We were lucky to catch up with Diane Carpenter recently and have shared our conversation below.

Diane, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. One of our favorite things to brainstorm about with friends who’ve built something entrepreneurial is what they would do differently if they were to start over today. Surely, there are things you’ve learned that would allow you to do it over faster, more efficiently. We’d love to hear how you would go about setting things up if you were starting over today, knowing everything that you already know.

Knowing everything I know today about the wine business, and how long it takes to turn the vineyard we cultivated into a profit, I would have started this project 10 years earlier. The issue was, and it probably contradicts what I just said, we did not have the same amount of capital to finance ourselves 10 years earlier. I was 48 when we bought the property and 52 when we planted our vines and we were in a position to hire some of the best brains in viticulture and farming in Northern California. Those farmers and viticulturists became our guides and helped us navigate the very emotional, physical and stressful challenges which come along with the wine business. I guess, being that little bit older and raising a family probably helped us to keep going through all of those obstacles. There is nothing I would change about the process as the wine we produce from the fruit which grows in this special vineyard tastes exactly how we hoped it would. If we had cut corners it would be noticeable in the quality of the wine we produce. We are now at a point where we are physically and intellectually drained and on track to retire in 2 years. The questions is, will we be profitable in 2 years? The answer is, if we had started 10 years earlier probably yes.

Diane, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My grown up life in 2 parts. First part I put my career on hold to raise a family until, one day, when our daughters were finishing up high school and heading to college, I had an epiphany. That epiphany came in the form of glass of wine. That fateful glass of wine lead me down a path to study everything wine had to offer until I eventually left the classroom and landed in the vineyard. Along my journey I met a well known winemaker who appreciated my passion for wine. That same winemaker took me under his wing and taught me so much about farming, viticulture and vinification. With that knowledge we purchased a property in Sonoma County, California and planted a vineyard of Pinot Noir from scratch. We named our vineyard Ross Knoll Vineyard.
Another reason we chose Sonoma County is that it is home to the elegant grape, Pinot Noir. Pinot Noir is the grape which I appreciate the most and, after much research and tasting, we selected one specific clone of Pinot Noir, Calera.
In 2017, the same year we planted our first vines, fires came roaring through our part of California. We were one of the lucky ones and our vineyard, and home, survived. Unfortunately others were not so lucky and this is how we met our consultant winemaker, Justin. A neighbor called the day after the fires to say that a good friend of hers, Justin, had lost his home to the fires. My neighbor brought Justin, his wife and 3 daughters, his parents and a few pets in tow and they moved into our home until they were able to buy a new home.
Justin and I formed a special bond and he became our winemaker.
We are a very small production winery and craft our wines in a way which is very delicate and represents the environment in which it is grown. We sell DTC, direct to consumer, Our brand is Ross Knoll Vineyard.

We’d love to hear about how you keep in touch with clients.

I appreciate all of our clients and I am grateful for their loyalty and support. We stay in touch on a regular basis through newsletters, offerings, social media and hosting wine events together in their homes

We’d love to hear about how you met your business partner.

My cofounder and business partner is my husband, David. We met in high school and have supported each others careers. We have worked very hard for the life we have and look forward to drinking our fine wines in retirement.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.rossknollvineyard.com http://www.dianecarpenter.org/
• Instagram: @yourwinestylist and @rossknollvineyard
• Linkedin: Diane Carpenter CSW