Grapekeeper is a multi-faceted, sustainably oriented, luxury rent-a-vine program that is the brainchild of Portuguese Environmental Engineer and Entrepreneur (and Winelover) Ana Monforte Weijters. After its initial launch in 2018, the company rebooted in 2019 guided by the business model illustrated below.
Entry requirements for producers are (i) sustainability and (ii) quality. Ana mourned the fact that sustainability had almost become a marketing gimmick; it is fundamental to her business. She defines it as: "the capacity to endure in a relatively ongoing way across various domains of life. To use resources without depletion or, even better, with regeneration, to produce experiences as products that enrich the consumer as well as the other contributors in the production chain."
Grapekeeper offers customers the ability to rent vineyards in one of three sizes from a current list of seven producers drawn from Germany, Italy, Spain, France, and Portugal (see Table 1 below). The customer can invest in one of three size classes with an estimated number of bottles promised at each level. The estimated number of bottles for a given plot size will vary from producer to producer based on vineyard yields. The level one offering promises an estimated number of bottles plus a number of benefits while levels two and three includes all of the activities of the preceding levels plus a higher number of bottles coincident with the increased plot sizes.
Table 1. Producers profiled on the Grapekeeper website.
Partner | Location | Cultivar(s) | Wine Style | Offerings |
Stafelter Hof | Mosel | Organically farmed Riesling | Still white | 150 - 450 sq m; 600 - 900 sq m; 1050 - 1350 sq m |
Selva Capuzza | Lake Garda | Turbiana | Still white | 100 - 300 sq m; 400 - 700 sq m; 1050 - 1350 sq m |
Vinyes del Terrer | Tarragona | Garnacha Tinta, Cabernet Sauvignon | Still red (85% Garnacha Tinta) | 200 - 800 sq m; 1000 - 1600 sq m; 1800 - 2000 sq m |
Vega Aixlà | Montsant | Organically farmed Tempranillo | Still red | 200 - 800 sq m; 1000 - 1600 sq m; 1800 - 2000 sq m |
Rivetto | Piedmont | Barbera | Still red | 100 - 300 sq m; 400 - 600 sq m; 700 - 1000 sq m |
Serveaux Fils | Champagne | Pinot Meunier | Champagne | 100 - 300 sq m; 400 - 600 sq m; 700 - 1200 sq m |
Vinha do Carrel | Douro | 40+; 80 - 100-year-old vines | Field-blend still red | 300 - 400 sq m;500 - 700 sq m; 800 - 1000 sq m |
The customer is always invited to visit the vineyard to discuss sustainability and its influence on, among other things, wine quality, regional sustainability, and the communities that are dependent on wine production for their sustenance. There is also a fun aspect to the program as the customer can bring family and friends along to aid in the harvesting of his/her plot. Ana has indicated that a number of new producers will be added to the fold over the course of the next three months.
Ana defines Grapekeeper success as:
- Getting wines to clients
- Financial health
- Seeing the people around her happy.
The key, she said, is health: health of the people, health of the ecosystem, and health of the business. For her, people are the most important part of this venture.
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| Ana Monforte Weijters (Courtesy Grapekeeper) |
As far as the future is concerned, she wants to be more inclusive and to continue to grow the business. She sees a lot of potential for client growth as well as geographical expansion of the producer cohort. She also sees opportunities to build a raft of communities as both the producer and client groups grow; but that is down the road a bit.
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What are the future prospects for the business? Jamie Goode is complimentary when he notes that Ana has teamed up "with some serious wine producers." One of the keys to the venture's success will be its rate of customer acquisition and development of a more durable marketing strategy to fuel that growth. Today customer marketing is primarily word-of-mouth; that is not a strategy with legs.
Ana has been critical to the company's success to date and will continue to be so in the future. She possesses a number of qualities that will stand her -- and the business -- in good stead going forward:
- She is a visionary but is also able to effectively communicate that vision to enlist prospects and to operationalize the concepts as key elements in a going concern
- She is highly motivated and extremely hard-working. It seems that every time I communicate with her she is either driving or flying to or from a producer meeting. One thing that she has the be careful of is not being seduced by the sexiness of producer visits to the detriment of customer-acquisition efforts
- She is thoughtful, yet approachable, and is well-versed in issues relating to sustainability and regenerative agriculture
- She is empowered, driven, fearless, and in possession of an entrepreneurial spirit but is also warm-hearted, unselfish, and willing to pitch in to help.
Grapekeeper is in good hands.
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