What started as a home hobby is about to become a new business just outside Brewton with Roger Templeton and his family set to open its Junavelli Winery on property the family owns on Gum Tree Lane off of Highway 31.
The Escambia County Commission voted unanimously Monday to approve the Alabama Beverage Control Board manufacturer's license for the new business.
Commission Chairman Raymond Wiggins said he went door-to-door in the vicinity of where the new wine brewery would be located and said everyone who was at home had no objections.
Templeton said he's now waiting on final approval from the state to begin operations.
He said he got the idea about 12 years ago while managing the blueberry shed in Brewton. At the end of the season he sold the last blueberries to a winery.
Then he decided to try to make some of his own.
“I made some and it wasn't bad, but I kept working,” he said. “Alabama law wouldn't allow me to take it off my property, but I had people come by and it was getting better.”
He said his daughter Kelsey convinced him to start a winery.
“As soon as I get my state license, I'll start crushing berries,” Templeton said.
He said he will start with blueberries, Asian persimmons and other fruits to make dry, sweet and southern sweet wines.
He plans to have a retail store next to his 353 Gum Tree Lane residence to not only sell wine, but wine glasses, cork screws and other items.
He hopes then to find distributors for his wine and said he's already had three restaurants in Brewton that want to add his wine to the menu.
Originally from Illinois, Templeton moved to the Brewton area with with the Ben Person bow hunting company.
He found his niche with the wine and family and friends talked him into the business.
He also said the name 'Junavellie Winery' has a meaning saying he wanted an Italian name.
“My wife (the former Lisa Basliere) is Italian,” he said.
He said his daughter Kelsey's first dog was named 'Juno' and his son Kyle's first dog was named 'Velvet' so he put all the letters together to come up with the Italian name 'Junavelli'.
He said it also helped that he searched the Internet so make sure there was not another 'Junavelli' wine that had been trademarked.
He said he'll start out making wine from the fruits like blueberries, pears, persimmons, grapes and any other fruits he can get his hands on.
He's already got blueberry bushes planted on his property and in phase II of his operation he's planning on planting other fruit trees and putting in more blueberry bushes to grow his own fruit for his wine.
“I'm hoping to have a grand opening in February,” he said. “I'm excited and the family is excited.”
