08/07/2026
This is a long one folks. And written with very mixed emotions.
When I was young I heard a phrase: “Do what you love and the money will follow.” I took it to heart. I thought at first I might love teaching. I didn’t have a particularly great time in school. I had some great teachers and lots of terrible teachers. Despite this, I thought maybe I could be that inspiring teacher that I rarely had. Two years of studying education pretty much ended that illusion. At the same time I decided that teaching wasn’t for me, I found a job at a local w**ery near my college in New Paltz. The w**ery owner was laid-back and fun and willing to teach me everything he knew about growing grapes and making w**e. I fell in love with it. First with pruning grapevines, then driving a tractor- a John Deere model 420 from the mid 50’s. I hadn’t grown up doing these types of things and I found it fascinating and fun. I started working in the tasting room and learning from my customers that there was a lot to w**e. I wanted to learn all that I could. It was a language that I wanted to speak. There’s a lot to learn- Geography. Chemistry. Tasting. Biology. Agriculture. History. Food Pairing. It’s truly a fascinating rabbit hole to go down. I made a deal with myself that if I finished four years of college I would dedicate four years to trying to make a go of it making w**e and maybe even have my own w**e brand one day. If I wasn’t feeling good about it four years later, I would go back and finish that teaching degree. That was in 1999. Of course I learned later that there were a whole lot of other things to learn- Sales. Marketing. Media Relations. Accounting. Schmoozing. Social Media. Record Keeping. Tourism. HR. And much more. I found I was pretty good at some of these things, not so good at others.
Then suddenly, I’m 50. I’m doing what I love- making w**e. But also doing a lot of things I don’t love- Sales. Schmoozing. PR. Marketing. Social Media. Record Keeping, Compliance, Etc. Etc. And while I was doing what I loved, the money unfortunately did not follow. I learned a lot of things while running Barry Family Cellars and working for other w**eries, but making money has never been one of them. Frankly, I’d never found it to be a priority. W**emaking was my craft and I was practicing my craft and that was enough. I figured I’d make w**e until I was old and gray(er) and eke out a living. But I found myself at the intersection of turning 50, being basically broke, seeing the biggest downturn in the w**e industry that I’d ever seen, and in a world more complicated and divided than I’ve ever seen. My perspective has shifted. W**emaking stopped feeling important or necessary. Time with my son, my partner, my friends, the rest of my family, and my dogs and cat has become all that I care about.
So where do I go from here? Well there’s still some Barry Family Cellars w**e to sell and it’s some of the best that I’ve ever made. The current Four Track Demo, Pinot Noir, and Gamay Noir are exceptional and I’m glad to finish on a high note. There are two more barrels yet to be bottled- 2025 Pinot Noir. It will yield about 45 cases and they will be the END. The last Barry Family Cellars w**es for the foreseeable future. Maybe I’ll make more one day. Maybe someone will read this and decide they want to be my patron and pay me lots of money and I’ll stay in the game. I can definitely still be bought. But that feels pretty unlikely.
My partner Vail and I are working on another business. More info will be shared once we have a product to launch. We’re very excited to share it and we think you’re going to love it. If you want to know more or want to invest, message me! Meanwhile, I'm still available for consulting. I’m looking for work and have many irons in many different fires. I feel confident that good things are happening soon and the right situation will materialize. Feel free to reach out with any opportunities and projects you think I'd bee a good fit for.
The w**e business is a tough business. The skill set learned in my 30ish years in the biz is diverse and unique. I’ve accomplished a lot. I’ve won lots of medals and gotten lots of good scores. Most importantly, I’ve met lots of wonderful people at every level of this business from colleagues to coworkers, from vendors to the many wonderful customers who have become friends. Thank you all for being part of this journey.
If you’re reading this post, you’ve been part of my story and for that I am forever thankful. Your support has truly meant the world to me.
If you want to support me one last time for old time’s sake, visit the website and buy some w**e! I’m even selling futures of the 2025 Pinot Noir. You’ll love it, I promise.
