Photo: Kate and Charles Dodge, founders of Putney Mountain Winery, and the “Fermented Five” – the new employee-owners. From left, Richard Fairchild, Amber and Jason Hubner, Lauren Osowski, and Kim Wallace.

After more than three decades, Kate and Charles Dodge sell Putney Mountain Winery to a group of their employees

PUTNEY-It was certainly not their first career when Kate and Charles Dodge founded the Putney Mountain Winery in 1998.

But now, having successfully built a sophisticated wine business, they are moving on to their life’s next chapter. On Aug. 1, they finalized the sale of the company to five of their employees – who call their company “The Fermented Five” – and who will carry the business into the future as an employee cooperative.

Before the winery, Charles, 83, had been a professor of music at Dartmouth. Before that, as a trained composer, he was on the cutting edge of computer music – so much so that Stevie Wonder once called him at midnight to discuss his process.

And Kate, 74, was part of a successful law practice in Brattleboro.

But when Charles moved to teaching part-time, he went looking for something else to do.

“I had this time to fill, and also half an income to worry about, so I thought the winery would be really fun and, God help me, if I had to work for a living, right?” he said dryly.

He and Kate were sitting opposite each other at a long table in the back of the winery in the old Basketville building in Putney. With them were the Fermented Five: Kim Wallace, 49; Jason Hubner, 42; his wife, Amber Hubner, 39, Lauren Osowski, 44, and Richard Fairchild, 65.

Jason, a talented winemaker, learned the craft from Charles and worked with him developing products for 13 years. Then he left to develop his farm.

The prospect of a sale drew him back.

Read the full article at The Commons