Today we’d like to introduce you to Nikki Lovell.
Hi Nikki, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I have been a nurse for 18 years and a nurse practitioner for 9 of those years. During the pandemic due to healthcare worker fatigue I decided I would like to do something a little more creative that I could design and curate myself. I had a growing interest in wine and decided I would like to start my own wine brand and tasting room in the Austin/Dripping Springs area. It’s my dream project with the hopes that it will allow me to become a feral housewife. I wanted to serve delicious, Texas-grown wines local to our beautiful state. We opened a little over a year ago and are really picking up steam in our second year. We have created a fun, laid-back tasting room where you don’t have to know everything about wine to enjoy the experience and try delicious wines.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
This is my first time owning/starting a business so it has definitely had some bumps along the road with some good learning experiences. Start-up costs are quite high, especially for construction and they ended up going way over my budget. Next was logistics in sourcing delicious, quality, Texas-grown wines. The next challenge was getting the word out there that we exist! We tried social media ads that would garner a lot of followers, but did not bring many people actually in the door. We then partnered with several other local businesses and neighborhoods to get the word out there by doing a lot of off-site tasting events. We gained some loyal customers that come in regularly and joined our wine club and it is growing! We have now partnered with a group that puts on wine festivals all around Texas that we have started participating in and it is really getting us out there to new customers.
We’ve been impressed with Feral Housewife Wine, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
We are a fun, cheeky brand with a great logo and high quality wines to back it up. We specialize in wines grown in the Texas high plains near Brownfield, Texas. We are especially known for our delicious frozés, bold reds, crisp whites, and delicious rosés. We add new wines every quarter to keep it fresh and offer options for every palate. My husband and myself are the only ones operating the tasting room so we are known for our outgoing personalities and fun approach to customers. We also usually have our pups here with us which only makes the experience better!
If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
I grew up in Albuquerque, NM with my mom, dad and one younger brother. Growing up I was always very talkative and outgoing (i.e. teacher’s pet that also always got in trouble for talking too much and distracting others). I have always been strong-willed and fiercely independent with an “I can do it myself” attitude. I was also quite a tomboy and didn’t like being put into a box of “girl” interests versus “boy” interests. Why can’t we do it all? I’ve also always been one of the funny, witty ones among my friends. I have always been very empathetic which is what drew me to healthcare before venturing into the wine industry.
Pricing:
- Tasting flights are $16
- Bottles of wine all run between $28-$38
- Glasses of wine run between $8-$12
Contact Info:
- Website: https://feralhousewifewine.com
- Instagram: @feralhousewifewine
- Facebook: Feral Housewife Wine
