If you want to enjoy his wine, it's best to join the club

Houston businessman Sergio Weitzman was long a wine lover when he decided to turn a hobby into a small business.

The idea for his venture came after he visited the Mendoza region of Argentina in 2008 while on a trip with the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. Mendoza is known for producing Malbec grapes, brought by growers from France to Argentina in the mid-1800s.

"It's 4,000 feet in altitude, right at the foot of the Andes mountains," Weitzman said. "It's a dry climate, so it's good for all types of grapes, but Malbec especially."

Weitzman bought 6 acres in Mendoza in 2011 through a private vineyard company called the Vines of Mendoza.

One-third of his property was already planted, so Weitzman had enough grapes to produce almost a thousand bottles of wine in 2012. The Vines of Mendoza harvests and bottles the wine for its landowners.

Weitzman's business, SERCA Wines, has no employees. He reaches potential customers via his website: sercawines.com.

"I always tell people who want to be business owners like that to make sure their hobby is sustainable," said Dr. Saleha Khumawala, founding director of the microfinance program at the University of Houston's C.T. Bauer College of Business. "It can't just be a passion; you have to use sound business principles for it to be sustainable."

As a financial planner, Weitzman brought his business acumen to bear on his hobby. He created a "private allocation club" that gives members discounts on his wines. The club is free, and 100 people belong to it.

"I like that he's a small producer and it's not done in a mass market way," said businessman Scott Gahn. "It's not something you can get off the shelf. I'll give some of the wine to clients, but the rest I keep for myself."

In 2014, SERCA Wines produced 4,200 bottles, which are in various stages of aging. The winery's name comes from combining Sergio with Carolina, his wife's name.

The SERCA Malbec Gran Reserva 2012, which Weitzman terms a "super-premium Malbec," sells for $56 per bottle for non-club members. The SERCA Malbec Rosé 2012, the least expensive wine, sells for $18. The 2014 rosé debuts this May.

He declined to say how much he has invested in the business, but at the moment he hasn't turned a profit. So far, he's sold 1,500 bottles.

Weitzman travels to his vineyard each April for the harvest and includes his wife and children Andrea and Alejandro in the process.

"The beauty of this project is that my whole family is equally passionate about it," Weitzman said. "It's a family bonding project that we see ourselves doing for the rest of our lives."