It's Alive!

Thank you all for the thoughtful inquiries here on the Rat and to my personal email. I assure you I have not been hit by a bus, at least not literally. I'm alive and doing very well in San Francisco. I left Minnesota almost two years ago with the vague notion that I could combine my two strongest passions, wine and technology, into something that might actually pay the rent. And for the entire time since, I have entertained every wild idea, pulled off a number of oddball projects, and followed every lead that might eventually grow into something wonderful, whether it promised a financial benefit or not. The last two years have been about cool ideas, and luckily that isn’t going to change anytime soon. When I committed the last of my savings to make the Pinot 2.0 wine at Crushpad, I wasn’t sure if it was a smart idea, or simply my last flying leap at making a go of it in California. I was committed to staying here and being around to make wine but if this one blew up in my face I would have to consider learning phrases like “do you want a big cookie with that?” or “would you prefer sparkling or still?…” to be able to make it to harvest 08’.

The reason I've been seemingly on the dark side of the moon for a couple months is because cool ideas are just that, simply cool ideas. Sometimes it takes a tremendous flurry of effort to actually pull them off. As I was wrapping up my winemaking at Crushpad I started talking with Crushpad CEO Michael Brill about how to develop material that could be used to grow a brand like the Pinot 2.0 project was doing and also how that translates into developing a community online, and in the real world. And it turns out that those were exactly the questions he had been pondering related to the Crushnet winemaking community Website. And so I was thrilled when he offered me the opportunity to step up and lead the development effort of Crushnet. And so that’s what I’ve been hammering away on for the past couple months. We’re launching a new Crushnet site to support our winemaking community very soon. pictured above In typical startup fashion, you need to be flexible at Crushpad. When I got to work the other day, I found an impromptu meeting had swarmed my table/desk so I rolled a chair to the nearest cardboard box, and called it home for a while. This is a move that takes me from staring at my computer at home, in coffee shops, or while sitting outside wineries editing audio as I’m waiting for interviews to come through, to actually having to get dressed and show up somewhere everyday. And yes, I can now make rent, get health insurance, and put gas in the scooter. But better yet, I get dive into a gig every day that challenges me to do exactly what I knew I wanted to do as I drove wild-eyed from the Midwest 20 months ago. The adjustment to be always-on has been a bit jarring, and joining a technology startup pushing an industry into new territory presents a smorgasbord of brain bending questions daily. I love it. I'll be regrouping with NPR to determine how we proceed with the Ratcasts, and I'll finish the Pinot 2.0 series as we move our wine towards bottling later this year. And I'll be working to get more audio and video up on Crushnet to help us all learn, and make sure we meet more of the interesting personalities in the biz. If you've followed this journey of mine at all you already know I'm not much of a salesman, and would just as soon get a nice email than pull down a few dollars in ad revenue, so I won't be using the Cellarrat to push Crushpad or Crushnet. However, I believe 100% in what we are doing there to bring custom winemaking to individuals, and to allow people to take an active role in making great wine so you'll hear me talk about what’s going on, I’m sure. If you're in San Francisco, or headed this way, feel free to contact me, and I can show you around the winery in SF. And I fully expect the Rat Pack to be back in action making wine again in 07’. Thank you all for your support as I took the various leaps that landed me, and my dusty orange chucks in a very good spot. Alan