Vines to Wines with Carley Razzi of Penns Woods Winery

In today's episode of “Follow our Lead with Alaina Kearney,” we’re joined by Carley Razzi, President of Penns Woods Winery. It was founded in 2001 by Carley’s father, Gino Razzi, an Italian immigrant and veteran. He was a well-respected importer and distributor before crafting his own wine using Penns Woods’ grapes.

 Carley joined the family business in 2010 to help manage their growth. The father-daughter duo now has two additional vineyard sites in Chester County, a successful tasting room, a wine club, and a full staff. They have won numerous awards and accolades for their leadership and their wines.

Carly shares the evolution of Penns Woods Winery, emphasizing the critical role of strategic planning, understanding market trends, and the artistry involved in producing high-quality wines. Her insights into the operational aspects of running a winery, coupled with the emphasis on building a strong community, provide a practical framework for entrepreneurs aiming to turn their passions into profitable ventures. 

Our discussion serves as a valuable learning resource for those interested in the dynamics of the wine industry and the broader lessons applicable to business leadership and development.

Learn more about Penns Woods Winery.  

Check out Primal Leadership: Unleashing the Power of Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman, Richard Boyatzis and Annie McKee.

This episode is presented by Barsz Gowie Amon & Fultz, a certified public accounting firm specializing in tax, audit, and advisory services for businesses. They have offices in Media, Delaware County and Chadds Ford, Chester County, Pennsylvania. Visit their website at https://barszgowie.com/ to learn more about their services.

Watch the episode live on YouTube!

Transcript

Alaina Kearney (00:00:00):

Okay, Carley, thank you so much for being here on the Follow Our Lead podcast.

Carley Razzi (00:00:06):

Thanks for having me.

Alaina Kearney (00:00:07):

And we have a guest in the studio today.

Carley Razzi (00:00:08):

Yes, we do.

Alaina Kearney (00:00:09):

We have Vino.

Carley Razzi (00:00:10):

Vino the dog.

Alaina Kearney (00:00:11):

Vino the dog.

Carley Razzi (00:00:13):

Good girl.

Alaina Kearney (00:00:13):

And she's very good. So, if you hear any of Vino, you'll know that she wasn't good. But overall, she's been great so far. So, Carley, I want you to tell us the story of Penns Woods. Give us some background information.

Carley Razzi (00:00:26):

Well, Penns Woods, it was my father's passion project. It was a hobby. He owned a wine import and distributor company, which he still does to this day. And he wanted more. As you master something, you get the bug to know more about it. So, he was in the wine industry for 30 some years and he wanted to learn more then about winemaking. And so, he started dabbling in winemaking. He made wine in Italy with one of his friends who he imports the wine Zaccagnini and he released it the first commercial wine that he ever made. And it was rated 96 by Wine Spectator.

Alaina Kearney (00:01:15):

Oh, my gosh.

Carley Razzi (00:01:15):

I know. So, he was like, "Oh, I can make wine, but I'm not going to make it in Italy because I have to continue to fly back to Italy to check on it." And wine is an art, so you really have to be hands-on all the time. So, he was like, well, I wonder if you could make wine in Pennsylvania.

(00:01:33):

So, this is the late '90s, early 2000s, he started to visit some of the vineyards and taste the wines. And he noticed, he was like, "The wine is good, but it can be great," because he went to the vineyards and the vines grow incredible grapes. So, I mean, he's an engineer. So, he reads a lot.

Alaina Kearney (00:02:00):

So is my dad.

Carley Razzi (00:02:01):

He studies everything. He's very detail oriented. So, he has to master something top to bottom. So, he researched a few plots. He started making wine here in Pennsylvania with other growers of grapes. He made wonderful wine. And he said, "I think that Pennsylvania just doesn't have that history, that culture of winemaking, like Italy, France. They have hundreds of years of winemaking under their belt. So, they have information that's been passed down."

(00:02:31):

So, he was like, "I'm going to do this." So, he built a winery across the street from his warehouse where he distributes, and he just started dabbling, making some wine. And then he bought a vineyard, or he leased a vineyard and bought the property around it. And he was like, "I'm going to grow my own grapes. I'm going to do it from scratch."

Alaina Kearney (00:02:50):

The Italian way.

Carley Razzi (00:02:51):

the Italian way. Exactly. And so, he did that. And then it was like 2009, and I was living in Colorado. I was working for a non-profit, very happy, just lax-a-daisy, but there really weren't any jobs in 2009. So, I was looking for a full-time job, couldn't find one. And he goes, "Well come work for the import company." And I was like, "All right. I'll come home for a little bit, do that." So, I started working for the import company. It's a bit out of my comfort zone. It's like pant suits and lots of travel, and it's a little bit more of a corporate world.

Alaina Kearney (00:03:29):

Interesting.

Carley Razzi (00:03:29):

And I was like, "I just don't think this is for me." And he was like, "Well, this is the family business." And I was like, "Yeah, it's really not me." And then he was like, "Well, I have 500 cases," that over the years he's had all this wine, but he really wasn't selling it. And he was like, "Why don't you try to make a proper business out of this hobby. Penns Woods Winery?" And I was like, "Oh, okay."

(00:03:54):

And he had a little tasting room, it had a cash box. He had one person working there two days a week on a Saturday and Sunday, and they were just doing tastings at a bar. There was nothing. And I was like, okay. So, I started that and that's where it started.

Alaina Kearney (00:04:11):

Interesting. So, the owning and operating of a winery is a lot more than the import. I mean, there's so much more involved. There's the processes, the pest control, the equipment, the operations, all of those things. So, how were both of you able to go from this idea and make it into a reality recognizing that you're not super familiar with all of these other aspects?

Carley Razzi (00:04:39):

So, it was neat. I am very lucky in the sense that I got to stand on my father's shoulders for a lot of it for say the import side or the distribution side. The wine knowledge that he had was just boundless. He had been in the industry for 40 years. So, he had the production side kind of buttoned up, and it was my job to say, "Okay, how do we make this a business?" So, I went around to local wineries. I scoped out their tasting rooms. I talked to the owners.

(00:05:19):

The local wine industry is very welcoming. It's very small business, very family-like everybody thinks that we're competitors, but we're small. So, you can't get recognized unless you're together and you work together. So, I started to go around and just learn. That was step one. And I decided the vibe that we want it to be.

(00:05:43):

My dad was always focused on, "I'm not an entertainment. I don't want to be an entertainment facility. I want to show them that we make great wine. And that's got to be first and foremost all the time." And I said, "That's fine, but we're not California and we're not France. People are not going to come in here, taste your wine, spend $50 on a bottle and leave." You need to talk to them to teach them why.

Alaina Kearney (00:06:08):

And create an experience.

Carley Razzi (00:06:10):

And experience, exactly. So, that was my goal, and I started to do that. We opened the tasting room properly where it was open three days a week. I hired my first employee, Andrea Creato, who's now our CFO. And she's married to our winemaker and now they own part of the company. So, it's like a dual family business now.

Alaina Kearney (00:06:36):

It's amazing.

Carley Razzi (00:06:36):

And she and I just took over. We researched. We brainstormed and-

Alaina Kearney (00:06:49):

Vino's crying.

Carley Razzi (00:06:50):

Vino's crying. Vino, come here. Come lay down. Come here, lay down, sit. Good girl. And we just started to sell, but we had to research everything like point of sale systems because we were writing things by hand. How do we do that? We took QuickBooks courses. We both went to school for marketing and business management. So, that helped a lot. And we were both hyperaware that we needed to network and we needed to learn from the people around us.

(00:07:29):

And that's how it began. It was very grassroots. It was a very slow process and we worked a lot. We put in probably for a solid three or four years, like 70-hour work weeks nonstop. I mean, when we had an event, we were setting up the event, hosting the event, and breaking it down. We would sometimes get there at 6:00 AM. The event would start at 11:00, it would end at 6:00 PM, and then we would be there till 10:00 cleaning up. So, it was a labor of love, if you will, but totally worth it.

Alaina Kearney (00:08:10):

It absolutely sounds that way. But something about Penns Woods. I know you guys aren't super in the wedding space. You don't have weddings or anything like that. So, what made you decide to not go that route of being the facilitator of events and more of creating a community in other ways?

Carley Razzi (00:08:28):

So, it was a few different things that led us there. We've hosted maybe two weddings for close customers. And we realize that we are perfectionists. And if you are in the wedding industry, you are in the wedding industry. And we were like, "This is a lot. This is a lot." And it was very, very, very stressful.

(00:08:54):

So, we chose not to go that route. Also, we are located in a residential area. So, we have a lot of neighbors and we didn't want to disturb them. Our goal was not that. Another reason is we were young and although we were okay working late at night, we didn't want to consistently be an event coordinator to wake up at night or to stay open late at night. Another reason, like I said, going back to my dad, he really wanted to put the wine first, first and foremost. I might have to let her out.

Alaina Kearney (00:09:38):

It's fine. Go ahead. If you need to go, we can cut it out and you just do that and we'll come right back.

Carley Razzi (00:09:43):

Okay.

Alaina Kearney (00:09:43):

Go for it.

Carley Razzi (00:09:45):

Because she didn't hear.

Alaina Kearney (00:09:45):

We're adaptable here. Don't worry.

Carley Razzi (00:09:47):

All right, come on. You got to be let go. You're such [inaudible 00:09:50]. I should put you in the car. I can put her in the car.

Alaina Kearney (00:09:55):

Whatever you want to. It's totally up to you. She's fine here, but whatever you want is fine.

Carley Razzi (00:09:58):

You can cut me and then we're going to [inaudible 00:10:01].

Alaina Kearney (00:11:35):

Oh, that was fast.

Carley Razzi (00:11:37):

Yeah. [inaudible 00:11:38].

Alaina Kearney (00:11:39):

Your mom wasn't serious.

Carley Razzi (00:11:43):

Yeah. Business.

Alaina Kearney (00:11:43):

She meant business. Yeah. Exactly.

Carley Razzi (00:11:48):

Sit down. You're so cute. I love you.

Speaker 3 (00:11:49):

Can you switch that way please?

Carley Razzi (00:11:49):

Oh, yeah. Sorry about that.

Speaker 3 (00:11:49):

Perfect. Thank you. All good. Don't worry.

Carley Razzi (00:11:56):

Oh my gosh. I should have marked my exact spot.

Speaker 3 (00:12:00):

All right.

Alaina Kearney (00:12:01):

All right. We're good. Thank you. So, you mentioned that you joined in 2010 to help grow the business.

Carley Razzi (00:12:07):

Yes.

Alaina Kearney (00:12:08):

So, what were some of the tactics that you utilize to grow the business? We talked about the tasting room. But give us a little bit more insight on what that involved to grow that into what it is today because we know it's a lot more than what you mentioned and what other strategies you decided to use.

Carley Razzi (00:12:24):

So, the first thing was to decide who our customer base was. We already had some people that were trickling in coming in, but it was really important to connect with the community and figure out what they needed, what they were looking for. And it's changed over time. So, we started with joining a wine trail. That was the first big thing we did. I sat on the board of the wine trail for many years and it allowed us to connect with the community and other wineries and people would get their wine trail passes and visit each winery.

Alaina Kearney (00:13:06):

That's so cool. I've never even heard of this.

Carley Razzi (00:13:08):

Yeah. It was called the Brandywine Valley Wine Trail. It's many moons ago. But we soon realized our facility, the way that it's set up is we can't have a lot of people inside, but we can have a ton of people outside. So, some of these events were in the wintertime, these trail events to boost sales in the winter when typically, businesses are a bit slower.

(00:13:32):

So, I soon realized that that wasn't really the right fit for us because we couldn't take these hugely large crowds. So, we stayed with the wine trail, but we didn't really participate in any of the events until we kind of a little bit outgrew it and found our own niche. But it was a huge aid in getting into the market and getting in front of a lot of people and letting them know who we were.

(00:14:01):

And then we started, we dabbled in a few larger festivals and that was awesome and super fun. Again, because we're in residential, we didn't want to be too loud and it was a lot to juggle with a very small crew. So, we just backed up and we were like, everything about work I have to love. I have to love doing it or you're not going to want to go to work.

Alaina Kearney (00:14:27):

So true.

Carley Razzi (00:14:29):

So, what brings us joy? What's fun? How do we connect with people and show them a good wine experience but we still enjoy it? So, we started to play with pairings. We started to connect with the local people and artisans that we found and knew and came across at chamber of commerce events and other networking events. And that's how we came into a consistent, bringing people in in the wintertime, but having it be a controlled environment. Because when we started, it was really just the summertime that people were coming in and then it was dead.

(00:15:09):

So, we had to find ways to continue to get people there in January, February. So, we started with wine, cheese and honey pairings, wine and cupcake pairings, working with specific local artisans to they put their best foot forward, we put ours, they're the product, we're the wine and we put them together. So, that was one way.

(00:15:30):

And another way was to start a wine club, a wine club. I mean, my father wanted us to do it five years before we actually did it because he was like, "California has wine clubs. They've got thousands of people on their list." And he gave us the Black Ankle in Maryland has a wine club, and they have written case studies about it that they have a waiting list and they have thousands of people on it. So, we began again researching and we were like, "We don't know anything about wine clubs."

(00:16:07):

So, we had to learn. We had to learn what kind of system do you need to manage it? We had to change to a point of sale system that could hold all of the information encrypted and whatnot. How do you set it up? How do you forecast what you're going to need for it and the growth?

(00:16:26):

So, it took us five years to, A, build a library that was big enough to sustain a wine club and decide five years ahead what we were going to put in the wine club. As you know, wine, if I make a red wine in 2001, I'm not going to be able to sell it until 2005, 2004 because it has to age in the barrel. It has to age in the bottle. The longer it sits in the bottle, the better it gets. So, when we had this idea, we were like, "Okay, we have to make sure that we have enough wine as our wine club grows."

(00:17:09):

So, that was really fun and nerve wracking. But once we started, we had 10 wine club members and then we had 20, and now we have about 1,100.

Alaina Kearney (00:17:23):

Oh, my gosh, that is so many people.

Carley Razzi (00:17:25):

It's a lot.

Alaina Kearney (00:17:25):

But I think what makes Penns Woods unique, in my opinion, one of the reasons is the wine club because it creates a sense of community. I've been to your winery many different times and when I'm there, the wine club people, they are their own thing. You feel like you want to be part of this community. Everybody knows each other.

Carley Razzi (00:17:43):

They're like the cool kids like, oh, my gosh.

Alaina Kearney (00:17:45):

"Oh, my gosh, I need to join this wine club." Everybody seems like they're friends. Everybody is waving to each other. They're all saying hi. I mean, yes, they're all drinking wine, but it's more than that. Penns Woods has a community and I feel like the wine club really helps with that.

Carley Razzi (00:17:58):

It does. It's huge. And I mean a lot of the members have been with us from the beginning and they help build the community with us. We don't do a lot of marketing. I choose to put most of my marketing dollars and advertising dollars into my staffing and into my team. I want them to feel like they have part ownership of Penns Woods. They love it just as much as I do. Because again, like I said, you don't want to go to work if you're not having a ball.

(00:18:36):

And you're not going to sell wine, especially local wine, it's a harder sell. People have a pre-connotation a lot of the times coming in. It's a little bit more expensive, our wines, because it takes more to make. But I mean, that's my favorite thing about going into work. I get to hang out with all of my best friends. And they emanate the love of the wine and Penns Woods and the community. And then the wine club members do the same. We have a Facebook group. They have their own text chains, a lot of them.

Alaina Kearney (00:19:14):

And you have special events that are just for wine club members also.

Carley Razzi (00:19:17):

Yes.

Alaina Kearney (00:19:17):

Which I think too aids back to this community feel where you feel like you were part of something. And especially with COVID when we were all cooped up for so long, being able to have that sense of people and community and feeling like you're a part of something I feel like is just so unique to what you have.

Carley Razzi (00:19:34):

Yeah. And I mean, the wine club was the core of Penns Woods during COVID. I mean, they were so supportive. We would host virtual wine club happy hours and we would just sit in our kitchens and drink and talk about sometimes a topic that we would think about. Let's talk about this type of wine. But sometimes we would just joke and make fun of each other and talk about haircuts that we gave our kids that were awful because I know I did it. I mean, they are family. I just finished babysitting plants for one of our wine club members because she was in Florida for six weeks.

Alaina Kearney (00:20:16):

You just do it all. What don't you do?

Carley Razzi (00:20:18):

I love being a plant mom and a regular mom, but plant moms, they don't talk back.

Alaina Kearney (00:20:21):

Oh, my god. Now, you are a mom and you are running a winery. And you have a dog, multiple dogs. You have a lot going on.

Carley Razzi (00:20:31):

A lot.

Alaina Kearney (00:20:31):

How are you able to juggle all of these constant responsibilities and be present when you're with each person or activity or whatnot? It just seems very overwhelming.

Carley Razzi (00:20:42):

It's definitely overwhelming. I am like a bull in a china shop all the time. I come in, you saw me, I drop my computer on the way in. I'm always running around with my hands full. But when Andrea and I had an idea of Penns Woods and growing it, we knew the 70-hour work weeks weren't going to work. Something had to give.

(00:21:09):

So, we built it into a lifestyle. It's not like I go to work, I go home, I do this. It's all interconnected. It's like a big compound of life and love and animals and kids and a little bit in between, which is my favorite part. I mean, primarily we are a female-run business for the most part, with the exception of our production team, which is Davide, Andrea's husband and my father. And we have two other vineyard managers that are phenomenal. And just now, we have a production assistant, Peyton. So, she's amazing.

(00:21:55):

But we had to figure out motherhood and running a business and it was definitely a challenge. We were actually pregnant at the same time.

Alaina Kearney (00:22:05):

Oh, gosh.

Carley Razzi (00:22:06):

And my dad was like...

Alaina Kearney (00:22:07):

What's happening?

Carley Razzi (00:22:08):

... "What are you doing?" And I was like, "Oh, it's not exactly planned, but here we are." But we brought on new team members and they brought it in like it was their own, Rachel, who has been with us for, I don't know, seven or eight years. She came in and she was wanting to work part-time in the tasting room. We found out we were pregnant. We were like, "Do you want to train in seven months' time to be the tasting room manager and lead this business while we're on maternity leave?" And she was like, "Yeah." Now fast forward, she's having her third child soon.

(00:22:43):

So, it's a little bit of everything. If I need some help with the dog, somebody's like, "Oh, I'll watch her." Or sometimes we don't have childcare. So, we have a house that is connected to the vineyard, thank goodness, that we purchased long ago for extra storage. And when we both became pregnant, we decided to renovate it just by ourselves and make it livable enough so that we could have our children watch there when they were very small and we could go over and breastfeed them and play with them at lunchtime.

Alaina Kearney (00:23:20):

Genius.

Carley Razzi (00:23:20):

Yeah. It ended up working out beautifully. Well, fast forward, we're like, "Oh, I don't have my sitter." Well, I was like, "I'll go to the vineyard house. You go into work at 7:00 AM. You can work out your eight-hour day and then I'll have my kids and your kids, and then I'll go in later and I'll work my eight hours and we'll just flip-flop." And that's what we do sometimes, we just roll.

Alaina Kearney (00:23:45):

It's so amazing. And you're so flexible and adaptable and you're very easygoing as a person.

Carley Razzi (00:23:51):

Yes. I think that you have to be.

Alaina Kearney (00:23:52):

And I feel like, do you think that that's part of your management style? I mean, Penns Woods has grown so much since you started in 2010 and you are managing many more people than you were back then, I mean, it's still a small operation, but it's bigger than it was.

Carley Razzi (00:24:06):

For sure.

Alaina Kearney (00:24:06):

So, how would you describe your management style?

Carley Razzi (00:24:11):

In the beginning, I think I was a cautious manager where I wouldn't ask people to do things. I just did it my own because I wasn't sure if it was the right decision, which was really nice to have Andrea there being like, "Let's do it. Let's try it."

(00:24:28):

And then as I continued to, you have to master your industry. So, I just went to all of the conferences I could, joined all of the boards that I could. Once I began to feel more comfortable in my shoes as a leader, the confidence grew and I became more comfortable leading. And it just came to you more naturally.

(00:24:51):

I think that I'm more of a laid-back leader. I am a go-with-the-flow. I bounce around a lot. I hate being seated behind my desk, which is why my emails are typically at 300. But I have found in a business partner, Andrea, who balances me. She is on her email probably 26 hours a day. She's always has a zero inbox, is so buttoned up and we are like each other's yin and yang.

(00:25:25):

So, it's important to have both of those aspects. I just feel very lucky that I can be the creative one and obviously, I button up when I need to be. But yeah, I would say a little bit more on the relaxed, fun, seeking always the next, what's next? What are we doing next?

Alaina Kearney (00:25:47):

So, tell us a little bit about your day-to-day. I mean, I think the number one question would be, what is it like to be the president of a winery? What does your day-to-day look like? I mean, in my head-

Carley Razzi (00:25:59):

Sounds glorious.

Alaina Kearney (00:25:59):

I know it sounds like you're just drinking wine and sitting around and enjoying the beautiful space you have. And we know that that's not.

Carley Razzi (00:26:05):

It is not.

Alaina Kearney (00:26:07):

It's not as glamorous as it is.

Carley Razzi (00:26:10):

It is not. At the end of the day, we are farmers. So, I feel so lucky that I get to wear work boots to work every day and jeans. But no, it's all hands on deck all the time. We are so lucky to have Davide, who runs and manages a flawless operation in production. But when he needs help, he needs help. If grapes have to be harvested, we got to do it. If someone's sick on the bottling line, we got to go help.

(00:26:46):

Most of my day-to-day is fixing stuff. So, the sink breaks, I have to fix it, or the filter's full or because we have well water, you got to fix it, or ordering this, trying to save money, balancing everything. Really small business, because when you're a small business owner and president, it sounds amazing, but you're just on 24 hours. But it's okay because it's a lifestyle. I don't see it as a job.

(00:27:17):

So, I mean, I wake up, take my kids to school. I live in Ardmore, so I drive a pretty hefty track, but it's so that they don't have to in the morning. So, I take the commute. And then hash out the day with Andrea, what we're doing. And a lot of the times, I am feet on the ground. I do a look at everything. How's the tasting room looking? How are the menus? You have to just be aware of everything. Is everything clean? Are the bathrooms clean? Do the bathrooms work? Is there soap there? Those small things that I still do because I want everybody's experience to be up here.

Alaina Kearney (00:28:01):

Yeah. And those details make such a difference.

Carley Razzi (00:28:03):

I agree. And that's what I appreciate. I was actually listening to your podcast for Fearless Restaurants and it's like, give more of the experience.

Alaina Kearney (00:28:15):

Exactly.

Carley Razzi (00:28:17):

They're going to come in expecting this, give them more. And I believe that with Penns Woods, and even though we're small, now people want that. People come to have that family, that community feel, that vibe that we care about them and we do. We love that. And I think it shows. But most of the time I'm just a fix-it girl.

Alaina Kearney (00:28:40):

I mean, I remember I was there for the derby, and I'm pretty sure at one point you were near the traffic area, you were directing cars.

Carley Razzi (00:28:48):

I was always direct cars.

Alaina Kearney (00:28:50):

I was with my mother-in-law, and I'm like, "That's the owner. She is out here doing her thing."

Carley Razzi (00:28:55):

It's the most important job in my opinion because that's how you fit all the people in.

Alaina Kearney (00:28:59):

No. It was amazing. And I was like, "Wow." I just didn't expect. You know what I mean? You don't expect it. And it was great.

Carley Razzi (00:29:07):

People always come in and I'm directing traffic and they're like, "How did you get this job?" And I'm like, "No, no. I chose it. This is me."

Alaina Kearney (00:29:14):

So, tell us about the different facets of a winery. You mentioned distribution. You're farmers. There's the growing portion. So, tell us what are the different facets and what are the responsibilities in each of those facets?

Carley Razzi (00:29:27):

So, well, it all starts in the vineyard, both Gino and Davide. And I mean, we all agree, you can't make a great wine without having great fruit. So, winemaking is, it all happens in the vineyard, which is why we have slowly become almost entirely state grown. We used to have a few other varietals that we purchased. We only purchase Chambourcin grapes right now because we want to be a state as much as possible because we like to have our hands, well Davide, on the grapes and be able to see what he's got to make that wine out of.

(00:30:05):

So, it starts with, in the vineyard, you have to plant the vines. It takes three years to harvest the first fruit for wine. The older the vine is, the better quality fruit. So, it's a very cyclical cycle. We harvest only once a year. It's late August to mid-October, depending on the weather. And you harvest the grapes. You bring them back to the winery. The winery is where you de-stem the grapes, you crush the grapes, and then you ferment. So, sometimes you ferment with skin on, skin off, whole cluster. There's all different techniques and tactics. It's like art and science combined because you have nothing if you don't have the science behind it.

(00:30:55):

And so, they do the fermenting and they do blending, filtration, stabilizing, and then filtration and they bottle it. Sometimes it's aged in the bottle longer than others. If we bottle, say a Moscato, it's ready to drink within a few weeks. A red wine needs at least another year typically that we leave it in the bottle to settle and relax and age a little bit more, the longer the better in our opinion.

(00:31:29):

But there are a lot of different facets. So, within production, it's vineyard. So, we have a vineyard crew. I've been starting to get into legislation because now I'm so comfortable in my role as tasting room management. I'm like, "What else can I do?" So, I'm trying to learn to be a leader for the industry as a whole. And because Pennsylvania needs to be on the map. We're making some really good wines in PA, all across Pennsylvania and they're not really being recognized as much as say, New York and Virginia. So, I'm working to do that. Don't worry. That'll be the next podcast.

Alaina Kearney (00:32:12):

Add that to your list.

Carley Razzi (00:32:12):

Give me a few years. So, we have that. We have getting our workers here. We have some temporary workers that we use. We started to use the más H-2A program, which is really cool. We have three guys from Argentina that come in because they are skilled workers in vineyards and their seasons are opposite of ours.

Alaina Kearney (00:32:37):

Interesting.

Carley Razzi (00:32:38):

So, they can do a harvest in Argentina, and then they come here and help us with the harvest. So, they have year-round work. They have the opportunity to come to the US and they're like three additional family members that we get for six months out of the year, which is beautiful. So, we have that.

(00:32:55):

And then we have the winery aspect, which there's a lab, there's a winery, there's a crush pad, there's tanks. Then there's the storage of the wine. And then the wine gets brought to the tasting room and that's when we sell it and sell it to consumer. We try to get in restaurants and local breweries, and then we have our wine club.

Alaina Kearney (00:33:22):

So, when your dad came to the United States, did he come here specifically for the area for the potential grapes?

Carley Razzi (00:33:30):

No. He came for the American dream. He came over when he was 17. He had a small suitcase with a change of clothes. He rushed up some money from the town that he lived in, very small farm town and came over here on a boat by himself.

Alaina Kearney (00:33:50):

It's incredible.

Carley Razzi (00:33:50):

Which is unbelievable. He's a fiercely intelligent, amazing man.

Alaina Kearney (00:33:55):

He must be.

Carley Razzi (00:33:57):

He's very tough to work with.

Alaina Kearney (00:33:59):

Most people's dads, I feel like.

Carley Razzi (00:34:00):

Yeah. Exactly.

Alaina Kearney (00:34:00):

It couldn't work with mine.

Carley Razzi (00:34:03):

And I realized this and I turned 37 and I was like, "I understand. I get it. I'm really sorry. It took 37 years. I gave you all those gray hairs. I realize that now and thank you." But no, so he came over and he wanted to go to school. So, he joined the Marines. And he naturally was an engineer. So, they put him in engineering. He was working on helicopters, but he was able to go through school because he was in Vietnam and they helped pay for it.

(00:34:36):

So, he went to school. He sent money back. And my uncle came here and my aunt ended up coming here, and she got married and settled down. They own a uniform supply. So, they do uniforms for the Navy and the Army, but they also police. And they started there and he just moved in right in Ridley Park, Pennsylvania.

Alaina Kearney (00:35:03):

Oh, my gosh.

Carley Razzi (00:35:04):

And he was like, this is where we are. So, he had a lot of different jobs. He always tells me, he was like, "My first job was picking grapes because I couldn't speak English and I didn't know what to do." So, he started that. And now, I mean, he's a really impressive man. He has an import company that is like, he's in every state in the US. He sells over 300,000 cases of wine every year. I mean, it's incredible.

Alaina Kearney (00:35:35):

It's amazing. I mean, you hear about the American dream, but to see it and to experience it is a whole nother level, especially as his daughter. I mean, that has to be-

Carley Razzi (00:35:44):

It's very impressive. It's incredible.

Alaina Kearney (00:35:47):

So, I'm interested though, so he was in the import business, so why not just import? Why come and find grapes here? I know you mentioned the importance of it being local. It just seems like the natural, I don't know, the natural thing for him would be to import because that's what he knew. So, why go that route?

Carley Razzi (00:36:05):

He can't stop.

Alaina Kearney (00:36:10):

Sounds familiar. I think it must run in the genes.

Carley Razzi (00:36:12):

It definitely does. He's 81 or no, he's 80. Oh, my god, sorry dad. He's 80 and he has no plans of slowing down. That's why he purchases the new properties. And he's like, "Ooh, I'm going to do this and plant here, and this is a really great site." And I'm like, "Dad, I can't keep up with all of this."

(00:36:35):

But he basically mastered it. He's like, "I've got this import company. I distribute to all across the US. I'm settled down. Everything's running well. I have maybe two hours extra in my day." It was a hobby. So, it started as a hobby. And then seven years ago, he was like, "This hobby is not a hobby anymore." He goes, "This is just another business and a headache." And I'm like, "I'm sorry. It's so fun though, right?" It's like, "Ah." Yeah. So, seven years ago, I started to give him some grandchildren to keep him occupied.

Alaina Kearney (00:37:14):

So, the thing about the grapes though is that it feels like you don't know what the season's going to bring. So, how do you ensure consistency when you could have a bad season or I don't know, what happens if there's an issue with the way that they're being grown or they don't taste as good one year?

Carley Razzi (00:37:32):

You got to roll with the punches. Mother nature is the queen of all queens, and she runs the show at the end of the day and we learn from it. I mean, Davide is in the vineyard all the time, hands on the grapes. He can tell how the season's going and then say, "Just so you know, it looks like we're going to have a small season for sauvignon blanc."

(00:37:59):

We immediately start. "Okay, we're not going to have sauvignon blanc on the tasting menu. Let's start introducing the chardonnay or the wildflower into our customers of the restaurants. You have to prepare and you have to always be on it." I think that Andrea could tell you our inventory to the bottle in her sleep because she is on top of it all the time.

(00:38:22):

But you also have to learn. We in 2018 and 2019 were incredibly rough seasons for us. 2018, almost no local wineries made red wine. We only made pinot noir. That affects you, we stopped feeling those effects. I was actually just talking to Jan Waltz of Waltz Vineyard in Manheim. He stopped feeling the effects about two years ago from it, and so did I. Because 2019 was a short season because there were some frost issues. So, we didn't have a lot of grapes. They were great grapes, but it was a smaller quantity.

(00:39:00):

When you're hit with that and you don't have any red wine, you have to start forecasting way, I mean, five years in advance. And you're like, okay, this 2017 is going to last me ... We have to stretch it out. So, we took some wine. We didn't release some wines. We kept them, and we say we only had merlot out at a time, and then we only had cab sauv.

(00:39:23):

It's a lot of strategy and really just making mistakes. I think it's so important to make mistakes and back to leadership. I encourage people to make mistakes as long as you learn from them and don't make the same mistake twice. Grow. You have to grow. You don't grow unless you make mistakes. But if you don't learn from your mistakes, you're not going to succeed. You're not going to move forward. So, I mean, that's it. Just a little bit of hope, a lot of praying.

Alaina Kearney (00:39:59):

So, we talked a little bit about, you mentioned a little bit about mistakes. What do you think the biggest mistake you've made?

Carley Razzi (00:40:06):

Oh, my gosh. I don't know. I think that being a little too hard on myself and maybe just being a little nervous. I think that I didn't feel confident in my position for too long. I was in it and now I'm like, I live and breathe it. But I was very timid in the beginning and very hesitant to jump in. And I'm not sure if it was because I knew my father knew so much that I was like, "I don't want to step on your toes," or not.

(00:40:54):

And then, I mean, one of the biggest mistakes is just giving him so much grief for so long. Sorry, but thank you for letting me make so many mistakes. He was always there, which not all entrepreneurs have that.

Alaina Kearney (00:41:11):

Absolutely.

Carley Razzi (00:41:12):

I'm very lucky. And entrepreneur, he started the business. I just took it to a different level, and I'm always going to be so thankful for that.

Alaina Kearney (00:41:23):

So, I want to go back to the winemaking process. So, the types of grapes, what types of grapes are you growing at Penns Woods? And I know you have other properties where you grow other types of grapes. So, what are the types of grapes you're growing? What property? And then what made you decide to continue to purchase more properties with other grapes?

Carley Razzi (00:41:44):

We're losing our minds. So, actually the two properties that we purchased didn't have grapes on them. We had to do soil analysis and a lot of searching. And that was all my dad and Davide. They were just like, "Oh, we have a new property." And I'm like, "Eh." But very specific, you have to no know what ground you're working with because that's everything. If you don't have good ground and if you're not in the right sunlight, if it isn't hitting right, elevation, everything has to do with grape growing.

(00:42:25):

But varietals. So, we grow vinifera, which is merlot, cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc, a lot of single varietals. We have found a few hybrids that were created. We thought we had carmine, and it's actually a carmine franc that Davide has done in depth searching for how it got there, who grafted the vine. So, mostly just vinifera grapes are what we have.

(00:42:58):

And we have at the Penns Woods Vineyard location, which we're not expanding it anymore. It's about 13 and a half acres planted, because four or so years ago, it became National Park.

Alaina Kearney (00:43:13):

Oh, wow.

Carley Razzi (00:43:14):

So, it's leased land, but we work the land and very carefully because it's the federal government who is our landlord.

Alaina Kearney (00:43:23):

Sounds fun.

Carley Razzi (00:43:23):

Yeah. It's nerve wracking. But I mean, it works in our vibe and culture because we care very much about hands-off techniques and using as least amount of chemicals as possible. We try not to use herbicides. So, sometimes they'll hand take all of everything out, all of the weeds and whatnot.

(00:43:52):

We plant cover crops to put different nitrogen and sulfites into the ground and what it needs. We do soil testing every other year to see what nutrients the ground has if they have too much. And then we try to grow in between our rows to balance that out. So, we do it naturally.

(00:44:14):

We also use of all of what we have. So, when we press the grapes, we have the skins, the seeds, the stems. We compost them, and every five years, we will take that pile and we'll put it back under the vines. So, it's regenerative.

Alaina Kearney (00:44:41):

It's so interesting. So, when you're deciding on a new wine to put out, who is the one tasting that and who's developing it? Are you involved in that process or is it mostly other people that are in your business?

Carley Razzi (00:44:55):

So, I am involved. And we have a meeting each year and we're like, "Okay ..." Well, first of all, you can't make really what you don't grow because that's what our main focus is. So, if we say sauvignon blanc is popular, we'd say, "Okay, I think we should plant more sauvignon blanc." We're not going to see that for another three years. So, that's stage one in planting that.

(00:45:18):

But once the harvest comes in, Davide is like, "Oh, my gosh, the merlot is phenomenal this year. We have this many tons. I can make this much merlot. Do we want this much merlot or should we make a blend?" Or something like that? And that's step two. And then as he finds the wine, then we say, "Okay, these barrels turned out incredible. I would love to try this blend."

(00:45:48):

And so, we have a few staple blends that we release. And now we've finally, like I said, settled into our roles where we're starting the toy with new releases and new blends and whatnot. Wildflower is one of the newer ones. It's a field blend white of all the whites that we grow. It's a little different every year, but we try to make it taste the same.

(00:46:12):

So, yeah. And before something's released, it's obviously tasted before it's bottled. I go with Davide and we taste it and we say, "Maybe a little bit more filtering" or "Let's wait a little bit, let it sit, age some." And then with the reds, we pull them out and we're like, "Okay, let's taste the 2020 cab franc reserve. It's not ready." So, we put a sticky note on a fresh bottle and say, "Taste in six months."

Alaina Kearney (00:46:39):

Interesting.

Carley Razzi (00:46:40):

And we just have a little wine cubby and we're like, taste in six months, taste in eight months, taste two years. And some of them were like, that didn't turn out the way we wanted. Let's just put that in the back of the warehouse and see what happens. You know what I mean?

Alaina Kearney (00:46:52):

But it's so interesting though, because I feel like, okay, if you would've had me taste that, because I would love to be a wine taster.

Carley Razzi (00:46:58):

We can make that happen.

Alaina Kearney (00:46:59):

And I'm just saying, but I feel like how would you know that it needs something else? Is it just from...

Carley Razzi (00:47:04):

Practice.

Alaina Kearney (00:47:05):

Yeah. Okay.

Carley Razzi (00:47:05):

It's just practice. And there are some things I can't notice that Davide can, because he's the winemaker. I'm like the consumer palate when I come in there.

Alaina Kearney (00:47:16):

It's good to have that though.

Carley Razzi (00:47:18):

Yeah, you have to. And he and his assistant, Peyton, and even my dad for the longest time, he's let them do their thing now, but they have to taste and they're like, "Oh, this is too much acidity, or too this or too that. Let's blend a little bit or something." So, it's more that that's when the art comes in.

(00:47:43):

But they have one mindset, and I have another. Now it's taken many years to say, "Okay, it tastes like this now, but as soon as you put it in the bottle, it's going to taste this," and that I've learned through Davide.

Alaina Kearney (00:47:58):

That's hard.

Carley Razzi (00:47:59):

Yeah. Because it seems like the sulfites are high now because it's super fresh. But wait, and in six months when we open it, everything's going to settle down. Because wine, you move it around a lot, it tastes different. So, after bottling, you could open it and it tastes one way. Six months later, it tastes like a completely different wine.

Alaina Kearney (00:48:21):

But it's interesting though, because I feel like all the local wineries have a unique taste to their wine. If you gave me a Penns Woods and other competitors in the area, I could tell you the difference. I know whose wine belongs to who. I don't know why that is. Do you? Is it the process?

Carley Razzi (00:48:40):

Yeah. Many reasons. So, a lot of it is winemaker's technique. Some wines they don't filter. Some people don't like to filter wines more like natural pét-nats and things like that. Say you have a sparkling. You have one that's cloudy and sparkling. Pét-nats, it's like fermentation still happening in the bottle. Then you have a clear prosecco style. The fermentation has ended. You don't want yeast in there because then the cap will pop off.

(00:49:08):

But it's winemaker's technique. But honestly, a lot of it is terroir. And terroir is the soil. The East Coast wines versus the West Coast wines, they're never going to taste the same because it's hot. They have a longer growing season. They have more sun exposure. And their ground, their soil composition is totally different than ours. We can mirror ours to say somewhere like France, Burgundy, where the climate's a little bit more similar.

(00:49:40):

But at the end of the day, it's all about the soil and the fruit that comes out of the ground and how that tastes. Now, as the winemaker works the grape, that also has something to do with it. We have more of an old-world European style, because those are the techniques that they use. So, yeah, it's pretty neat.

Alaina Kearney (00:50:01):

And I mean, I'll just shameless plug here, but I've been a Penns Woods girl before I even knew who you were.

Carley Razzi (00:50:06):

Oh, my gosh. Thanks.

Alaina Kearney (00:50:07):

So, I love it, absolutely love it. And I was saying to you before we came on this podcast, every year for my birthday, I get a fancy Penns Woods bottle and I hide it because I don't want to give it to guests. And I'm horrible because I don't want to share. I mean, it's terrible. It's absolutely terrible I don't want to share.

Carley Razzi (00:50:24):

I talk to a lot of the wine club members and they're like, "This is the wine that I bring out for regular guests. This is the wine that I bring out for somebody that's actually going to appreciate it." And it is what it is. I mean, when I was pregnant, I had the wine rack that I was sharing for guests, and then it was like the don't touch, because if I can't drink it, you can't bring it.

Alaina Kearney (00:50:45):

My kind of girl, my kind of girl. So, as we start to look ahead, the wine industry has, like any other industry, has a lot of trends. So, how do you figure out what trends in the industry you're going to bring back to Penns Woods?

Carley Razzi (00:51:01):

Typically, I mean, the most important is that it aligns with our core culture, how we operate, what we are trying to share with the world and get across. So, that's important. And just being 13 years now into it, we know the vibe of our customer base and what we want to reach out to.

(00:51:28):

Now, it's always important to go out of your comfort zone a little bit. But if a trend or something doesn't really mesh with your company culture, then it's not going to work. So, we're always very careful to vet any new trends and ideas before we try them out but we're fun. So, we try to have fun with all of it.

Alaina Kearney (00:51:57):

So, as Penns Woods continues to grow, what do you see the future looking like for you all?

Carley Razzi (00:52:05):

It's exciting. Well, we just actually started working with ANEU, and they are a catering company and store out of fine foods out of Paoli, but they have several different locations. We're going to be making some wines for her. She's starting her own little winery, but we're going to be making the wines that will be sold in her shops.

Alaina Kearney (00:52:35):

That's amazing.

Carley Razzi (00:52:36):

Yeah. Really cool. It takes a long time to really get comfortable in your shoes and in your industry, and now we're ready for bigger collaborations and how we can connect to a greater community. You mentioned we have two other now vineyard sites that we've planted popular varietals on, like pinot noir, cabernet franc, sauvignon blanc, chardonnay.

(00:53:07):

So, we are starting our production to amp it up a little bit. We're hoping to start a wine club, a shipping club specifically to be able to ship out of state to other states. So, people that are interested, working with a little bit larger collaborations like ANEU, and hopefully being able to, there's a beautiful barn at one of the properties. I would love to renovate it and hopefully have something there for place to people to go.

(00:53:39):

And goals are to hopefully, we have an 1800s barn on our property, and we've been working tirelessly to try to be able to make a little bit of a bigger tasting room to put people inside when it rains, because we can fit lots of people outside and they love it. But when it rains, it's like 40 people. That's it.

Alaina Kearney (00:54:01):

But I'm thinking it's so hard because the planning process with wine takes so long. So, as you're thinking about expanding now, you can't really do that until three years out or whatever. It's you would've had to think about this three years prior.

Carley Razzi (00:54:14):

Yes.

Alaina Kearney (00:54:15):

That's a lot of predicting and like you don't know sometimes.

Carley Razzi (00:54:20):

It's a lot of pressure. You don't always know, but I don't know, I feel like we know our wine, we know our vineyards, we know Davide, how he makes wine. He can predict how much we're going to have, when we're going to have it. And then Andrea's a queen with spreadsheets.

(00:54:37):

So, with the three of us, it's like I'm like, "Ooh, let's do this. And they're like, let's see." And we backtrack and we're like. All right. Cool. We could do this. But then there's other things like, oh, my god COVID. So, you're like, "Okay, let's do this." So, some of the things you just have to just go for and trust your gut, but other things are very carefully planned out. And with wine, you really do have to be very careful and cautious.

Alaina Kearney (00:55:07):

Would you ever see yourself in a grocery store?

Carley Razzi (00:55:12):

Funny you say that. We are in Wegmans.

Alaina Kearney (00:55:14):

Okay. There you go.

Carley Razzi (00:55:16):

Yeah. But we're just in a few because only the areas that really know us, because that's where the wine will move. But yeah, I would like to see us in the future, we have some ideas of, we have a lot of customers in Florida. So, people retire, they go to Florida often. So, we were thinking, "Let's go down there and check out these communities that they live in and do wine tastings for them. We can sell our shipping club."

(00:55:42):

So, we have a few ideas on the back burner. We recently started working with Kubota. They've got some new technology coming out. We got to speak on a panel in a convention in Vegas with them.

(00:55:58):

So, we have a lot of cool ideas, but most of it is Davide's got really neat winemaking techniques and ideas he wants to do. I have more legislative work I want to do to boost the whole industry. Andrea's just slaying everything day to day in our tasting room and making sure that we can continue to focus on these goals because she's the one that checks and balances everything. So, she's like, "No. We're not doing that." I'm like, "Okay."

Alaina Kearney (00:56:30):

So, what advice would you give someone who's aspiring to lead in the wine industry or just entrepreneurship in general?

Carley Razzi (00:56:42):

Be ready to hit the ground running. I guess leadership in general, entrepreneur, start a base, a networking base. The more people you know, the better. And it's not just connections, it's really make friendships. Because I could call someone and be like, "Hey," from another winery, "what do you do when you're faced with this issue." And they can talk to you. Or, "Oh, my gosh, we need to switch insurance companies." "Oh, I was talking to somebody. Let me go check in with them." So, start your base of people. Be ready to work your tail off. Don't give up and get enough sleep.

Alaina Kearney (00:57:33):

And I know that you don't do that.

Carley Razzi (00:57:34):

No. But it's important. If my kids are sometimes on a weekend, I'm like, "I am going to take a nap." So, I take an hour nap and I'm like, "You can watch a movie if you'd like. I'm going to take a nap. You can come with me if you want." "No, thank you."

Alaina Kearney (00:57:51):

That is so funny, but true, so true.

Carley Razzi (00:57:54):

Yeah. You got to be rested because that's the only way your mind's going to function. You can't be running on empty all the time.

Alaina Kearney (00:57:59):

Absolutely. So, as we wrap this up, I have a lightning round, but I did post on my Instagram stories. I had people, like I said, I was interviewing a local wine owner. I didn't say who it was. And did they have any questions? So, I got quite a few. But one of the questions that came up that I have to ask is why, and this is totally on the fly here, I didn't prepare you for this.

Carley Razzi (00:58:19):

Oh, my gosh, I'm excited.

Alaina Kearney (00:58:21):

Why does red wine make you so hung over and Penns Woods won't make you hung over?

Carley Razzi (00:58:29):

Red wine has a higher alcohol content than say like Moscato has 5%. A lot of red wine is 12 a half to 14%. Sometimes people are affected by the tannins and there are more tannins in red wine. Probably it's just so good and fun to drink.

Alaina Kearney (00:58:49):

Yeah, right?

Carley Razzi (00:58:50):

But honestly, if you're getting a cheaper red wine, it's going to make you more hung over because there are more additives. They can put sugar in it. They'll put extra sulfites to make it last longer. There's so much that happens in the bulk wine industry, which nothing towards them, they have to do it because they've got grapes coming from Australia, Spain, France. A lot of the times, if you're drinking Kendall-Jackson, that's coming from 50 different vineyards into one. So, there's a lot more manipulation you have to do with the wine.

(00:59:27):

With small batch, we're lucky in the sense that yes, it's more expensive to make, but you don't have to touch it as much. You don't have to manipulate the natural self of the wine. You don't have to add a lot to it or change it in many ways. It just is.

Alaina Kearney (00:59:43):

So interesting. For me, I feel like red wine wouldn't do that to me, but white wine would.

Carley Razzi (00:59:47):

Me too. White wine affects me way-

Alaina Kearney (00:59:49):

Me too.

Carley Razzi (00:59:50):

And a lot of times sulfites are higher in white wine. Sometimes there's more sugars in white wine naturally. And because they are harvested, sometimes you stop the fermentation early. So, sugars or alcohol eats the sugar. Well, it turns into alcohol. So, if you have high alcohol, you have low sugars. If you have low alcohol, you have higher sugars. And then if you have both, it's either a late harvest wine or somebody's added a ton of sugar into.

Alaina Kearney (01:00:22):

Well, I'm not going to throw the executive under the bus that asked me that question, but we'll know if she listened when this comes out. So, quick lightning round.

Carley Razzi (01:00:28):

[inaudible 01:00:29].

Alaina Kearney (01:00:28):

Yeah, right. There you go. You should really partner with a hydration company.

Carley Razzi (01:00:34):

I know.

Alaina Kearney (01:00:35):

That's the way-

Carley Razzi (01:00:35):

That's the next step.

Alaina Kearney (01:00:36):

Yeah, yeah. Okay. So, quick lightning round. What is your favorite wine?

Carley Razzi (01:00:40):

Oh, my gosh. Pinot noir.

Alaina Kearney (01:00:41):

Okay, pinot noir. Now, what's your favorite wine pairing?

Carley Razzi (01:00:48):

The couch and my glass.

Alaina Kearney (01:00:52):

Incredible. I was like, wait a second.

Carley Razzi (01:00:54):

Yeah. The couch.

Alaina Kearney (01:00:56):

Me too.

Carley Razzi (01:00:56):

No. Food. Oh, gosh. I love rosé and barbecue.

Alaina Kearney (01:01:04):

Interesting.

Carley Razzi (01:01:05):

Like grilled chicken and anything like grilled corn, like summer foods and a nice glass of dry rosé. Oh, this is my fave.

Alaina Kearney (01:01:15):

Interesting. When I think of rosé, I think of brunch. I think of eggs.

Carley Razzi (01:01:20):

That's legit. But I love always am like rosé, yeah, sometimes I put ice in it, whatever. But ice-cold rosé and grilled meat of some sort and some grilled vegetables, like a fresh salad with cucumbers.

Alaina Kearney (01:01:37):

I'm smelling another Penns Woods event coming up maybe.

Carley Razzi (01:01:40):

I know, right?

Alaina Kearney (01:01:40):

You might've just given yourself an idea. So, have any celebrities visited Penns Woods that surprised you?

Carley Razzi (01:01:47):

Oh, my gosh, I'm so bad with names.

Alaina Kearney (01:01:52):

So, am I.

Carley Razzi (01:01:54):

Yes.

Alaina Kearney (01:01:55):

That you didn't expect. All of a sudden, you're there working and then boom, you're like, "Whoa. I wasn't expecting that."

Carley Razzi (01:02:03):

Yeah. I can't remember their names though.

Alaina Kearney (01:02:04):

That's okay. I've been there. Don't worry.

Carley Razzi (01:02:06):

Yeah. But yes. Rachel will know because she does all of our marketing and social media.

Alaina Kearney (01:02:13):

I know nothing. I remember I was at Apple Walnut Cafe in Broomall, I was sitting there with a friend and Jason Kelce had walked in, but I'm so out of it. She's like, "Oh, my god, that's Jason Kelce." I'm like, "Wow, that's so cool." I know he's great, but I mean, yes, he was huge.

(01:02:30):

So, I recognized, okay, that's somebody who's probably famous, but at the time, this was probably before the Super Bowl, or maybe it was right after the Super Bowl, it just didn't strike me. I wasn't like, "Oh, my gosh." But everybody in the restaurant was like, "Oh, my gosh." They couldn't believe it. And I was like, "Wow, that's so cool." And she's like, "Do you even know who that is?" I'm like, "I do know. But now that you said it, I know."

Carley Razzi (01:02:54):

Exactly. So, that's how I am. They're like, "That's so-and-so," and I'm like, "Oh, my gosh."

Alaina Kearney (01:02:59):

Oh, yeah, exactly.

Carley Razzi (01:03:01):

Yes. I'm so embarrassed.

Alaina Kearney (01:03:05):

I know, I know. I'm the same way. What is the biggest misconception about owning a winery?

Carley Razzi (01:03:11):

That it is a hands-off job. People are like, "Oh, my god, that's so much fun you drink wine all day." And I'm like, I sleep in the corner. Yeah, we taste it. But sometimes when we taste wine, it's like 9:00 AM when your palate's fresh and you're like, "I don't want wine."

(01:03:32):

I think that's the biggest misconception. And they think it's this kind of this grand thing, which yes, some winery owners, it is that because they're movie stars that have purchased wineries and they have everybody doing it for them. But when you come to small winery, like most Pennsylvania wineries and a lot of other wineries on the East Coast, they have day jobs.

(01:04:01):

Most people that had started their winery, they did it because they were passionate about it. They're doctors and lawyers and accountants and finance people and just people that were like, "I'm getting older. Later in life, I want to do something that I love, so I'm going to start a winery." And then sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. But they love it, so why not?

Alaina Kearney (01:04:28):

This isn't part of the lightning round. But it just made me think, how many employees do you have? And I know it depends on the season, too.

Carley Razzi (01:04:33):

It's definitely seasonal. But at any given point, we have about 12, 13 full-time people now, and we have about 25 total, 25 to 28 total.

Alaina Kearney (01:04:44):

That's small. I thought it was so much more.

Carley Razzi (01:04:46):

Yeah. We're a small and mighty team. We do a lot. We hustle.

Alaina Kearney (01:04:50):

And then what did you say, 1100 wine club members?

Carley Razzi (01:04:53):

Yeah.

Alaina Kearney (01:04:54):

Plus, you have just people buying wine whenever they feel like it. Coming to the tastings, doing the events, getting things at Wegmans.

Carley Razzi (01:05:01):

Right. Exactly. Grabbing a bottle at Wegmans.

Alaina Kearney (01:05:04):

Right, right. I wish I had that near me. We're going to have to talk after this.

Carley Razzi (01:05:07):

Yeah.

Alaina Kearney (01:05:08):

All right. Favorite book or podcast for leadership, business owners, professional type of?

Carley Razzi (01:05:15):

I just started to listen to a financial one. I don't have my phone on me. Let's see. The Primal Blueprint is a good one that I really enjoyed. I do more overarching help yourself be a better person and leader and know yourself because if you're not comfortable in your own skin, you're not going to be a good leader because people can see straight through you. So, that's more how the books that I'm more drawn to than specific business-focused books.

Alaina Kearney (01:05:58):

Me too, because they can be boring sometimes.

Carley Razzi (01:06:00):

They can be. They can be. But the podcasts are good.

Alaina Kearney (01:06:03):

You're my kind of girl.

Carley Razzi (01:06:04):

When you're stuck in the car.

Alaina Kearney (01:06:06):

Well, Carley, thank you so much for being here.

Carley Razzi (01:06:09):

Thank you.

Alaina Kearney (01:06:09):

I really, really appreciate it. Is there anything else you want to add, say that we didn't touch on or get to?

Carley Razzi (01:06:14):

No. I just appreciate you having me here and to anybody who wants to be a leader and an entrepreneur, go for it, because if you feel like it's calling to you, then it definitely is, but you can't second guess it. Just get out there and do it.

Alaina Kearney (01:06:33):

Do it. I love it. All right. Well, thank you so much, Carley.

Carley Razzi (01:06:35):

Thank you. Thanks for having me.

Alaina Kearney (01:06:36):

Bye.

Carley Razzi (01:06:36):

Bye.