As much as we love to wax lyrical about the many romantic aspects of the wine industry/lifestyle, underneath it all this little endeavor of ours is a commercial enterprise with a very real bottom line.

We've used the word "milestone" a lot this year because we celebrated a pair of significant anniversaries in 2010. But what really made this year historic for us had less to do with those backward glances than with the forward movement we achieved as a small business.



The wine industry, like most others, has undergone a tremendous amount of change over the last few years. Three phenomena in particular have impacted us in profound ways during this period: (1) the rapid evolution of social media and related technologies; (2) a volatile but ultimately survivalist economy; and (3) the increasingly convoluted machinations of the distribution sales channel. These compounded elements have demanded unprecedented bobbing and weaving from a business management standpoint.

As we've navigated this changing landscape, technology has worked in our favor (see: Twitter & Facebook), and the economy has kept us on our toes (see our hallmark Napa Valley zinfandel, now in its seventh straight vintage with no price increase). But the demise of distribution as a meaningful sales channel for small producers has been a curve ball that's changed the game.*

Given these circumstances, our micro size and private family-held structure have been virtues, allowing us to remain nimble enough to keep pace with the ever changing demands of our industry. From the vine to the press to the tank to the barrel to the bottle to your glass - not until that cycle is complete have we begun to scratch the surface of meeting our goals.

And that is why you are the very heart of the matter, dear lover of our wines. None of what we do - the farming, the winemaking, the hospitality, the outreach - none of it means anything without your continued discovery, enjoyment, and desire to share in the Brown Estate experience.

In order to better nurture this precious ecosystem in which we thrive with your support, during the course of 2010 we made a number of upgrades to both our systems and our manpower, not only changing e-commerce and fulfillment providers, but hiring three new employees on the business side of things. "Three new employees," you may say to yourself, "how cute!" But remember that there were only four of us running the business in the first place!

These internal changes and the extensive recalibrating they have entailed represent what for us has been the most significant growth spurt in Brown Estate's 15-year history. And so it is that we toast 2010 not merely as a year that witnessed major milestones for us, but as a year that embodied them.

Thank you for continuing to be a part of this adventure with us, and we wish all of you a healthy, prosperous, and exuberant 2011!
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*Interested in the gruesome details re: distribution's downfall? Write in below and we will be happy to fill you in! [Update: Details posted in comment string below (in two parts).]