How Our Wineries Work

Waters Edge Winery & Bistro® is an urban winery system that brings the very best of wine culture to communities across the country. Combining elements of the traditional wine making experience with the emerging wine bar concept, Waters Edge Winery & Bistro® creates a diverse selection of wines and offers guests an opportunity to engage intimately with a historically exclusive lifestyle. As it seeks to bring the winery experience to the people, Waters Edge Winery & Bistro® presents an innovative, versatile concept that treats guests to quality wines, a relaxing atmosphere, and a cultural experience like no other.

A Micro-Winery

Our franchise helps people start up complete wineries in a retail space from 3,500 square feet and up. Think of it as a “micro-winery.” The difference between a Waters Edge Winery & Bistro® and a traditional winery is that we do not grow or crush the grapes – we outsource those functions to a global network of vineyards and growers. This lowers the cost of ownership, and removes the biggest risk associated with most wineries.

Our Wine

A Waters Edge Winery & Bistro® makes several wines on-site that are exclusive to our locations. We make Merlots, Cabs and Chardonnays, Barolos, Gewurztraminers, Pinotages, Petit Verdot and Ports. We source grapes globally that will allow you to make over 50 different kinds of wine using grapes from the best grape growing regions in the world. Places such as California, Italy, France, New Zealand, Chile and Germany.

Our Taste

We also offer a lineup of wines that are found nowhere else and add to the spectrum of tastes for our guests. These include fun wines such as our popular natural-flavored sangrias such as a peach apricot, white cranberry and green apple. These wines are easy for nearly everyone to enjoy – low in alcohol and slightly off-dry. In addition to our sangrias, we offer a number of crisp sparkling wines under our brand which include a brut (dry) sparkling, almond sparkling and peach mango.

Each Waters Edge Winery & Bistro® location offers a gourmet selection of food items that pair well with our extensive wine offerings. We work with each location to curate a thoughtful but simple menu of shareable items. This includes a variety of appetizers, salads, sandwiches, flatbreads and desserts – with several of these items changing with the seasons.

Support & Training

The Waters Edge Winery & Bistro® team provides complete support from site location and lease negotiation to grand opening. We partner with a nationwide construction firm who will design your location and solicit bids from local, reputable contractors. Our construction firm will oversee the buildout to ensure that it is done on time and on budget.

We have made the art of winemaking into a simple four-step process anyone can learn. We are experts at helping you market the wine to your local community by focusing on generating revenue from five different categories. Your winery location will be unique in your community. No similar model exists that combines all five of these categories to help you stand out from any competition.

Your wines will be crafted using our tried & true recipes that produce consistently high-quality vino. We provide all the necessary equipment your location will require to make wine efficiently as well as operate a low-overhead kitchen for the bistro. Waters Edge Winery & Bistro® offers our franchisees a monthly newsletter to keep you up to date on developments and techniques to help your winery grow. You are invited to join a monthly conference call to share ideas and promote growth. We also host a biennial franchise meeting to gather and learn together.