Cedar Ridge Winery Status??

[grehorst]

Bill Owens writes...

"Last year I visited Jeff Quint of Cedar Ridge Winery and Distillery. His distillery was located not far from downtowm Cedar Rapids. Today's NY Times shows the city under water.

I phoned Jeff several times and e-mailed to see if he was okay. No response.

Anyone know anything about Quint's situation?

If, Jeff needs help is there any we as the distilling community can do to help? ".

[grehorst]

Bill Owens writes...

"Last year I visited Jeff Quint of Cedar Ridge Winery and Distillery. His distillery was located not far from downtown Cedar Rapids. Today's NY Times shows the city under water.

I phoned Jeff several times and e-mailed to see if he was okay. No response.

Anyone know anything about Quint's situation?

If, Jeff needs help is there any we as the distilling community can do to help? ".

Nick Quint- (Jeff's cousin who runs Yahara Bay Distillery in Madison, WI) responded via email...

"I talked to Jeff on Fri. He said they sand bagged and pumped as long as they could but had to give up. The distillery flooded with about five feet of water. I have not been able to make contact since.

Nick Quint"

[Cedar Ridge]

This is Jeff from Cedar Ridge Vineyards, Winery & Distillery. Just replying to the post about us.

We, like some others in this business, started as a winery and added the distillery back in 2005. Since the beginning, we have been located in downtown Cedar Rapids, with plans to move out to our vineyards this fall. We are in the middle of some zoning changes and we already have the architectural work done, etc., to initiate the move.

Well, we should have done it sooner. We are in the process of disposing of about 75% of our inventory from flood damage. And, like pretty much everyone around us, we have no flood insurance - in Cedar Rapids, flood stage is 12 feet. The 150-year-old record high was 19.5 feet. We just reached 31.1 feet.

We are currently seeking TTB permission to temporarily move into Yahara Bay's distillery in Madison to make product for our existing accounts, until such time as we have the facility cleaned and have electricity back. Nick has graciously offered to accommodate us in his space there.

Anyway, I can't get a response out of the TTB. I have submitted the request to two different individuals there that should be in authoritative positions, but neither have provided a response or even acknowledged they are working on it.

Any assistance I can get would be appreciated.

When I get time, I'll post some pictures of the flood damage. Luckily, the last thing I did before we abandoned ship was to fill our pot still with water. Otherwise, it would have been floating on its side for sure.

More later....

Thanks.

[Ralph at Tuthilltown]

Hi Jeff. I think we can not help you, just too far away. But I suggest you contact your Congressman to address the lack of response from the TTB. We have had good luck. It seems the TTB offices are responsive to Congressional inquiry. Remind your Congressman that you pay a lot of taxes to both the Fed and the State, and you're not paying taxes if you're not making alcohol. And be persistant with them. Our best wishes are with you.

[grehorst]

Agree with Ralph- call your congressman right away- it's helped us in the past.

Good luck and keep us posted!

[delaware_phoenix]

Good luck, and I hope you can get back on your feet quickly.

[Andrew]

Jeff:

Best of luck and best wishes.

You may have more luck with the TTB today. The TTB conference in Cincinnati that just wrapped up yesterday had heavy TTB staff participation; I was told ~50 out of town agents and most of the Cincinnati office were involved.

-Andrew