Patty Prouty, owner of The Georgia Winery, is proud of making good wines
that win awards.Name: Patty Prouty
Position: Owner
Location: The Georgia Winery
Her tasks: "We've been in business for 28 years, so at the beginning I did everything there was to do. I did all of it from bottle washing to wine making to all the major financial decisions, purchasing, everything. Now, thank goodness, I have mostly other people making those decisions under me."
Favorite part of the job: Making good wines and seeing the business grow. Turning out some really good wines and having them win awards. It's very satisfying to have such a great customer base, people who come in and are very, very gung-ho about our wines, who just love us and think we're the greatest thing on the face of the Earth as far as wines go."
Favorite wine creations: Love Potion, a red muscadine wine mixed with chocolate, served in a small bottle and created for Valentine's Day; Lemon Drop, muscadine wine mixed with lemon; Pina Colada wine, a muscadine mixed with coconut.
Least favorite part of the job: "Dealing with the government. That is one of the most difficult things that I do. Because it's alcohol, it's heavily regulated on all levels."
Wine disasters: "We've lost an entire tank of wine three times, three thousand gallons worth of wine on the floor due to a leaky gasket."
What she learns: "For me, it's the realization of what the job entails as far as being in business. I'm more of a scientist than a business person. I'd be more comfortable looking under a microscope than talking on the phone. In this job, I've had to put myself in positions to further the business that I never would have otherwise done on my own."
How to make a career of it: "I have no background in wine making, so it depends on the individual in terms of their personality and what they would be able to do. A lot of what we do, is we make [our wines] the best tasting."