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Part I,
The Story:
When I received the assignment of interviewing the owners of a successful
vineyard, I thought – a trip to Napa
Valley would be nice - a getaway
weekend – time away from home – California.
Then, I was told the vineyard I would be visiting was in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.
After the initial shock and then, after interviewing the owners, I quickly
learned why this vineyard has become one of the finest wineries in the
country. And, they have the trophies and hardware to prove it.
  It
all began in 1986 when the Carroll family moved into a registered historical
home (circa 1795). Shortly after they moved in, their 10 year old, Tom Jr.,
made a profound statement. While looking out the kitchen window, he said,
“You know, this would make a great vineyard.” Chris said she thought the
stress of the move might have affected him. Tom Sr. said, “I responded like
any other parent would and told Tom Jr. ‘That’s nice, eat your pizza’.” Chris
said “We both chalked it off as him being silly, but he kept it up. Tom Jr.
continued talking about wine and making wine - and that is where the dream
began”
For the next few years, Tom Jr., with the dream still very much alive,
attended grade school and high school. After that, he went on to major in
English and Film at Vassar. Chris, who had been an English teacher in a
nearby school district and then in educational sales for a Bucks County
newspaper, began to work with Tom Sr. in his own company, BVI. Tom had built
BVI into a successful construction company that designed and built banks and
vaults.
Life was good. Chris and Tom were working at BVI meeting the challenges of
empty nesters while Tom Jr. was in Los
Angeles working in the film industry. Young Tom’s
interests in wine making never stopped –the dream was still alive. Tom Jr.
continued to practice his winemaking education and skills while trying to
meet the challenges he faced as a struggling young filmmaker.
Then, one night, Tom Sr. said, “Chris and I were sleeping soundly when the
phone rang about 3:00 am. It was Tom Jr. My immediate questions, of
course, were about his physical well being - followed shortly with questions
about his mental faculties. Tom Jr. assured me all the synapses were properly
connected. After a lengthy conversation, he said to me, ‘Dad, you know I’ve
been talking to you about this wine stuff for a long, long time and I’ve made
a decision. I want to come home. I want to plant these vines. I want to
establish those roots and at the same time, I want to establish my roots’.”
Tom Sr. continued, “I can tell you, tears came running down my cheeks; I put
him on hold and leaned over to my wife to wake her and said ‘Chris, Tommy’s
coming home. Get your check book, we’re going into
the wine business’.”
 Tom Jr. returned to Washington
Crossing and the Carrolls hired consultants. The
talks became very serious. Tom Jr.’s “dream” was
beginning to materialize. Chris said, “This was about the beginning of 1999.
At the end of 2000, we incorporated. I continued to work with BVI until 2005
when the company was sold and Tom stayed on for another year as a consultant.
Tom juggled both jobs for a while which was very hard. By the time he reached
the end of his consulting job, he was very happy to be focusing solely on
Crossing Vineyards.”
Crossing Vineyards quickly developed a close relationship with the extension
service of Penn
State University.
All three Carrolls agree they have the best of all
worlds. They have the help from Penn
State, they have help
from professional wine consultants (one is still with them), they have Tom Jr.’s passion, education and expertise for wine making,
and Tom and Chris have backgrounds in sales and marketing. If you add a full
commitment to quality, eco-friendly, environmentally safe, and sustainable
wine making practices, you have the ingredients of a very successful Vineyard
and Winery.
Tom Sr. adds, “We have a one word mission statement “QUALITY”
and it’s been the same since day one.” Chris said “From the very
beginning, we knew what our mission would be. We had that in front of us at
all times and we made expensive decisions in the name of quality all the way
down the line.”
 When asked about a second career as a boomer,
Chris responded “This is not a hobby; this is a new chapter and a chapter
that we are relying on financially. We are not dabbling; we are dead serious.
This is not a way to fill our time in our retirement years, not at all; and I
think we have a lot of company among the Boomers who feel the same
way.”
Tom said, “We started this 10 years ago and it was the most difficult thing
I’ve ever done and I’ve done some interesting stuff along the way. This has
been a total joy because I can work with my son in his dream instead of him
working in my dream which is the way it is usually done. Chris and I bring
all our years of experience in business and education plus our years of
experience in life. We get to share these experiences at the table everyday
in a venture that Chris and I knew virtually nothing about. …I wasn’t even a
wine drinker.”
Click
Here to Visit: Crossing Vineyards and Winery
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Join us again for part 2 of “The Making of a Quality Vineyard and Winery - A
Dream Come True”. The vintner himself, Tom Jr., will drop by to tell us what
separates the Crossing Vineyard and Winery apart from others and how it has
quickly become a quality leader in the Wine Industry.
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