Kickstarter Campaign Launches for a Sonoma County Winery's Inaugural Harvest Needs
Santa Rosa, CA – August 1, 2014 – Russian River Valley based Smith Story Wine Cellars was founded earlier this year by wine business veterans Eric and Ali Story. Through Kickstarter, a website dedicated to "a new way to fund and follow creativity," Eric and Ali are sharing their vision and inviting supporters to join them in giving birth to a new winery this year. “As far as we know, we’re the first winery in Sonoma County to utilize a Kickstarter Campaign to help with start-up costs, so this is going to be fun to promote and raise awareness of our dear grape growers on many levels,” says Ali Smith-Story, co-owner.
Ali and Eric have placed highest priority on the list of start-up costs on Kickstarter.com in attempt to raise $25,000 in 30 days to pay their farmers first. “I’ve been a huge supporter of crowd funding sites over the years, and it’s allowed me to help over a dozen businesses, based in less than ideal countries, to thrive as entrepreneurs. Kickstarter is a perfect fit for us since we are capable of implementing our business plan and selling the wine we produce, the startup cost is the real challenge we face,” says Ali.
“Our heart is in the vineyards; Ali comes from a farming family in Texas and understands how the farmers and producers rely on each other to create a sustainable business together. Plus, there’s no better feeling than the rush we get spending time with our vineyard growers and farmers. It is very important to us to pay our contracts on time this very first harvest and, every harvest moving forward, for Smith Story Wines.” says Eric Story, co-owner of Smith Story Wine Cellars.
Kickstarter Backers have a choice to donate on few levels starting as little as $5 to $3400 or more. Backers receive a variety of rewards stemming from a photograph of a vineyard to a hefty reward that includes naming a barrel of wine, a catered lunch in a vineyard with Eric and Ali along with a set of Zalto, hand-blown Austrian wine glasses. Here is the Smith Story Wine Cellars Kickstarter link: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/837539083/smith-story-wine-cellars
Kickstarter campaigns operate under an “all-or-nothing” funding model so if the Smith Story Wine Cellars campaign doesn't reach its goal at the end of 30 days the backers will not be charged and Smith Story Wine Cellars will receive nothing. To follow their project, find them on Twitter and Instagram (@smithstorywines) and their website www.smithstorywinecellars.com in hopes of supporters spreading the word to social media networks.
About Smith Story Wine Cellars
Founded by husband and wife Eric Story and Alison Smith-Story on May 14, 2013. Smith Story Wine Cellars will produce their inaugural vintage this harvest 2014 from vineyard sites among Anderson Valley, Russian River Valley, Sonoma Coast and Sonoma Mountain AVA’s. Smith Story Wine Cellar releases will be allocated and sold online to mailing list supporters through the www.smithstorywinecellars.com website in upcoming presale & future offerings. Eric Story is the German, Loire, Austrian, Alsace, Greek and the Eastern Europe regional buyer for www.klwines.com. Alison Smith-Story owns http://www.texacaliwine.com a sales and marketing firm founded in Texas and now based in Northern California. To learn more visit www.smithstorywinecellars.com and follow on www.twitter.com/smithstorywines