Today we’d like to introduce you to Gabe and Matt Ellis.
Can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today?
[Gabe] We knew nothing about wine 15 years ago. It was intimidating at first because so many industry terms sounded unfamiliar: tannins, fruit-forward, varietals, etc. I got interested in wine during my tenure in the tech industry as a Learning & Development professional. The first time I visited a winery was during a work trip to San Jose where I met our good friend, Holly. She offered to get me out of the hotel room and drive up to Napa Valley for the weekend. To this day, we still reminisce about my first wine-tasting experience over that weekend many years ago. That first trip made a huge impression on me.
[Matt] Gabe was the first one on the wine bandwagon. He started out with Cabernet and Zinfandel wines and always talked about how crazy he was about them. I tried wine, but I just wasn’t loving red wine. I started drinking Rieslings, which are a little sweeter and closer to what my pallet was used to. My first truly transformative moment with wine involved a 2010 Buscador Pinot Noir. That was when I realized wine could be interactive. I’d had preconceived notions of what Pinot Noir actually was, and this experience completely reshaped my thinking.
Over the past 15 years, we’ve made it a tradition to visit Napa at least once a year—venturing into many other wine regions in California, such as the Sierra Foothills, Central Coast, North Coast, and Inland Valleys. We’ve come to enjoy the unique wine-tasting experience that only comes from seeking out small boutique wine producers. Our yearly visits with passionate winemakers have been absolutely magical.
The wine-tasting experience can make a huge impact on whether you enjoy what’s being poured into your glass. When we visit a winery and sit across from the winemaker, we’re transported into a more relaxing atmosphere, where flavors and smells intertwine with the winemaker’s history and vision. We consider ourselves to be “wine geeks.” We strive to learn everything about the winemaking process, vineyard history, climate contributors, and proper food pairing. Also, we love to share all of this knowledge with friends and family while discussing their wine preferences.
[Gabe] My personal favorite part of these little moments is when I get to see our friends really enjoying what they just tasted as they note what they’re drawn to. So, after much encouragement from friends and family, we decided to take it a step further and open a tasting lounge with a focus of making wine approachable, fun, and memorable.
[Matt] Guiding someone out of their wine comfort zone and showing them a new experience is my favorite part. Offering an approachable and fun wine-tasting experience provides a safe space for people to try something different. There’s a back-and-forth interaction between the bottle and the drink itself. This creates a thoughtful rapport that elevates the wine-tasting experience.
Swallow Wines was born from a mutual need to bottle up and share those priceless experiences with everyone we know.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
We both have project management experience, allowing us to anticipate roadblocks and keep an agile mindset so we can quickly pivot in any needed direction. That’s not to say it can’t be frustrating sometimes, but we’ve learned so much. It helps that we work so well together, both as spouses and business partners.
[Gabe] I never thought opening our own small business would be easy, but one challenge for us so far has been the waiting period to see if the property we selected will allow us to create our vision, while at the same time keeping the neighbors content with our presence. Also, I’m accustomed to a fast-paced environment and commercial real estate does not move quickly. We’ve had several sites that didn’t work out or were no longer available. Despite all the struggles to find the right location, we’re still determined to fulfill our dream of opening our own winery. We’re grateful to have the right people helping us find the perfect home for Swallow Wines. The networking part of this process has been an incredible learning experience, but we know things will begin to move quickly once we find the right spot, and we’re ready.
[Matt] I’ve worked retail for almost 30 years and Gabe has been in Tech for over 20. We’ve spent enough time working for “The Man.” Everything we’ve learned about starting our own business has been from talking to and learning from others, as well as just trial and error. We really thought the road to opening our own business would be fairly straightforward and easy to navigate. We learned quickly that there are actually many detours and “Yield” signs along the way. Every speed bump, every fork in the road, has been a learning experience. Though the path to opening our own business has been a bumpy one, I wouldn’t trade it for anything. The knowledge we’ve gained from this process has been invaluable, which we know will help us appreciate our success that much more.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Swallow Wines is a winery and tasting lounge focused on approachable elegance; not to be confused with a wine bar. We will be permitted as a winery in Texas, but we won’t be making wine at this time. As a licensed winery, we can purchase directly from out-of-state wineries without the need for a third-party distributor. We’ll showcase wines that are not mass distributed to local liquor stores, restaurants, or bars. Swallow Wines will have a direct connection to winemakers, allowing us to learn about their craft and share their vision. We aim to be the destination spot; a place where you feel at home enough to lounge, surrounded by friends while enjoying a glass, or bottle, of your favorite wine. We pride ourselves in knowing that the wine you enjoy at Swallow Wines isn’t available at other outlets.
We want to create an atmosphere where you can choose your own wine-tasting experience. One that’s educational and not intimidating. Our competitive edge stems from the relationships we’ve built with talented winemakers in California. These relationships let us buy directly from wineries without relying on a third-party vendor.
Compared to our competitors, Swallow Wines offers customers many advantages, such as:
– The option to taste before buying a glass or bottle.
– Seasonal and monthly rotating wine-tasting menus.
– An educational experience with every flight, glass, or bottle.
– The opportunity to bring their own food.
– The option for non-Wine drinkers to bring their own alcohol for a small fee.
We’ll sell limited-production wines, produced by family-run, boutique winemakers who are not widely distributed. We’ll also be offering:
– Wine-tasting flights
– Wines by the glass
– Bottles for purchase, to consume on the premises or take away
– Special spotlight events featuring winemakers
– Live music events
– Online store
– Exclusive Wine Club membership
How do you define success?
If we are financially profitable the first year, that could mean we’re successful from a business standpoint, but we’re ultimately focused on achieving our mission and vision. Our mission is: Good friends. Good wine. Good Times. Swallow Wines is the destination spot where people can visit to have a good time with their friends and family.
Our vision is to partner with underrepresented voices (LGBTQIA+, Women, and BIPOC) in the winemaking community, while making wine accessible to new audiences. Our partnerships with small production winemakers, and our ability to share and reflect their unique visions, set us apart from normal “wine bars.”
If we can achieve both of these, Swallow Wines will have made a positive impact and be successful.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.swallow-wines.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/swallowwines/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/swallowwines
