Back to the Future
Over the winter, Matthew and I took a hard look at the business in order to determine where our brand image was meeting the standards we've set for ourselves, and where it needed...well, a little polishing. Here are the conclusions we drew on who we are and who we aspire to be. After you read this blog, I hope you will let me know if you agree.
First, and most importantly, we are happy with our wines and our staff. After 20 years in this business, it would be depressing to be producing mediocre wines, but our customers frequently give us kudos for the consistent high quality of our product. As for our staff, I'm not saying every person on every day has always been a superstar, but we take great pains to hire and train good people, and our current group of managers and employees is one of the best teams we've ever assembled.
When we talked about facilities, we agreed that was a work in progress. In 2010 we created a "Northwest Lodge" look for the exterior of the winery, with a cedar and stone facade. In 2011 we added a covered patio area on the south lawn. We have more plans for improving the seating in our tasting room and enclosing the outside seating area for winter events, but for the most part we like the looks of the vineyard and winery.
We were less than happy with our second location on International Drive in the Riverbend District. After rushing to get it open in October, 2013, we never went back to complete the interior design. Candidly, the LaVelle Tap Room was plain and sparsely decorated, and it looked more like a sports bar than a wine bar. That realization lead us to remodel the interior of the space to create a wine bar ambiance and to rename it the LaVelle Wine Bar & Grille. It was a major project for a small business, but we love the result. Response from our customers suggests that you do, too. If you haven't been there yet, please come and check it out.
Now for the meat of this blog posting. The place where we felt we needed the most improvement was in our events schedule. Over the last couple of years, with all the focus on moving from 5th St. Market to Riverbend, restructuring our wine club release schedule, and upgrades to our vineyard and winery property, the quality and quantity of our events has suffered. In the process, we've lost something that used to be a major part of our brand image. From the day we first opened our tasting room doors back in 1995 we were always known as a fun place to go for wine club parties, Friday Night Flights, Holiday Weekends, summer concerts, etc., etc., etc., and we want that reputation back again.
So take a look at our current Calendar of Events on the website because it's going to be an exciting summer at LaVelle Vineyards. Friday Night Flights will feature a full band and a food cart every Friday night from now until the end of September. Bands include The Blue Valentines, Concrete Loveseat, The Brewketts, The Honey Brown Band, and the Quons. We will have a band and a food cart all three days of Memorial Day Weekend which will also serve as a fundraiser for Branches of Valor, a local support group for military personnel and first responders suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Vineyard events this summer also include a Murder Mystery Dinner on the lawn on June 27th, our annual wine club Summer Island Party July 25th, two car shows and a Winemaker Dinner in August, and several fundraisers, including one for the Musicians Emergency Medical Fund on July 18th that will feature four bands on stage over a six hour period. For a complete list of Vineyard Events check our website.
We know you have many entertainment options this summer, especially on Friday nights and the weekends. We are going to do our best to create exciting events on a regular basis this year and we hope whenever you think about going out, checking our calendar of events and watching for our Facebook postings will become an automatic. Any time you choose to attend one of our events, we will work our tails off to make sure you're glad you decided to join us.
See you this summer!
Doug LaVelle
First, and most importantly, we are happy with our wines and our staff. After 20 years in this business, it would be depressing to be producing mediocre wines, but our customers frequently give us kudos for the consistent high quality of our product. As for our staff, I'm not saying every person on every day has always been a superstar, but we take great pains to hire and train good people, and our current group of managers and employees is one of the best teams we've ever assembled.
When we talked about facilities, we agreed that was a work in progress. In 2010 we created a "Northwest Lodge" look for the exterior of the winery, with a cedar and stone facade. In 2011 we added a covered patio area on the south lawn. We have more plans for improving the seating in our tasting room and enclosing the outside seating area for winter events, but for the most part we like the looks of the vineyard and winery.
We were less than happy with our second location on International Drive in the Riverbend District. After rushing to get it open in October, 2013, we never went back to complete the interior design. Candidly, the LaVelle Tap Room was plain and sparsely decorated, and it looked more like a sports bar than a wine bar. That realization lead us to remodel the interior of the space to create a wine bar ambiance and to rename it the LaVelle Wine Bar & Grille. It was a major project for a small business, but we love the result. Response from our customers suggests that you do, too. If you haven't been there yet, please come and check it out.
Now for the meat of this blog posting. The place where we felt we needed the most improvement was in our events schedule. Over the last couple of years, with all the focus on moving from 5th St. Market to Riverbend, restructuring our wine club release schedule, and upgrades to our vineyard and winery property, the quality and quantity of our events has suffered. In the process, we've lost something that used to be a major part of our brand image. From the day we first opened our tasting room doors back in 1995 we were always known as a fun place to go for wine club parties, Friday Night Flights, Holiday Weekends, summer concerts, etc., etc., etc., and we want that reputation back again.
So take a look at our current Calendar of Events on the website because it's going to be an exciting summer at LaVelle Vineyards. Friday Night Flights will feature a full band and a food cart every Friday night from now until the end of September. Bands include The Blue Valentines, Concrete Loveseat, The Brewketts, The Honey Brown Band, and the Quons. We will have a band and a food cart all three days of Memorial Day Weekend which will also serve as a fundraiser for Branches of Valor, a local support group for military personnel and first responders suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Vineyard events this summer also include a Murder Mystery Dinner on the lawn on June 27th, our annual wine club Summer Island Party July 25th, two car shows and a Winemaker Dinner in August, and several fundraisers, including one for the Musicians Emergency Medical Fund on July 18th that will feature four bands on stage over a six hour period. For a complete list of Vineyard Events check our website.
We know you have many entertainment options this summer, especially on Friday nights and the weekends. We are going to do our best to create exciting events on a regular basis this year and we hope whenever you think about going out, checking our calendar of events and watching for our Facebook postings will become an automatic. Any time you choose to attend one of our events, we will work our tails off to make sure you're glad you decided to join us.
See you this summer!
Doug LaVelle
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