Emily's Corner

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 August 29, 2024

This is a question I get asked frequently in the tasting room because of the signs that line our very long driveway.

Kenny’s children were visiting their grandfather one day and saw a cat. They shouted, there goes another one. The name “Nutter One” stuck. When Kenny purchased the farm from his father in 2003, Nutter conveyed. When I met Nutter, I did not have a lot of experience with male cats, but he was extremely affectionate and had the sweetest disposition.

Nutter crossed the Rainbow Bridge on October 31, 2009, just prior to the planting of our first vineyard in 2010. When we made the decision to make wine instead of just growing grapes, we decided to immortalize Nutter by using the black cat as our logo. You will see this picture hanging on the wall in the tasting room. Above our display mantel you will also see a portrait painted by local artist, Betsy McGinnis, with a decidedly wine theme.
 

As mentioned above, as you come down our driveway, Kenny has created signs that begin with “Nutter Says” to help make the bumpy drive more entertaining. Plus, we want customers to know that there is something at the end of our long driveway. I love the signs along the drive. I chuckle especially at the one that says “Nutter Says, Speedbump, Just Kidding, Pothole.” If you have not visited us, you are in for a treat as you “creep” down the driveway reading the various signs.

Emily

July 15, 2024

I was in the tasting room one Saturday when a customer came in and remarked that this was the first time they had been to Chateau MerrillAnne. They were pretty local and could not believe they had never heard of us. They noticed one of our grape signs on the road and decided to check us out. They asked how long we had been in business and were surprised to hear that the tasting room had opened in 2014. I went on to say that it was our 11th season.

That got me to thinking back to the day before we opened on March 1, 2014. We were frantically working through our “punch list” items that day and evening. We do not know what we would have done without all the help from family and friends. We actually had someone out on the deck screwing it down in the dark. Thank goodness we had a floodlight out there for him to see. Totally could not sleep that night. So anxious because it was day one. Wondering what we would do if no one showed up. Thankfully that did not happen.

Opening day we were in the tasting room when our first customers came in just prior to our opening up at 11:00. We were so excited to meet the members of the Polo Wine Club. They had been following us on Facebook and endeavored to be our first customers. They had a big book they carried around with them with a page dedicated to us so they could take notes as we went through our tasting and answered their various questions. They had us sign bottles and take pictures with them. We have that picture sitting on the sideboard in the tasting room. It is so funny to see that picture and to see the bare walls. We had nothing in the way of décor at that time. Thankfully that has changed. I can remember ringing up their order. I had to use the back of a paper plate, because I totally forgot to get any paper. I was using one of those big office calculators with the paper printout to tally everything up, calculate the tax, and then enter the amount into our Point of Sale system to accept credit card payments. Thank goodness the POS’s have gotten better as the years went by. I was so stressed out that day, I never wanted to see that calculator again. Everyone got quite a few chuckles watching me try to do the math. This is someone who hates math to the extreme, whose day job requires me to constantly work with numbers, and who thanks God every day for Excel.

It was an exhausting first weekend. A lot of bugs did get worked out, and the following weekend went a little smoother. Thankfully everyone was very patient with us and our learning curve. Eleven years later, we are still learning. We have many regular customers who have supported us over the years and have who we have lasting friendships with. I love working in the tasting room on the weekends. I so enjoy meeting new people and welcoming returning customers.

Thank you for giving me a few minutes of your time to walk down memory lane.

Emily