By Amber Finsel, The Winemaker’s Wife • Special to The Current
In a sense, Wild Elder Wine & Cider Co began more than 25 years ago, when our founder and winemaker Josh Finsel took an interest in his father’s hobby. Dandelion, apple, raspberry bergamot, elderberry and flower–these unlikely ingredients were among the fruits and flowers he learned to make into wine. Taking inspiration from other hobbyists and encouragement from friends happy to drink his creations, about six years ago, Josh began to dream and plan to open his own winery. In 2019, he was set to officially begin producing in a pole barn he built in the backyard of his family’s home in Lehighton, where he grew up.
“It was a Christmas miracle!” I still find occasion to joke when someone asks how long we’ve been open. T’was the night before Christmas 2020, when at long last, we slid open the beautiful 19th century pocket doors to our shop at 76 Broadway in Jim Thorpe and invited the public in to buy our wine, cider, and elderberry syrup.
I say buy, but not taste. We were in the middle of a pandemic that had shut the world down nine months before, just prior to the time when we planned to open. Although we managed to get open that year (and just barely), it took another 3 months until people were allowed to slide off their masks at a safe social distance and taste anything.
I was Wild Elder’s only employee for the first few months and I was there every day that we were open for the first six months. It was me, standing behind a butcher block table with three bottles on it. Behind me was a 1950s Fridgedaire to hold our fresh syrup and a hand-me-down wine shelf mounted to the wall and tipped cleverly on an angle to accommodate standing bottles upright rather than laying them on their sides.
Before we could allow people to taste anything, I could only talk with them about our process and explain how things tasted. It was mentally exhausting and by the end of the day, I was fried! It was such a relief to be able to open the bottles and let people experience for themselves how our products tasted. As the line to our counter grew longer that spring, a customer bluntly stated the obvious to me one day–”You need help.”
Enter Lisa Sawyer, a longtime family friend who was in a life transition after the branch of Schuylkill Valley Sports she managed was shut down. Anyone who has met her knows this is not an exaggeration–Lisa is amazing. In addition to her retail experience, staying cool under pressure and not sweating the small stuff are among her super powers and we have come to rely upon these and her many other talents since she came on board with us as our first real employee in spring of 2021.
The next six months were an interesting dance of troubleshooting the best way to grow. Getting open in a limited fashion as we did, meant we always intended to grow and expand. If there is any entrepreneurial advice we have to offer, it is this: Be like water and flow around the obstacles you encounter on your way. Our founder Josh has been blessed with the gift to stay focused on achieving the goal, but be flexible on how the goal is to be achieved. So with insight from Lisa and I, Josh figured out a system for serving and selling our unique small-batch products while also providing a fun (and tasty!) experience for tourists and wine and cider lovers in Jim Thorpe.
Now three years in, I feel like we are just hitting our stride. We’ve worked through many challenges and have honed in on a service approach that gets rave reviews and has people coming back for more. We’ve curated a menu that both compliments a tasting experience and satisfies hungry regulars looking for a fresh and delicious lunch. And most importantly, Josh is beginning to scale up production where possible so that we can branch out further in the future. We are grateful to have an amazing team working with us to support our goal, to make fine folk wines and ciders that celebrate the heritage fruits and flowers of our region. We look forward to being here to fill your glass with one of our truly unique creations for many years to come. Cheers!
Wild Elder Wine & Cider Co. Tasting Room and Eatery specializes in unusual wines like Elderberry, Fox Grape, or Dandelion, as well as champagne-style ciders, and beautiful and delicious charcuterie to pair. Fresh sandwiches and soups are also available, 7 days a week, 11am-5pm. Check out wildelder.com to see what’s currently on tap and happening.
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