Gimmie That Wine
The Vision
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Welcome to Sort This Out Cellars. Home of Good Times and Great Wines! Our winery is the quintessential example of the modern wine industry. We are a small producer of great tasting, fun wines that are reflective of our passion for wine, friends and good times. People always ask us, "Where is your winery?", "What types of grapes do you grow?", and the truth is we don't own our own wine making facility, and we don't grow any grapes. "How can that be?", you ask. Well...it's simple. The wine industry is exploding with micro producers, like us, who make wines in co-operative wine making facilities. We use several of these small co-ops including our main production facility located in, Templeton, California. Considering the cost of land and buildings, not to mention the issues at the city, county, state, and federal level with building a winery, it makes great sense for small wine producers like us to pool our resources and share facilities.
Sort This Out Cellars inception dates back to early 2005, when long time friends Michael Cobb and Jeff Munsey blended their first wine for a small group of friends. Their friendship began several years ago when they were introduced while working together at Disneyland. (Yes, you read it correctly, we said, Disneyland home of that cute little mouse - occasionally known to take a swig of the vino himself.....how else do you think he can stand living at the "Happiest Place On Earth"?) As managers of Walt Disney's private dining club, Club 33, they were fortunate to work for a great wine mentor and General Manager, Jeff Plumb, who introduced them to many of California's greatest winemaking families. Our relationship with those families still continues today as they allow us special access to their premium grapes and juice from which we make our wines.
In 2002, while still at Club 33 , Jeff and Michael where fortunate to have the opportunity to participate in Sommelier training conducted by Master Sommeliers from the Court of Master Sommeliers. After months of preparation they passed the first level examination, joining a growing class of new certified level one Sommeliers.
In 2002, Jeff was promoted to General Manager and asked to take over operations of The Golden Vine Winery, located in Disney's California Adventure. The Golden Vine Winery, originally sponsored and operated by Robert Mondavi Company, was built to be a food and wine destination in the heart of The Disneyland Resort's new theme park, California Adventure. Soon after, Jeff would ask Michael to leave Club 33 and join him as wine buyer and beverage manager for the Golden Vine Winery. For the next several years Michael and Jeff worked with some of Disney's most talented and passionate employees, combining food, wine, and entertainment.
Eventually, Jeff would leave The Golden Vine Winery, for the "real" wine country. In the fall of 2004 Jeff joined the team of a small family winery bringing with him his knowledge of corporate business practices and marketing. While there he gained valuable experience in winery operations and small business finance. (He also met his wife there too!) Soon Micheal would join Jeff and accept a job among the vines in winery operations management. The duo was reunited. In 2005, finally taking their passion for wine to the bottle, the pair blended their first wine, a small lot blend of Cabernet Franc, Merlot, and Mourvedre. That first blend, named Cardiff Giant, was the foundation for what is now Sort This Out Cellars.
Sort This Out Cellars takes its name from a favorite line in the movie Made. What was once an inside joke among two friends is now legitimized as the name of our winery. The Sort This Out Cellars team is made up of Michael and Jeff, joined by Gary, Michael's father, and Felicia, Jeff's wife. Gary and Felicia bring vast experience and education to Sort This Out Cellars. With years of experience in the printing business, Gary's knowledge of printing (Those bottles don't label themselves!) and business operations serves as an excellent resource to our team. With degrees in Crop Science and Agricultural Business, Felicia, brings us real life ag expertise, from her experience in the wine industry and as managing partner of her family's farm. Felicia, or the Consigliere as she is known around here, usually spends most of her time advising the boys so they don't get in too much trouble!
We started Sort This Out Cellars to make great wine and to have fun. Everything we make is a reflection of our interests, hobbies, and passions. Our goal is to make wine for a new generation of wine drinkers. With unique packaging, fun names, and stripped down culture, our wines are for everyone and for all occasions. We hope you will enjoy learning about our brands Sort This Out Cellars, Cardiff Giant and Suited as we blend one part wine, one part entertainment and one part attitude! So here's to good times and great wines. Now go get a bottle and kick back with some friends. That's what life is about.
Cheers!
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