SWEETGRASS WINERY & DISTILLERY WRITTEN BY AMBER G. CHRISTENSEN-SMITH
F
inding the perfect location for a distillery can
be a daunting task. New business owners often
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PHOTOS PROVIDED BY SWEETGRASS WINERY & DISTILLERY
helped them drive their desire to start their own winery and distillery, something Keith knew he would always do.
worry about how the community will react to their
One after another, farmers and their families filed into
application for starting such a business in their
the town hall as the Bodines prepared for opposition. “At
neighborhood—especially a small, conservative,
the start of the meeting there must have been 30 people
rural community.
there to comment on our permit,” shares Constance.
Keith
and
Constance
Bodine,
founders
of
“Keith, looking pale and green, at the same time stood
Sweetgrass Winery & Distillery, were in this exact
and gave the community and the selectman a review
boat when they went out on a limb (or pasture, if you
of our plans.” To their surprise and satisfaction, the
see fit) and applied for a permit to start their business
first farmer stood and shared his thoughts on the land
in Union, Maine. It was a scary thought that they were
use. “He spoke and told the board, ‘We are losing our
planning to build a craft distilling business in Maine—
farmlands and families—here is a business that wants
one of the last states to repeal prohibition laws and a
to use the farmland and farm products—approve their
strongly conservative area. So, as it goes, the Bodines
permit’.” Constance continues: “One after another they
found themselves at the local town hall meeting on a
spoke of their land and farms’ loss to debt and housing
snowy day in February, ready to nervously defend the
developments and that we should be allowed our permit.”
application for Sweetgrass Winery & Distillery.
Many deep breaths later, the Bodines have worked to
The journey to this make or break community meeting
build a marriage and a family, and a business of wine
had already been a long one. They began with educations
and craft spirits on top of that. They now have 10 years
in engineering, sensory analysis of wine, food science
of experience under their belts of running their own
enology, and distillation classes, and had worked to help
business, and 18 different wines and spirits moving out
others build wineries and distilleries before deciding to
their doors. The Bodines of Sweetgrass have kept their
go out on their own with Sweetgrass. The experience
promise to the community and are proud to share that
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