Today we’d like to introduce you to Gina Marcucci and Abram Krause
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Gina Marcucci:
Abram and I both wanted to step outside our day jobs and dive into something different—something hands-on that would fuel our creativity while bringing the community together. After tossing around a few ideas, we landed on mead—a craft we both enjoyed and believed we could truly excel at.
To kickstart our journey, we joined the Collider CO.STARTERS course in 2024, eager to gain insights into launching a business and the challenges ahead. The experience was incredible, introducing us to invaluable connections and highlighting the strong support within our community. It all culminated in us winning the Collider Cup, where we pitched our business plan to local entrepreneurs. Since then, we’ve been steadily building on that foundation, refining our vision, and bringing our dream to life.
Abram Krause:
Community was the foundation of the idea. We wanted to create a space where all of our interests could coexist: Music, art, nature, agriculture, and people. We participated in the ten week CO.STARTERS course at Collider and won the Collider Cup for our business pitch. Wherever this endeavor ends up, it has been incredible to see how supportive the Rochester community is of new businesses.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Navigating the complex and expensive road to licensure has certainly been a journey, and we still aren’t there yet. Our biggest obstacle right now is finding and funding a brewing space that meets the licensing requirements. We are currently in the fundraising phase and in search of the perfect space.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Goldberry Common?
Gina – We are local mead makers. We specialize in making mead out of locally sourced honey and fruits.
I think we ourselves are what makes our mead unique. Abram and I have very different palates – and we constantly take each others opinions into consideration, which ends up offering a wide range of tastes and ideas that go into each flavor.
Abram – Making mead is fascinating because it requires both discipline and creativity. Creating alcohol is the easy part, but achieving the right alcohol content and flavor profile involves a thorough understanding of the process and a lot of patience, but there is still substantial room for creativity.
All mead is unique due to its limited availability, but we have found a balance between our respect for tradition and our ardor for experimentation. The craft of mead making is steeped in ancient tradition but our process is far from traditional. We offer options for both the mead connoisseur who seeks the honey-sweet goblet and the wine drinker who might prefer a drier glass.
What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
Rochester is an incredibly supportive community. We hope to collaborate with other entrepreneurs as much as possible when we are fully up and running.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.goldberrycommon.com/
Image Credits
Corrie Strommen
