12/07/2025
Dear Friends of Grapenuts,
Shortly after we opened our wine business in 2002, our customers started calling us the “Nuts.” We were also seeing words like “boutique,” and “hidden gem” in Yelp reviews and other media. We didn’t call our wine shop a “boutique,” rather, we often laughed about “the little wine shop that could.” Our customers created the “Nuts” and we, in turn, referred to the “Friends of Nuts.” Our business began with happy customer relations, and we learned from the “Friends” as they tried our carefully selected wines and shared their preferences with us. Our mission has been to enhance Wilson’s wine experience while also building friendships. For twenty three years, this seems to have have happened.
We held many charity events, often in partnership with other Wilson businesses and institutions. Many focused on the welfare of Veterans- we salute them. Wine dinners, partnered with local
restaurants and independent chefs offered up exceptional wines and amazing culinary creations. Trips to California and across the seas took the “Nuts” and “ Friends” in search of vineyards and
wineries. None of this would have been possible without our wonderful customers as well as our hardworking and talented group of 5 managers (including several of our children) over the years. We thank all of them. So many memories, smiles, recollections of meeting notable winemakers and
celebrities of the wine world.
Seven Wilsonians and their families opened Grapenuts. We made the cork boards, our artist in residence painted the walls and decorated them with the wine sayings which have greeted our
customers, and we personally selected all the wines. Over time, three of the original owners became our “Grapenuts in the Sky.” We toast them often: Ann and Tom Griffin, and Scott Bowers. We miss them every day.
You know where this is going. By the end of summer, we expect to close Grapenuts. Come see us soon to enjoy wines at deeply discounted prices, and to say “Cheers” one more time. We feel sure our wine legacy will live on with those of you who have come to embrace the wonders of wine with us, and who call us the “Nuts.”Thanks for becoming the “Friends.”
With much gratitude and many “Cheers!”
Sincerely,
Sarah Bowers; Garland Homes, Jr; Mark Matthews; J. Jordan Smith; Sarah Warden; Chris Williford; and all our family members
