Why Coffee and Wine?

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Specialization

Back in 2005, we wrote about the value in specialization. We often circle back and revisit this ethos and ask what specialization or focus means to Needmore. Do we focus on an industry? A technology? A service? Recently, we answered this question and narrowed our focus to working primarily with coffee and wine.

Why coffee and wine?

The easy answer is that our founder emerged from coffee (both running his own coffee shop in Minneapolis and then as the first Stumptown Coffee team member here in Portland). Wine was a natural extension of our growing understanding of coffee. The even easier answer is that we enjoy both on a daily basis and it is immeasurably fulfilling to work with what you love. While each of these offers an enticing motivation for stepping in to the industry, neither has the staying power to keep us interested for over a decade. What holds our heart and intention is the people we meet along the way. Coffee and wine are both agricultural products to begin with. To produce either, one must have spot, an origin, for harvest. Whether it be coffee grown in Ethiopia or grapes here in the Willamette Valley, these crops are tied to a particular space and time. By extension, to produce either coffee or wine, one develops a connection with the earth, an innate understanding of the necessity of growth and nurturing, and a deep connection with the seasons. The individuals we’ve met in the coffee and wine industries have an inherent connection to this cycle; they visit source areas and spend time developing relationships with farmers (or grown their own crops). This focus on time and relationships comes across in the way they interract with the people they work with, from the farmers that grow their beans to the team that produces their website. We’re incredibly humbled and proud to be working side-by-side with some of the humblest, most innovative people on the planet.