Free Run Cellars

What Free Run Cellars does

Free Run Cellars is a privately held, family-operated boutique winery located at 10062 Burgoyne Road in Berrien Springs, Michigan, within the Lake Michigan Shore AVA. The company was acquired in 2025 by co-owners Trish Slevin and Prashanth Pais, who also live on the 10-acre property. The core offering is a direct-to-consumer tasting room experience (Thursday through Sunday) featuring curated small-batch wines sourced from the Lake Michigan Shore AVA and beyond, plus estate-grown Pinot Gris from 4 acres of vines trained on a Vertical Shoot Positioning trellis system. Wines span dry whites, rosés, reds, and seasonal wine cocktails priced from $10 to $19 per unit. The first estate wine — a skin-contact Ramato Macerated Pinot Gris — was released in June 2026.

The business model layers several revenue streams on top of the tasting room: three-tier private event packages (Roped Off from $150, After Hours from $300, and Wine All Day from $3,000 for up to 100 guests) for weddings, rehearsal dinners, and corporate gatherings; weekly "Yoga in the Vines" sessions at $25 per attendee launched in May 2026 with Santosha Yoga for Life; free-admission Sunday live music that drives traffic and by-the-glass sales; and online DTC shipping through the Drink Michigan platform. Distribution is intentionally narrow — walk-in, online DTC, tour-operator referrals via Fruitful Vine Tours, and event bookings — with no wholesale or distributor placement. Catering is handled through a partnership with Modern Table Cuisine.

Free Run is bootstrapped and founder-owned, with no institutional capital, and is operated alongside the co-owners' day jobs in corporate strategy and data architecture. Operations are supported by an operations manager (Robin Garoutte, retained from prior ownership) and extended family. Customer base skews to wine enthusiasts, Chicago-area day-trippers, and event hosts drawn by the proximity to Chicago (90 minutes), the on-site amenities (Arrow Pond, vineyard, walnut-lined grounds), and an explicitly unpretentious hospitality philosophy rooted in the Sanskrit "Atithidevo Bhav" tradition.

Name

Free Run Cellars

Legal name

Free Run Cellars

Website

https://freeruncellars.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2025

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Free Run Cellars is a family-owned boutique winery and tasting room in Berrien Springs, Michigan, producing estate Pinot Gris and curated Lake Michigan Shore AVA wines, serving walk-in visitors, Chicago-area tourists, and private-event guests through tastings, live music, yoga, and event packages.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Boutique Winery

NAICS

Wineries (312130), Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages) (722410)

SIC

Beverages (2080)

akta.pro primary industry

Wineries & Vineyards (Tasting Rooms) (THAFALAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Wine Tastings & Vineyard/Winery Tours (THAJAGAD), Wine Bars (CRANACAE)

Keywords

• Boutique winery
• Small-batch wines
• Estate Pinot Gris
• Wine tasting flights
• Winery event venue

Headquarters

HQ city

Berrien Springs

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Wine Sales: Direct-to-consumer wine sales including bottles, glasses, and curated flights. Wines sourced from Lake Michigan Shore AVA and beyond. Estate Pinot Gris is the signature variety. Additional wines include Dry Riesling, Pinot Noir, Rosé, Valvin Muscat, and seasonal wine cocktails.
2. Private Events & Weddings: Three-tiered event packages: Roped Off ($150, up to 25 guests, 2 hours), After Hours ($300, 25-75 guests, 3 hours exclusive), and Wine All Day ($3,000, up to 100 guests, full-day buyout). Events include weddings, rehearsal dinners, milestone celebrations, and corporate gatherings.
3. Yoga in the Vines: Thursday evening yoga sessions held among the Pinot Gris vineyard rows. $25 per session, starting May 28, 2026. Led by Santosha Yoga for Life.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Free Run Cellars is a boutique winery producing small-batch wines (notably estate-grown Pinot Gris) from the Lake Michigan Shore AVA in Berrien Springs, Michigan. It operates a tasting room offering curated wine flights, by-the-glass pours, wine cocktails, and seasonal events including live music Sundays and on-site yoga. The property also hosts private events such as weddings, rehearsal dinners, and corporate gatherings across three tiered venue packages.

Product overview

Free Run Cellars is a boutique winery offering a unified tasting room experience centered on small-batch wines from the Lake Michigan Shore AVA and beyond. The core product is the wine tasting experience (flights and by-the-glass pours), complemented by seasonal wine cocktails, live music every Sunday, and private event hosting. Additional offerings include Yoga in the Vines (weekly outdoor yoga sessions) and curated food pairings. The winery specializes in estate-grown Pinot Gris and offers wines ranging from dry whites to semi-sweet reds, with the first estate release (Ramato Macerated Pinot Gris) launched in June 2026.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Wine Flight Tastings Guided flights and by-the-glass pours at the tasting bar, allowing guests to explore curated small-batch wines from the Lake Michigan Shore AVA and beyond. Targeted at tasting-room visitors, walk-ins, and Chicago-area tourists.
• Small-Batch Wines

Quantifiable outcome

• First estate wine (Ramato Macerated Pinot Gris) released June 2026, marking first wine truly grown and made on-site

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Santosha Yoga for LifeminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 28 May 2026Yoga instructor leading Thursday evening 'Yoga in the Vines' sessions among the Pinot Gris vineyard rows. Sessions run 6-7 PM starting May 28, 2026 at $25 per session. Rooted in Sanskrit principle of contentment (santosha). All levels welcome.
• Modern Table CuisinecoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerExecutive Chef Joshua Bishop provides catering services for weddings, corporate luncheons, and intimate gatherings at the winery. Fresh, seasonal ingredients. Contact: [email protected] / 574-849-6049.
• Fruitful Vine TourscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorGuided wine tour operator through Southwest Michigan wine country with stops at Free Run Cellars. Manages logistics, transportation, and tasting fees for tour groups visiting the winery.
• Lavender Fields FarmminorOthersLocal supplier from Berrien Springs providing lavender chocolate bars, dried flowers, and lavender goods sold at the tasting room.
• Lake Michigan CollegeminorOthersEducational institution operating Welch Center for Wine and Viticulture Technology. Co-owner Prashanth pursues viticulture coursework there. Lake Michigan College is hosting a wine industry hiring fair featuring local wineries including Free Run Cellars.
• Lake Michigan Shore AVAcoreOthersOfficial American Viticultural Area designation for the region. Free Run Cellars is a member, sourcing and producing wines from this AVA. The association promotes the region's wine industry.
• Harbor Country ChamberminorGTM or Marketing PartnerLocal chamber of commerce membership for business networking and community visibility.
• St. Joe TodayminorGTM or Marketing PartnerLocal business membership and marketing organization for St. Joseph/Berrien County area.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Wyncroft Wine: Small-production Southwest Michigan winery focused on estate-grown wines and tasting-room DTC sales. Comparable boutique scale, estate viticulture emphasis, and tasting-room-led GTM.
• Taber Hill Winery & Restaurant: Southwest Michigan winery combining tasting room, restaurant, and event space. Overlapping hospitality-plus-wine DTC model.
• Round Barn Winery & Estate: Southwest Michigan winery with tasting room, live music, and event hosting. Overlapping model combining wine sales, entertainment, and private events — strong functional comparable.
• Fenn Valley Vineyards: Established Lake Michigan Shore AVA winery with tasting room, events, and broader wine portfolio. Comparable DTC and event-driven model at a slightly larger scale.
• Lemon Creek Winery: Family-owned estate winery in Southwest Michigan's wine country with tasting room and events. Closely comparable boutique estate winery model in the same competitive set.
• Domaine Berrien Cellars: Boutique estate winery in the same Lake Michigan Shore AVA, offering small-batch wines and tasting-room experiences. Directly comparable in size, AVA, and DTC hospitality model.

Broad incumbents

• Château Grand Traverse: Long-established Michigan winery with estate vineyards, tasting room, and wider distribution. Regional incumbent serving overlapping Michigan wine-tourist segments.
• St. Julian Winery: Michigan's largest and oldest winery with broad distribution and tasting rooms. Larger incumbent operating in the same Michigan wine market — useful benchmark for category scale and competitive context.
• Black Star Farms: Northwest Michigan winery and distillery with tasting rooms, inn, and event hosting. Broader portfolio player offering overlapping wine tourism and private-event experiences at larger scale.

Emerging players

• Law Estate Wines: Small-production, hospitality-forward estate winery known for curated tastings and high-touch visitor experience. Useful functional peer for boutique experiential estate-wine positioning.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeopen.spotify.com/episode/2QQvuKemIWH9dlWREocD2u
• Facebookfacebook.com/FreeRunCellars
• Instagraminstagram.com/freeruncellars
• Xx.com/FreeRunCellars
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/free-run-cellars

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 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 Free Run Cellars