A month in toasts
Ugly Sweater Party with Azur Wines’ Proprietor, Elan Fayard
December 23, 2020
As the dust is settling on 2020, it’s fun to reflect on purple cork’s growth since our very first virtual wine tasting pilot back on July 18th, 2020, with Blue Rock Vineyard & Winery. (a big shout-out to Kenny Kahn and Carla Jeffries from Blue Rock who took a chance on purple cork from the beginning. Every new business needs early supporters like Kenny and Carla!).
Since July, we’ve been fortunate to add some other incredible winery partners (Skipstone, Red Car, Azur, Littorai, Amista, Massican, Pasterick, Venge Vineyards, Charles Heidsieck) and food purveyor partners (Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese, Farfalle Italian Market, to name a few) with exciting collaborations coming in 2021. Did someone say caviar? And cheese tastings? And virtual dinner parties with a famous chef from Emilia Romagna? Yep, it’s all happening in Q1!
Taking a quick step back—some of you know that this was a covid-born, bootstrapped business, where I left my head of marketing role in mid-August to give purple cork the full-time focus it deserved. It was a little terrifying to leave a steady job in the middle of a pandemic, but the opportunity was calling. Oprah said it best:
“The only people who never tumble are those who never mount the high wire. This is your moment. Own it.”
Right on, Oprah. I will say that entrepreneurship is even harder and more rewarding than people say. Fodder for another post…
Q4 was a whirlwind, especially December. We had 18 tastings and a few Instagram Lives in December, which means we got to meet hundreds of new tasters and host some awesome company holiday parties, customer events and conferences, and even a surprise birthday party.
For everyone who participated in a purple cork tasting in 2020, including our favorite winemakers (Tanner, Ashley, Alexis, Dan), thank you so much for your support and energy on all of those Zooms. We wouldn’t be here without you.
Back in that July pilot, we started what we thought was a silly tradition of everyone holding up their glasses for a group toast at the end…and it stuck.
Below are a few of our favorite toasts from December. Let’s raise our glasses to 2020 and to staying connected (and having fun!) over some delicious wine, virtually.
Also a final special shout-out to Amanda who has been my “Tech Whiz” and wing-woman every virtual step of the way.
Happy Holidays!
See you in 2021,
Kelly
purple cork Founder & CEO
