This N.S. Insurance Advisor Quit The Industry To Make Vodka and Wine
BELLIVEAUS COVE, N.S. – Back in 2018, Daniel Surette was amid a nearly decade-long career in the insurance industry. It was the only job he knew, but it wasn’t his passion. Nonetheless, given the amount of time and energy he devoted to his work, it would have made sense to stick to and climb the corporate ladder.
But that year he did something many would consider reckless – he gave it all up to start a new gig as an assistant winemaker.
“The clock never stops ticking,” says Surette on his motivation for leaving his insurance gig. “I knew there was going to come a point where I was going to make the jump.”
When he first approached Planter’s Ridge Winery looking for a job, Surette didn’t bring a resume, he brought a bottle of wine he made.
“I brought a bottle of wine to them, and they said, ‘this is pretty good, maybe we’ll hire yah,” recalls Surette.
The skills Surette learned as a winemaker helped launch him into the business he owns and operates today: Statera Spirits Inc in Belliveaus Cove, Nova Scotia, where he distills his signature bottle of STAT Vodka.
And Surette is still creating wine with his second business, Maison Meuse & Fils, which only recently launched their first wine product this summer.
Clearly, Surette is a young man with a passion for distilling and fermenting his own beverages. That passion comes from growing up in an Acadian area where it’s common for people to make their own alcoholic drinks.
“It was something the old-timers were doing…the fact that you can make your own beer at home, it was so amazing to me,” recalls Surette.
In March of 2020, Surette officially registered Statera as a business. Then, about a month later he received a big boost from an organization called Futurpreneur – a Canadian non-profit that provides funding and mentorship to young entrepreneurs between the ages of 18 and 39.
According to stats from Futurpreneur, many young Atlantic Canadians have decided to start their dream businesses lately. During the pandemic, the organization saw a 25 percent increase in applications from this region.
With the help of Futurpreneur, Surette was able to set up his business quickly in 2020.
“Futurpreneur was great through the whole thing. They were so helpful [with] the process from the beginning- they guide you through it,” he explains.
“With that money, I basically started putting in the orders for the distillation units, for bottles, and everything I needed.”
So far, business has been good for Statera. Surette has sold all 40 bottles of STAT Vodka and he will have a new batch by the end of August. So far, all of the sales have been online, although he is hoping his vodka will soon be sold through retail outlets and restaurants.
“At the same time, the pandemic has definitely changed things. There’s more opportunity to sell it online as before,” notes Surette.
Surette even has a lead with an owner of a chain of Mexican restaurants down in California. As it becomes safer to travel again, and restrictions lift, Surette hopes to fly down south and give the owner a vodka sample personally.
“The owner said, if the vodka’s good, it’ll be served in our restaurants,” said Surette.