why we're here in Napa

7:38

and it's grown from that

7:40

one vineyard to now we have 35

7:43

acres .

7:43

What was the variety of that

7:46

first vineyard , cabernet

7:48

?

7:48

Sauvignon . And was it were

7:51

they ? It was just a private residence , that

7:53

was it . Or was it always a commercial

7:55

rental kind of situation ?

7:57

No , it was a private residence . It

7:59

was a second home to the

8:02

previous owner and

8:04

I think he just looked at it

8:06

as something it was an asset to him to

8:09

sell every year .

8:11

And how old were the grapes ? How old were the vines

8:13

? Were they ? How established were they ?

8:15

They were established . They were good

8:18

, you know , 15 years in at

8:20

the time . So it is a little bit . It's getting

8:22

into a place where it's an older vineyard

8:25

, but we've cared for it really nicely

8:27

in the last decade , so

8:30

we've been really thrilled with the results

8:32

of what's happened there for sure . But

8:34

it really wasn't farmed for the

8:36

kind of wine that we're making today either

8:39

.

8:40

So what is your farming ? Current farming

8:42

practice .

8:44

So we have made a departure

8:47

away from the traditional

8:50

farming into organic farming this year

8:52

, and so of the

8:54

35 acres that we own , 25

8:56

are vineyards , and

8:58

so we're slowly moving into

9:00

organic farming to

9:02

the point where we're also looking at what

9:05

wineries can get here in Napa's Napa

9:07

Green as well . So

9:09

we're making changes in terms of

9:12

but the farming practices have always been

9:14

very safe , very attentive

9:17

, hands-on . As

9:20

you know , coming from a farming background

9:23

in Nebraska , it wasn't uncommon

9:25

to be part of those discussions

9:28

for me , but it was uncommon to

9:30

be raising , you know , vineyards

9:32

. That wasn't familiar .

9:34

So I did see that you grew

9:36

up on a farm . What was the product

9:38

on your home farm ?

9:41

We had sugar beets and corn

9:43

, soybeans , hay , and

9:45

we custom fed cattle as well

9:47

, so traditional Midwestern crops

9:49

.

9:50

Okay , and just a little more romantic , to grow

9:52

grapes .

9:54

Oh , so funny . I always say to everybody it's

9:56

much less sexier .

10:00

You are truly a farmer .

10:03

It's funny , I wouldn't

10:05

necessarily say that I'm

10:08

the farmer . I'm a realist in that

10:10

my roots are very

10:12

much , you know , solidly

10:14

ingrained in nature

10:17

and the earth , but I'm very much a

10:19

city girl in many respects as well .

10:21

So yeah , so did

10:24

you have any ? Being from Southern

10:26

California , I'm sure you knew about wine and

10:28

experienced wine , but you

10:31

just totally I have nothing . Did

10:33

you have any connection to wine prior to

10:36

acquiring a vineyard or

10:38

was it something that was kind of in the background of your

10:40

life ?

10:40

either way , no , it

10:42

wasn't in the background of my life . In terms

10:44

of wine . Yes , I enjoyed wine . It

10:46

was something that was part of the corporate cultures

10:49

and all the companies I worked at . There

10:51

were people that had that , were connoisseurs

10:53

and loved and had a huge passion . So

10:55

there were those discussions if

10:57

we were happy hours or whatnot , but

11:00

it really wasn't in the forefront

11:02

of mine . I'm one of those people

11:04

that enjoys many things in life . It's

11:06

not a singular passion kind

11:08

of person . So for

11:11

me I knew we

11:13

would come to Napa once a year with my parents

11:15

and my sisters , and it was

11:17

more because it was a departure

11:20

from Southern California to kind of get

11:22

to a place that was a little slower paced and reminded

11:24

us a little bit of more of the Midwest in

11:26

terms of kind of nature and a

11:29

little more granular

11:31

kind of touch , you know , a little more touch

11:33

to the earth , if you will .

11:35

So when you decided to jump

11:37

in with both feet , which it sounds like , that's what

11:39

happened

11:42

I know that the

11:44

purpose of and the mission of

11:47

the brand is

11:49

to be elite a little bit more high end in Napa I

11:52

mean , you don't drop yourself in Napa without

11:54

being competitive with some of the best wines in

11:56

the world how did you approach

11:58

that and come to this is what we're going to do ? And

12:00

you even said , I think you very small production

12:03

. You focus on single vineyard , small

12:05

production and quality

12:08

. So how did someone

12:10

who knew nothing about wine land there ?

12:12

I think for me , having had

12:14

my own consulting practice in the past

12:16

and working in large companies where

12:18

I was consulting , you

12:20

find yourself frequently

12:22

dropped into industries where you might

12:24

not be an expert in those industries when you're

12:27

consulting , but you have to have

12:29

a basics the basic business building

12:32

blocks that then take you to where you

12:34

can be a supportive and

12:36

or expert to support

12:38

your client . So for me , when the

12:40

opportunity came to invest

12:43

in a wine brand and start

12:45

that up , it wasn't uncommon

12:47

to have something unfamiliar

12:49

to me to dive into it and it wasn't

12:52

something that deterred me

12:54

. It's like OK , I understand this is a new

12:56

business . I understand marketing , business building

12:58

blocks , the finance , the different

13:00

principles of the areas of business

13:03

that I need to set up . Now I just

13:05

need to find the right players

13:07

that know the wine , that can

13:09

make the wine and that can sell the wine

13:11

and talk to it to bring them into

13:13

the fold .

13:14

So it was more about building the team around

13:16

me to take it to the next

13:19

step Sounds like you knew how to build

13:21

that framework , that architecture , and

13:23

then plug and play . Let's put

13:25

this good person here and this good person

13:27

here and move . This is kind

13:29

of what it sounds like .

13:31

Yeah , I mean , you know , listen , the

13:33

one thing I will tell you is the wine world

13:35

was much more

13:37

less forgiving of not

13:39

like what do you know , ellie ? Of wine

13:41

? You know , do you have a degree in

13:44

this ? Do you have this ? Did you study this

13:46

? Did you get this ? You know some degree

13:48

, if you will ? And I was like no , but it didn't

13:50

. That wasn't what I was here to do

13:52

. I wasn't here to make the wine , or

13:55

you know , and have I learned about

13:57

wine in the last decade ? 100%

13:59

. But for me , my

14:01

, what I was bringing to the table was

14:04

bringing together the framework of building a

14:06

business and understanding what it took

14:08

to dive into something

14:10

that's really competitive . And

14:12

all I knew is that I needed to play my own

14:14

game , and my own game was to

14:16

build a very holistic

14:19

, hospitable winery and

14:21

brand . That could be something too many

14:23

people , which is why we named it 1111

14:26

and not our names . Our names

14:29

wouldn't mean anything to anybody in the in

14:31

Napa Valley . We weren't from here .

14:33

So what does it look like ? Yeah , yeah , inquiring

14:36

minds , what does ?

14:36

1111 mean . You know

14:38

, many people see 1111 on their digital

14:40

clocks and say make a wish . I have so

14:43

many members and customers

14:45

say to me how 1111 has a different

14:47

meaning to their family . Or it's

14:50

a birth , or it's a anniversary

14:53

, or it's just that moment where

14:55

you stop and pause . And when

14:57

I saw that and read about the meaning

14:59

of 1111 , that meant so much more

15:01

to me because I said this could be outside

15:03

of just the wine . It

15:06

can be about bringing people together , which

15:08

really speaks to my Greek heritage

15:11

of communal sharing

15:13

, and wine drinking

15:15

at our family house was about

15:17

enjoyment and savoring

15:20

the moments , which is all about 1111

15:22

.

15:22

That's what , and that's what one is meant to be in

15:24

my opinion too , About 1111

15:27

.

15:27

That's kind of a new concept for me , though when you see

15:29

it on a clock , you're supposed to make a wish . I didn't

15:31

know that , I just thought it was any double

15:33

digit .

15:34

So I thought it was like 1010 , 1212

15:36

, 1111 . I thought it was all double

15:39

digits , so you , I did not know it was specific

15:41

to 1111 .

15:45

I know it as specific to 11-11

15:47

. I think that now that we

15:49

have met and you're enjoying the wine , you

15:52

will start seeing 11-11 . Even

15:56

on your car , you know a domiter

15:59

on the treadmill .

16:01

It'll be everywhere now .

16:01

Yeah 11-11 .

16:02

Yeah , there

16:07

will be places . Well , let's jump right

16:09

into this . This cab smells wonderful . It's

16:11

got some good fruit smell to it . It's

16:14

beautiful in the glass . I

16:16

went right to smelling it . You did , you

16:18

went . It's a gorgeous color .

16:20

It's got definitely deep

16:22

, deep intensity . I can't even see

16:24

my hands through

16:26

the glass . Let's

16:29

go ahead and taste . Oh

16:31

, that's , very smooth too . It's

16:34

got some good tannins . Lots of

16:36

black , dark

16:38

, blackberry tobacco

16:40

. Good tertiary

16:43

flavors coming out too .

16:46

Is this from that original plot

16:48

that you had , or what does the blend

16:50

on this ?

16:51

or where the grapes of the single vineyard this

16:54

one is our XI

16:56

is our only non-single

16:59

vineyard wine . It's the five

17:01

Bordeaux varietals and , yes , it includes

17:03

the initial vineyard . So it

17:05

includes all of our estate grown

17:08

Cabernet Sauvignon

17:10

, merlot , malbec , cab Franc

17:12

and the Petit Verdot . So

17:14

you have those five that kind

17:16

of bring it all together , but they're all our estate

17:18

fruit and it's the one that , once we

17:21

had all this fruit that was ready

17:23

to go and really bring something to the table

17:25

, we thought let's have some fun with it and

17:27

make our own blend . But

17:31

it is a little over 80%

17:33

Cabernet .

17:34

Sauvignon . It definitely has some good

17:36

depth of flavor and you can kind of

17:38

tell that it's a blend of those

17:40

other varietals in there as well .

17:42

I like it . And the cool thing

17:44

is with this wine is we

17:46

were true to form and still have

17:48

our single vineyard , single varietal

17:51

of those five varieties

17:53

that are in XI , kind of deconstructed

17:55

, so you could taste them all back

17:57

on its own , and the Merlot on its own .

18:00

Oh , do you do that ? Because I see you have events

18:02

. What type of events ? Do you walk

18:05

us through an experience there , if someone

18:07

was to come visit ?

18:09

So at 11-11 , we have our

18:11

11-11 estate experience , which

18:14

is our basic experience , where you could

18:16

come and enjoy the current

18:18

releases , which usually include

18:20

four to five wines . We

18:22

have add-ons of cheese and chacouterie

18:24

boards or caviar a

18:27

caviar plate , which is always kind of fun too

18:30

. And then we do have our estate

18:32

experience , which is simply all

18:34

of our estate grown wines

18:36

, which are fun to have and they're all private

18:39

. Our host hosts in special

18:41

areas . We have a lot of seated areas

18:43

where they're really comfortable and private and it's

18:45

a one-on-one experience where

18:48

the group gets to enjoy the host

18:50

and hear about the story of 11-11

18:52

and learn about the wines .

18:54

Can you tell us a little bit about your winemaker

18:56

?

18:56

Yeah , kirk Vangie . He's third

18:59

generation winemaker . He has

19:01

his own winery as well in Calistoga

19:03

and in Sonoma . He

19:06

is , I think

19:08

, an amazing person as

19:10

well as a winemaker , because he

19:12

has really taken time to

19:14

invest in helping us

19:17

learn the business , understand

19:19

the grapes , and he's very involved

19:22

in the farming as well . So

19:24

Kirk really takes time . He's out

19:26

in the vineyards all

19:28

across the valley . Frankly , at

19:30

any point in time I could ask

19:33

him how every one of our vineyards is doing

19:35

and he would have his pulse

19:37

on what's happening . But he's been truly

19:39

. One of the reasons

19:41

why this really has gone

19:44

the way it's gone in terms of building this

19:46

business is because of the kind of person

19:48

Kirk is and the kind of winemaker he is

19:50

Truly does let the vineyard

19:52

express itself every year , doesn't

19:54

try and manipulate it to make it a certain

19:57

way so that every year it's the same

19:59

.

20:00

That's one thing that I do love about boutique

20:02

wineries is they truly generally

20:05

, if you have a single

20:07

vineyard , you have a winemaker

20:09

who's letting the grapes express themselves

20:12

and truly show their terroir . That's

20:14

one thing that we always like to showcase

20:17

on the podcast because it

20:19

just shows so much .

20:20

It just highlights the

20:23

land Well , and it's a departure from

20:25

the corporate or conglomerate

20:27

approach , which is consistency , and each

20:30

bottle , year after year after year , has to taste

20:32

the same , whereas , you know , we like

20:34

to see . Oh , this year it's a little

20:36

different . And here's why , you know

20:38

, and you really , when it's in

20:40

the hands of a true

20:42

artisan and using

20:44

nicely grown grapes , you

20:46

really get that sense of the land and

20:48

the difference between what Mother

20:51

Nature gives you , which is what

20:53

we like .

20:55

I think also as a small , as

20:57

a boutique winery , and we are

20:59

one of the first wineries in

21:03

the Okanola AVA but really

21:05

close to downtown , as we say

21:07

, we're like the only urban winery that

21:09

once you drive in you wouldn't realize

21:11

across the street . You know commercial

21:14

businesses but we have

21:16

some beautiful views and land

21:18

and vineyards that surround us . But

21:20

one of the things that was really fun about

21:22

being a boutique winery is that you can experiment

21:24

and I wasn't afraid to do that . We

21:27

had the land . I said let's plant the

21:29

grapes that actually do well , and

21:32

our one vineyard has

21:34

a reasling , it has a

21:36

cabernet , it has a saurah , it

21:38

has a mall back in a merlot

21:41

and we're fortunate that

21:43

that Okanola AVA

21:45

really can bring that apart . And I wanted

21:47

to be like let's be different , let's do our thing

21:49

and it's been

21:51

great . It's nice to have these small batches

21:54

for sure .

21:56

So , with 35 acres in

21:58

all that variety , do you now

22:00

sell the grapes as well , or do you use

22:02

all them for your own production ?

22:06

We use all them for our own production now . We

22:08

did in the past sell some of

22:10

the saurah . We had 16 acres of the

22:12

saurah at the time , or

22:15

eight acres rather of the 16-acre

22:17

plotted land , but now we have replanted

22:20

and created these other varietals

22:22

in that place .

22:24

That's an awful lot of land in a very pricey

22:27

neighborhood .

22:29

You know we were very fortunate . So

22:33

you know how we talked about the beginning of

22:35

our discussion that we were going into real estate

22:37

. Well , we still kind of are . We're

22:40

just in different kinds of real estate versus single-family

22:42

homes and it's in the land

22:45

and all the opportunities were very

22:47

11-11 serendipitous moments as

22:49

well , because it was just the right

22:51

timing Two of our

22:53

vineyards , two of our properties were

22:55

in 2012 , and the other one

22:58

was in 2013 , and it was just

23:00

the right timing . So

23:02

we were fortunate enough to have a good value .

23:04

And do they all have the attached ability

23:07

to rent out , like the one that has the home and it

23:09

has that commercial side to it . They all have that

23:11

same feature . So and then , do you offer that as

23:13

a guest experience ? Do you have to be part

23:16

of the club ? How does it work if somebody wanted to come and

23:18

stay on one of these properties ? The one you first

23:20

described sounds very beautiful .

23:23

It is . It's really nice . We

23:25

do offer it to our club members , so

23:27

it's part of being in the membership . We

23:30

also offer it to our non-club members

23:32

as well , just depends on the

23:34

availability . The winery

23:36

site itself is about a mile from that

23:39

property and we have

23:41

the winery buildings and we

23:43

do have a barn as well . That's an event

23:45

space on property , so

23:47

that space as well has been utilized

23:50

for our wellness experiences

23:52

. We do a

23:54

wellness experience , which isn't necessarily

23:56

surrounded around wine , but we do have wine

23:58

there . It's more about

24:00

bringing an expert in on

24:02

a Saturday morning once a month

24:05

to kind of have an 11-11

24:07

moment . That could be a speaker , it

24:09

could be a yoga instructor , it could be a

24:11

boot camp Anything that kind of

24:13

brings out that 11-11 spirit in a different

24:15

way .

24:16

And I noticed on the bottle you have . It

24:18

looks like your tagline is make your mark

24:21

, your moment .

24:22

Make your moment .

24:23

Make your moment , so tell us about that .

24:25

So the idea of 11-11

24:28

is that it's a time and place

24:30

and we , instead

24:32

of using the terminology or the tagline

24:35

, make a wish . It really spoke

24:37

to us to say make your moment , Be here

24:39

with us , whether you're in your backyard

24:41

enjoying the wine with your friends

24:43

and family on the sofa at the winery

24:46

, wherever you are .

24:47

Well , talking about make your moment , what

24:50

wine do you have on your dinner

24:52

table whenever you're making your moments

24:54

? Is it one of yours or somebody else's

24:57

?

24:57

I like to try other wines as well . Obviously

25:01

, my palette is very much

25:03

an 11-11 palette . Obviously

25:05

, in the last 10 years that's been my

25:08

go-to and I think , because we have

25:10

such a wide variety of

25:12

14 different varietals , I

25:14

get a chance to play with the rosé

25:16

and the sauvignon blanc . We

25:19

enjoyed the Pinot Noir

25:21

this Thanksgiving , which has always been

25:23

a beautiful wine and a fan favorite

25:25

.

25:26

And tell folks what the price points

25:28

are of these .

25:29

Yes , so the Chardonnay is $60

25:31

and the XI

25:33

is at $90 .

25:35

And they are direct to consumer . You can get it on your

25:37

website .

25:39

You can directly at 1111winescom

25:42

and we are predominantly

25:45

direct to consumer . We have less than 3%

25:47

of our business is anything

25:49

out in the marketplace . It's just

25:51

too small to be honest with you for that .

25:53

Well , so then you didn't have a big swing , I would guess

25:55

with COVID , because you didn't lose that

25:58

segment .

25:59

Right . If anything , it was

26:01

everybody stayed employed . We

26:03

just resped , you know

26:05

pivoted , if you will , or just kind of

26:07

rescheduled how we work . But

26:10

yeah , we had a great support

26:12

system in terms of our club memberships

26:15

and just had to rethink the business

26:17

a little bit , which is always exciting , I think

26:19

.

26:19

Yeah , yeah , definitely it

26:22

helps some folks , hurt some folks and revealed

26:24

some things and really challenged folks

26:26

. But luckily we're on the other side of it now .

26:29

Yeah , absolutely .

26:30

Do you want to ask her your favorite question ? So

26:33

when , yeah , when we have the chance to have someone that

26:36

makes the wine or that , um

26:39

, that ? No , we do always like to ask

26:41

if you were to describe these wines without

26:43

using wine words

26:46

, which , you know , the majority

26:49

of consumers out there aren't talking

26:51

about terroir and they're not talking

26:53

about tasting notes , definitely

26:55

. But we always say that when

26:57

you bring a bottle of wine , you're bringing someone

26:59

to dinner , so we'd like to know what personality

27:01

we might be inviting to dinner .

27:04

Well , it's kind of like the

27:06

similar question that people ask me

27:08

what's your favorite of all of your portfolio

27:10

and I tell people , um , it's

27:12

like saying which of your kids is your favorite

27:15

, so you can't pick just one . But

27:17

I would say the personality goes from

27:19

someone who's really warm and hospitable

27:22

and wants to give you a big hug like a bear

27:24

hug all the way to somebody

27:26

who is excitable

27:29

and , um , having a great

27:31

time . But the common

27:33

term that we use is whoever walks

27:35

into the room is 1111 , is

27:37

very elegant and it's an

27:40

elegant experience .

27:42

Well , we have enjoyed talking with you . Is there anything

27:44

else about 1111 that the wines

27:46

defined listeners should know ?

27:47

I mean , I think the biggest thing for us is

27:50

, um , as you enter the valley

27:52

, we'd love to see your faces . You're

27:54

welcome to come in . Nobody

27:57

is not welcome here

27:59

. Our doors are open , and

28:01

which is very much about the

28:03

concept of bringing people together , and

28:06

you can find us at 1111winescom

28:09

or contact me directly . I'm pretty

28:12

easily um located

28:14

or identifiable on my information on the website

28:16

.

28:17

I did want to ask . I noticed on your website , speaking

28:19

of it , that you said that there

28:21

was a Greek word that you described

28:23

as gathering . I believe the

28:25

word is paria .

28:27

So your paria is it's like , um

28:29

, you and Michelle Sandy the two

28:31

of you probably grab your group of people and

28:33

you kind of have your go to people that get

28:36

together and they're your paria . So

28:38

it's like your , your pals , and

28:41

um , that concept of gathering

28:43

your paria and bringing them together is

28:45

very uh , it's very rooted

28:47

in the concept of hospitality and

28:49

and everyone's welcome .

28:51

Oh , I love that and that's it . It's like going

28:54

to see your pals when you go to see 1111 . And

28:56

it's and it .

28:57

It's almost sounds like paella , but it's not

28:59

paella , it's parara . How to say

29:01

it one more time Par-a-a .

29:04

So if you weren't going to roll the R and you said

29:06

parara , it's hard to say without

29:08

rolling the R yeah , it's P-A-R

29:11

.

29:11

It's P-A-R-E-R right

29:13

Correct .

29:14

Yeah , okay , yeah , it's .

29:15

Greek Excellent .

29:18

Well , this has been so lovely .

29:20

It's been a pleasure , pleasure to see you

29:22

both and talk to you both and

29:24

I hope to see you in person and

29:26

and here in Napa Valley and we can

29:28

have a toast .

29:29

Absolutely , that'd be fun , thank you . Well , we can toast here

29:31

. Cheers , cheers , beautiful

29:34

.

29:34

Cheers to you . All

29:37

right . So I just loved hearing about

29:39

the con . I knew it's so funny because

29:41

in like the last week , 1111 is

29:43

like it's not like she said , it's repeating

29:45

itself now . So what's your 1111

29:48

moment ? Oh no , it's just . Somebody on a podcast

29:50

was saying that they , like they're , they're

29:52

marking when they hit 1111

29:54

and they're like I got three days in a row and I was like what is

29:56

this ?

29:57

I had . Even so , you were listening to another podcast . So

29:59

what podcast were you listening to ?

30:00

It was armchair expert , monica

30:02

, and she likes wine . So I'm wondering if she

30:05

somehow got turned on to the wine , cause she's a big

30:07

wine drinker and she's been going . I'd 1111

30:10

again today .

30:11

Yeah , I did not realize , cause I'd always

30:13

heard just the double . You know , anytime you see a double

30:15

digit , then you ? Then you make a wish

30:17

. Same thing Like when

30:20

your necklace turns gets the next , then you twist your necklace , you

30:22

kiss it and you say say a wish

30:24

, so it's kind of the same concept

30:26

. Let's go ahead and get right to um

30:29

rating these wines . For those

30:31

of you who have not listened

30:33

before , we do rate our wines

30:36

on a one to five scoring grid

30:38

. For one to five quirks and

30:40

it's your personal score . What

30:42

you think this helps , let you know

30:44

if you want to go buy the wine again . So

30:46

one cork is fine to sink two

30:48

corks as you'll finish the glass , just to be

30:50

polite . Three quirks is you'll have another

30:53

glass because you found it enjoyable . Four

30:56

quirks is you liked it so much you'll

30:58

go find and buy another

31:00

bottle . Five quirks is you'll buy

31:02

a whole case . You liked it so much .

31:05

And so this Chardonnay , I really

31:07

really like it . When we first had our first , if

31:09

it was still a little cold , it's , had a chance to settle into

31:11

the glass and it's . It's warmer now and there's a lot

31:14

of there's a lot going on . Tropical , which

31:16

I always enjoy . It's

31:18

creamy , but not buttery , not not that

31:20

oaky . I would give this a five

31:23

. And it's funny because , knowing

31:25

it's $60 , that's the only thing that was like , oh I don't want to

31:27

spend $60 . But for the listener who's thinking

31:29

$60 for Chardonnay , let me

31:31

tell you go up a step higher

31:33

than what you're currently spending and

31:35

go into that higher price point and you're going to really

31:38

see a difference . I would encourage everybody to do

31:40

that with whatever varietal you really like

31:42

.

31:42

Let's take that next step and see what the difference is

31:45

Well , then you start to get into those tertiary

31:47

flavors . It's a little more complex wine

31:49

, and then you really start to enjoy it . So , yes

31:51

, I really like the Chardonnay too . I'm

31:54

giving it a four myself , and that's a lot

31:56

for you .

31:56

Okay , and this , this

31:58

blend is actually . It was a Cabernet

32:01

, it's enough . And for the listeners she

32:03

mentioned , she was clear to say 80% . It

32:05

has to have 80% Cabernet Sauvignon in order

32:07

to be called Cabernet Sauvignon and it is . It

32:09

just has a blend of other grapes , which makes

32:12

it very delightful , I think it

32:14

softens that cab .

32:15

Well , I like it because it adds that complexity

32:17

to it , adds that petite verdeau which really

32:19

gives it that depth and

32:21

heaviness , almost , and then

32:23

the Merlot kind of rounds it out with some more fruit

32:26

. I really

32:28

am enjoying this . How about you ? What are you going to give it ?

32:31

I would give it a four , maybe a four and a half . It's very , very pleasant

32:33

, it's . It's very nice .

32:35

I'm also going to four with it .

32:37

I really like it . Well , 1111

32:39

did not disappoint . We enjoyed these wines

32:42

and speaking of , we hope , if you enjoyed this

32:44

episode , you would share it with your wine-loving friend

32:46

or family member , and we hope you'll join us next time

32:48

on . Wines To Find . Thank

33:22

you

33:27

,