I’ve been thinking for many years about “the idea”. The right project, however, did not seem to arrive, despite several attempts, so much so that I began to wonder if the problem was “the right project”, or rather a latent risk aversion. But things happen, and while I was developing another idea, linked to the world of makers, I came across an American website called Etsy. Etsy connects with each other hobbyists and enthusiasts around the world. My intuition was: why not do it for the world of wine? High quality, passionate winemakers who are struggling to be known and wine lovers looking for unique, craft italian wines. Could it work? Maybe, but it was not enough. We needed something more. So I involved some friends and we started to study, work, analyse, and the idea took shape to become the project and finally, today, the product. The Winefathers is the first and unique website that gives the possibility to wine lovers all over the world to become relatives of Italian artisan winemakers. The website operation is easily described. On www.thewinefathers.com the consumer will discover some interesting and special oenological projects – for example the rediscovery of an ancient vineyard or a new wine experimentation – of a small number of talented Italian artisan winemakers. At this point, he may choose to support a winemaker thus becoming his relative. As a result, he will be constantly updated about the progress of the project and, at the end of it, he will be awarded proportionally to the degree of kinship acquired (cousin, uncle, brother and winefather, precisely). He will obtain discounts and exclusive freebies, for example he may visit the wine cellars and the wine production sites and he may even enjoy the experience of the harvest with his relative, the winemaker. At any time he can support Italian artisan winemakers by buying their wines and going through their passion for high quality. There are enthusiasm and hard work in this project, and there is the care for all the details. I wanted a strong team of people who have been knowing each other for years, so I looked for the right competences but above all for the right values and this has allowed us to develop a business plan, set up the company, find the winemakers, develop the site, define the launch plan and finally go live in a period of seven months. Not bad, considering that we all have another job. Now the fun begins. We’ve been on-line for one day only, and we are looking with curiosity at Google Analytics data, or the percentage of opening of the welcome email that we sent, or the “like” on Facebook. It’s a new world for many of us. But it is the world that we have invented and built. It is, therefore, our world. And, if you want, can be yours too. Follow us on www.thewinefathers.com. Contributor: Luca Comello, founder di The Winefather
© RIPRODUZIONE RISERVATA