Andreas DeKar Winery
Founder: Andre Hendrix
Web
1738 Noble, East Cleveland, OH 44112 • (216) 214-6599 • info@andreasdekarwines.com
Andreas DeKar Winery is a Cleveland-based maker and distributor of premium wines, handcrafted from California grapes.
HOW MENTORING WILL HELP: “It’ll show me the correct steps to obtain the licenses and permits required to run my business. I’d also like to gain insight on the avenues to help small-business owners with startup capital. advertising, coaching, accounting, taxes and other aspects of starting and running a successful business.”
HOW $10,000 WILL HELP: “I’ll use it to obtain a wine manufacturing license, a distributor’s license and a license to sell my product online. I also plan to obtain the necessary permits to run my business in Garfield Heights, Ohio, where I’m negotiating about a location.”
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SERIAL ENTREPRENEUR Andre Hendrix got into winemaking quite by accident. Not long ago, a nightclub he owned in Cleveland, his hometown, was razed for a condo development. “I had so much liquor left over from the club that I looked for innovative ways to make money off it,” says Hendrix, 33. This ultimately led him to a winemaking class, where after continual experimentation, a fermented peach wine was pronounced by the course instructor as the best amateur wine he’d ever tasted.
“I took it to a local barbershop and let them taste it,” Hendrix says. “They said it was good but not strong. So I went back to the teacher and asked how I could raise the potency level. I created a batch of Concord grape wine at 16 percent alcohol by volume.” (Commonly consumed wine, of any varietal, rarely exceeds 15 percent ABV.) “From there, Andreas DeKar was born.”
Hendrix purchases designer grapes and concentrates from a California winery, then ferments, bottles, racks, stores and distributes it from Cleveland. His offerings range from standard varietals (merlot, cabernet, chardonnay, riesling and the like) to more exotic fare (chocolate raspberry, sweet merlot, blueberry pomegranate). He also hosts wine tastings and designs individual labels for special occasions.
Andreas DeKar is hardly Hendrix’s first business venture; in addition to the nightclub, he has also owned a home-rehab company, and he’s currently pursuing a business degree at Cleveland State University. His experiences are all of a piece with a crucial lesson he learned during his first formal job, working with his late father at a packaging company: “I decided I would never achieve my goals by working for someone else,” he says. “This was the start of me becoming an entrepreneur.” •
