Vino and brides.........

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

I'm heading out on a brand new career path. Later this year, I'm dumping my IT career of 12 years and going to run a business for my father-in-law. We're opening a winery.

The Belvoir Winery :: Home (http://www.belvoirwinery.com/)

You can read through the full history of the location on the website (just went live today). We own 170 acres of land. The building we are currently renovating is 110 years old. Three of the buildings on the site are registerd on the National Register of Historic Places. We already have advertising in local wedding magazines and have received a large amount of inquiries. The reception area inside the buildings is little more than studs and bare walls right now, which makes it difficult to get too many brides committed, but we'll have it looking much better by April.

Site will also be open for tours that cover the winemaking process and cover the history of the property. The site is also rumored to be haunted and while it has that look, I've personally never seen anything out there. Felt creeped out a couple of times, but that could have been anything.

I'll likely post periodic updates. It's a bit scary to jump into something so new, but my educational background is in business administration and accounting, so I'll be able to hold my own with a bit of hired help to assist. Early feedback from the community has been very positive, so we're excited to get started.

[JPhillips]

I didn't know you were gay.

;)

[chesapeake]

Good for you! You should flesh out the ghost story for the website and do a bit around Halloween to drum up business.

[DaddyTorgo]

cool!

[Butter]

I thought you were buying an ice rink. Which is it, man!

[DaddyTorgo]

if the wine is any good i might even buy some, despite you being MBBF!

[Mustang]

I thought you were buying an ice rink. Which is it, man!

It's an ice rink... made of wine.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

I thought you were buying an ice rink. Which is it, man!

There's plenty of room to install a synthetic ice rink on 170 acres. ;)

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Good for you! You should flesh out the ghost story for the website and do a bit around Halloween to drum up business.

Yep. Plans are definitely in the works for paranormal tours. There's another site in the KC area that does it and they do extremely well. There's a big appetite for that kind of thing right now.

[JPhillips]

FYI: On Firefox I couldn't get the photo tour to load.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

FYI: On Firefox I couldn't get the photo tour to load.

Thanks. I'll have the designer check it out.

[Swaggs]

Good luck.

I once had an old winemaker tell me that the way to make a small fortune is to start out with a large fortune and buy a winery. ;)

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Good luck.

I once had an old winemaker tell me that the way to make a small fortune is to start out with a large fortune and buy a winery. ;)

Yeah, we're lucky enough to have a well-known historic location that we're going to renovate that will provide a steady income through events. The wineries that do the best generally are the ones that don't have the wine as their primary income. It's fine for supplementary income, but not a big money maker.

[Swaggs]

Yeah, we're lucky enough to have a well-known historic location that we're going to renovate that will provide a steady income through events. The wineries that do the best generally are the ones that don't have the wine as their primary income. It's fine for supplementary income, but not a big money maker.

Yeah, it looks like you have a diverse enough property to be able to do develop a few different areas. The buildings and grounds look great from the pictures, so conferences and receptions should be a reasonably easy sell.

[Mustang]

Oh, and I applaud you for going a different direction in your career path. Never easy. Congrats. :)

[hhiipp]

Are you hiring? This lady may be looking for a job.

http://tinyurl.com/3bqkd9 (youtube)

[Ragone]

hmm, i live like 7 minutes from the place.. as does kcchief. odd eh?

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

hmm, i live like 7 minutes from the place.. as does kcchief. odd eh?

FOFC Happy Hour??????

[Arles]

Nice work, MBBF. Sounds like a cool idea and I hope things go well. Keep us posted!

[Lathum]

I'm not drinking any Merlot!!

congrats and good luck!

[Philliesfan980]

So you married into money. Congrats!

[Glengoyne]

A winery. What are you making Ice wine? It is freaking freezing here. I'm in St. Louis on business, and thought I'd chime in.

Oh and congrats on the new line of work. Best of Luck!

[Mustang]

By the way, any thoughts into turning parts of it back into a hotel or bed and breakfast? With making it a wedding place, you might have some good tie ins with offering space to stay from out of town attendents.

[spleen1015]

DAMN! This is what happens when you're a fan boy for Sony?!

Seriously, grats and good luck, man.

[tarcone]

I really like Liberty. My wife and I applied for teaching jobs there about 8 years ago. Didnt get the jobs. But we really liked it.

Good luck.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

By the way, any thoughts into turning parts of it back into a hotel or bed and breakfast? With making it a wedding place, you might have some good tie ins with offering space to stay from out of town attendents.

Already have designed it. Third floor will contain 6 smaller rooms and 1 large bridal suite. The idea is to have enough rooms so the entire bridal party will be able to stay at the winery overnight rather than drive after the reception, but it could easily be used for family too. We need to get the winery up and running to get some income. Once we get some money, we can do the work on that floor and finish the entire building.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

I really like Liberty. My wife and I applied for teaching jobs there about 8 years ago. Didnt get the jobs. But we really liked it.

Good luck.

Liberty is opening a second high school in the fall. But I don't think any teaching jobs are available. They were snapped up internally by existing Liberty teachers.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

A winery. What are you making Ice wine? It is freaking freezing here. I'm in St. Louis on business, and thought I'd chime in.

Oh and congrats on the new line of work. Best of Luck!

I would love to make some ice wine, but we don't have the right kinds of grapes planted currently to do that. You have to have a grape that ripens in November to do that.

[lungs]

Sounds similar to a degree to my local winery (http://www.wollersheim.com/).

One of my best friends works in the vineyard and I let the owner do arrowhead hunting on my land.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Sounds similar to a degree to my local winery (http://www.wollersheim.com/).

One of my best friends works in the vineyard and I let the owner do arrowhead hunting on my land.

Thanks for sharing. Pretty cool place.

[Ragone]

You may wanna put some sort of direction/address/mapquest link on that site.. so you can get more potential traffic mbbf..

Obviously i know exactly where it is, but random surfers may not.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

You may wanna put some sort of direction/address/mapquest link on that site.. so you can get more potential traffic mbbf..

Obviously i know exactly where it is, but random surfers may not.

Yeah, someone suggested that before. I'm going to be adding some more information on directions and prices for room rentals this weekend. Of course, we don't want anyone showing up yet since we don't open for another 6 months. I may boldface the part of the front page that says Opening August 2010 just to get the point across. :)

[stevew]

If we could somehow mend this thread with the fragrance making thread, it would be awesome.

[Izulde]

Congrats, MBBF. This sounds like an awesome career path.

[Lathum]

If we could somehow mend this thread with the fragrance making thread, it would be awesome.

Congrats, MBBF. This sounds like an awesome career path.

:lol:

The timing on this had to be planned.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Of course, we don't want anyone showing up yet since we don't open for another 6 months. I may boldface the part of the front page that says Opening August 2010 just to get the point across. :)

A possibility to help avoid that while still improving the geographical understanding of where you are might be a short but hard to miss text paragraph describing the location as "conveniently located X miles East of whatever and less than an hour's drive from Y&Z", etc.

Would make it tougher for premature lookie-loos but still make it more identifiable for potential customers.

[Apathetic Lurker]

Make sure you send me a few bottles...Purely for testing purposes you understand.

[Marc Vaughan]

That place looks incredible - best of luck :D

[Karlifornia]

They sure as hell don't have wineries like that in Austin, Texas!

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

I received a dose of good info yesterday. Met with a beer distribution representative yesterday. Found out that I can get tents, rolling bars, and cups for free. Two good things about that:

1. Before now, we were quoting rental prices on tents to brides. Some couldn't afford the site rental and the tent rental. Now, we can offer a basic tent at no cost and allow them to still have their wedding on our location. If brides want fancier tents, they can still rent them.

2. We're likely going to use the free tents to host an Octoberfest event every Friday night on the property during October. Should be a great way to get the community out to the site while making a good piece of money.

[Mustang]

I received a dose of good info yesterday. Met with a beer distribution representative yesterday. Found out that I can get tents, rolling bars, and cups for free. Two good things about that:


Careful about putting up a beer tent, a football game could break out.

[MrBug708]

I went to school in beverage marketing with an emphasis in wines. Good luck

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

I went to school in beverage marketing with an emphasis in wines. Good luck

Did you major in marketing the wines or drinking the wines????

[Swaggs]

Everytime I see this thread title, I can't help but think about "Boats and Hoes."

[sterlingice]

I missed this thread the first time around.

Congrats and good luck!

SI

[MrBug708]

Did you major in marketing the wines or drinking the wines????

I majored in Hospitality Management in college, with an emphasis in Beverage Marketing. So I actually received college credit for almost getting drunk. I also ended up becoming a Sommelier and was the teachers assistant for the Intro Wines class. My advisor in the program runs the LA County Wine Faire, so I've been able to mingle with some pretty important wine people over the years. It was great at the time, but not very useful in the real world IMO.

[cartman]

They sure as hell don't have wineries like that in Austin, Texas!

Not in Austin proper, but we do have two awesome ones here in little ole' Driftwood (pop. <300)!

The Mandola Estate Winery (http://mandolaestatewinery.com/)

Driftwood Vineyards (http://www.driftwoodvineyards.com/)

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Not in Austin proper, but we do have two awesome ones here in little ole' Driftwood (pop. <300)!

The Mandola Estate Winery (http://mandolaestatewinery.com/)

Driftwood Vineyards (http://www.driftwoodvineyards.com/)

Thanks for posting those sites. The Driftwood site design is terrible, but I love their pavillion and deck areas. Would really love to build something like that at our winery. A big open air pavillion with a roof.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Went to the Missouri Grape and Wine Convention over the weekend. Learned a ton of stuff about how to optimize the marketing of the winery/event center. We also purchased 300 Chambourcin and 300 Vignole grape vines for planting in the spring.

Oh, and we had more wine in one 3 day weekend than most people should every be allowed to drink.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Things are starting to pick up. We just booked our third wedding. We currently have one wedding in September 2010, one in May 2011, and one in July 2011.

I'm currently talking with around 20 brides about having their weddings at our winery. One thing I've found is that their decision process goes much quicker if another bride is interested in their date. Two of our recent commitments occurred when another person expressed interest in the same date being considered by another bride.

I've found that it's best to be very honest with the brides and their family. They know exactly what they're looking for and you have to tell them up front if their plans may not work exactly as they'd like. We've had several brides come by and it just wasn't going to work out with them, but most of them commented that they'd be back to the winery once it opens just to enjoy the wine and historic nature of the property.

We've also managed to stir up a lot of civic pride mostly by word of mouth, newspaper articles in the local paper and Facebook. A lot of times, you wonder if it's working, but we've had an increasing amount of feedback from people that are excited that their town is going to have a winery that they can come visit, bring guests, and even get married or hold corporate functions. We've even been approached by the local symphony and local bands about holding concerts on the property.

One of the best ways we've got the word out is that my father-in-law is a family practice doctor who has patients pouring through his office doors every day. He can put up things in his office and it quickly spread the word about the opening along with events once we open. He's always been very good to his patients and I know they're very thankful that he's restoring a city landmark to something everyone can enjoy.

[MizzouRah]

Good for you MMBF, it must be exciting!

I expect a Mizzou football rally this summer!

[flere-imsaho]

Congratulations, sounds like it's going well.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Good for you MMBF, it must be exciting!

I expect a Mizzou football rally this summer!

Yeah, I'd love to have some watch parties and I've had some preliminary chats with Tiger Club of KC. I hit it off big with one of the dads touring with his daughter/bride simply because I was wearing a Mizzou sweatshirt. Huge Tiger fan as I found out.

[Lathum]

Sounds great, keep up the good work!

[JPhillips]

Have you looked into using Google to do spot media buys? I wonder how much it would cost to do a short run during some TLC wedding shows?

[3ric]

Wow, sounds great... I'm starting to get really interested in wine, to the point I've begun to collect enough bottles for a small wine cellar. Good luck, I'd be happy to read updates on the winery and your products.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Have you looked into using Google to do spot media buys? I wonder how much it would cost to do a short run during some TLC wedding shows?

National (which is Google's scope) would likely be wasted on a local/regional product.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Have you looked into using Google to do spot media buys? I wonder how much it would cost to do a short run during some TLC wedding shows?

Haven't done that.

I've been amazed at how much marketing focus is on Facebook now. You can do viral marketing for free in most cases and we're getting people adding our Facebook page every week. I'm actually going to add a Facebook page link to our website probably this week. It's an easy way to do quick info blasts to drum up interest in the business as long as you don't send out too many of them.

I forgot to mention, but I'm also designing wine labels right now. I think I'm going to go with a standard design with variations on each label (i.e. same picture of the main building with varying photoshopped designs). I'll probably toss up some examples here when I get done just to get a straw poll of what everyone thinks would work well. We're going to have 6 different production wines:

White semi-dry
Red semi-dry
White semi-sweet
Red semi-sweet
White sweet
Red sweet

I'll have to create a different label and name for each one. Feel free to toss up some name suggestions if you have one. They don't all have to be fancy names. We'll also have a red port or 'fortified' wine. We don't have a dry at this point because dry wines just don't sell well in Missouri. 60% of all of our wines sales will be either the white or red sweet (dessert) wine.

[JPhillips]

National (which is Google's scope) would likely be wasted on a local/regional product.

Yeah I was thinking local cable ads, but I don't know if Google can do that.

[flere-imsaho]

What grapes are you growing?

[JonInMiddleGA]

Yeah I was thinking local cable ads, but I don't know if Google can do that.

The problem for a lot of first time TV advertisers is that the cost of producing the spot exceeds the amount of money they intended to spend on running the spot, and they end up paying that little bit more on making a commercial that they then can't afford to run anywhere.

In a case like this (where image is an important part of the product) it's critical that the production be good quality. The local ads for Joe's Drug Store that look like they were shot with your uncle's handy cam aren't going to cut it. Sometimes you'll get "deals" from the cable company to produce the spot but I don't think I've ever seen one that wasn't an example a getting what you pay for.

With a property this size & scope I'd figure on a bare minimum of $4k to shoot the spot & that doesn't count the rights fee for any music, talent buyouts (you often pay for the right to use a voiceover for X weeks or months and then the "talent expires" so you're stuck writing another check or paying more up front for a longer buyout). And that's with me religiously avoiding the use of any unionized talent, if that's an issue in Missouri then you can add anywhere from 50% to 150% more to the cost right off the bat.

If you get past the cost of doing good production for a (relatively) small business then the spots themselves aren't all that expensive, especially in off-peak & worse times. With cable it becomes largely a matter of throwing enough weight at the target, but you have to remember that you're often reaching audiences of less than 1,000 people even in decent sized markets. Heck, I've seen smaller medium markets (say Knoxville up to the size of Nashville) where A25-54 audiences in prime cable were <100. At some point you can reach more people with a local/regional magazine ad or print or by sticking three flyers on telephone poles outside a corner bakery.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

I think our primary work is going to be putting together some videos and photos of our location once the renovation is complete. Brides like to see things rather than have you describe it. It makes the sell a lot easier when they can see how beautiful your place is rather than hear you saying how beautiful it is.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

What grapes are you growing?

--New York Muscat (white)
--Chambourcin (red)
--Cynthiana Norton (red & official state grape)
--Chardonel (white)

[JPhillips]

The problem for a lot of first time TV advertisers is that the cost of producing the spot exceeds the amount of money they intended to spend on running the spot, and they end up paying that little bit more on making a commercial that they then can't afford to run anywhere.

In a case like this (where image is an important part of the product) it's critical that the production be good quality. The local ads for Joe's Drug Store that look like they were shot with your uncle's handy cam aren't going to cut it. Sometimes you'll get "deals" from the cable company to produce the spot but I don't think I've ever seen one that wasn't an example a getting what you pay for.

With a property this size & scope I'd figure on a bare minimum of $4k to shoot the spot & that doesn't count the rights fee for any music, talent buyouts (you often pay for the right to use a voiceover for X weeks or months and then the "talent expires" so you're stuck writing another check or paying more up front for a longer buyout). And that's with me religiously avoiding the use of any unionized talent, if that's an issue in Missouri then you can add anywhere from 50% to 150% more to the cost right off the bat.

If you get past the cost of doing good production for a (relatively) small business then the spots themselves aren't all that expensive, especially in off-peak & worse times. With cable it becomes largely a matter of throwing enough weight at the target, but you have to remember that you're often reaching audiences of less than 1,000 people even in decent sized markets. Heck, I've seen smaller medium markets (say Knoxville up to the size of Nashville) where A25-54 audiences in prime cable were <100. At some point you can reach more people with a local/regional magazine ad or print or by sticking three flyers on telephone poles outside a corner bakery.

You'd know better than I.

I wonder if Mizzou could eventually work out wedding fashion shows or small trade shows to draw people in. Doing some sort of caterer fair might be a good way to get people onto the property.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

You'd know better than I.

I wonder if Mizzou could eventually work out wedding fashion shows or small trade shows to draw people in. Doing some sort of caterer fair might be a good way to get people onto the property.

We're considering holding a wine tasting festival next year and bring some of the wineries on this end of the state together. A similar deal in the area last week brought in over 1,000 people in a day.

We've also got every Friday in October scheduled for an Oktoberfest. Beer, wine and German food with certain portion of profit going to a different charity each week. Good way to get people out to see the place to support their favorite charity or just hang out with friends.

[rjolley]

Good luck on the winery, MBBF.

If I ever make it back to KC, I'll be sure to stop through and sample some wine on the FOFC plan. :)

[RainMaker]

We've also managed to stir up a lot of civic pride mostly by word of mouth, newspaper articles in the local paper and Facebook. A lot of times, you wonder if it's working, but we've had an increasing amount of feedback from people that are excited that their town is going to have a winery that they can come visit, bring guests, and even get married or hold corporate functions. We've even been approached by the local symphony and local bands about holding concerts on the property.

Didn't even think about that but it makes sense. I'd be pretty stoked if a winery moved into my town. Gives the town a more high class feel and probably raises overall property value.

When do we get to buy booze from it?

[k0ruptr]

missed this thread the first time around, sounds totally awesome and I wish you the best of luck.

[DaddyTorgo]

yeah - when does the booze go on sale?? hehe

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

yeah - when does the booze go on sale?? hehe

Assuming you live in a state where wine can be shipped, it wouldn't be difficult. I'll set something up for anyone who wants some.

Didn't even think about that but it makes sense. I'd be pretty stoked if a winery moved into my town. Gives the town a more high class feel and probably raises overall property value.

That's exactly the feedback we're getting. There's several small wineries in the KC area and just outside of town, but none of them have a 100+ year old building with historical importance and dining rooms with antique chandeliers for weddings/meetings. There's not many really nice places to hold events on this end of Kansas City.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Really happy with the progress right now. Our wedding gazebo is nearly assembled, which makes it a whole lot easier to sell brides on our location when I take them through it. Everything on the property is getting green (grass, trees, flowers, etc) which also helps quite a bit. I spend 4 1/2 hours on Saturday in the cab of a John Deere tractor. Mowed around 40 acres around the buildings. Looks great.

We also put together some preliminary ideas for landscaping. I think we're going to try to keep it simple and in line with the landscaping that you would have seen during the 1920s-1930s. We're going to put hedge rows along the sidewalk that will be trimmed into a 3 foot tall box. It allows us to frame the sidewalk and give it a nice curb appeal and also keeps people off the lawn areas. We'll also be putting in ornate stone flower pots along the path to allow some color while keeping maintenance to a minimum. It'll allow us to do some nice landscaping at a minimal price.

Met with a couple yesterday to book a Monday evening wedding. They were a family who was looking to do something on a shoestring budget and they were able to have their wedding at our place during the week for a fraction of the price they would have paid on the weekend. I was actually really excited for them. Felt great to give a young couple the opportunity to begin their marriage at a nice place while not breaking their budget.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

I've started looking around and finding quite a few people who are financially secure and retired who are looking for a social outlet. I've talked to a few people like this and I think we're going to use some of them as volunteers. They all express excitement about the historical significance of the buildings and the opportunity to meet people through giving tours and wine tastings. I obviously like the idea because it provides a great promotional outlet for the winery (these people will tell their friends and spread the good word) while I'm also able to run the place with a couple less resources. It's a mutually beneficial situation.

I spoke with a lady who was around 55-60 about the opportunity yesterday. She just moved here from California a month ago. Lost her husband a year ago. Basically told her I'd like to have her do some historic tours and some wine tasting. She's pretty talkative and very friendly, which is a great fit. Told her if things go well that we may switch her over to a paying position at some point. She's also a member of the local Women's Auxiliary (VFW), so she could help me connect with other people who could be customers or volunteers.

I mentioned to her that kids have broken into the place while it was vacant because of the haunting rumors. I mentioned to her that I was a curious skeptic and had never had any tangible experiences on the property. She said she was also a skeptic........until she renovated her kitchen and a man started showing up in the kitchen. Her daughter first saw him and flipped out. The lady later saw his head and upper torso in the kitchen. Said a lot of 'interesting' stuff happened. She's no longer a skeptic.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Found another excellent marketing opportunity. The Greater KC Area Visitor and Convention group (visitkc.com) offers 225,000 visitor guides per year plus 3,000 convention organizer guides to people who run conventions or visit the city. Only costs $500 for a yearly membership. In addition to being listed as a tourist destination, they also have several groups a week that put in requests for a place to hold a one-day meeting. Our facility would be a great match for that option.

Also had an interesting news item yesterday that could substantially boost our traffic. Missouri has a maximum of 15 casino licenses in the state. The President Casino in STL is closing down. As a result, a license is up for bid. One of the bidders is proposing a new casino only a mile or so from our location. If it happens, it would be a huge boost for us. Fingers crossed.

[OldGiants]

One marketing tip I learned from my daughter's recent Disney wedding is the photographers. They are very important in a number of ways. Most obviously is that if they work at your winery, they will tell people about. They will use pictures in their marketing brochures, and you want to be in those.

More subtle is that different photographers are better at different things. For example, my daughter chose one photographer to take the outdoor ceremony pictures at the Boardwalk hotel at noon and another to take the dessert reception pictures during the EPCOT fireworks display at night. Why? Because the second photographer has the reputation as taking great fireworks pictures--and he lived up to that.

If you can, take the time to find out which photographers take great pictures at your winery and what time of day and where on the site. Encourage them to take shots beforehand and let you see them. You may have a need for these kind of photos, too.

Remember, after the wedding all the memories are in the pictures. You want people to be able to show great shots to their friends and relatives, so you want the best photographers to do the work--not necessarily the cheapest.

Check out the local photography Facebook pages. That's one way my daughter researched photographers.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

One marketing tip I learned from my daughter's recent Disney wedding is the photographers. They are very important in a number of ways. Most obviously is that if they work at your winery, they will tell people about. They will use pictures in their marketing brochures, and you want to be in those.

More subtle is that different photographers are better at different things. For example, my daughter chose one photographer to take the outdoor ceremony pictures at the Boardwalk hotel at noon and another to take the dessert reception pictures during the EPCOT fireworks display at night. Why? Because the second photographer has the reputation as taking great fireworks pictures--and he lived up to that.

If you can, take the time to find out which photographers take great pictures at your winery and what time of day and where on the site. Encourage them to take shots beforehand and let you see them. You may have a need for these kind of photos, too.

Remember, after the wedding all the memories are in the pictures. You want people to be able to show great shots to their friends and relatives, so you want the best photographers to do the work--not necessarily the cheapest.

Check out the local photography Facebook pages. That's one way my daughter researched photographers.

We've actually already done this with a few photographers. Should be getting some back pretty soon.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Some updated pictures. View from the front near the fountain up the sidewalk to the building.......

<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/Qmod2dA2lLvAv8qgKdLuFnui89iO2T1-z_SWmsEavT4?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_dK3_Cu8Y2q0/S_RWO6HmG2I/AAAAAAAAOd4/0xTvM9j-cy4/s800/045.JPG" /></a>

<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/313M50rV8LdoJRju6SbJWnui89iO2T1-z_SWmsEavT4?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_dK3_Cu8Y2q0/S_RWRIwDxWI/AAAAAAAAOeI/dX1iOQn0A30/s800/047.JPG" /></a>

View of the just completed wedding gazebo. It's hand carved white marble and really looks fantastic. We weatherproofed the metal roof material with paint that is used for protecting pick-up truck beds.

<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/BcPwh2B9r-GMhtLaoHIHA3ui89iO2T1-z_SWmsEavT4?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_dK3_Cu8Y2q0/S_RWV4Py7JI/AAAAAAAAOe0/CbFunVvtGRs/s800/052.JPG" /></a>

Looking in through the gazebo entrance.......

<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/-AIAh1xTlKUpYJD6YflvWHui89iO2T1-z_SWmsEavT4?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_dK3_Cu8Y2q0/S_RWRwBOy0I/AAAAAAAAOeQ/AEbs9CB59no/s800/048.JPG" /></a>

[DaddyTorgo]

Wow...nice gazebo!!

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

I gave my two week notice at my current job. As of June 25th, I'll be unemployed for a couple of months while I work on the building and all the associated paperwork. Should be interesting to say the least.

We continue to get lots of interest in the property via e-mail. I really feel like this is going to work very well. Our only real hurdle to a lot of bookings is just getting the building renovated, which should be done by the end of August. Even the addition of drywall and renovated flooring (mid-July) should have a profound impact on potential event clients since it will start looking like a real building at that point. I also just received a Google Voice invite and will set up a phone number and message so we have phone access for potential customers.

Work was started yesterday on our new parking lot. Once they finish that, they plan to move on to repaving the existing roads on the property. Should really help the curb appeal to have those things complete. We'll also be adding a couple of sidewalks by the wedding gazebo to avoid any issues with trampled-down grass where the people/bridal party will walk between the gazebo and the fountain.

[johnnyshaka]

Congrats and good luck!!

[OldGiants]

Congrats and good luck!!

Absolutely!!

Best of luck.:)

Great location. The gazebo and the fountain will make great photo spots. Does the fountain work (dumb question)? Also does it have spot lights that can have different color filters placed on it? Some brides don't look good in harsh light, others look best in orange light, I'm told.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Absolutely!!

Best of luck.:)

Great location. The gazebo and the fountain will make great photo spots. Does the fountain work (dumb question)? Also does it have spot lights that can have different color filters placed on it? Some brides don't look good in harsh light, others look best in orange light, I'm told.

Never a dumb question. :) The fountain does work, though we obviously aren't running it right now. Takes a good chunk of power to run it on a regular basis. No lights yet, but that will definitely be a consideration over the winter.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Couple of new developments this week. On Saturday, we're going to have our first engagement on the property. Guy is going to bring out his girlfriend as a grape growing tour with a meal in the gazebo to follow. What she doesn't know is that he's going to drop on a knee in the gazebo. Should be fun. Obviously a good opportunity for a wedding down the road as well. :)

I've also started working on setting up ghost tours/investigations on the property. There's a group that brings in the gear and charges people for a 5-6 hour investigation of the property. We get a portion of the fee they charge for use of the property. They want to do them weekly if possible, which would be nice. Extra revenue at no cost to us.

[Mustang]

I've also started working on setting up ghost tours/investigations on the property.

Does your place have a history of ghost sightings?

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Does your place have a history of ghost sightings?

It does have a history behind it. I'm not sure how much is real and how much is fiction, but I'll likely know pretty quickly once I start working there on a daily basis. While we have quite a bit of interest in the wine and very good interest in the weddings, there's a TON of interest in the paranormal history of the place and what does and does not happen at the buildings.

As soon as we announce availability for these tours, they'll likely sell out in a week or two and we'll have to create a waiting list. People have literally been waiting for this opportunity for 15+ years. We've been getting steady requests for access by paranormal investigators for at least that long. Until now, the buildings haven't been safe enough to allow the public into them. Now, we'll have one building fully accessible. It's all a bit crazy, but it should draw even more interest to the winery which is great for us.

[DaddyTorgo]

Silly...yet cool. And hey, like you said...extra revenue at no cost to you!

[Mustang]

but I'll likely know pretty quickly once I start working there on a daily basis.

All work and no PS3 makes MBBF a dull boy...

Heeeeeeere's Mizzou!

:)

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Silly...yet cool. And hey, like you said...extra revenue at no cost to you!

There's no one that wants paranormal activity in that place more than I do. If someone finds any sort of evidence, our reputation would explode and it would be huge for us. However, I refuse to make anything up. I'd call myself an interested skeptic. I really want to see or hear something that defies explanation, but it'll have to be something good before I believe it. We've got multiple security cameras inside and outside the building that are recording 24/7. If something happens there, we'll catch it on video whether it's paranormal or not.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

All work and no PS3 makes MBBF a dull boy...

Heeeeeeere's Mizzou!

:)

I may or may not be moving my 2nd PS3 out there once we open up. Strictly for Singstar Karaoke of course. :)

[Mustang]

What are some of the stories / rumors behind the place?

[lungs]

I gave my two week notice at my current job.

Great, there goes my inside contact to cheat on the government payments to my farm. :)

The pictures look awesome, I must say.

[Logan]

I know there's a buyer for everything, especially when it comes to weird shit, but you should probably do a pretty thorough evaluation on whether you want to pursue the paranormal activity side of it. Not sure where you're expecting your highest profit margin to come from, but I can't see many people wanting to get married in such a place though. Could very well just be me of course.

[JonInMiddleGA]

but I can't see many people wanting to get married in such a place though. Could very well just be me of course.

I'd figure just the opposite effect, if any.

[Logan]

I'd figure just the opposite effect, if any.

Yeah probably a regional thing.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

What are some of the stories / rumors behind the place?

Apparitions of kids (place had a lot of orphans), footsteps, cold spots, some voices and knocking. There's some stories behind the kids that may or may not be true, but we do know that some orphans passed away of disease on the property and the northernmost building was a hospital for 40 years, so there's plenty of good reasons for the place to have paranormal activity.

Great, there goes my inside contact to cheat on the government payments to my farm. :)

The pictures look awesome, I must say.

Thanks. I can certainly pass on other contacts. :)

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

I know there's a buyer for everything, especially when it comes to weird shit, but you should probably do a pretty thorough evaluation on whether you want to pursue the paranormal activity side of it. Not sure where you're expecting your highest profit margin to come from, but I can't see many people wanting to get married in such a place though. Could very well just be me of course.

Yeah, it's just you. :D

Paranormal activity is a HUGE draw. If anyone ever got some significant evidence at our property, the business would go through the roof.

A good example that I'd give you is the Crescent Hotel in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. They were holding ghost tours down there in that place, but it was mostly just stories. The Ghost Hunters program went down there to that hotel and got some pretty interesting video evidence. That little snippit made that hotel. Their bookings skyrocketed. They've got certain rooms with paranormal activity that you have to book 12 months in advance for weekend stays.

We have future plans for 7 rooms where people can stay. Those rooms will book solid for overnight stays on the weekend if evidence is documented. I know that I've experienced some odd feelings out there, but nothing that I can substantiate. That's why I'd prefer to remain an interested skeptic.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Just received an e-mail from the feds saying our 2009 wine labels have been approved. Some vivid colors on these labels with names that have meaning to the family.

Label Album | Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=181468&id=281740524521&ref=pb)

[Mustang]

Apparitions of kids (place had a lot of orphans)

I can't visit. I'm afraid of little girl ghosts.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

I can't visit. I'm afraid of little girl ghosts.

You play too many video games. :D

[DaddyTorgo]

In your facebook page in the box under the picture (is that the info box, I don't know), the text gets cut off after "A fantastic wedding locat".

You might want to clean that up a little? "Available for weddings" might be short enough to fit? Or something.

Also - you planning on repaving the stones on the walkway (to and from the fountain) at some point I presume?

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

In your facebook page in the box under the picture (is that the info box, I don't know), the text gets cut off after "A fantastic wedding locat".

You might want to clean that up a little? "Available for weddings" might be short enough to fit? Or something.

Also - you planning on repaving the stones on the walkway (to and from the fountain) at some point I presume?

I'll have to check that box at a lower resolution. I'm able to see all of the text. Thanks for the heads-up.

Cement work starts in two weeks. We won't be repaving all of it, but we'll knock out the spots that really need it and seal the other areas.

[DaddyTorgo]

I'll have to check that box at a lower resolution. I'm able to see all of the text. Thanks for the heads-up.

Cement work starts in two weeks. We won't be repaving all of it, but we'll knock out the spots that really need it and seal the other areas.

FYI - My resolution on this machine is at 1440 x 900. I suspect that's on the higher end of common these days, surely for "casual" users.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

FYI - My resolution on this machine is at 1440 x 900. I suspect that's on the higher end of common these days, surely for "casual" users.

Yeah, that's definitely plenty. :)

I'll double check it tonight. Thanks.

[DaddyTorgo]

Yeah, that's definitely plenty. :)

I'll double check it tonight. Thanks.


No prob!!

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Been a while since I've updated this thread. Saturday was our first wedding and it went EXTREMELY well. All of the parents were very complimentary and the bride and groom thanked me several times over. The guests loved our property. All of that praise was so rewarding after working as late as 2:00 AM the week or two before the wedding. Here's some pics of the ceremony site........

<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/U2X_D5_XZU3EiPsHfHgdTOxDex_ANoFaCoU9Y10GDA4?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_dK3_Cu8Y2q0/TIVAprzjmoI/AAAAAAAAPKA/u0GxMXVvxVY/s800/gazebo3.jpg" /></a>

<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/50AUA6PTDgA2RTlgFj35--xDex_ANoFaCoU9Y10GDA4?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_dK3_Cu8Y2q0/TIVAod4l_1I/AAAAAAAAPJo/8WlU5oeMDf4/s800/gazebo.jpg" /></a>

<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/5xC7wT5boMUnq6TwQTE2qexDex_ANoFaCoU9Y10GDA4?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_dK3_Cu8Y2q0/TIVAp3NipqI/AAAAAAAAPKI/Edad0LYJ9Bw/s800/gazebo2.jpg" /></a>

The reception tent............

<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/WlTvzlXKPg-7rtkbdJYLX-xDex_ANoFaCoU9Y10GDA4?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_dK3_Cu8Y2q0/TIVAo-CklaI/AAAAAAAAPJw/VNsUdbEuDwo/s800/tent1.jpg" /></a>

<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/-PW7CJfVw0KlM5Op0uC6bOxDex_ANoFaCoU9Y10GDA4?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_dK3_Cu8Y2q0/TIVApFTJdJI/AAAAAAAAPJ4/YJzfjAxPU-g/s800/tent2.jpg" /></a>

Looking back towards the building..............

<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/_hVza2NLRxDWzzsmk8myQuxDex_ANoFaCoU9Y10GDA4?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_dK3_Cu8Y2q0/TIVAqV_ou8I/AAAAAAAAPKQ/eHEOe7Ma1-s/s800/fountain1.jpg" /></a>

We've still got a month of renovations to complete, but we've already got about 15 events booked on our calendar. We've finished a brick patio on the front of the building. The interior is now being drywalled and we should be painting/trimming later next week.

Our paranormal events that we've scheduled are selling very well. We're likely going to have to add more public events this fall to meet demand. We've already scheduled two additional private events for groups who were able to get together 30 people. We've got a media event at our site tomorrow night that will have all TV and newspaper media in attendance. Its primary purpose is to promote the paranormal events. We're going to get a lot of coverage for the winery as well.

It's amazing to work so hard on something and see it succeed beyond your expectations. Word-of-mouth has spread like wild fire. I booked three weddings just this weekend. We're so excited.

[SackAttack]

Yeah, I'd love to have some watch parties and I've had some preliminary chats with Tiger Club of KC. I hit it off big with one of the dads touring with his daughter/bride simply because I was wearing a Mizzou sweatshirt. Huge Tiger fan as I found out.

Hey, uh, MBBF?

You might want to watch that in the future. We can probably guess from context that the daughter is also a bride-to-be...but the juxtaposition of those two adjectives probably says things about your clientele you don't intend it to. :D

[jeff061]

Very very cool, congrats on your success. Great to see it chronicled from the start.

[MrBug708]

Hey, uh, MBBF?

You might want to watch that in the future. We can probably guess from context that the daughter is also a bride-to-be...but the juxtaposition of those two adjectives probably says things about your clientele you don't intend it to. :D

Well it IS Missouri! :)

Looks really nice Mizzou, almost like a golf course or a cemetery. Any plans on adding some more trees in the future?

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Looks really nice Mizzou, almost like a golf course or a cemetery. Any plans on adding some more trees in the future?

Well, the cemetery is actually in the back. It's actually my favorite part of the property. It's the second highest point in the county and you can see the Missouri River from that point. Very peaceful. We have around 600 permanent residents.

Trees are just about right. All of our trees are 80-100 years old. So we don't have quite as many, but they're very large where we do have them.

[JPhillips]

Yeah, looks really nice. The only thing I don't like is the concrete and the wall around the fountain, but that may look better IRL.

[Izulde]

Beautiful looking property. Glad to hear things are going well!

[DaddyTorgo]

Yeah, looks really nice. The only thing I don't like is the concrete and the wall around the fountain, but that may look better IRL.

Yeah - I think it would look much more period-accurate if it was brick. particularly if it was like..."reclaimed bricks."

But maybe it looks better when you're there - or that's already in the cards.

[OldGiants]

Gorgeous site. Really coming along well.

Are you sure you are really in MissourI? :)

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Had an article in the local paper today about the upcoming paranormal events........

Did you hear that? | Community Living | Community Living | Liberty Tribune (http://www.libertytribune.com/2010091610715/community-living/community-living/did-you-hear-that.html)

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Another update........

We've had two Ghosts and Grapes events thus far. Both were in the afternoon. We have all six wines available for tasting along with cheese/cookies/crackers. We bring in three paranormal speakers to talk with the group. Lots of interaction between speakers and guests, which is great. They often have a lot of questions and are excited to get some answers. We sell wine afterwards.

We've also now had two paranormal investigations. They go from 8:00 PM to 2:00 AM. We have up to 40 guests. They're broken up into 5-6 smaller groups and taken to some of the areas where paranormal experiences occur. The investigators provide a lot of information and equipment for the guests to work with. It's been a fantastic success thus far, both financially and for exposure via word of mouth.

The great part is that we've had nearly 80 people on our site for the investigations. Out of those 80 guests, only THREE have not experienced something paranormal during their investigation. Ghosts obviously don't perform on demand, so to have that level of activity on the property is really exciting for us. We actually had a total skeptic last night who was touched by something that wasn't there. I wasn't there at the time, but I was told that it was a surprising experience for this person.

A week ago, we had three ladies in their 60's who were goofing around and decided to sing 'Ring around the Rosies'. They were laughing as they sang it. When they finished, a child's voice continued to sing 'pocket full of posies' in a corner of the room. It was also captured on audio. The investigator that was there at the time said that the ladies sat stone-faced in the corner of the room and didn't even talk for the last half-hour that they were in that room.

I was also contacted by Southern Living Magazine. They will be putting our December paranormal events in their December Calendar of Events. It includes our logo/phone #/website and information about the events. We've also been contacted by Universal Studios who wants to cross-promote an upcoming horror movie with our events. Amazing to see so much happening and we're not even going to be open until around Halloween.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

We were featured in an article about businesses who incorporate the paranormal into their business plans. You may or may not recognize the goofy guy in the photo..........

Savvy businesses use talk of the supernatural to have more than a ghost of a chance of success - KansasCity.com (http://www.kansascity.com/2010/10/29/2370535/savvy-businesses-use-talk-of-the.html)

[tarcone]

Do you allow people to stay. Like a B&B or a hotel? I guess Im asking, if my wife and myself were to go away for a weekend away from the kids, would this be a place I could do that?

Im too tired/lazy to search your site right now. :)

Congrats on all your success. It is awesome to hear.

[Lathum]

We were featured in an article about businesses who incorporate the paranormal into their business plans. You may or may not recognize the goofy guy in the photo..........

Savvy businesses use talk of the supernatural to have more than a ghost of a chance of success - KansasCity.com (http://www.kansascity.com/2010/10/29/2370535/savvy-businesses-use-talk-of-the.html)

that is awesome man, congrats and continued success!

[Izulde]

that is awesome man, congrats and continued success!

+1

[JonInMiddleGA]

that is awesome man, congrats and continued success!

+2

[3ric]

A week ago, we had three ladies in their 60's who were goofing around and decided to sing 'Ring around the Rosies'. They were laughing as they sang it. When they finished, a child's voice continued to sing 'pocket full of posies' in a corner of the room. It was also captured on audio. The investigator that was there at the time said that the ladies sat stone-faced in the corner of the room and didn't even talk for the last half-hour that they were in that room.


Wow, that's great when the hauntings actually deliver as promised. Awesome!

[sterlingice]

that is awesome man, congrats and continued success!

+3

SI

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Do you allow people to stay. Like a B&B or a hotel? I guess Im asking, if my wife and myself were to go away for a weekend away from the kids, would this be a place I could do that?

Im too tired/lazy to search your site right now. :)

Congrats on all your success. It is awesome to hear.

We have plans to do a bed and breakfast on the third floor, but that's future renovation at this point until we make some money.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

More great PR for us. We were featured on a local TV news telecast. Video link below.........

Larry's Ghost Stories: The Haunted Winery - Kansas City News Story - KMBC Kansas City (http://www.kmbc.com/news/25569875/detail.html)

[tarcone]

Awesome. Have you seen a ghost yet?

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Awesome. Have you seen a ghost yet?

I have not SEEN any apparitions. I did have an experience about three weeks ago. I came into the building around 7:00 AM. I knew there was one worker named Chris on the property. When I came in through the front door, I heard footsteps on the second floor. I went upstairs to help Chris do some work. When I got up to the second floor, I couldn't find him anywhere and there's only one staircase to the second floor. I checked the entire second and third floor and found no one. I then looked out the back window and saw Chris working with the horses about a quarter mile from the building.

It was really weird because I assumed when I heard footsteps that it was a person upstairs. At the time, I never considered the option that no one was upstairs. The feeling that you get when you realize that you experienced something paranormal really does make the hair stand on end. My arms were covered in goosebumps and the hair on my arms was standing straight up.

I would mention that all the evidence from the public investigations goes up on PRI Team (www.priteam.com) in their forums. You do have to register for the forum to hear the evidence, but there's some pretty neat stuff. I'd suggest listening to the files with headphones on to hear it well.

There's a public investigation actually going on right now until 2:00 AM. The guests were pretty excited to be in the buildings on Halloween weekend. We had guests from five different states in tonight's group.

[Buccaneer]

I had not seen this before and it is very impressive. Lots of hard work that seems to be paying off.

By the way, my wife went to Jewell College for a year.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

I had not seen this before and it is very impressive. Lots of hard work that seems to be paying off.

By the way, my wife went to Jewell College for a year.

I'm a graduate of William Jewell College. Glad I went there when it wasn't too expensive. It's crazy expensive now.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Goodness. I had no idea how viral the media is when stories are published on the internet. The article and the video I previously linked are all over the place now. Saw them reprinted in places like Miami and saw the TV story relinked on MSNBC. According to my Google Alert, there's 12 places where the stories were reprinted just in the first few hours after they were released.

[RainMaker]

I need to bring back something I brought up earlier. When do we get to try the booze? I have a GF who is big into the whole wine tasting thing and would like to try it out if you have it available for sale.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

I need to bring back something I brought up earlier. When do we get to try the booze? I have a GF who is big into the whole wine tasting thing and would like to try it out if you have it available for sale.

We'll set up some shipping at some point. I'll let everyone know. Right now, I've just got to get the place done so I can sell to the locals.

[Buccaneer]

I told my wife about this and she said she'd probably knew of this old estate back then. By the way, she was one of the key assistants in help raising funds and building the sports complex on campus.

Being the skeptic that I am, I think you did a brilliant job in taking advantage of the gullible for falling for the powers of suggestion. It's amazing that many would pay money just to be convinced of what they expected and wanted to hear and feel. Well done.

[OldGiants]

that is awesome man, congrats and continued success!

+4 :)

Wonderful news about the free publicity, too.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Being the skeptic that I am, I think you did a brilliant job in taking advantage of the gullible for falling for the powers of suggestion. It's amazing that many would pay money just to be convinced of what they expected and wanted to hear and feel. Well done.

I'd put it a different way. They are paying for the opportunity to determine for themselves whether ghosts exist or not at what is a reportedly haunted site. To be honest, we have nearly as many skeptics on the paranormal investigations. Sometimes the skeptics tag along with a spouse that believes. Sometimes they just want to see what others believe is evidence only to show why it could be a natural occurrence. We usually try to mix believers and skeptics into all groups when possible. It's the best way to get a good experience.

We did have a man who was a skeptic come with his wife (who was a believer). He was about two hours into the event when he was touched by something that wasn't there. He screamed so loudly it was heard two floors below. Note that each level is separated by floors that are 12 inches of solid concrete. He decided to leave about 20 minutes after that. They have the audio of that incident and are hoping to post it on their forum. I've heard it. It's obvious that he was frightened by what happened.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

More indirect PR for our business. This is an interview of the lead investigator for PRI. He runs all the paranormal events at the winery.

http://cjonline.com/news/local/2010-10-30/holiday_stirs_ghostly_thoughts

[sterlingice]

Did you know about the haunted past of the building when you bought it or did it end up being a happy coincidence that has really helped out :)

SI

[kcchief19]

That's awesome!!!! Glad things are going so well. If you get some free time on a Wednesday night, you ought to come by poker night and tell us all about it!

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Did you know about the haunted past of the building when you bought it or did it end up being a happy coincidence that has really helped out :)

SI

Knew of the rumors, but nothing firm. We know now. :)

That's awesome!!!! Glad things are going so well. If you get some free time on a Wednesday night, you ought to come by poker night and tell us all about it!

I do want to drop by to play some poker. I'll try to find a Wednesday to drop by and let you know.

We had a great deal of success tonight. I bought about $200 worth of candy and put signs on the four lane highway in front of our property inviting people to come out for trick or treating. I kid you not, we had 600 people show up. I gave out nearly 90 pounds of candy to the kids and I gave out bottle openers and magnets with our info to all the parents. Going to get a ton of word of mouth out of that small investment.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Really nice article about a visit from some orphans who used to live on the property and the history of the property itself.

Odd Fellows Orphanage from the 1930s transformed into winery - KansasCity.com (http://www.kansascity.com/2010/11/09/2412266/odd-fellows-orphanage-from-the.html)

[OldGiants]

The Halloween candy was inspired marketing. Those ideas will make your success.

That is another great article. I chuckled a few times, such as when you were repeatedly referred to as "Bean’s operations manager and son-in-law." That reminded me of numerous Bob and Ray skits.

And
“His demeanor can come off as somewhat odd" Well, he's an Odd Fellow!

I think that Odd Fellow name makes for happy-spooky marketing and I would use it often and keep it prominent in your ads. Having tall, skinny guys dressed like 19th century undertakers (similar to the Haunted Mansion) would be very cool when you can get to it. Ichabod Crane types.

Anyway, continued good fortune.

(http://www.kansascity.com/2010/11/09/2412266/odd-fellows-orphanage-from-the.html#ixzz14t43w3DF)

[Mustang]

While the reported hauntings are a nice side boost, I wonder at what point it starts to have a more negative impact where people would avoid the place because of the rumors.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Thought I'd drop an update on our progress.

We opened for daily business at the start of January. During the week has been slow, but it has allowed us to work on other organization during the day when not busy. We've booked 34 weddings for 2011 already and 4-5 more in 2012. We get 6-8 calls a day from prospective brides, so we expect that number to grow quite a bit. Each wedding nets us a rental fee of $3000-4000 and that doesn't include alcohol income, which runs around $2000 an event.

We also have have quite a few birthday parties, retirement parties, fundraisers, and corporate gatherings lined up or already completed. Only a few hundred dollars for each of those rentals, but the PR having all those people out to see the place has been very good.

Ghost tours and investigations are EXTREMELY hot right now. Events are selling out and we're having to add additional ones. Paranormal investigation groups are approaching us at the rate of 2-3 a week to hold formal investigations of the place. We ask for a small donation and then ask that they publish all articles and pictures online, which helps a great deal to advertise the place for future events.

I've also added additional public events to keep the place busy during the non-wedding months. So far, we've booked....

Breakfast at Belvoir (unlimited pancakes and sausage served by Chris Cakes (Chris Cakes - Kansas City's ORIGINAL Pancake Flippers! (http://www.chriscakes.com)) and unlimited mimosas

Super Bowl Watch Party

Chocolate Fondue buffet for Valentine's Day weekend

Weekly Ballroom and Tango Dance lessons every Sunday afternoon starting Feb 20th

Murder Mystery Dinner Theater

Comedian Brad Meehan (offering two shows)

We're really excited to keep pushing forward and only two months away from weddings taking over the winery this spring.

[JonInMiddleGA]

I'd just like to add that it's quite cool to watch the renovations, get updates, etc. on the winery's FB page. (http://www.facebook.com/Belvoir-Winery/281740524521#!/pages/Belvoir-Winery/281740524521)

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

I'd just like to add that it's quite cool to watch the renovations, get updates, etc. on the winery's FB page. (http://www.facebook.com/Belvoir-Winery/281740524521#!/pages/Belvoir-Winery/281740524521)

Forgot to mention that we opened up some walls of the winery last week and found some great stuff in the wall. If you scroll down the facebook page, there are pictures and descriptions of everything we've found. I've actually found several more items earlier this week that I still have not posted. Amazing what gets stuck in 100 year old walls.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Oh man. Can't announce this publicly, but had to talk about it somewhere. Our winery building is an old Odd Fellows Home. When we opened, the current Odd Fellow state officers came by to see the place and were extremely excited about the place being reopened. They mentioned that an active lodge in the area was being closed. They said that they may be able to allow me access in advance of the auction to get a few items to display in our winery.

I just heard back yesterday from the Grand Master of Missouri (President) and he said that they're going to let me go to the lodge and take as much as I want to display at the winery. Not only that, but the Grand Master is going to accompany me to the lodge so he can point out the more valuable or historically relevant items to make sure I get the best stuff that's available. SOOOO excited.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Very cool, good of them to do that really, a lot of similar situations wouldn't have the foresight to preserve their items that way.

[DaddyTorgo]

Odd Fellows?

edit: aaah, okay. cool.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Odd Fellows?

Independent Order of Odd Fellows - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independent_Order_of_Odd_Fellows)

[Ragone]

When can my wife and i get a tour from ya mbbf.. sure kcchief would like one as well :)

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

When can my wife and i get a tour from ya mbbf.. sure kcchief would like one as well :)

Ring me on the phone number listed on the website (found on bottom of home page). I'm usually the one taking the calls. We can set up a time to meet up for a drink (or four). :)

[MizzouRah]

Count me in :)

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

We had a couple of fantastic finds during renovation today. We demolished a wall on the second floor. Inside the wall was a World War One Army Canteen cover, a hat, and a denim pouch made by cutting apart a pair of jeans and sewing together the bottom part of the leg. All of the items were likely dropped in the wall around 1917 when the site was treating WWI soldiers. I posted pictures at our Facebook site (Belvoir Winery).

Business is going very well. Weekends are very busy and we're booking events like crazy.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Two recent news stories...........

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[MrBug708]

Nice updates, thanks! I'll need to track down a Missouri wine, perhaps yours!

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

More free publicity. I've figured out that some of these daily reporters are always looking for new stories. I can get them out one time for a grape story, another time for a history story and even can have them out for paranormal stories as well. Really helps to develop relationships with reporters at all local stations............

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[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Moving into the fall wedding season. We're really busy with a lot of events right now. In addition, we have someone who is a haunted house creator in the area (Edge of Hell in KC was his creation) who is constructing a Halloween attraction in our vacant buildings. They will open October 7th and run daily through Halloween.

Great news for our city as well. For the second time this year, we've been selected as one of the top 10 cities to live in the U.S. This time it was the Money Magazine list.....

America's Best Places to Live, 2011 - Yahoo! Real Estate (http://realestate.yahoo.com/promo/americas-best-places-to-live-2011.html)

This is really important for our future plans. We have drawn up a master development plan for the property. It's basically a small community. The large vacant buildings will be converted to an assisted living apartment facility and an Alzheimer's research and care facility. In addition, we'll be adding new independent living tri-plexes that will have a central clubhouse for meals/activities.

On the other side of the property, we'll be constructing a new set of buildings designed to look like the old ones. They will be three story buildings with the first story containing high-end retail and the top two stories containing condos. On the back portion of the property, we'll be constructing a recreation area that includes two softball fields, tennis courts, and a 1,000 seat amphitheater. The final 60 acres will be divided into 42 one-acre lots. Each will hold a $1M+ home.

Total value of the project is around $70M. It's a big investment, but the demand for high-end retirement communities is extremely high. Add in that you can live in a building on the National Register of Historic Places and be a golf cart ride away from retail, recreation, and a winery and it's a really great match. Final rezoning goes through on August 22nd and we expect a unanimous vote in favor. Then we start lining up the money and move forward ASAP.

Other than that, not much going on in my life. :)

[Ksyrup]

I saw Louisville #1 and almost choked - until I saw it was in Colorado.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

We're starting the fall wedding season. Extremely full on Thurs.-Sunday every weekend through early November.

We're going to be targeting some family things this fall. We're holding a Family Movie Night every Friday from mid-September through the end of October out on the front lawn. Purchased a 12' outdoor screen. Early Facebook feedback has been extremely positive, so I think it will go well.

We're also going to be decorating the place in October for Halloween. We'll have to move some of the decorations occasionally for the weddings, but should be a lot of fun. We're known for our paranormal activity, so people are likely going to come out to walk around the place as Halloween approaches.

We're also planning on decorating the building exterior and interior for Christmas. Probably will put up decorations in early to mid November. We'll have several Christmas trees and a lot of light up. Should be able to see a lot of it from the four-lane highway that is on the front of our property, which is a great draw. Around 40,000 people drive by on the highway daily.

[OldGiants]

I love following you on Facebook, even if my chances of getting in a real visit are extremely small. Seeing you grow this business makes me very happy.

Keep up the good work! :)

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

I love following you on Facebook, even if my chances of getting in a real visit are extremely small. Seeing you grow this business makes me very happy.

Keep up the good work! :)

My goal initially for the first year was two fold........

1. Increase exposure
2. Don't lose money and don't require any further investment from owner

I've managed to do both without any credit cards. In the process, we've learned a lot. There are definitely some things we'd change, but most of the risks on new products or services I offer are relatively low risk, so we're only talking a few hundred dollars lost if they fail. Those are the kind of failures you don't mind as a start-up.

I've also made sure to surround myself with people who are responsible and care about the success of the business. I also want them to have a invested interest in the history of our property. Outside of a couple minor bumps, we have a good staff now that gets along well with each other and does a good job working together. Makes it a lot easier to run the business that way.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

We're offering a new wedding product to our wedding couples starting today. It's called CiiMemories. It's an interactive media product. It's run on a web-based cloud interface.

On the left half of the screen, a slide show of up to 50 pictures shows during the entire event. On the right half is where the interactive section is shown. The couple submits an approved list of guests and friends/family. Those in attendance can send text messages or photos to a given site. Those text messages and photos are posted live to all TV's in the winery where guests can view them. In addition, the couple can approve family/friends that are not in attendance. They can also send live messages to the couple even though they aren't at the location.

After the event, we can go out and click on 'Export' on the site and a full DVD file will be created that we can burn for the couple so they can view all the messages and photos that were sent to them during their wedding. Cost for the service is $300 for the couple.

We just posted the info about this product tonight on Facebook and already have two October 2011 brides who are interested in paying for the service. Really think it's going to be a good addition to our events at the winery.

Here's the link if you'd like to check out the live demo on the site.

http://www.ciimemories.com/

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Another TV spot on the winery. We get a lot of TV action this time of the year due to the paranormal activity on the property. The guy that's goofing around is the weather guy on the local ABC affiliate......

Is Liberty's Belvoir Winery Haunted? - Video - KMBC Kansas City (http://www.kmbc.com/video/29614070/detail.html)

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Just had to fire an employee this evening. NEVER an easy thing to do, especially in this kind of economy. It was the employee's fault, but still very tough.

Now I have to work on a new hire in addition to everything else going on.

[tarcone]

Have you opened up a bed and breakfast yet?

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Have you opened up a bed and breakfast yet?

Not yet. We're in the process of gutting two floors of the building, one of which will be the bed and breakfast.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/0b6g9QjH3aw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

We are on the front page of kansascity.com today (KC Star website). They have around 150 pictures of the winery taken Sunday during the 2 Million Dogs fundraiser.

Here's the direct link to the pictures.

Puppy Up! Walk: Mingle Photo Galleries (http://mingle.kansascity.com/photos/2011/puppy-walk/)

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

As of today, we've been in business for a year. We're having an anniversary brunch tomorrow with all you can eat pancakes and sausage and all you can drink mimosas.

We've done around 45 weddings and 300 private events over the past year in addition to all of our walk-in business. We've had over 60 brides contact us just this week that were engaged during the holiday season, which will likely ensure a successful 2012. We've exceeded our 2011 initial projection on revenue and events. The community has been fantastic and embraced our endeavor. We're very thankful for what we've put together here and are excited about what's to come.

[Glengoyne]

As of today, we've been in business for a year. We're having an anniversary brunch tomorrow with all you can eat pancakes and sausage and all you can drink mimosas.

We've done around 45 weddings and 300 private events over the past year in addition to all of our walk-in business. We've had over 60 brides contact us just this week that were engaged during the holiday season, which will likely ensure a successful 2012. We've exceeded our 2011 initial projection on revenue and events. The community has been fantastic and embraced our endeavor. We're very thankful for what we've put together here and are excited about what's to come.


Very Cool. Congrats on the early success, and good luck managing your growing pains as all of this success also means a lot of work. I missed your Cii Memories update a while back. I think that one is a winner.

[CrimsonFox]

I smell a dynasty!

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Haven't updated in awhile.

Our revenues for the first three months are up nearly 300% over last year. We were very fortunate to have beautiful weather all winter long, which helped greatly with weekend walk-up business.

We're launching some new stuff this week to help our Friday night crowds, which are generally much slower than Saturday. Starting this Friday, we're doing live music outside from 7-10 PM for the next eight weeks. I picked out several local bands and I'm paying them a couple hundred to come out and perform. Going to try out a wide variety of music and see how it goes. People are generally very excited about it. They love to come out and sit outside at the winery. This will only enhance that experience. We also may do some food offerings during that time depending on feedback.

We also did a Living Social deal today. It is a marketing cost of a couple thousand when you add it all up, but the benefit has been huge exposure. We have 6x the number of DAILY website hits in just the first 9 hours of the day.

The Best Daily Deals in Kansas City - Belvoir Winery - Wine Tasting for Two and One Bottle of Wine (http://www.livingsocial.com/cities/40-kansas-city/deals/296734-wine-tasting-for-two-and-one-bottle-of-wine)

Wedding season is coming. We're going to be awfully busy, but it's a good busy.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Been a busy start to the wedding season. In June alone, we've hosted over 30 events. Great walk up crowds and we've had a tremendous push in word of mouth in the KC area. Part of that is reflected in the Facebook crowd, which we've pushed up over the 2,500 mark.

We also had a huge boost last week from our appearance on a local show on the PBS network here in town. They held a half hour show where they talked about the lack of local wines in restaurants despite the move towards lots of local food in those same restaurants. To further test the quality of local wines, they held a blind taste test to see how people would react to the wines.

Our semi-dry wine (Plumeria) was one of five white wines. The other four wines were a local winery (Holy-Field Vignole), a Rothschild (well known wine maker in France), a Chateau St. Michelle (great winery in Washington), and a 'Three Buck Chuck' out of California. When all was said and done, our wine was selected as the top wine out of that group! Really fantastic publicity for us and we've seen a boost in foot and website traffic as a result.

Here's a link to the show if you're interested. The wine tasting starts around the 10:20 mark if you want to skip the interview.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=kskvjN1Zhno#!

[Izulde]

I think watching this business grow is one of the coolest threads on FOFC.

[Dutch]

So where is Missouri wines now on the international rep scale? I would have never guessed Missouri for wines but I'll be darned if it doesn't seem to have the perfect climate for this.

[Dutch]

Also...do you have an on-line business for this?

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

So where is Missouri wines now on the international rep scale? I would have never guessed Missouri for wines but I'll be darned if it doesn't seem to have the perfect climate for this.

Missouri actually used to be #1 in the U.S. in wine production before prohibition, including two of the largest three wineries in the nation (both which still exist and produce wine). Missouri is often referred to as 'America's First Wine Country'. Pretty good read at this link starting on page 390 if interested.

A History of Wine in America (http://publishing.cdlib.org/ucpressebooks/view?docId=ft967nb63q&chunk.id=d0e9736&toc.id=d0e9736&brand=ucpress)

When prohibition hit, the wine makers had to switch gears. Many of them actually used their cellars and caves to start mushroom production. After prohibition, the winemakers were slow to restart the industry, allowing areas like California to take the reins and surpass Missouri. Below is an old article that does a pretty good job of summarizing that part of the history.

A Tradition Of Wine-making Grows Again In Missouri, The Vines Are Reviving After A Dry Spell Caused By Prohibition. - Philly.com (http://articles.philly.com/1999-11-10/news/25495353_1_missouri-wine-wine-making-wine-production)

The big three now are California (623 million gallons), New York (23 million gallons), and Oregon (6 million gallons). After that, there are eight states (Missouri, Washington, Florida, Kentucky, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Virginia) that all produce between 1,000,000-1,900,000 gallons.

No online distribution yet, but that has more to do with the fact that we need all of our wine to cover the 350+ events that we'll have this year in addition to the walk-in traffic seven days a week.

[sterlingice]

Good deal.

(tho to be fair, I really posted in this thread because you mentioned Holyfield's Vignoles and I'm a huge fan and annoyed they don't ship out of state ;))

SI

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Good deal.

(tho to be fair, I really posted in this thread because you mentioned Holyfield's Vignoles and I'm a huge fan and annoyed they don't ship out of state ;))

SI

Blame the conservatives. They've got some wacky laws in Kansas in regards to wine. Thankfully we don't have many restrictions on the Missouri side, which has allowed our industry to grow rapidly on this side of the state line.

BTW, you might want to watch that wine tasting video that I posted a few posts back. Our wine was matched up against the Holy-Field Vignole in the white category. It's a very good wine as well. Our wine that won the category was 83% Vignole, so those seemed to be the popular choice amongst the judges.

[tarcone]

Has the drought affected your crop?

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Has the drought affected your crop?

Not really. Grapes don't require a lot of irrigation. We're very fortunate to have a natural underground spring at the top of our field that trickles down through the field. So we get irrigation without any work on our part.

Once we get to the middle of July, we really don't want much rain at all. Too much moisture during the mature part of the grape's life can lead to fungus or mold growth, which can hinder your yield quite a bit for obvious reasons.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Super busy right now. Paranormal events have been sold out for over two months. Lots of newspaper/TV people coming out to do stories about our paranormal activity at the winery. The fall wedding season ends in three weeks. Last year, that would have meant a slowdown in event business. This year, not so much. 15 events scheduled in November with all the weekends in December booked with holiday parties.

We're going to shut down for a week in January to do a good clean-up/maintenance of the building. We won't be that busy during that time anyway and the building has a few bumps and bruises that need to be cleaned up.

Really liked this picture from one of the weddings last weekend. Most photographers make the fountain the main focus. In this case, they used it nicely as a distant background.

http://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/525626_10151298356760097_554476293_n.jpg

[MacroGuru]

Didn't realize this, but you are literally 15 to 20 minutes from some of my family members homes..I suggested the check your place out and if I get out there, I will be up to visit.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Didn't realize this, but you are literally 15 to 20 minutes from some of my family members homes..I suggested the check your place out and if I get out there, I will be up to visit.

Just shoot me a message if you are coming out. Would love to show you around, including many of the places that the general public doesn't get to enter.

[Logan]

Just shoot me a message if you are coming out. Would love to show you around, including many of the places that the general public doesn't get to enter.

Smart to keep the Bill Self Voodoo Doll room isolated.

[Galaxy]

Just shoot me a message if you are coming out. Would love to show you around, including many of the places that the general public doesn't get to enter.

Macro will be getting the V.I.P treatment...or murdered. :)

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Macro will be getting the V.I.P treatment...or murdered. :)

We could always use an extra haunting around here. You can never have enough.

[tarcone]

Got the B&B set up yet? Or is that not going to happen since you are swamped with wedding and holiday business?

If my wife and I drove up on a weekend we would love to see the place. As much as I have been reading about it and watching its growth, I am really intrigued by what you have done.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Got the B&B set up yet? Or is that not going to happen since you are swamped with wedding and holiday business?

If my wife and I drove up on a weekend we would love to see the place. As much as I have been reading about it and watching its growth, I am really intrigued by what you have done.

Not yet. We are very close to initiating the development deal that I had discussed previously. It's slightly different than the original plans, but still is going to be a great deal for the community. Once we get a bit of cash flow, we'll do the bed and breakfast along with additional ballrooms.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

dola

Great set of photos from a wedding two weeks ago.......

Belvoir Winery Wedding + Lindsey & Skyler » Kansas City wedding + newborn photographer (http://heatherbrulez.com/belvoir-winery-wedding-lindsey-skyler/)

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Another big moment for us. We've now moved into the top 10 most 'liked' Missouri wineries on Facebook. We're up to around 3,250 and are adding 3-5 likes a day right now. We should be able to move into the top 5-7 in six months at our current pace. That may not seem like a big deal, but we're directly or indirectly hitting around 10K Facebook pages a day just by doing nothing more than providing regular winery updates. We've already passed several established wineries in the state. It's been a huge asset to the winery.

We're also going to be adding some new features to the winery in January. We're going to turn one of the smaller rooms into a consult room. We'll have couches and coffee table for guests who are interested in booking events. We'll also have a monitor showing pictures from previous events that can also be used as a computer monitor to produce contracts, show features, etc.

We are going to move to having one night a week where we stay open later than our usual 8:00 PM closing time. We're going to have music playing on the patio and in the building and are looking to stay open until 10:00 or 11:00 PM. We want to provide an option for those who want to stay at the winery later during the nicer months of the year. We're shooting for Spring 2013 on that.

We also are a few days away from beginning a schedule towards renovation/expansion on the property. We've been working on putting together a deal for some time, so it's very exciting to reach a point where it reaches a planning stage. If all goes well, we can start work in the latter part of 2013.

[Glengoyne]

Yes, but when will you be able to ship out of state? I (Mrs Glen) wanted to get a bottle for glen for Christmas, but alas no shipping to California.

Yes, I griped to him about it, so this post would not have been a surprise.

[Glengoyne]

Oh and coolness about the good things going on there.

[rjolley]

Congrats MBBF. Glad things are going well for you and the winery. If I get back that way again, I'll come down that way and see the place. Sounds like a nice place to visit.

Are you located near I-70 between KC and Columbia? I remember seeing a winery when a friend and I drove to a Nebraska/Mizzou game 8-10 years ago. Wondered if you are building up that property.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Yes, but when will you be able to ship out of state? I (Mrs Glen) wanted to get a bottle for glen for Christmas, but alas no shipping to California.

Yes, I griped to him about it, so this post would not have been a surprise.

My wife is working on getting a shipping portal set up. Likely won't be available by end of year, but we're working on it. We've got a lot of people who have visited who live out of state that request shipping now, so it's a definite need. Your post will be one more form of motivation.

Congrats MBBF. Glad things are going well for you and the winery. If I get back that way again, I'll come down that way and see the place. Sounds like a nice place to visit.

Are you located near I-70 between KC and Columbia? I remember seeing a winery when a friend and I drove to a Nebraska/Mizzou game 8-10 years ago. Wondered if you are building up that property.

You are referring to Les Bourgeois Winery (http://www.missouriwine.com). We actually do our bottling at their facility just because we can't afford bottling automation machines yet. Very good winery and I'd definitely go and see it. They have a bistro with wonderful food that sits at the top of a bluff overlooking the Missouri River. Fantastic view.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

We've got two pianos in the winery at opposite ends of the building. One is a grand piano that is also a player piano. The other piano is a 110 year old upright piano that used to belong to my great grandmother.

I was sitting in the center of the building answering e-mails when I heard classical music being played. I assumed that the player piano had malfunctioned in some way and walked out into the entryway in the main hall of the building. I realized as I walked into the hallway that the older upright piano on the other end of the building was the one playing.

I walked down the hallway about 15-20 steps and the music stopped. Walked into the room and there was no one there. I've never had goosebumps that big in my life. I've experienced a lot of stuff out here, but that one was way over the top.

[Izulde]

Apparently the ghosts approve of the work you're doing and give you a little music to show their appreciation.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Apparently the ghosts approve of the work you're doing and give you a little music to show their appreciation.

It actually was pretty good music, but I'm going to pass on any future performances if they ask my opinion.

[MrBug708]

Not going to lie, I think Mizzou is living the dream I went to school to do :(

[kcchief19]

Not going to lie, I think Mizzou is living the dream I went to school to do :(
You majored in owning a haunted winery and event facility? :)

[MrBug708]

Close. I majored in Beverage Marketing with an emphasis in wines and spirits. So almost haha

[sterlingice]

Wrong kind of spirits ;)

SI

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Here's a video of a recent wedding at the winery. We sometimes forget how blessed we are to be a part of what is often the biggest moment of a person's life since we do it at least once a weekend all summer long. Really does a great job of focusing on the event while showing off the winery.

<iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/58160196?title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0&amp;color=df1316" width="1028" height="578" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe> <p><a href="http://vimeo.com/58160196">Kelsey + Logan | A Wedding Short Film</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/wirkenfilms">Wirken Films</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>

[MacroGuru]

Awesome...I need to to get to MO to see family and pay a visit...the place looks amazing.

[BYU 14]

Been cool following this, you have brought this a long way in a really short time.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

We've got a huge announcement in a few weeks. It's going to create huge exposure for the winery. Can't wait to talk about it, but have to keep it under wraps for now.

[Ragone]

i'm still meaning to get out there to visit you sometime.. you are literally 5 minutes down the road from me.. wife is due at the end of next month.. so i'm thinking sometime in the spring honestly..

[Desnudo]

Here's a video of a recent wedding at the winery. We sometimes forget how blessed we are to be a part of what is often the biggest moment of a person's life since we do it at least once a weekend all summer long. Really does a great job of focusing on the event while showing off the winery.

<iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/58160196?title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0&amp;color=df1316" width="1028" height="578" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe> <p><a href="http://vimeo.com/58160196">Kelsey + Logan | A Wedding Short Film</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/wirkenfilms">Wirken Films</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>

The Hot Girl and the Hipster

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Just had a big announcement on our Facebook page. Let all our fans know that these guys have been at our winery for the past ten days. Really exciting to have Ghost Hunters film at our location.

https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-snc6/188313_10151426102234522_1077985705_n.jpg

[JonInMiddleGA]

tres cool

[BYU 14]

Very cool, will you be making an appearance?

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Very cool, will you be making an appearance?

I am the main contact. You'll get a heavy dose of me on the show at the start of the episode and then I am the person for the reveal at the end of the show.

FWIW......it was a fantastic experience. I'm limited in what I can say about anything on the episode or the reveal, but the TAPS crew and the production crew couldn't have been any nicer. Very down to earth people and all very friendly.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Some pics of the Ghost Hunters crew at the winery with the guy that runs our paranormal investigations.

Steve Gonsalves....

http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/559925_10152580138410290_1870087539_n.jpg

Jason Hawes....

http://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-snc7/485136_10152580135400290_1694656980_n.jpg

Tango, Britt, and Michelle in front of the Command Center just before first night of investigation....

http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-frc1/538221_10152575245950290_3090963_n.jpg

Also, we are in preliminary talks to host a seminar that will be run by some of the Ghost Hunters investigators. Hoping for later this year.

[Coffee Warlord]

You know when it airs? (Just read the facebook info stating that no, you have no idea when it airs.)

And of course, once it DOES air, we henceforth demand all the fun details (I'm assuming you're free to speak about it after that) be posted here. :)

[Kodos]

We should have a FOFC ghost hunters event.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

You know when it airs? (Just read the facebook info stating that no, you have no idea when it airs.)

And of course, once it DOES air, we henceforth demand all the fun details (I'm assuming you're free to speak about it after that) be posted here. :)

I don't have any idea specifically. There are two more runs of shows for Season 9, which we are currently supposed to be a part of that season. They can adjust the episode forward or backward in the season depending on how good it is once it's fully edited. I'm really hoping to get a date in the next 2-3 weeks.

Once it airs, you can ask away. I'll be able to answer most questions at that point. I actually looked back at the Ghost Hunters thread on this forum just to see what questions were asked. I have a much different perspective of the show (mostly very positive) after experiencing the show and the crew first-hand. I can't currently talk about much of it since it's related to the investigation, but can do so after the show is aired.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

We should have a FOFC ghost hunters event.

We're tossing around the idea of having a viewing party here at the winery. We're a bit concerned that several hundred people may show up, so we're considering projecting the show on the building and having an outdoor viewing party. I'll be very busy that day with media requests and a possible viewing party, but feel free to toss up questions as the show goes along and I'll come through and answer them the next day.

I'll answer the first questions now. No, I'm not bald. I just shave it because otherwise I look like I'm about to go bald.

[Coffee Warlord]

Actually, I'm more concerned that I can't get a couple bottles of reds delivered to Illinois. :)

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Actually, I'm more concerned that I can't get a couple bottles of reds delivered to Illinois. :)

I KNOW. Working on that. :)

[Kodos]

Actually, I was talking about a FOFC meeting that featured an onsite ghost hunting spree. I have a father-in-law who lives in Kansas, and we visit them from time to time. Although probably not this year.

[kcchief19]

We're tossing around the idea of having a viewing party here at the winery. We're a bit concerned that several hundred people may show up, so we're considering projecting the show on the building and having an outdoor viewing party. I'll be very busy that day with media requests and a possible viewing party, but feel free to toss up questions as the show goes along and I'll come through and answer them the next day.
You know I'll be there. And if you need someone to herd the media, put together a press release & media kit so you can handle more important things, you know where to find me. :D

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

You know I'll be there. And if you need someone to herd the media, put together a press release & media kit so you can handle more important things, you know where to find me. :D

Duly noted. :)

Hoping to hear a date relatively soon. Talked with the producers today and they're hoping to pin down a date for me.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Actually, I was talking about a FOFC meeting that featured an onsite ghost hunting spree. I have a father-in-law who lives in Kansas, and we visit them from time to time. Although probably not this year.

I'm happy to schedule a private event if enough were interested. Wouldn't even charge you all.

[Coffee Warlord]

Ya know, that would be a rather unusual & amusing anniversary gift for my wife...hmmmmmmmm.

[albionmoonlight]

Ya know, that would be a rather unusual & amusing anniversary gift for my wife...hmmmmmmmm.

That is creative.

Hmmm . . . . MMBF, do any of your ghosts specialize in child care? That could be the real money maker. Mom and Dad spend a romantic anniversary evening sipping wine and touring the grounds, comfortable with the knowledge that the young ones are having the time of their lives with smores and storytime presented by the ghosts of two nannies decapitated on the premises in 1893 (references available upon request).

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

That is creative.

Hmmm . . . . MMBF, do any of your ghosts specialize in child care? That could be the real money maker. Mom and Dad spend a romantic anniversary evening sipping wine and touring the grounds, comfortable with the knowledge that the young ones are having the time of their lives with smores and storytime presented by the ghosts of two nannies decapitated on the premises in 1893 (references available upon request).

Sounds like a good story line, though it could be hard to license and insure said ghostly nannies.

[albionmoonlight]

Sounds like a good story line, though it could be hard to license and insure said ghostly nannies.

Cue the moveon.org ad: "Before the Affordable Care Act, large corporations were allowed to hire the undead without having to provide any health benefits . . . " [CUE OMINOUS MUSIC AND VIDEO OF NANNIES LOOKING SAD].

[MrBug708]

Any chance to be able to get any wine in Socal?

[Kodos]

Cue the moveon.org ad: "Before the Affordable Care Act, large corporations were allowed to hire the undead without having to provide any health benefits . . . " [CUE OMINOUS MUSIC AND VIDEO OF NANNIES LOOKING SAD].

:D

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Interesting evidence that was recorded at the last public paranormal investigation on March 8th, 2013. Audio recorder was placed in one of the buildings and left alone. The noises during the video are the sounds of water dripping (there was a rain shower that night). No one was in the area of the recorder during this clip. You'll want to listen closely at the 0:09 mark.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/qryp_NwI4QI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Ghost Hunters investigates the spirits at the Belvoir Winery | Plog (http://www.pitch.com/plog/archives/2013/03/11/ghost-hunters-investigates-the-spirits-at-the-belvoir-winery)

Liberty winery hopes TV show brings folks looking for ‘spirits’ | fox4kc.com (http://fox4kc.com/2013/03/10/liberty-winery-hopes-tv-show-brings-folks-looking-for-spirits/)

[sterlingice]

Any update on the airing date?

SI

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Any update on the airing date?

SI

Last I heard was April, but no firm date. It's going to come quickly.

[stevew]

Please give a big(separate thread) heads up before the episode airs so I can set my DVR up.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Please give a big(separate thread) heads up before the episode airs so I can set my DVR up.

Probably will do some sort of a watch thread. I likely won't be around to post during the show, but will come around later in the night and answer questions.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

I spoke with someone who knows some people in the state wine marketing division. I was told that I'm considered the social/viral marketing king of wineries. I was pretty happy with that given that I've put a focus on that over the last two years. Plus, I know that kcchief will be proud of me for nailing down that title.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

We just received word that our Google Places Tour has been uploaded. You can virtually walk through the winery building to see what it looks like.

Google Maps (https://www.google.com/maps?q=belvoir+winery&ll=39.228015,-94.407202&spn=0.007106,0.016512&sll=39.227765,-94.407493&layer=c&cid=4243055049408113049&panoid=TjKWMNB_Wv8AAAQDMae-Tw&cbp=13,89.08,,0,10.12&hq=belvoir+winery&t=h&z=17&cbll=39.227864,-94.407355)

[kcchief19]

I spoke with someone who knows some people in the state wine marketing division. I was told that I'm considered the social/viral marketing king of wineries. I was pretty happy with that given that I've put a focus on that over the last two years. Plus, I know that kcchief will be proud of me for nailing down that title.
Nice! You definitely put what I've seen from other local wineries to shame.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Fun thing I do with my girls each year on Memorial Day. We have a graveyard on the site with around 600 graves. Each year, we've made it a tradition to go out and buy several flower bouquets and then I let my girls go and pick out which graves they'd like to leave flowers. Always funny to see why they select each one they do select.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151616497254522.1073741827.281740524521&type=3

[Kodos]

Just don't remove the headstones and build a house over the still-buried bodies. I hear that's bad.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Just don't remove the headstones and build a house over the still-buried bodies. I hear that's bad.

Roughly 40% of the graves in the cemetery have been moved to their current location. The original cemetery was located on a different part of the property. They wanted to build a new building on the cemetery location, so they relocated the existing graves to their current location. An additional 350 graves have been added since the move in the 1950s.

[Coffee Warlord]

And if there's an ancient Micmac Indian burial ground there...best leave it be.

[molson]

Are there companies that specialize in dead body re-location? Or can any contractor just dig deep enough and throw the coffins in some other deep hole?

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Are there companies that specialize in dead body re-location? Or can any contractor just dig deep enough and throw the coffins in some other deep hole?

A Grave Interest: Remains of the Day – Relocating a Body (http://agraveinterest.blogspot.com/2013/02/remains-of-day-relocating-body.html)

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

A brief request for assistance. We're hoping to get a KC area cash mob to hit the winery. If you have a Facebook login, I'd appreciate it if you could vote for Belvoir Winery at the following link. Thanks so much.

https://www.facebook.com/questions/549827545064106/

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

We spent this week adding a new patio on the front part of the building. We cut about three feet into the dirt, exposing the original foundation that hadn't been seen in over 100 years. We'll be adding seating and more flowers next week to finish it off.

https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/p480x480/993298_10151701573864522_1399164498_n.jpg

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

More publicity for our winery this week. We're on the front cover of Midwest Traveler Magazine, the official publication of AAA. Goes out to about 500,000 homes, so it will help spur some regional interest.

https://sphotos-b-iad.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-frc1/1002915_10151835487544522_1563931492_n.jpg

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Really neat setup for tonight's event. 200 people with a 25 piece jazz band. Patio lights strung across with stage lights. Dance floor with an open bar. Should be a fun Wednesday night. :)

https://scontent-a-ord.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/1375974_10151920974959522_1581530764_n.jpg

[Buccaneer]

Mrs. Bucc just told me that next time she is in Kansas City she wants to visit Jewell since that's where she went to college for a year (she is a KC native). I then told her that I know someone who bought property near there and remodeled it into a wedding/haunting house place. She thought that was cool since she loved the area, the small town feel.

[MrBug708]

More publicity for our winery this week. We're on the front cover of Midwest Traveler Magazine, the official publication of AAA. Goes out to about 500,000 homes, so it will help spur some regional interest.

https://sphotos-b-iad.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-frc1/1002915_10151835487544522_1563931492_n.jpg

And here I thought the California one was the official magazine

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Mrs. Bucc just told me that next time she is in Kansas City she wants to visit Jewell since that's where she went to college for a year (she is a KC native). I then told her that I know someone who bought property near there and remodeled it into a wedding/haunting house place. She thought that was cool since she loved the area, the small town feel.

If she went to Jewell, she knows exactly where the winery is. Everyone has seen it before if they've been in Liberty for any length of time.

Drop me a line when you're in town. Would be happy to meet with you all and take you around the place.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Rant time

Dear music licensing companies. When a venue goes out of its way to ensure that they are properly paying royalties/licensing, don't harass them. It really pisses the owners off.

***takes deep breath to reduce heart rate***