Aaliyah Nitoto: Innovative, Sustainable Winemaking

Meet Aaliyah Nitoto, the passionate founder of Free Range Flower Winery, an urban winery in Oakland, California, that uses both fresh and dried flowers to craft her exceptional wines. With a background as an herbalist and nutrition educator, Aaliyah’s journey into winemaking is as unique as the wines she creates. Her fascination with biology and winemaking began in college, but after facing setbacks in securing internships in Napa, she redirected her focus toward herbalism and biology. It was during this time that she discovered the rich, yet often overlooked, tradition of flower wines. 

After graduating in January 2016 from a San Francisco Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center business class and receiving “The Best Idea Recognition Award,” Aaliyah and her then business partner registered Free Range Flower Winery as an LLC, aiming to share a manufacturing space with an established winery. Then, just days before moving in, the winery owner decided against sharing the space, delaying their operations. In January 2018 they secured a small 320-sq-ft production space in West Oakland. By that summer, they launched 10 gallons of their first batch of sparkling Lavender wine, all of which had been funded by their personal savings. The work paid off when all 10 gallons sold out at the release party. 

Aaliyah’s journey with Pacific Community Ventures (PCV) began when she discovered us through Main Street Launch. She first connected with Robert Latimer during a business week event in Oakland, where she was seeking advice and gathering information to help advance her business. After an insightful conversation, she invited Latimer to the anniversary event for Free Range Flower Winery. This connection eventually led her to apply for, and be accepted into, the Entrepreneur in Residency (EIR) program. The combination of Main Street Launch and Pacific Community Ventures has been instrumental to the growth of her winery. Aaliyah shares, “PCV has already been amazingly helpful with the financial help and also the counseling that’s been available.”

Free Range Flower Winery recently celebrated the opening of their first tasting room, marking a significant milestone in its growth. This achievement was made possible in part through a loan from Pacific Community Ventures (PCV), which provided the  financial support needed to expand the business. With this loan, Free Range Flower Winery has been able to invest in building and retaining their team by ensuring stable hours and competitive wages that foster good jobs. As a result, Aaliyah is a 2024 PCV Good Jobs Rebate recipient, a payment made to PCV lending clients who complete out our Annual Impact Survey and show progress toward being Good Jobs providers. In addition, the loan also enabled the winery to purchase new equipment and cover the cost of goods, both essential for further production expansion. This financial boost has allowed Aaliyah to take critical steps toward scaling their operations and meeting growing demand.

Beyond  team expansion and production enhancements, PCV’s support has empowered Free Range Flower Winery to upgrade their website and direct-to-consumer (DTC) and customer relationship management (CRM) software platforms. These upgrades are vital for increasing operational efficiencies, streamlining processes, and better serving their customers, while further supporting the winery’s B2B retail partners and helping to grow their DTC base, amplifying their reach and impact. Through PCV’s assistance, Free Range Flower Winery is both enhancing its operational capacity and laying the groundwork for sustainable, long-term growth.

The wine and spirits industry is often seen as synonymous with wealth and luxury. However, many brands are small businesses facing significant challenges. Unlike a local retail shop, they navigate complex regulations and licensing hurdles, making the journey even more taxing. Looking ahead, Aaliyah envisions taking her winery to new heights. Her dream is to establish her own dedicated space—a fully equipped winery with a production facility, and everything needed to operate on a larger scale. To bring this dream to life, she plans to launch a fundraising campaign in the future to raise the necessary capital.

Connect with Free Range Flower Winery
https://www.freerangeflowerwinery.com/
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