Accolades
"When you're in an area where people are already doing what you're doing,
some people can get an attitude," Samantha Crissman, co-owner of Walnut Hill
said. "Everyone here has been nothing but nice," including the Cunkelmans
and Mike Metil and Cay Welch, who owned the now-closed Michael Charles
Winery near Blairsville.
"They want us to succeed," Crissman said.
"The wine business is more like a community. It's about the people," said Al
McClinton, Crissman's brother and--along with his wife, Kathie--partner in
the fledgling winery.
Like many wineries, Walnut Hill had its start with retirement from a
previous line of work.
Crissman bought the house she now lives in in October 2005, located in the
Walnut Hill section of Blairsville.
"Al had been telling me, 'We've got to make your basement into a winery,'"
she said.
"After I retired, I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do for the
rest of my life," said Crissman, who worked as a manufacturer representative
for car dealerships. "So I said, 'OK, let's do the winery.'"
"I had mentioned it to her many times," her brother said. "And I just
happened to catch her at the proverbial weak moment.
"But we've been to a lot of different wineries, and I thought, 'Hey, we
could start a microwinery.'"
"There's the scared-to-death side of it and the excited side of it," Kathie
McClinton said. "A little bit of both."
"This is a good thing or us to try to do," Al McClinton said. "It's an
entrepreneurial endeavor. It's the American dream."
Starting out with a call to their attorney, the trio joined the American
Wine Association.
"Everyone told me the hardest part about starting a winery is the red tape
work," Crissman said. "You just have to do the research, so we started out
just by making phone calls.
"And it's been one piece of paperwork after another since then," including
an application for a federal license as well as one to the state Liquor
Control Board.
Their next step, once construction is complete and they have their license
in hand, is to bring in an inspector to look over the operation.
"The paperwork is unbelievable," said Crissman. "And we're still another
good month or two before we get our license."
Al McClinton has been an amateur winemaker for about six years.
"Wine is an ancient craft," he remarked. "And it's a passion for a lot of
people. We're looking to try to make a living at it, but it's a social
thing."
Walnut Hill will tentatively celebrate what Crissman called a "soft" grand
opening in September.
Right now, they're concentrating on finishing construction of the winery and
a gift shop below Crissman's house, while finalizing business details.
"We're all bringing different things to the table," McClinton said. He is
the winemaker, while Kathie McClinton handles administration and Crissman is
taking care of the marketing aspects.
"She has such good taste," Kathie McClinton said of her sister-in-law.
"This business isn't all about wine," Al McClinton remarked. "We'll offer
other things," such as kits for amateur winemaking and wine accessories.
Crissman also has a wine club for women in the works, tentatively to be
dubbed "No Grape Expectations." Women will be invited to taste wine and to
discuss menus and food pairing.
"It's going to be educational and informational," McClinton said. "It's wide
open."
Going along with the wine and food theme, Crissman also hopes to make
gourmet cooking wines, such as tomato and garlic varieties.
The McClintons and Crissman additionally are looking into making their own
cheese to serve at wine tastings.
"We've been doing a lot of research," Crissman said. "We're going to have
stuff that no one else has. This isn't going to be small beans."
Crissman also is in the process of creating 101 different kinds of wine
baskets, for everything from a promotion at work to being in the doghouse at
home.
"We're going to focus on fun and enjoyment," McClinton said.
"We just wanted to do something that we enjoy," said Crissman, "and we enjoy
this."
Crissman and McClinton plan to host wine festivals. While Walnut Hill will
not sell wine by the glass, customers will be able to purchase a bottle of
wine and drink it on the premises during social events.
"We're still learning all of this," McClinton laughed.
- Winemaking Appeals to Local Retirees, Trib Total
Media,
March 23, 2007
