Bygone Wines in Unity Shopping Plaza boasts wines made in shop by owner Don Taylor

The covid-19 pandemic has hurt a lot of people across the world, both medically and financially.

One of those people that took a financial hit is Don Taylor, who lost his job due to the pandemic. After being laid off, Taylor decided to open his own business. With his only financing being his savings and unemployment checks, he opened Bygone Wines in Plum Borough.

Located at 315 Unity Trestle Road in the Unity Shopping Plaza, Bygone Wines is a newer addition to the revamped plaza. The wine is made in the shop with ingredients being 100% organic and bought from wholesalers and farmers alike.

Taylor, the owner and maker, is a former U.S. Steel Worker, bouncer and contractor. He might not fit the typical profile of a winemaker, but the hobby turned business has allowed him to express his creativity in both the flavors of the wine and the shop itself.

“I’m kind of methodical as far as things go,” Taylor said. “I kind of took a scientific approach to the wine. I didn’t use science, but I got a recipe then extrapolated in each direction. Did a little bit different this way, a little bit different that way until I found one that I liked and narrowed it down. But I didn’t use machinery or equipment. I try to do things in the traditional way.”

Not only is the wine itself made in the shop, but all the wood furniture was designed and built by Taylor, too. He used wood that a friend gave him for the furniture, while his wife recommended designs that she saw on social media.

It was his wife who came up with the idea of making their own wine after many nights of running out of wine when her friends were over.

“We started this venture because of my wife’s credit card tab for wine,” Taylor said. “She was buying wine from Europe online. Several hundred dollars a month for only a dozen bottles. Have a party with the ladies, find yourself out of wine halfway through. My wife didn’t want to spend another $350 per party, so she said ‘hey why don’t you start making something’.”

After making it, he sent it to his neighbor who is a wine aficionado. After three weeks, his neighbor came back with an empty bottle saying it was delicious. He then took his wine to a restaurant in Shadyside who said it was good and that they’d charge $75 for a bottle of it, he said. That’s when Taylor knew his wine was going to be a hit.

After realizing that he had a winning product on his hands, Taylor needed to find a location. They never felt like leaving Plum and wanted to open their new winery in the borough.

“We live in Plum. We wanted our businesses to be in Plum,” Taylor said. “Our kids go to Plum school. When my wife and I would go to dinner in Shadyside or downtown, it’ll be 7:15 when we’d get back home. Well what do we do now. We didn’t want to go to the smoke-filled pool hall or the loud beating music place. We wanted to go have a social hour with adults, but not go home.

So we created this place for us, and for everybody. Because we thought it was what the community needed.”

Bygone Wines is open most nights but is closed on Mondays. They will be opening a kitchen soon. The only location is in Plum, but Taylor’s long-term goal is to put up five locations throughout the Pittsburgh area.