click to enlarge - File: Daria Bishop
- Owner Craig Stevens
At the end of February, Craig Stevens officially ceased production at his Wild Hart Distillery in Shelburne. Stevens did one final production run in mid-February, he told Seven Days, and expects the state's 802Spirits stores to be stocked with bottles of Wild Hart gin, vodka and other products for the next two to four months.
Stevens cofounded the distillery in 2017 and has been its sole owner since June 2018. Wild Hart was a fixture at Vermont farmers markets, selling products such as its Vermont Classic, blood orange, and pear and ginger gins at as many as 19 markets from Burlington to Montpelier to Rutland. The distillery had several local tasting rooms over the years, and its products were distributed as far as the mid-Atlantic.
"As a small, owner-run business, I've been doing everything from accounting to cleaning toilets to marketing and sales to actually making the alcohol," Stevens said. "You get caught up in the grind."
As the costs of bottles and other production materials, staffing, and shipping rose, "margins were getting smaller and smaller," he continued. Wild Hart's accessible pricing — a sweet spot of $29.99, Stevens said — was no longer realistic in the changing market.
In the fall, emergency surgery on a torn retina forced Stevens to pause and consider his work-life balance. He closed the distillery's bar and tasting room at 26 Sage Court in December, hoping staff could find new jobs before Dry January. Rather than sign a new multiyear lease at the end of February, he opted to close the business.
Wild Hart served as an incubator for small spirits brands such as Rectified Bourbon, Linchpin and Arcana Botanica Spirits, maker of Fernet Vexia. Stevens mentored their owners while they used Wild Hart's equipment to produce their spirits, paying commissions rather than rent. Matt Grant of Linchpin will now be based at South Hero's Snow Farm Vineyard & Distillery, Snow Farm co-owner Dave Lane confirmed, and Stevens is working with the others to find homes.
"We're always oscillating between investing in our careers and investing in ourselves, and I'm moving back to investing in myself and my family," Stevens said. "Now I get to be on the other side of the table for all these farmers markets, supporting our huge community of makers."