Vietnam veteran Cord Switzer, 67, lacks tact. At least that’s what his superiors said in his Army officer reviews.
“I believe in being honest with people,” says Switzer, a former captain who served as a helicopter pilot in Vietnam. “I’m not really good at playing political games either.”
That same brutally honest and no-time-for-politics mentality has guided Switzer and his brothers to own and operate the Fredericksburg Winery, one of the most successful Texas wineries. Featured in Decanter, Wine Business Monthly, Texas Monthly and USA Today, Switzer spares nobody from his opinion.
Once, a renowned wine writer asked Switzer what the challenges were with selling Texas wine, and he responded: “You.”
Wine writers make wine all froufrou and unapproachable, Switzer says.
“Joe Q. Public is intimidated by wine and everybody’s taste buds are different,” he says. “People read something and think that’s how wine is supposed to taste. For reds, they often say wine has ‘black currant notes.’ How many people know what a black currant is?”
Switzer hopes to stop the wine misinformation mess with his Wine 101 WHP, “Wine Without the Horse Pucky.” This course helps consumers understand the wine basics and hone in their own taste buds.
“I have the Switzer rule to wine drinking: Drink what you want with what you want. And if somebody doesn’t like it, tell them to take a flying leap,” he says.
His conversational style may lack savoir-faire, but it’s filled with a genuine nature consumers appreciate. To understand this attitude toward the business of winemaking, you must know Switzer from the early days, after his 1961-1967 Army stint was finished.
An Interest in all Things Wine
The wine bug hit Switzer in the mid-1970s. His wife, Sandy, was a wine buyer for American Airlines. They frequently traveled to Napa Valley for business before it became a world wine power. They kept showing up, always asking questions.
He met now-famous winemakers, like Robert Mondavi, who encouraged him to learn the trade. Switzer took winemaking extension courses from the University of California-Davis. He also scoped out possible vineyards and wineries to buy, while teaching at the University of Texas-Arlington.
“Texas had a great winemaking history prior to prohibition, which it never recovered from,” he said.
In the mid-1990s, Switzer borrowed $10,000 from a friend to lease a section of a downtown Fredericksburg building and winemaking equipment. He started out as a retail store, the Texas Wine & Champagne Company, with the goal of creating a winery.
In 1996, that dream was realized. The first official Fredericksburg Winery release came on the 150th anniversary of the town’s founding. Since then, Switzer has purchased Texas-grown grapes from nearby vineyards, pressed them, fermented the juice and eventually bottled the wine. His wines include the “Enchanted Rock,” a blend of Pinot Noir and Ruby Cabernet, “Barons Bach Burgundy,” Sangiovese and Zinfandel blend, and Der Keller, a white wine blend, among others.
In less than 20 years, he’s turned the Fredericksburg Winery from a money-sucking loss to a $1-million-a-year revenue maker. But he could not have done it alone, Switzer says.
Community Support
Switzer says a supportive community and the wine industry are major reasons why Fredericksburg Winery now produces 6,000 bottles a year. When he first started making wine, he bought leftover Chardonnay grapes from an out-of-business vineyard. He called a winemaker in Napa, Jack Cakebread, to ask how much yeast he needed to make 68 gallons, “which is nothing at all. Jack said, ‘everybody starts somewhere. I am going to measure out how much yeast you need and overnight the formula.’ The yeast company didn’t charge us because it was so little. That is what makes profession unique—Industry supports the industry.”
These days, it’s Switzer gladly handing out advice and letting Texas winemakers, his competitors, borrow equipment. For anybody trying to break into the industry, he recommends meeting winemakers on tours, asking questions and just being honest with customers.
But what has led his company down the successful path is family. The Fredericksburg Winery is family operated. From the computers to the bottling, a Switzer has a hand in it.
“When you’re starting a business from zero, family support goes a long way,” he says. “I have a great family,” who’s making some great wine.
Fun Facts
Age: 67
Military Service: U.S. Army, 1961 to 1967, Captain (O-3)
What did you do in the military (military occupation)? Helicopter and fixed-in rotary pilot.
Why did you join the military? My father was in World War II, so I was raised in a military environment. I was taught to say, “yes sir, no sir,” before I could walk.
Any significant military experience you’d like to mention? When people asked me what I did in the Army, I tell them I was a taxi cab driver. I picked people up and put them here and there.
Education: MBA, University of Texas-Arlington
Name/Location/headquarters: Fredericksburg Winery, 247 West Main Street, Fredericksburg, Texas 78624
Any additional sites/facilities: Wine available for online purchases
Company Web site: www.FbgWinery.com
# of employees: 12
Military/Veteran Employees: 2 and a nephew serving in Iraq
Year founded: Started business in 1992, but received federal permits in 1996.
2009 revenues: $1 million
Fred Minnick is a national writer and photographed based in Louisville, Ky. An Iraq War veteran, Minnick is the author of Camera Boy: An Army Journalist’s War in Iraq (Hellgate Press).