Small Fortune Podcast

After finishing a long and successful career in the California wine industry, Fred Reno retired to Virginia, the original American winegrowing region. Vines were first planted there in 1619 under orders from the British crown. They were hoping to find an alternative to French wine in its then-colonies. The founding fathers were investors in the wine business too, in 1773. In this 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence...

Andy Hoxsey’s family came to the Napa Valley in the early 20th century and through successive generations have farmed and sold grapes, as well as taken significant entrepreneurial risks.  Andy tells the story of his (and the Pelissa family’s) acquisition of Napa Wine Company in 1993, with the expressed intention of creating the first high-touch custom crush business, certainly in the Napa Valley but quite possibly in the world.  Na...

While looking through LinkedIn comments on the platform, host Carol Collison came across a fascinating marketing campaign for a high-end wine product released on Black Friday: Tank Garage’s Black Market. She reached out to the winery’s General Manager to learn more. In this conversation you’ll hear what a wine company founded and managed by marketing professionals looks like. Tank Garage is a company that addresses the wine consume...

Third generation wine business owner Jason Haas joins host Carol Collison to talk about how his “Tablas Creek Blog,” which he’s maintained consistently for 20 years, has helped him promote his Paso Robles-based wine brand. The discussion identifies the reasons why the blog has helped his business, why he is able to stick with it, and touches on other newer social media efforts. In addition, the subject of how the company has embrac...

In this episode of the Small Fortune Podcast, host Carol Collison talks with fellow UCLA Bruin and IRS Records founder-turned-winemaker Jay Boberg. Jay talks about the difference between launching a band and launching a wine brand, why he and partner Jean Nicolas Meo chose Oregon’s Willamette Valley (hint: profitability is in that mix),  and various growth strategies such as developing a brand first; staging sales growth to reduce ...

Listen in on a live panel discussion from Wine Business Monthly’s 34th Annual Wine Industry Financial Symposium. Event Host Erin Kirschenmann, Managing Editor of Wine Business Monthly, invited a group of financial professionals in the wine industry to share their insights and observations about current financial markets: Carol Collison M&A Advisor and podcast host; Tony Correia, vineyard and winery appraiser and owner of The Co...

In this episode, host Carol Collison talks with Janie Heuck, who is Managing Director of her late brother Jimi Brooks’ eponymous wine company, based in the Oregon’s Willamette Valley. This wine company’s history tells the unique story of the collaborative nature of the wine industry. Janie stepped in when her brother died tragically in the midst of harvest in 2004. With the help of Jimi’s friends in the winemaking community Janie g...

It can be done.  Learn from one of Napa Valley’s greats about how he started his winery – V. Sattui - in the ‘70’s with a shoestring budget and built a business so profitable he was able to construct a 150,000 square foot medieval Italian castle with the proceeds.  In this interview, Carol and Dario outline the keys to his success: focus on sales, control costs, and plan for catastrophes.  Small Fortune Podcast listeners really sho...

In addition to being an experienced manager of hospitality teams, Alysha Lee is a great storyteller. She and host Carol Collison discuss important management issues illustrated though Alysha’s tales from the trenches of modern luxury hospitality management. At Montage Resorts, she learned about creating memorable experiences and customer relationship management before the advent of CRM systems. At the Hillstone Restaurant Group she...

Listen and learn from an expert. John Glazewski, Director of Distributor Partnerships at one of the largest wine companies in the world, shares his wisdom on how to succeed in distribution, which can be summarized as follows: Show Up. Hear his advice on strategies for choosing the right market and distributor; how to engage with your distributor to obtain maximum performance in their market; the importance of distributor depletion,...

John Gillespie and host Carol Collison discuss his most recent market report, “Wine in Decline,” which queries non or low- consumers of alcoholic beverages about how their perceptions may be affecting wine sales. The survey results are fascinating, and the conversation centers on the evidence from this research that some consumers view wine as too expensive or not a good value. For example, the survey found that “Wine drinkers who ...

In this episode, host Carol Collison speaks with Ori Katz, Partner in the Finance and Bankruptcy Practice at the law firm Sheppard Mullin about when and how business owners should approach their creditors when their financial situation is deteriorating. Topics include: the importance of having a clear understanding of your financial situation; how lenders think about their risks and how that affects you; and when it’s time to speak...

BMO Managing Director Mario Zepponi, a leading Merger and Acquisitions advisor and podcast host Carol Collison, also an M&A Advisor, recap the deal market in the two years since Mario was last on the podcast (Ep: 7, October ’23.)  Topics of discussion include how the decline in consumer wine demand has affected transactions, changes in the buyer set, valuations, what types of transactions may be seen in the future and more.

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In this episode, fellow Berkeley Haas School MBAs and podcasters (!) Carol Collison and Mike Chaput discuss Mike’s journey to establishing his successful, high-growth IT services company, Endsight. Mike outlines concepts in technology, including how agentic AI might be used by wineries to increase DTC sales and operational efficiency. The conversation also includes the experience and lessons Mike learned through an early bankruptcy...

Randi Bural is a Senior VP at AgWest Farm Credit based in the Willamette Valley, Oregon. The Farm Credit system is an enterprise founded over 100 years ago by the Federal government to support American agriculture. Because of their mandate they are not going to exit the wine industry, unlike some commercial lenders during tough times. Carol and Randi discuss a variety of topics in current wine finance including how lenders manage l...

The Small Fortune Podcast is about entrepreneurship, the wine business, and the ecosystem of companies that support it. Today’s interview covers them all. Concepts about start-ups such as “minimally viable product.” How wineries should think about sales channels and distribution. And how LibDib works for wineries as an e-commerce distribution platform. This podcast is a banger if you’re into entrepreneurship, the wine business, or ...

Scott Bozzo is an expert Farm Manager who advises his clients on which vineyards to buy and then helps them run the operation. Listen and learn how to do due diligence regarding water resources and rights when considering a vineyard acquisition. An entrepreneur and principal owner of Macotera Ag Group, Scott shares what his considerations were in deciding to start his own firm – great ideas for those listeners thinking about making...

Today’s guest Pauline Lhote grew up on a farm in the Champagne region and at the ripe old age of 14 decided she wanted to make sparkling wine. Her ambition, hard work and singular focus propelled her to become the Head Winemaker at Domaine Chandon, a pioneering French-owned California sparkling wine house. Carol and Pauline have a wide-ranging discussion about sparkling wine production and its challenges, being women professionals,...

On our 50th episode (!!) host Carol Collison talks with Cyril Penn, Editor of “Wine Business Monthly” magazine. Listen and learn about: how Cyril got his start as a journalist; all the different ways this successful trade publishing enterprise serves the wine industry; and the company’s newest data products. And after 20 years of watching the wine industry, Cyril shares his best advice on how to be successful in the business.

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