You guys, I’m so excited! There is a new winery in my neighborhood!
About a week ago, I read about Backcountry Winery on Jill’s blog and after some sleuthing, found out that the new winery is only 8 miles from my house – smack in between the home I grew up in and the home I live in now!
I didn’t know the exact location, but I read on the Backcountry Winery blog that they were working on the barn’s roof. And as I drove from my parents’ house to mine one evening, I spotted a brick barn with a brand new roof. So of course, I drove by slowly, gawking. (I may or may not have stalker like tendencies.)
Anyway, after a little more stalking, I convinced the owners to let me come out and take a look around. Preston and Amber are young Iowa State grads with a vision and the work ethic to make that vision a reality.
They both work full time “in town” and then spend evenings and weekends working on the winery.
The plan is to renovate the old brick dairy barn on the property.
The first floor will have a wine tasting room, bathrooms, and the actual winery.
The loft will become a large event center and reception hall.
Preston and Amber have the dream, and a plan to make it a reality. But, as we all know, these kinds of plans take money. A lot of it.
They are anticipating that the whole project will cost nearly $150,000. And they want to be open for events in the spring of 2016. To help make this happen, they have a Kickstarter campaign for $10,000 – enough to reroof the barn (already done) and pour the concrete on the main floor.
Unfortunately, the Kickstarter campaign ends SOON (March 31!) and they are about a 1/4 of the way to their goal. I didn’t realize this, but Kickstarter is all or nothing. If they don’t make it to their goal, they don’t get any of the funds donated.
So I’m asking for your help – if you believe in these kids, and believe that it’s important to follow our dreams, even when the odds are stacked against us, consider backing their project. Every little bit helps!