Violet Vines’ Values
February 28, 2023
Back in 2018, as April and I envisioned what we wanted Violet Vines to be, we explored (I think over wine in a local tasting room) what we wanted our future company’s values to be. We thought it would be essential to not only attract and retain the right people to work with us, but we also thought it would be important for our customers to understand who we are. We also thought our values should drive our wine-growing strategy.
Recently, we looked back at those notes and did a formal review with the intent to make an update. Turns out, no changes were necessary! But we hadn’t written them down in a manner for others to see… until now!
Value #1 – Experience
As of February 2023, there is an estimated 1,100 wineries in the state of Oregon, with the vast majority in the Willamette Valley! We knew Experience would be an essential value to stand out as a smaller wine producer and ensure that anyone that experienced our brand would never forget the Experience.
To unpack this value a little more, there are three elements of Experience:
- Create meaningful experiences centered on a sense of place – We are firm believers that experience includes everything, from the state of Oregon to the Willamette Valley (and the Rocks District), to the vineyard, to where the wine is consumed and the people pouring it. As such, we want to optimally farm to showcase the fruit (and cut no corners) and we want tasting experiences to be world-class.
- Meet each visitor where they are – Some visitors would characterize themselves as wine aficionados (aka, wine geeks) and others just experiencing wine – or Oregon wine – for the first time. Our objective is to understand their expectations and share information, wine, and terroir to align with their needs. If you want to know Brix at harvest for the 2021 Estate Pinot noir, we’re ready. If you want to learn a little more about why Chardonnay is fantastic in the valley, we’ll have you covered. Without being snooty or obnoxious!
- Do what is right for the customer and the company – Based on listening and engagement, we’re going to do everything we can to customize an experience that leads to unforgettable moments. And if something doesn’t go right, we’re going to bend over backward to fix it. Everyone at Violet Vines is empowered to create positive, memorable experiences without asking for permission. This goes for customer and employee experiences!
Value #2 – Drive
A slight overlap with Value #1 (intentionally), everyone at Violet Vines should contribute to the creation, differentiation, and delivery of the ultra-premium product and experience that makes Oregon and Violet Vines unforgettable. Perhaps said another way, this is all about initiative. Or maybe another word is excellence. When making a decision at work, does the task or approach contribute to an ultra-premium product and experience? If yes, that’s Drive!
Examples include:
- Learning everything possible about wine, the industry, Oregon, the valley, and Violet Vines to create the best experience.
- Never cut corners on the vineyard, in the winery, or in the tasting room.
- Search for ways in the tasting room to showcase the wine and make people smile.
Value #3 – Team
Wowing the customer is impossible without a fantastic group of people working together and staying engaged in the mission to “Excite people about Oregon wine”. Having been involved in creating and leading organizations with very intentional cultures, and borrowing the best from those organizations, Team is about three things:
- “Humble, Hungry, Smart” – Summarized in a great book titled “The Ideal Team Player” by Patrick Lencioni, it’s required reading for all Violet Vines team members and summarizes the foundational criteria for working at Violet Vines. As a side note, “Smart” isn’t IQ, it’s EQ.
- Have fun and create a fun place to work and visit – Why work somewhere if it isn’t fun? Ever visited a business and engaged with an unhappy employee? You feel it and it impacts your experience. Plus it’s not fair to the employee to be unhappy. We expect everyone to have fun and contribute to the creation of an environment where everyone’s having fun.
- Earn the labels kind, empathetic, respectful, authentic, and transparent – Ok, admittedly there’s a lot here, but these characteristics of those we like to work with. Intentionally not defined here or anywhere else, and left open to interpretation, these are all attributes of the Ideal Violet Vines Team player and the type of people we enjoy working with. But one thing’s important… put your ego aside and always have the back of the others on the team. Help make someone else shine.
Whether you’re considering visiting Violet Vines or possibly joining the team, we hope this blog gives you a peek behind the curtain so-to-speak to help get to know us. Cheers!