The Finale...and a New Beginning!

A very good friend of mine (yeah, I'm looking at you Mr R) recently chastised me for being negligent in updating the blog.  Apparently he was having difficulty finding things to read at work...  OK, that was a low blow because the guy is completely correct.  I have been negligent in posting about the final wrap up of construction.  That's right, we're 99.9% complete!  The pictures below tell the tale.

 View of the main room from the southeast corner looking towards the bottle storage room.  Barrels will line the wall.

 The cleaning area--one of the nerve centers of the operation & home to more plumbing than you can shake a stick at.

View towards the back door from the barrel corner.

View towards the back door from the sink area.

Last but not least...the bottle storage room.  This will be used for equipment storage until next year when we start bottling wine.

So what have I been doing besides finishing painting, staining & varnishing the interior door, & moving equipment into the winery?  Getting ready to make wine!  The Board of Health approved our residential kitchen permit so it's time to start fermenting stuff.  Not wasting a moment, we've hit the ground running with some frozen juice and the South American grape harvest.  Some wineries will hide the fact that they purchase grapes from South America in the spring to boost wine inventory.  Aaronap Cellars will never hide that information but celebrate that we can source unique grapes from south of the Equator in the spring to bring you another option for interesting flavors & some grape varietals that are hard to source here in the USA.  Stay tuned for details...that's worthy of another blog post.

Salute,
Noel

Special Permit for Home Occupation Submitted

My faithful readers have probably noticed that I've been kind of quiet on the ol' blog this summer.  Lots of reasons--marriage plans, change in jobs, and just plain "it's summer, dang it!"  However, the biggest reason is that I've been marshaling forces for the next steps in opening the doors of Aaronap Cellars.  With the Fed & state permits under my belt, the next goal is getting permission from the town of Westford.

Actually, I have to give a lot of credit to the folks at town hall here in Westford.  They've actually been very pleasant & helpful to deal with.  They actually considered my proposal and didn't say "NO" immediately.  Instead, we've worked together to lay out a permit plan and they seem quite encouraging of my endeavor.  Cross my fingers that this relationship continues!

First step has been to submit a Special Permit for Home Occupation.  Since my home is in a residential zoning, a winery isn't exactly on the list of approved uses.  However, I'm not asking to open a full-blown winery with public tasting room, and have designed the winery to fit within the by-laws for an incidental home occupation.

No, we're not starting an Occupy Westford movement.  Basically this means that the winery will only take up 1/3 of the footprint of the basement and that no significant increase in traffic will occur.  Since a 500 gallon winery can't support a full-time tasting room and my sales will be through off-premise venues like farmer's markets, ag events, and retail outlets, I see no reason why I can't comply with those requirements.

I completed & submitted the special permit application this past week and am on the agenda for the Sept Zoning Board meeting.  Certified letters of announcement will be going out to my neighbors next week.  I'm intending to make the rounds of my neighbor in the next couple of days to introduce myself and the winery plan.  Hopefully, I'll be able to head off any strident objections, but we shall see what happens at the public meeting!

Salute,
Noel

Aaronap Cellars is MA latest Farm Winery!

I was planning on sitting down at the computer this afternoon and muse about the cork choices that I've made since I began making wine.  Even had a killer title picked out:  "Corks......"

But life threw a little curve at me so we'll put that post off until later....

BECAUSE I JUST RECEIVED THE MA FARMER WINERY LICENSE!!!!!

Yep, you read that correctly!  Aaronap Cellars is now officially licensed to produce and sell wine by the Federal and State licensing authorities!

I chuckle because it was a rather anticlimatic ending.  I had had an inspection visit from the MA ABCC (that's Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission for you non-MA natives) scheduled for this past Monday afternoon.  I stressed out all weekend and spent Sunday afternoon rearranging the basement in attempt to clearly delineate that the winery space would be since I haven't started construction yet.  Then the inspector spent 5 minutes in the basement to verify that I had 2 exits/entrances and gave the same answers to some questions on the application, and boom, done.  After signing the inspection report, he said he'd clear the application off his desk as soon as he ran the background report and I'd be hearing from the licensing folks in 1-2 weeks.  Given that timeframe, I wasn't expecting any word for awhile and didn't bother to check the Aaronap Cellars email account until Saturday when I had a few moments....

Turns out I had received an email from the ABCC on Wednesday and they would be mailing the signed license to my business address.  After staring at the screen for a few minutes, I went running out of the office in search of Shawna to share the news.  A quick series of hugs & joint exclamations of joy, and then I dashed to the mailbox where, low and behold, was the signed license!

Lesson learned--check the work email account more frequently after inspection visits!

I do believe we are going to celebrate with a bottle of sparkling wine tonight while cooking dinner.  Perhaps a local sparkler from Westport Rivers to go with the local haddock from Cape Ann Fresh Catch??  Seems appropriate, don't ya think?

Cheers,
Noel

Officially on the TTB list of US Wineries

Had a conversation today with another MA winemaker and he mentioned that he had seen Aaronap Cellars listed as an officially approved winery on the TTB list of US Wineries.  So...had to google myself!  And by golly, he was correct!

Just for fun, click on the link below and then do a page search for Aaronap Cellars.  You'll quickly find us in the official list of US Wineries.  Guess this means I should get my rear in gear to complete the MA Farm Winery Application!

http://www.ttb.gov/foia/xls/frl-wine-producers-and-blenders-la-to-nc.htm

Cheers,
Noel

TTB Basic Permit Received!

Yesterday was a rollercoaster ride for the Aaronap Cellars household.  Work was the usual pell mell dash so I was a tad exhausted when I came home.  Neither Shawna nor I felt like making dinner or eating left overs so we headed out for dinner.  I took her to one of my favorite restaurants in Chelmsford and we had a lovely dinner of Spanish tapas at Cafe Madrid (the spinach & cheese empanadas & pork loin were awesome).  After enjoying a lovely glass of granacha (her) and monastrell (me), we wandered home and I opened my Aaronap Cellars email account...

To find an email from the TTB announcing that the Basic Permit for Aaronap Cellars had been approved!!!

After gaping at the screen with an open mouth for a few moments, I yelped like a fool, which brought Shawna running.  A couple of big hugs later, I was finally calm enough to think.

"Oh my God, I own a federally licensed winery!"

The absolutely amazing part was how quickly this happened.  I submitted the application on March 11 and less than 17 business days later, it was approved.  I definitely have to credit my TTB agent Heather with an excellent customer-service approach.  We had a few back-n-forths about some details that needed amended and she fixed them for me on the application!  After my recent brush with the faceless bureaucracy that is the IRS, this dealing with the Federal government was eye-openingly refreshing.

Of course, this means that I need to get my rear in gear and get moving on the state and local permits.  I honestly wasn't expecting to get the TTB permit for at least another month or two, so had turned my focus to other things for a little bit.  Time to refocus!

The wine to celebrate this momentous occasion?  Alto Moncayo Campo de Borja Garnacha 2007, a lovely full of chocolate & black fruit aromas, silky tannins, and a bold fruity aftertaste.  Yum!

Cheers,
Noel

Federal TTB New Winery Application Submitted

Ever had one of those anti-climatic moments when something you've been working hard towards is finally done and you're left with a feeling of "that's it?"  Well, I'm having one of those moments right now...immediately after officially submitting the new winery application for Aaronap Cellars to the Federal TTB.

This has been a goal for the past several months that has caused me a bit of aggravation due to the length of time it was taking.  As you can imagine, there's a lot of paperwork involved starting an alcohol-related business in this country so this has required a bit of work and a lot of documentation.  But I really do have to give the TTB credit.  Bureaucracy or not, these folks are trying to make the process as simple as possible.  I've had the very good fortune to submit my application after the unveiling of their Permits-ON-Line (PONL) system that allows you to submit the application electronically.  I recently attended an information session on the PONL system at the Eastern Winery Expo and was amused to hear one of the TTB managers state that "Our job is to help you with your business, not just catch the bad guys."  So far, I have to agree with them.  The PONL system is a HUGE step forward over the complicated paper forms that required repeatedly entering the same information on form after form.  In the PONL system, you enter the repetitive data once, and the system self-enters it wherever it is needed.  How often do you hear praise for the government's customer service???

So today, after finally accumulating all of the supporting documentation required, I was able to hit that final submit button and send my new winery application off for review.  Just need to mail in the paper copies of my surety bond on Monday and then sit back and wait.  Review process usually takes between 60-90 days.

After all that...the moment is very anti-climatic.  Feels like there should be a brass band playing and confetti flying.  Instead, I'm sitting here a little stunned and remembering that I have a final exam to complete for my UC Davis winemaking class, and the MA application needs to be started, and I need to move forward with the town of Westford to get zoning special use and building permits, and....my fiance is coming over tonight and I think I'll open a bottle of Sparkling Concord to celebrate.

Embrace the moment, the other stuff can wait until tomorrow.

Salute,
Noel

Going commercial--am I crazy?

Well, readers, Aaronap Cellars is taking a big step.  A few posts have eluded to the process, but just thought I formally announce that I've been taking the first steps in obtaining the required licenses and permits to turn Aaronap Cellars into a commercial winery.  As you can imagine, this has required a lot of soul searching, planning, and dreaming over the past 2-3 years.  At a number of points, I've come close to concluding that I'm absolutely nuts to consider this and should just be content to remain small and make wine for myself.  But every time I've paused to rethink, I fall back on the realization that wine-making is my passion and the career I want to pursue in the future.  That being said, I'm not a rich person, so will have to start small and keep my day job for financial support for a good long while.

I also have to give credit to a special someone who's recently come into my life.  Facing the long road through the approval process is daunting (to say the least) when you're alone.  Having someone standing beside you who firmly supports your dream and wants you to succeed is a big help & a source of comfort when you get a little discouraged.  This special someone has been an inspiration and one of the reasons that I've made more progress in the past 6 months than in the past 2-3 years.  All I can say to her is 'Thank you hon."

So, what have I accomplished so far?

1)  Completed a business plan
2)  Completed an initial financial planning spreadsheet
3) Filed for incorporation as Aaronap Cellars LLC with the Commonwealth of MA
4) Established business bank accounts
5) Became a member of the MA Farm Winery & Growers Association
6) Completed the Federal New Winery application.  OK, I still have 2 little items left to do before I can submit it, but one is to make a photocopy of the winery premise diagram and the other is purchase a surety bond (and I know who to call for that).  Those will both be done in the next 1-2 days so I consider the application complete.
7) Contacted the town of Westford to initiate the local approval process and got good initial feedback that the winery would be an allowable activity in my zoning.  Long road to go through the local approval, but a good first step.  Hey--at least they didn't say "NO"!

What's next?
1) Complete the MA Farm Winery license application
2) Obtain building permit to finish the basement
3) Clean out the basement and start construction!

There's a lot more after that, but that's the immediate next steps.  For those wanting to keep abreast of the up-to-the-minute news, please find Aaronap Cellars on Facebook.  I often find it much easier to write short snippets of info instead of an entire blog entry, but will continue to document the big steps here as well.  Winemaking activities will wind down during construction & licensing, but stay tuned!

Cheers,
Noel

LLC Papers Filed

Well folks, the journey to commercialization has begun.  This evening Aaronap Cellars LLC filed for a Federal employer identification number and LLC incorporation with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.  This really is the "Republic of Taxachussetts" as the LLC filing fee was a whopping $500 (plus a $20 processing fee for on-line filing).  I recall my ex-wife filing an LLC application with the state of Michigan for a whole $25.  But, as many of you will undoubtedly point out--I live in MA now, not MI.  Such is the cost of doing business here, I guess.

But--I am excited to start this brand new adventure!  Really, I'm actually smiling as I type this entry, I swear.  :)  I'm sure there will be times of smooth sailing and times when I want to pull my hair out.  Never fear--I'll keep you updated on each and every step along the way.

Cheers,
Noel