Featured Bucksport Business of the Week Vernona Wine & Design
We are Mike and Colleen Gross. Our home is on Verona Island in Maine. Growing up in Maine has given us many blessings. We are able to enjoy the changing seasons of New England and all the natural beauty that surrounds us from the wooded mountains to the crystal clear and rugged coastal areas. One of our favorite retreats is a small family island in Stonington, Maine. It is there that we restore ourselves by drinking in the beauty and peacefulness of the ocean. Imagine a beach picnic basking in the warm sun with your toes in the sand and enjoying a delicious glass of wine that was created from the grapes you grew yourself. This is where the idea of “Verona Wine and Design” began.
Mike is a talented carpenter by trade and I am an occupational therapy practitioner. The nature of our careers requires that we are continually creative in our work. There is a limit however to our ability to express our passions through our jobs. Therefore, we needed an outlet for our artistic creativity to flow. We enjoy gardening, painting, the art of landscaping and designing items from reclaimed materials. Mike’s hobby of making wine (and my love of his product) inspired us to begin our business called “Verona Wine and Design”. So you might say, "our love for wine inspires design".
Fast forward two years from the beginning of our business and here we are in Bucksport's first wine and tapas bar! Our pursuit to make, bottle and sell our own wine has been redirected a bit to opening a retail wine and gift shop complimented by our quaint little wine bar located in the historic Heywood House in Bucksport, Maine. This beautiful coastal Maine town has been going through many changes since the recent closing of the long standing paper mill. It is our strong belief, as well as many Bucksport residents, that this town is on the cusp of turning into a Maine jewel along the mid-coast region. We have decided to take a giant leap of faith and invite others to join us in helping to make this dream come to fruition. We hope you enjoy the fruits of our labor and develop your passions into joyful activities as well. Welcome to our “Great Adventure”.
Cheers,
Mike & Colleen
Mike is a talented carpenter by trade and I am an occupational therapy practitioner. The nature of our careers requires that we are continually creative in our work. There is a limit however to our ability to express our passions through our jobs. Therefore, we needed an outlet for our artistic creativity to flow. We enjoy gardening, painting, the art of landscaping and designing items from reclaimed materials. Mike’s hobby of making wine (and my love of his product) inspired us to begin our business called “Verona Wine and Design”. So you might say, "our love for wine inspires design".
Fast forward two years from the beginning of our business and here we are in Bucksport's first wine and tapas bar! Our pursuit to make, bottle and sell our own wine has been redirected a bit to opening a retail wine and gift shop complimented by our quaint little wine bar located in the historic Heywood House in Bucksport, Maine. This beautiful coastal Maine town has been going through many changes since the recent closing of the long standing paper mill. It is our strong belief, as well as many Bucksport residents, that this town is on the cusp of turning into a Maine jewel along the mid-coast region. We have decided to take a giant leap of faith and invite others to join us in helping to make this dream come to fruition. We hope you enjoy the fruits of our labor and develop your passions into joyful activities as well. Welcome to our “Great Adventure”.
Cheers,
Mike & Colleen