Our Story
Sometimes I think I have salt water in my veins. I grew up as the only daughter in a family of commercial fishermen in Gloucester, Massachusetts, America’s oldest seaport also known as the “secret Cape.” My father and my five brothers ran a fleet of fishing boats. Home was a short hop from the docks, where I’d ride my bike to meet them on their return after ten days at sea. Two of my brothers still fish on their boat, the Captain Dominic, one of the few remaining commercial fishing boats in the Northeast.
How does a former personal shopper turned full-time mom invent the original New England wine trap? One evening my husband, a hobby lobsterer, decided to craft a wall shelf using lobster trap wire. Bingo. If brightly colored wire could trap lobsters, why not a bottle of whiskey or wine, or cutlery and napkins, or hanging plants? And why not make it useful and decorative?
The result was The Wine Trap (complete with patent and trademark), a colorful carrier with a lock and handle launched in 2015 and created from genuine lobster trap materials — plastic-coated wire, float rope, and bait bags. People liked it, so I started my business.
I love New England, so I keep things local. Each trap starts with Aquamesh wire made by Riverdale Mills in Northridge, Massachusetts. The wire comes in seven upbeat colors — red, yellow, blue, green, orange, lime, and white. Fishermen choose the colors to personalize their traps. If they have a great year, they’ll stick with the same colors.
The easy grip handles are made of polypropylene float rope, the colorful rope fishermen attach to the traps. Each trap includes a bait bag to protect the bottles. For the grand finale, the trap closes with a wire lock shaped like a fish.
I make the traps by hand in Gloucester, not far from the docks. And yes, they can be used to trap a lot more than wine and beer, including floral arrangements, gift basket goodies, LED candles, cutlery and napkins, and seed for bird feeders.
We’ve also branched out with clothing and accessories including caps, visors, polo shirts, and totes that evoke the scenic, windswept coastline we love.
We hope you enjoy our products and our site!
— Enza Iacono