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We sit down at Lakeridge Winery over a bold Napa Valley Cabernet and trace how a backyard vineyard experiment turns into one of Florida’s biggest wine operations. We talk candidly about leadership pressure, long-tenured teams, and the hard problem of keeping wine consistent while customers keep changing.

• the family history from Tallahassee to Clermont and the launch of San Sebastian  
• what it takes to run production, retail, wholesale, and vineyards as separate departments  
• the path from tennis scholarship and public accounting to winery operations leadership  
• why employee tenure is so rare here and how culture carries through transitions  
• learning every job on the floor to earn credibility as a young COO  
• harvest logistics, dormant vines, bud break timing, and what freezes really impact  
• old muscadine vines, blending strategy, and why non-vintage consistency matters  
• festivals after COVID, hands-on winemaking, and where AI may fit  
• the next risks including shifting loyalty, pricing pressure, and succession planning


Checkout Lakridge Winery here: https://www.lakeridgewinery.com/

ABOUT PERSONAL BETS

Person Bets is a podcast for the people actually running the business, not the investors, not the board, not the consultants on the sideline. Hosted by Chance Sweat, business broker at FitzGibbon Alexander, Inc. and founder of Foundry Leadership.

🔗 Personal Site: chancesweat.com
🔗 Brokerage Site: fitzgibbonalexander.com
🔗 Follow Chance: @itschancesweat