See what had happened was…we were essentially consumed by the wine industry without a single point of reference of what wine “should” be. We were blank slates who, through sheer freaking luck, were taught by the definition of wine geeks. And we sold wines as blank slates too. We just enjoyed connecting to (cool) people we wouldn’t have otherwise met; no tasting notes or flexing required!
During the year-that-shall-not-be-named, and after binge-watching Schitt’s Creek, we found ourselves pondering the remarkable ability of wine to foster camaraderie. Community. And why was wine culture failing to create this space for a wider audience?! Somewhere along the way, the community-building powers of wine were diminished by a dense air of exclusivity and inaccessibility.
We continued pondering it all into the late evening-early morning hours, trying to diagnose the problem. Eventually, we figured out what would be our solution: keep the wine, ditch everything else. Honor Tradition. Embrace Change.
“We don’t want to change how wine is made, we just want to throw on a coat of paint,”
Nick reaffirms in an early creative session.
Kristin’s lightbulb exploded, “That’s our name! ‘Coat of Paint’
but change the spelling to C-O-T-E… for the PUN!”
Now let’s have some fun.