Paper Moon Winery

What Paper Moon Winery does

Paper Moon Vineyards (operating as Paper Moon Winery) is a family-owned winery established in 2009 by the Cawrse family in Vermilion, Ohio. The company produces award-winning wines and hard ciders, and complements these core alcoholic offerings with locally-sourced beer and a light food menu (cheese plates, panini sandwiches, pizza). Operations center on a single physical tasting room at 2008 State Road in Vermilion, supplemented by weekend live music programming on Fridays and Saturdays (6-9PM), private event hosting, and gift card sales. Dick Cawrse is identified as the owner/founder. The underlying production technology is traditional winery operations — there are no proprietary software platforms, AI/ML systems, or digital products in the stack.

The business runs a multi-channel distribution model. Direct-to-consumer sales occur at the Vermilion tasting room (wine by taste, glass, or bottle) and through an online storefront supporting FedEx shipping and local pickup. Wholesale distribution extends the brand to over 60 retail locations across eight Ohio counties (Vermilion, Cuyahoga, Erie, Huron, Lorain, Ottawa, Richland, Sandusky), with named partners including Giant Eagle, Discount Drug Mart, Mickey Mart, and a range of specialty wine shops, country markets, and convenience stores. Pricing is opaque at the SKU level but includes a promotional 'saveten' code for 10% off purchases of 6+ bottles.

Commercially, Paper Moon functions as a hybrid winery-hospitality venue rather than a production-only operation. Revenue streams are predominantly transactional (point-of-sale wine, cider, beer, food, and gift cards) with a minor professional services component from private event hosting. No recurring subscription model, no institutional funding, no acquisitions, no partnerships, and no external investors are disclosed; ownership and management remain with the founding Cawrse family. Customer concentration risk is moderate — end demand is fragmented across many consumers and 60+ retailers, but the entire business is dependent on a single physical location and a regional Lake Erie market.

Name

Paper Moon Winery

Legal name

Paper Moon Vineyards

Website

https://papermoonvineyards.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Paper Moon Vineyards is a family-owned winery established in 2009 in Vermilion, Ohio, producing award-winning wines and hard ciders sold through its tasting room, online shop, and 60+ Ohio retail locations alongside a light food menu and weekend live music.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Winery

NAICS

Wineries (312130)

SIC

Wholesale-Beer, Wine & Distilled Alcoholic Beverages (5180)

akta.pro primary industry

Wine & Sparkling Wine Wineries & Brands (CRADAIAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Wineries & Vineyards (Tasting Rooms) (THAFALAE), Cider & Perry Producers & Brands (CRADAIAE), Wine Tastings & Vineyard/Winery Tours (THAJAGAD)

Keywords

• Winery products
• Hard cider
• Wine tasting
• Light dining
• Live music events

Headquarters

HQ city

Vermilion

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Wine Sales: Direct wine sales to consumers at the winery by taste, glass, or bottle, as well as retail bottle sales for off-site consumption. Also available through online shop with FedEx shipping.
2. Food Service: Light dining menu including cheese plates, panini sandwiches, pizza, and other food items served alongside beverages.
3. Beer and Cider Sales: Sales of hard cider and beer selections sourced from local breweries.
4. Gift Cards: E-gift cards and plastic gift cards available for purchase at the winery and online.
5. Event Hosting: Private party and event hosting services at the winery venue.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Paper Moon Vineyards produces and sells its own award-winning wine and hard cider, complemented by locally sourced craft beer selections and a light dining menu (cheese plates, panini sandwiches, pizza) from its Vermilion, Ohio tasting room. The winery also hosts live music on Friday and Saturday evenings and rents its venue for private events and parties. Additional offerings include e-gift cards (digital and physical) and an online shop with FedEx shipping and local pickup.

Product overview

Paper Moon Vineyards is a family-owned winery established in 2009 by the Cawrse family in Vermilion, Ohio. The business operates as a unified hospitality experience offering wines, hard ciders, beer from local breweries, and a light dining menu. The product portfolio centers on Paper Moon Wine and Paper Moon Cider as the core alcoholic offerings, complemented by locally-sourced beer selections and food items. Additional revenue streams include e-gift cards (both digital via Square and physical at the winery) and live music events held on weekends. The winery also supports online ordering with FedEx shipping for off-site purchases.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Paper Moon Wine Award-winning wines produced in-house at Paper Moon Vineyards, available by the taste, glass, or bottle at the Vermilion tasting room, for take-home purchase, and through retail distribution across Ohio.
• Paper Moon Cider Hard cider produced by Paper Moon Vineyards, available by the taste, glass, bottle, or for take-home purchase at the Vermilion tasting room.
• Local Craft Beer Selection

Quantifiable outcome

• Wine available at over 60 retail locations across Ohio counties

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Old Mill Winery: Geneva, Ohio Lake Erie winery offering wine, food, and live music in a tasting-room-plus-events format. Highly comparable hospitality-driven business model in the same Ohio region.
• M Cellars: Family-owned estate winery in Austinburg, Ohio (Grand River Valley AVA) focused on estate-grown wines with a tasting room. Comparable craft scale and family-operation profile in the same Ohio wine region.
• Laurentia Vineyard & Winery: Family-owned estate winery in North Benton, Ohio producing premium wines with a tasting room experience. Comparable craft scale, family ownership, and DTC-tilted distribution.
• Hanover Winery: Family-owned Ohio winery in Hanoverton producing estate wines with a tasting room and event programming. Comparable family craft winery profile with hospitality-driven revenue mix.
• Debonné Vineyards: Multi-generation family winery in Madison, Ohio (Grand River Valley AVA) producing wine and cider with on-site food service and events. Directly comparable craft scale, family ownership, and tasting-room hospitality model.
• Ferrante Winery & Ristorante: Family-owned Lake Erie AVA winery in Geneva, Ohio offering wine, food (Italian ristorante), and live entertainment. Direct comparable on family ownership, tasting-room-plus-food model, and regional Ohio footprint.
• Lonzie Winery: Lake Erie island-region Ohio winery with tasting room and wine retail presence. Comparable regional craft scale and DTC-tasting-room operating model in the broader Ohio wine market.
• Grand River Cellars: Ohio winery and restaurant in Madison offering wine, food, and live music in a tasting-room-plus-bistro format. Mirrors Paper Moon's wine-food-music experiential model at similar craft scale.
• Vermilion Valley Vineyards: Small Ohio winery located in nearby Wakeman, just south of Paper Moon's Vermilion base. Closest geographic peer with similar small-batch craft positioning and tasting-room retail model.
• Buccia Vineyard: Family-owned boutique winery in Conneaut, Ohio producing small-batch wines with a tasting room. Comparable family-owned craft scale and northern Ohio Lake Erie footprint.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat2 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/papermoonwine

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Paper Moon Winery