A DECADE OF DAUNTLESS
MMXIV – MMXXIV
Dauntless Wine Cø was founded 10 years ago, on the anniversary of the repeal of Prohibition, with a simple mission: to help Veterans transition from the field to the farm. Armed with our mission and a can-do attitude, we began navigating an opaque and risky industry like vagabonds searching for a home.
With no prior experience, it took us 4 years to launch our own tasting room, 6 years to establish the Dauntless Veteran Foundation, and 8 years to build our forever home in the Chehalem Mountains. In between these milestones were thousands of hours of education, hundreds of pop-up tastings, a pandemic, and countless nights spent wondering, "What's next?"
We had no idea where this venture would lead—only that it would take us into the fray. It would challenge us at every level and push our personal and professional abilities to their limits. In essence, we had to be Dauntless in our endeavor.
We knew that sweat equity would only take us so far — we needed community. Thankfully, we found it in 2016 when we launched our Founder's Club. Since then, our community has grown from our first 30 members to over 525 today! With your love and support we have been able to maintain consistent growth for 10 years without the need to distribute through the 3-tier system.
Because of you, Dauntless Wine Cø. has become THE Veteran-centric winery in the US, topping Wine Enthusiast's list of Veteran wineries. We now get requests from all over the country asking for our wine to support Veteran endeavors. This recognition has been humbling and we could not be more grateful to everyone, past and present, who support our mission day in and out.
If you were to ask me 10 years ago where we would be today I honestly wouldn't have been able to tell you. I am often asked, how did a Marine with no prior experience break into an industry with such a high barrier of entry? And to that I always say – I leaned into the "Marine Corps mindset" where failure is never an option. The Marine Corps instills a will to win, to adapt and overcome, and to do better with less.
This mindset is a common attribute among veterans, and that's why veteran leadership is more important than ever in this fragmented and highly politicized world. In 1971 over 75% of congress were veterans, fast forward to today and less than 20% of congress served in the military.
So veterans – take a moment to reflect on your service and the unique skills and qualities that you possess. America needs strong leaders more than ever at all levels of society. Please consider what you can do to make a difference in your community and your locus of control. Society is facing troubled waters, but with your leadership we can navigate them to find a new era of prosperity.
Wrapping up, I would like to acknowledge a few key individuals and entities whose support have been critical to our success. Their help always came at "sink or swim" moments – without them it's hard to say if Dauntless would exist today.
- My beautiful wife Carrie and her family who have provided nothing but love and support through thick and thin.
- My parents who gave me the support to make the leap.
- My winemaking & viticulture professors Jessica Sandrock and Jessica Cortell for giving me the knowledge I lean in to every day.
- Jim and Holly Witte from A Blooming Hill Vineyard for giving us the opportunity to make wine for the first time.
- The Farmer Veteran Coalition for awarding us a crucial $5,000 grant which allowed us to bottle our first vintage.
- Alan Jesse & Forest Hills Farms, without their generosity Dauntless would not be where it's at today.
- Dean Fisher of ADEA Wine Co for giving us our second home, allowing us to use top end equipment, introducing us to the industry, and allowing us to pour our wine for the first time.
- FedEx for believing in our mission and awarding us a small business grant used to purchase our first piece of equipment – a industrial wine pump that we still use today.
- Susan Teppola and her nephew Eric of Laurel Ridge for giving us our 3rd home and allowing us to make wine there for 5 years.
- Scott Hildebrandt of La Dolce Vita Vineyards for his generosity, guidance, and mentorship in developing the next iteration of Dauntless Wine Cø and the Dauntless Veteran Foundation.
- The Keys to Progress Program by Progressive and Enterprise, which provided a 2021 Ford F250 that handles our logistical needs on a daily basis.
- And finally our wine club – you are amazing people! Thank you for supporting us and allowing us to contribute to our community! We are proud to say that our club retention rate is 85-90% whereas the industry average is 55-60%. Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!
Cheers to another decade and beyond!
- Ben Martin
Owner & Winemaker
