“These Women are Mighty”
Alison Smith Story
Posted on January 22, 2019
As the force behind Smith Story Wine Cellars, Alison Smith Story puts a heap of stock in the power of community. Launched with her husband Eric in 2013, Smith Story is the first winery to be fully crowdfunded. “I’m still humbled that so many people believed in us well before we made a single drop of wine,” she says. It seems to have paid off for all involved: the venture has rocketed to success, with a strong local fan base and tasting rooms in both Sonoma and Mendocino counties. Smith Story Wine Cellars has been named “Where the Cool Kids Go” by Sonoma Magazine and listed in “The Ultimate Anderson Valley Bucket List” by the San Francisco Chronicle.
The winery’s second label, Lord Sandwich, funds the nonprofit Socks for Sandwich, which has delivered tens of thousands of socks to people in need. (Both are named for a certain smashingly handsome and Instagram-famous Goldendoodle.) The network of comrades and “found family” these efforts have woven has been a strong one indeed. For her work, Alison has been named one of Sonoma Magazine‘s “5 Inspiring Wine Women”.