We were lucky to catch up with Kristie Tacey recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Kristie thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear how you think where to draw the line in terms of asking friends and family to support your business – what’s okay and what’s over the line?
Small businesses need support more now than ever and they are closing all around us, every week. I’m not sure how to really communicate that without making people feel bad but it’s real and though we always ask our friends and family for support, we realize they are not going to come out for everything. At the winery we have weekly programing to try and get people out; which includes food pop ups, live music, DJs, tarot readings, movies etc. Lots of friends and family do support us when we ask, and we are so grateful.
Kristie , 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?
Kristie Tacey is the winemaker and founder of Tessier Winery, a scientist turned winemaker. Kristie is a former published research scientist who studied protein pathways. She moved to the San Francisco Bay Area from her native Michigan to pursue a career in biotechnology, which included working on the Human Genome Project. Kristie eventually came to realize that winemaking was her true calling and after working as operations manager and assistant winemaker at an award-winning East Bay winery, started her own winery that would be a true expression of her creativity.
Tessier Winery was founded in 2009 and focuses on small, hand-crafted lots of natural wines. In the cellar, we practice native fermentations and minimal intervention to allow each vineyard to speak for itself. We have selectively chosen organically farmed family owned and operated vineyards that are in local regions that we feel best express the varietals we love and are inspired by.
We have a tasting room in Berkeley and are open on the weekends or email for private tastings. Please get on our mailing list through the website. The space is also available for event rentals! Plus we have some delicious snacks – French potato chips, tinned fishes and almonds.
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
Tessier’s reputation is built on making high quality wines. It starts with organic grapes from special places (soil, geography and weather). I believe that knowledge of chemistry, microbiology, sustainability and symbiotic gardening are important. I’m a scientist first, studied winemaking at UC Davis and completed the French wine scholar program. Over the years I’ve had many opportunities to travel to wine regions in France and learn about minimal intervention techniques which have made their way into my winemaking style. Ultimately the wines need to be in balance and pair well with food, which elevates everything!
How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?
I started my business with my savings from working as a Research Scientist for 10 years. In fact, my business has always been self-funded. Tessier has been around for 16 years and has grown organically. Last year, we found a wine space/tasting room in Berkeley. Our space is part of a block with 5 other wineries around us. Our vibe in the winery is more like a wine bar, decorated with band posters of concerts we attended and a mural designed and painted by our in-house artist who also creates our wine labels. We play vinyl records, offer wine tastings, flights and glasses. It’s a casual place with a non pretentious atmosphere.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.tessierwinery.com
- Instagram: TessierWinery
- Facebook: TessierPinot
- Yelp: TessierWinery
Image Credits
First and third picture by Clara Rice