The Story Behind “Wide Roots”

Why “Wide Roots”? What are we about, and what does the name mean?

Recently, I had the opportunity to be interviewed by my friend, Ami Rose of Ami on Cloud Wine, and it was a chance for me to reflect on the events that led to the formation of our company, and what we’re about.

Forming Wide Roots was the confluence of a few factors:

• I had been thinking of something entrepreneurial for some time, but needed to find an opportunity where I felt I could contribute true value
• My evolution as a wine drinker awakened me to the great values and diverse terroirs of European wines…but I realized these were mysterious to many people, as they once were to me

I sought to do something that would demystify this world for people. And one of the answers to this was in breaking down the current state of wine marketing.

Driving home from work (in my prior career) one Friday afternoon, I was listening to a radio show on a popular local news radio station, and they had their weekly wine feature, with a local expert. The expert was describing wines, and characters that the vast majority of us mere mortals could not detect. The show’s hosts were gracious, but in their voices I could almost detect…”really?!?!?!”

More recently, in an education program well known in the wine world, I tasted a gewürztraminer, and was asked to describe it. When “lychee” was not among the characters I listed, I was corrected…and it almost felt like a mild scolding.

I admit it, and I’m not afraid to. I don’t know what “lychee” tastes like. I can’t even find it at the local Harris Teeter to make the connection.

Does this exclude me from the wine world?

These anecdotes are everything that is wrong with wine marketing. It is “exclusive”, and not in the good sense of that word. And changing that approach is very much in the scope of Wide Roots and our business activities.

Fortunately, we are not alone. In the Instagram community, there are many examples of people who are breaking this down, who are growing the audience for wines, diversifying and making it more approachable, bringing in minorities and underrepresented groups, etc. People like Ami, who offer education but create an atmosphere that feels “safe.” This is good, because growing our audience is not only the right thing to do, but also good for business.

So we had a concept, and my opportunity came in late 2019. I had been in the corporate world for 25 years. During this time, I developed and advanced, and was fortunate to put myself into a position where I could invest in something entrepreneurial–both skills and capital. I began researching wine importing, and over the course of a weekend, built a business plan and a financial projection that helped me determine the milestones that would allow for a healthy business and a good life. My goal was not to get rich…it was to pursue a passion, and to spend time doing things that I really enjoyed, while making “enough” money.

The following Monday, I called my supervisor and told him I was resigning.

Then, the name, Wide Roots. It is a metaphor, a flower with roots in different parts of the world. Thanks to travel all over the world, I have witnessed and experienced a shared humanity. I’ve felt welcomed by people in different countries, and I’ve celebrated with them. These were gatherings with good friends, good food, and often, wine.

The roots draw upon cultures and traditions, that are part of who we are, particularly here in America, with our melting pot background. We are the flowers, nourished and formed by these roots, and ultimately transcending cultural and geographical differences. By putting that celebration we all value, at the forefront.

A manifesto was written, and a company was born.

And this is only the very beginning.