Tobacco Road Cellars Magazine Cover

“We both really love wine,” remarked Dusty Field ’94 about he and business partner Jason Earnest ’00, “so it all started when we decided to have our own wine made to give as gifts to friends and family. It was a huge hit and people wanted to buy it from us.” With a little nudging from friends and a little more tasting of their product, the duo was convinced their supporters were right—hence Tobacco Road Cellars was born—a boutique winery that bottles ultra premium Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Gris. This is the story of two proud ECU graduates who met after college through a mutual friend. They soon realized they had many things in common with similar life goals and aspirations, so they decided to combine their talents and interests into consumable profits. In the few short years since Field and Earnest started Tobacco Road Cellars, their wines have received numerous accolades from the industry and a fan following that includes the likes of ECU Head Football Coach Skip Holtz and his wife Jennifer.But let’s go back a few years, to before Tobacco Road…You could say that Dusty Field has that entrepreneurial spirit in his blood—or perhaps in his fingertips—for everything he touches seems to turn to gold. Field was not a typical college student. Yes, he enjoyed going to class, participating in his fraternity Sigma Phi Epsilon, and having a good time with friends, but Field also caught the business bug early-on. Despite being a biology major whose original intention was to be an optometrist, Field knew that earning a living was critical to survival. “I have to give credit to my parents for instilling in me a sense of financial responsibility. They provided a way for me to attend college, but I had to come up with ways to pay for the extra-curricular activities I was involved in. My fraternity brothers used to joke on me because they’d be at a location as a patron and I’d be there collecting quarters from my pistachio and gumball machines.” Little did the brothers of Sig Ep know how Field’s first business venture would lead to bigger, better, more profitable businesses in the future. “With the vending machines, I learned on a small scale how to negotiate commissions, how to factor in your cost, and how location was a big factor on profitability per machine. I always worked hard, but I learned that if you work smarter you could get a lot more accomplished than by just manually working hard. It might not have been the most glamorous job, but in terms of hours spent and money earned I was usually better off than my friends who worked at restaurants or in retail.” With the continued success and growth of his vending machine business, Field decided to add pay telephones, then ATM’s, and finally armored cars to his business—all potentially dangerous when changing out money. Field was very fortunate in that his safety was never threatened, but he took precautions—including fast food bags and his black lab—to be inconspicuous. “I’d walk into a convenience store to service one of my ATMs with a McDonald’s bag with $10,000 in it. I figured no one would think I’d have anything important in a McDonald’s bag! And of course my dog was always good protection, too.” After Field’s ATMs had spread into 32 states with 1,400 machines, his interest turned to armored cars. “When I say I’m going to do something I strive to deliver on that promise. One weekend the armored car company that we were using to service the ATMs didn’t do what I needed them to when one of our machines in a large mall ran out of money. So I decided that in order to have the level of service that I expected I needed to start my own armored car company. I wasn’t willing to risk my business based on someone else’s shortcoming.” In 2003, at just 31-years-old, Field sold the ATM company for $7 million, and the armored car company shortly afterward for $1 million. But Field had no intention of “retiring early” or just taking it easy—he set his sights on real estate and partnered with Tyler Morris, a long time friend who had plans to build condos in Raleigh. The two formed Boylan Companies, a multi-faceted real estate company with development, construction, management, commercial, and realty capabilities, of which Field is the CEO. It was through charitable work Field was doing for Boylan Companies that he met his future business partner.Enter Jason Earnest.“My dad owned his own real estate company, so growing up I always knew that I wanted to go into business for myself. My degree from East Carolina is in finance, which certainly helps when you’re an entrepreneur. I had a great time at ECU, and it was through my fraternity Kappa Sigma that I was exposed to leadership roles and got involved with community service and other charitable work. That’s a tradition that I’m proud to continue with Tobacco Road Cellars.” Earnest and Field understand that letting people taste their product is the best way to make sales. But they use this tactic for the good of others, not just to increase their bottom line. “When we hold wine tastings in people’s homes we allow the host/hostess to choose which charity they would like a portion of the sales to go to. Some of the organizations that we’ve recently contributed to are Muscular Dystrophy, Duke Hospice, and Band Together (who then makes donations to groups like the Boys and Girls Club and Big Brothers Big Sisters).” “It was actually through our individual philanthropy work with Band Together that Dusty and I met. After I graduated I worked with Principal Financial Group where I assisted individuals with financial planning and managing assets, and with small businesses for things like retirement plans. Principal Financial Group was a sponsor of a Band Together event, and coincidently, Boylan Companies was too. I wanted to learn more about Boylan Companies, so a friend got me in touch with Dusty. We met, discovered that we share the same visions on a lot of things, and were able to partner on some projects. The wine came shortly after that.”Earnest had received a bottle of wine as a gift from a friend. He thought it was the ultimate gift because the friend’s signature was on the label—and it wasn’t just written with a Sharpie. He thought for sure the guy must own his own vineyard, but quickly learned this wasn’t the case. “We [Earnest and Field] got in touch with some contacts we had in California and went out to make our own wine.”Fast forward to today…“California Grapes. Carolina Attitude.” is the tagline on the Tobacco Road Cellars’ press kit. It’s a testament to the superiority of the “Tobacco Road” region, the inspiration for the company’s name. “Dusty and I are entrepreneurs, naturally, and like to start things from the ground up and make them succeed. Our focus from day one has been on quality and making the best wines that we can make. The name “Tobacco Road” is a tradition of excellence in North Carolina and the region, so our wines have to live up to that name. We’re involved in every detail from choosing which vineyards to use and bottling to label design and marketing.” The pair did their homework and learned that there is much more to making a delicious wine than crushing and fermenting grapes. It’s truly a two-part process that begins with the vineyard and ends at the winery. Tobacco Road Cellars does not own it’s own vineyard, but takes advantage of doing business with multiple vineyards to pick and choose the best harvest of grapes each season. Many factors determine berry quality, including weather conditions, soil acidity or alkalinity, and the viticulturist’s method of tending the vines and collecting the ripened grapes. Then it is up to the winery to complete the process—de-stemming, crushing, fermenting, aging, filtering, and bottling to produce the perfect blend. All that attention to detail has paid off—Tobacco Road Cellars won a gold medal for it’s 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon “Vitality” at the 2008 Riverside International Wine Competition in California; the endorsement of Gary Vaynerchuk, host of Wine Library TV; and praise from numerous industry experts like Scott McKeon and Bart Holstein of Wine God Collections.In the beginning, Tobacco Road Cellars was primarily focused on red varietals, offering Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, and Syrah, but like any good business the company has continued to grow. Pinot Gris, a white varietal, was added in 2007 and 2010 will bring Chardonnay to the offerings. Tobacco Road Cellars’ wines are available at many restaurants, country clubs, and wine shops in the Triangle area, Greensboro, Charlotte, and Asheville, North Carolina, and true connoisseurs can enjoy Tobacco Road Cellars’ wines delivered to their door through membership in the Regency Club. As most businesses do, Tobacco Road Cellars uses traditional marketing methods to sell their wines, but these business savvy partners also utilize today’s popular technology and a few non-traditional methods to advertise. “Tobacco Road Show,” a link on the company’s Web site www.tobaccoroadcellars.com, provides fun, entertaining videos of enthusiastic customers, sommelier reviews, and Field and Earnest enjoying the fruits of their labor. Tobacco Road Cellars also has a presence on Facebook, MySpace, and You Tube. The company offers a music CD Vitality, a collection of new age music perfect for sitting back, relaxing, and enjoying the perfect glass of wine, and Excellent Courses, a cookbook from Ravenscroft School in Raleigh, North Carolina.For Field and Earnest winemaking is not just a business, it’s a passion, and this passion is renewed each season when they begin the process for the year’s reserve—a tradition that has been practiced for thousands of years and continues through these two ECU graduates.