Adieu, Adios & Arrivederci!

After months of reflection, prayer and discussion, Amie and I have decided to pull the plug on Garretson Wine Company. I am sure that you can appreciate that this was not an easy decision to make...but it's one that - having now made it - we are entirely at peace with.

There were a number of factors which led to this decision. Firstly, as you know, the economy is in a shambles. That means it's gotten a whole lot tougher to sell high-end wines, and that those folks buying our wines aren't paying us in a timely manner. Secondly, the only way I've been able to keep selling wine is to constantly be on the road. While I've not been one to shirk from the title, "Road Warrior", it DOES get old...not to mention awfully expensive.

But more important than the economy is how this business has taken a toll on my family. Before my last big road trip, my son Thomas asked if I'd bring him home a big tube of Krazy Glue. When I asked him why, he responded, "So I can glue your feet to the ground, and you'll stop traveling so much." Ouch. Thom's now eight, and Jack is nine. It's simply not worth my missing their childhoods to go out every Monday and return home every Saturday.

So it is that we've decided that a change was needed. What will really determine our next step will be where I can find a good job. While my job search won't exclude the possibility of another position in the wine business, I am open to other opportunities. Certainly, if you are aware of any potential leads (in or out of the wine business) that you think I'd be ideal for, I'd sure like to hear from you.

And I'd like to ask you for your prayers for my family during the start of this new adventure. We value them...and your friendship!












“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”
- Teddy Roosevelt