Wine Barrels Become One Man's Dream Job

Not all start ups involve 20-somethings, crammed cubicles, and venture capitalists; some involve Harley Davidson motorcycles, 18-wheelers and one man with a circular saw--oh, and lots and lots of wine barrels.

Since 2004, Cupertino-based Barrel Dreams has been selling used fine oak wine barrels from wineries in and around Cupertino and giving them a second life for use in gardens as planter boxes, or selling them to people who turn them into furniture or other decorative pieces.

“People love the look of a wine barrel over a clay pot,” said Brian Preetz, company founder and CEO. “It radiates in the garden.”

It also radiates an aroma that Preetz says his customers have joked that they can get drunk off of, making the barrels perfect for wine lovers. Some moved his barrels indoors as tables, chairs or display cases for their wine collections.

Unlike the wine barrel planters found at hardware stores, Barrel Dreams’ barrels are coopered in southern France from fine oak and have all been used in local, Bay Area wineries. After the barrels have aged wine for three seasons, or six years, the barrels no longer impart their oak flavors into wine and wineries buy new barrels. In the past, old barrels were chopped up and used as firewood.

Providing a greener alternative for wineries, in addition to meeting people in his community  is what Preetz said motivated him to start Barrel Dreams, “reuse and recycle while meeting the community is what this company is all about.”

“It’s not quite white collar, and it’s not quite blue collar,” Preetz said, “it’s really green collar.”

Preetz said he became unsatisfied with his career in the IT industry with what he felt was an industry-wide lack of personal connection. One day he passed a man selling wine barrels on the street, made a U-turn and struck up a conversation. After that he quit his job and, with only the money he had in his checking account, started Barrel Dreams.

Seven years later the importance of conversation remains at the forefront of Preetz’s mind.

"I'm not just selling wood and medal stuck together, I'm selling an interaction, a vision, a dream," Preetz said.

Preetz's barrels can be found in such locales as a strip on Santana Row, a Willams-Sonoma fall roll-out display, Trader Joe's wine aisles and the yearly Great America haunted house; and is working with Whole Foods on a display deal, too.

While he can wield a circular saw to cut a 4-foot barrel in half in under 30 seconds now, his college degree was not in carpentry.

"It took a lot of trial and error at first," he said.

He sells his goods direct through online quotes, at flea markets and specialty events such as Campbell's recent Winter Wine Walk.

Because of the large volume of barrels a winery uses and may need to move out to make room for new barrels, Preetz is in the process of relocating his company into a Campbell warehouse. Sometimes he finds himself transporting 70 or more barrels at a time in a trailer up to 50-feet long traversing twisting, sloped winery roads.

“There isn’t a drive-through winery,” Preetz said. “When I get a call, I’ve got no idea what I’m getting into.”

“You hope that the weight doesn’t shift and the brakes don’t fail. I’ve had some close calls,”  Preetz said. 

Barrel Dreams can be reached on the website www.barreldreams.com or by contacting Brian Preetz directly via email: preetzb@gmail.com or by phone: 408-505-4101.