Small Lot Co-Op: Bringing Small Production Washington Wines to Everyone

There is a new buzz in the Washington Wine Industry and the state’s small producers are the first to benefit from it. Small Lot Co-Op, a distribution and marketing organization with creative and fresh ideas, took seed last fall and in less than a year has grown with considerable momentum.

Small Lot Co-Op, founded by Daren Williams formerly of Alexandria Nicole Cellars, currently boasts ten small wineries each producing 2,500 cases or less each year.

While at Alexandria Nicole Cellars, Williams saw the winery grow from a few hundred cases annually into producing over 6,000 cases a year. Williams knew many small Washington wine makers struggling to grow and so decided to take what he learned to help them achieve the same.

What makes Small Lot special is its intimate relationship with its wine makers and unique approach to brand integrity.

“We find out what the wine makers’ goals are and how they want to be viewed in the market, and then work with them to help them reach those goals,” said Co-Owner Seth Furman. “ This makes us more than a distribution entity, it also makes us a promotional entity because we are trying to help them build their brands.”

These are what two of their wine makers had to say about starting out small and working with the Co-Op:

“It’s a lot of work being a small winemaker. No employees. It’s just me. My wife does the bookkeeping, I do all the winemaking, and until the Small Lot Co-Op came along I did all the sales as well,” said Darren Des Voigne, Owner and Winemaker of Des Voigne Cellars in Woodinville, WA.

“The thing that you’ll find is that the price of  wines will probably be higher for a small winery because we get more economy of scale on everything. All the bottles are in small lots, all the corks and capsules and labels. And so we get charged maximum price for everything. Our cost of production is very high,” said John Bell, Owner and Winemaker of Willis Hall Winery in Marysville, WA.

In fact, Small Lot is currently looking to start buying the corks, capsules, bottles and labels as a cooperative, which would lower production costs and free their wine makers to boast more competitive pricing in the market.

The Co-Op also fosters strong relationships with the people who carry their wines by promoting them to Small Lots’ email list and hosting events at their businesses.

“With things the way they are now you can’t just have business as usual you need to have creative ways to promote yourself and sell your product, and I think in the wine industry in general it’s been just business as usual. People don’t want to try new things because they have been doing things the same way for 30 plus years. So we’re very lucky in that we are a small startup company and are very agile so we can change as we need,” said Furman.

I’ve had a chance to talk with several of the people involved with Small Lot and what stands out is the love for the company and pride in what they offer.

“With this company I feel good about what I’m doing. Everyone involved in it actually believes in it so when we go into a business to talk about our company and sell our product we all are genuine, and that makes 100% of the difference to me,” said Co-Op Account Manager, Ashley Sinko.

Ultimately, Small Lots’ goal is to take wine makers from a small production, help them grow, and allow them to move on in order to foster new talent.

Furman adds: “We look at ourselves as a David and Goliath story. We like walking around with our back full of sling-shots.”