Our First Short Doc: Summer 1981 to Winter 2023
06/04/2024
In 2023 I purchased land in Napa with hopes of planting a vineyard in the place I grew up. I've decided to document this process over the next 5 years through image and word.
A conversation with Stefan Blicker on my past life at Last Bottle
A much younger me tasting wine with my sidekick and partner Stefan.
As I watched the first 6 minutes of the documentary that is 63 Raw Acres, I realized that people might be a little confused. Who is this guy getting teary eyed over selling his company? So I’m going to give a little background.
I started my company BPWine in 2007 with 2 partners: Stefan Blicker and Brent Pierce, I was 25 at the time and had always dreamed of owning my own business. We struggled through some tough times (lawsuits, market crashes, etc) but ultimately thrived. Our big break was starting Last Bottle Wines, a flash site that sells one wine a day at best in market pricing. It was an immediate success, starting in 2011 and still continues today.
My partners in 2020 wanted to retire and we decided to take Last Bottle to market. We had no real way of knowing the market value of the company and without this I could never put an offer to buy out my partners. It was a long and hard process dealing with private equity firms, lawyers, and investment bankers (all while running a company that had doubled in the previous 2 years). We got an offer from a P.E. firm and I declined the offer, I then worked on buying out my partners through banks and financing.
What does becoming a “Follower” mean?
1. Interesting emails (around one a month if I don't get writer's block) with behind-the-scenes stories, personal musings, and fun facts.
2. Early access to wine allocations. Wine won't be released for years, so you have plenty of time to decide.
3. Invites to events at the 63 Raw Acres property.