The Digest | New Jersey Magazine
Issue link: https://magazines.vuenj.com/i/1387613
hamptonwaterwine.com What is it like working with each other? Jesse: It's been a lot of fun working with Dad. If I would have tried to go into the music business it would have been different. Any idea I had if I went into music, he'd have the answer for. Wine is so new for both of us so it's been a very collaborative experience. I ask "what do you think", and he says "I don't know what do you think". The opportunity to learn and grow in it together has been so cool and so much fun for the both of us. He's had an amazing career. To be at the top of his class for so long he has to be legit so it was an opportunity to learn from him about general business practices and to see him operate in meetings. We went to dinner with CEOs and department heads and I'm nervous. He's not at all because he's him. He is not as day to day in the business as I am, but I watch him masterfully go from a story of the road and then to just know when to drop the hook. I see how the people jump to help. That's amazing. Jon: 99.9% of the time we see eye to eye. I think he's doing a great job I'm really proud of him as any Dad would be working with their kid but I happen to agree with what he's doing. Seeing someone's dream come to life has been the most fun I've had. Watching a young entrepreneur fight hard and scrap daily--none of it is easy and I see him work very hard. That's my greatest joy watching the little victories. Any future plans to expand the line? Jesse: We are planning to expand but we keep pushing it out. We expand distribution every day and expanded the team and every day we just continue to push the story. We do hope to expand the line at some point. Jon: There's a legit argument that we should broaden into whites but there's a lot of runway in America where rosé hasn't caught on. You could do a premium blend, you could do a spritzer. If they wanted to do a white I'd be supportive but right now our focus is solely on rosé. Hampton Water Wine is available throughout the tri-state area in restaurants, through grocery chains, and at most wine retailers. They have expanded to areas throughout the country as well and the wine is available online. V U E N J .C O M 68