A feminist,worker-owned wine importer & wholesaler.
Investing Passionately,
Harvesting Collectively.
Sunsets
Dear friends of RedHen –
COVID-19, the economic crisis, and a national reckoning of racial justice have made this a challenging season, both in our personal and professional lives. In 2016 when the idea of RedHen began to hatch, we envisioned an equitable new wine model that pays farmers first, shares equity cooperatively, and creates a regenerative capital infrastructure.
We gained huge momentum through our features in Bon Appetit and Forbes, via our Wine + Power online course, and with our exciting collaboration on the Regenerative Wine Convening (hosted by the visionary folks at Paicines Ranch and Learning Center). Through 2019-2020, we prepared to join forces with a large investor and take RedHen to the next level. We were also on track to grow our model through a merger with an established, mission-aligned mid-sized wine importer.
Our team fought tirelessly to make these significant opportunities succeed, but under the shadow of this administration’s new wine tariffs and the pandemic, neither partnership could move forward. With the loss of these two massive investments and the deep economic strain COVID19 has put on small businesses, including ours, we have realized that we’re unable to continue.
It’s with the heaviest of hearts that RedHen’s Board of Directors has decided to sunset our cooperative. Insolvent and with no assets, we have discontinued operations. The end of 2020 effectively marked the close of RedHen Collective Cooperative.
Thank you for your courage and love, and for standing with us in RedHen’s mission to embody a new wine economy of gratitude, collaboration, transparency, and regenerative ecology. We are leveled by the magnitude of this shared loss, but our conviction in the vision is fortified by so many relationships, collaborations, conversations, and wild new configurations of culture, economy, and ecology rippling ever outwards from the epicenter of our collective investing and dreaming. We pass this torch on to each of you, in whom the phoenix of RedHen will rise.
In gratitude and solidarity,
RedHen’s Board of Directors:
Molly, Stephen, Stephanie, Yusuf
Grow with Us
Investing Passionately
We believe that everyone should be able to participate in an economy where we invest passionately and harvest collectively. RedHen’s passionate investors share our belief that building wealth should also build community, ecology and culture. During the fall of 2018, 60 new investors joined RedHen Collective through our first investment crowdfunding campaign. If you are interested in learning more about our investment model, please contact us here.
Mission
RedHen Collective is dedicated to embodying a new wine economy of gratitude, collaboration, transparency & regenerative ecology.
We are unique in that we pay farmers first, share equity with employees, and are propelled by regenerative impact investments of every size.
In the News
Recent Press
Bon Appetit talks to RedHen in “Is Natural Wine Better for the Planet?”
RedHen featured in Forbes Magazine: “The New Way To Invest In Wine: Pay Farmers First, And Prioritize Inclusion” by Cathy Huyghe
Forbes named RedHen’s prioritization of farmers and inclusion a Top Wine Theme for the Year.
RedHen named a top wine destination for 2019 by the Oregonian.
The Equal Exchange podcast, The Stories Behind our Food interviewed Molly for the episode “Wine for Everyone!”
Meiningers Wine Business International featured RedHen in “When Wine Becomes Transformative”
Thanks to E&R Wine Shop in Portland, OR for the excellent piece trumpeting the beginnings of RedHen Collective.
Locavesting mentions RedHen in an article on the coop incubator, Start.coop.
The Vinguard interviewed RedHen Founder, Molly Madden, for WineFare 2019.
People are Talking
TEstimonials
“Yes, it’s a disruptive business model. But, knowing Molly Madden even a little, you also get the sense that what she’s building today is a perfectly organic, natural evolution of what’s come before.”
- Cathy Huyghe, Forbes
"When I saw that RedHen identified as a feminist business -- they had me. I could see the work they'd done on their economic model. They know how to dive deep into feminist economics and I love their profit sharing model, their liberation culture and the way they have deeply centered justice within a sophisticated business approach."
- Jonathan Rosenthal, Consultant at Just Works and Co-Founder of Equal Exchange
“It's hard to imagine a more holistic and purposeful investment that has such significant potential for sector change and forging a path for deeply regenerative co-op business. I invest because the passion, depth, and experience of the team surpasses that of any similar business I've come across.”
- Felipe Witchger, Founder, Community Purchasing Alliance
"Stephanie [Sprinkle] is an uncommon talent, possessing an encyclopedic knowledge of winemakers and wine regions as well as a rare tasting expertise and photography skill. Her collaboration with Molly Madden is an exciting step towards RedHen's goal of shaking up the wine industry."
- Peter Liem, James Beard Award Winning Wine Journalist
“I’m harvesting collectively with Red Hen because farmers need the resources to grow the high quality grapes that make your lovely wines. By flipping the traditional paradigm, Red Hen helps the farmer to get paid, which means they can afford to farm to higher standards, resulting in a better bottle of wine.”
- Debby Zygielbaum, Vineyard Consultant and Farmer
“While sustainable, organic, and regenerative farming methods are important, it is equally vital to ensure that how people are paid for their work is also sustainable and equitable. RedHen's commitment to inclusive and sustainable financing for all parts of the value chain sets it apart from other investments I've seen, and I'm happy to have the opportunity to support this work.”
- Jane Bulnes-Fowles, RedHen Investor