As in many states, the 3-Tier System in Texas has always been a nightmare.

It took wineries over a decade to persuade the legislature to allow for retail sales at their wineries. Finally, in 2001, after seeing the financial potential of the burgeoning wine market, the legislature and the Texas Department of Agriculture decided to promote the Texas wine industry. Along with establishing the Texas Wine Marketing Assistance Program, they also allowed for onsite tastings and retails sales at wineries. The State realized there was a difference between small wineries having tastings, selling from their tasting rooms and self-distribution, versus large distilleries and mega-wineries distributing nationally or even globally.

Later through a succession of amendments and changes, Texas wineries finally achieved decent shipping laws that allowed them to sell and ship to their loyal customers in and out of state. It was a long hard battle to have post-Prohibition laws establishing the 3-Tier System changed. As you know, it’s not only the fight-for-your-rights with the State, but you are battling the big wholesale distribution lobbies who profit and operate because of the 3-Tier System. Although small wineries got a few things changed, they are still dealing with laws that were created to deal with mass distribution.

One of the biggest challenges right now: The Winery Permit vs the Retail Permit

The Texas Winery Permit states that a winery can buy and sell wine from distributors, and sell wine to customers. And the Texas Retail Permit states that the retailer can sell alcoholic beverages for consumption on or off the premises, but cannot sell for resale, i.e. not be a distributor. But what if you are a winery with a permit and you want to sell your wine in another location other than your original winery?  Example: Your winery is in one area of the state, but you would like to sell your wine on another wine trail or in another area without building a new winery. The law states if you have a winery permit, you cannot have a retail permit and cannot get a second location permit. Thus if you want to sell your wine direct to the customer in a second location you have to build another winery and get another winery permit. Building another winery is ridiculous. One way wineries get around this is by having a very small winemaking operation on premises. Because they can buy and sell wine, they buy their own wine and sell to the customer!

Texas has almost 300 wineries – up from 46 wineries just 10 years ago.  The laws that we are dealing with were created to prevent monopolies by the large distilleries and tied houses, i.e. pubs that are required to buy their alcohol from a certain distributor.   Through the years the many revisions to the laws and new policies have become a patchwork that doesn’t always make sense, i.e. the Retail Permit working with the Winery Permit above.  And Texas isn’t the only state in this mess. Every single state has wineries now. We really do mean The Other 46!  Those states, more than likely, have not dealt with the realities of their wine industry either.

Craft Breweries:
Currently, the same archaic laws that plagued the wine industry for so long are being battled once again by the small breweries. In 2001, when the winery laws were revised, there were few craft brewers in Texas, but now the industry is growing and growing fast. They have had some breakthroughs recently in court and have finally been given the right to tell customers where they can purchase their beer, as well as label their products correctly regarding whether it’s a beer or ale regardless of alcohol content. What still has not changed is their ability to sell beer on premise. The only way around this law is to function as a restaurant too. Then they can sell their own craft beer.

Opportunity:
I recently was at the VinCO Conference, Colorado Association for Viticulture & Enology, and they brought in some craft brewers and small distillers to discuss the challenges and successes they were having.  Just by having them there this year, they created an environment to learn from each other and an opportunity to work together.

Currently the Texas Craft Brewers Guild and the Texas Wine and Grape Growers Association do not work together, at least on a formal basis. Perhaps this is worth investigating – not only in Texas, but throughout The Other 46.  Facing the convoluted and messy State laws around these issues is BIG.  Strength in numbers and in partnership is a possible way to help each other out.  Think about it.

What messy laws are the craft brewers and small wineries facing in your state? Are they working together? Is there potential to help each other out? Let me know what you think.

Salut and Cheers!

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Recently I was working with a winery who had a wonderful 2012 harvest of Vermentino. My standard procedure for presenting wines to the winery owner is to make at least two different blends and use a sample of the single varietal wine for comparison.

I set up a blind tasting for three of the winery owners. As each wine was tasted, we discussed the pros and cons. Usually one blend rises to the top and a relatively easy choice can be made or we may determine to make another blend. However, this time, no one wine rose head and shoulders above the others. They were all very good!

So what should you do?

RULE: A blend should always be better than the individual components.

Blended wines are almost always better than a single varietal wine. As we have discussed before in “To Blend or Not to Blend,” the great wines of the world are premium blends. Could some of these vintners make excellent single grape wines? Absolutely.  But there are too many changing factors that affect each harvest for the maker to bank on it year after year. Thus blends are typically better for the winemaker to create a consistent quality wine each harvest.

However, boutique and small wineries have more flexibility. They can afford to single out a wonderful, exclusive wine and possibly never be able to offer it again. If a blend is not better than the single grape vintage, you must choose the unblended wine. There is no reason to offer an inferior or an even-equality blend.

We all knew the Vermentino was exceptional, but we still created the blends to make sure. If we hadn’t bothered to make the blends, we would have second-guessed ourselves because 9 times out of 10, the wine will be better by blending. It’s a once-in-a-decade wine that is best standing alone. This rarity makes it something very special. And this immediately gives the winery a wonderful story. So, enjoy it!

Sometimes SIMPLICITY is better!

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I recently attended the third annual VinCO Conference, Colorado’s annual wine conference January 15-17. It’s held in Grand Junction, where the majority of Colorado’s grapes are grown. A massive cold snap hit during the conference stirring a few concerns about the vineyards among local conference attendees. You might think “Colorado is cold a lot and has long winters. So what?” What makes one cold snap different from another? First, Grand Junction is in a valley between the mountains. When cold fronts hit, the cold air sinks into the valley. The warm air sits on top of this cold air, not allowing it to release. The grape growers’ solution is to use large fans that churn up the air, mixing the sunken cold air with the warmer air above it, thus preventing the vines from being impacted by long freezing cold spells. As you might expect, vines can split when suddenly frozen. Later in the spring, the growers may find vines that don’t bud out or that parts of the plant have died off. This in turn affects the fruit output, often reducing production by half or more. It can take years for the vines to recover.

So why were they concerned this time? Farmers watch the weather and keep tabs on what is expected to happen. However, this cold snap was a surprise and the fans were not on. Temperatures at night were 5-10 degrees below zero. The valley and the air above were in an extreme inversion. In addition, the low was 14 degrees cooler than the lowest low this winter. Two years ago this happened and the crop only produced 25% of the fruit it had the year before and back up to 75% in 2011. The 2012 harvest was a good year for most growers, but only time will tell if the 2013 vines will be damaged by this or another cold spell.

Another interesting fact, and challenge, about the Grand Valley AVA is that most vineyards are 2-5 acres only. It’s kind of like Burgundy in France. In Burgundy the land has been sold in small chunks for many years and passed down to families that may have split it up more. You’ll find vineyards that are owned by multiple owners such that one owner may own 2-3 rows of one vineyard. Due to how the land has been split up in the Grand Valley, properties are in a similar, small plot situation, only without century old vineyards on the land prior to its subdivision. Also, the historical use of the land was to grow peaches. So you will also find that vineyards are not contiguous, but one 5 acre vineyard may have peach orchards on either side. It is extremely difficult to make a 3-5 acre vineyard a viable business. Grapes are handpicked, pruned, tended, etc., which is expensive and time consuming. There also can be significant differences in the grapes from vineyard to vineyard. Even with all of these challenges, Colorado winemakers are making some very good wines.

I tasted wine from several wineries – and yes, some had flaws. But there were a significant number of good wines. Colorado can grow grapes! Long, hot summer days of 100+ degrees can make up for the shorter growing season, but they have to grow varietals that can handle these hot summers and cold winters. Most grapes are grown in Grand Valley, but there are also some vineyard around Cortez near the Four Corners too.

3 Big Take-Aways from VinCO

1. The quality of wine in Colorado is continuing to improve.  They are making some great wines and there is huge potential for their industry. The growers can grow high quality grapes and are making high quality wines.

2. Colorado’s biggest challenge is weather – as it is with most new growing regions.  Dealing with big temperature swings, it’s imperative that you pick the right growing spots based on the micro climate for the vineyard. This is the same problem Arizona, Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico and even some parts of California face. California has just had more years to figure it out.

3. The industry is now facing the same challenge that all of The Other 46 faces – the challenge of how do we get the customers to the winery or the wine to the people.   The wineries in general are rural, but the customers are urban. In good weather, Grand Junction is 4 hours from Denver and about the same from Salt Lake City. That means, the visitors will have to spend the night. But the majority of people don’t necessarily want to make that kind of time commitment. As we have discussed before, a maximum distance for travel is about 90 minutes. Customers need to be close if you want to sell out of your tasting room. And if you are going to distribute, then you need a larger vineyard to create more wine. The work required to be a 10,000-case winery that has enough wine to distribute can be overwhelming. So, how do you sell 3,500 cases out of a tasting room in Grand Junction when the vineyards are small and most wineries are making 1,000 cases? I don’t know. But that’s not enough wine to open a tasting room in the city either. Thus one of the problems with the for small wineries.

So, for Colorado, as with many in The Other 46, it’s not about making good wine – it’s the other obstacles they face – weather and distribution.

Salut Colorado! I enjoyed my time and wine with you.  I look forward to my next visit.

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What is the difference between these two perspectives?

1. Winery owner produces a wine(s) and needs to sell it to fulfill the sales goal.
and
2. Winery owner has a sales goal and needs a wine(s) to fulfill that goal.

At first glance, you may not think there is much difference. Or perhaps you see the difference, but don’t really understand what it has to do with you or with your winery. I say it has everything to do with your winery’s success. Let’s break it down.

Operational/Production View:  Plant what grows well. Make the best wine possible. Sell it at the highest price point possible.
Strategic/Business View:  Look at your sales goals. Plan your production. Plant your vineyard. Make the best wine possible that your customers will want. Sell it at the highest price point possible.

Do you see the difference?  As a winery in The Other 46, it’s common for the winemaker to look at the harvest and decide what wines to make. It’s easy to assume they had a plan when they planted the grapes. But often you are planting vines and hoping they will turn out out quality grapes. But sometimes they don’t come out the way you planned.

Thus even planning strategically with sales goals and customer preference leading the way, many challenges can present themselves.  Here’s a few:

1. Grapes planted are not producing the quality and/or volume you wanted.
You can’t change the grape that is already harvested, but there are practices and techniques to pull the best of already harvested grapes forward. Example: One of our clients had harvested some Malbec. The grapes were harvested earlier than desired due to dealing with some environmental issues. Harvested grapes cannot be made any riper and thus was not going to produce the style of wine they wanted to sell as a Malbec. They were faced with two choices: (1) Figure out a way to make a Malbec by purchasing Malbec premium bulk wine and blending it. But then the volume would be much greater than their projected sales. (2) Make a different wine completely by making a blend in the same style. Possible use of estate grapes, but more likely would have to purchase bulk wine. This scenario would create a gap for the Malbec they no longer have and a larger volume than projected sales.

Challenge: Increased wine volume does not match the forecasted sales goals. You have a “hole” where your Malbec was supposed to be.

Solution: (1) Blend with another Malbec. Roll over the estimated surplus of inventory and age it another year. (2) Blend the Malbec with another wine and make a red blend. (This winery does not label any of their wines as varietal, thus they are able to manipulate their blends.)

2. Consumers in America have been taught to look for varietal names.
It is easy for a winery to fall into the same mindset when looking at varietals to plant. Thus leading a winery to look at the vineyard to determine what wines they will sell. Just because you produce enough Syrah to make 1500 cases of wine, does not mean you will sell 1500 cases of Syrah. If forecasted sales are 1000 cases, this is a mistake regardless of the quality of wine.  This is actually more common a mistake than you might think.

Challenge: New wineries and vineyards (less than 20 years old) are often highly variable, i.e. 3 ton one year and 7 ton the next per acre. Commonly this is handled by producing some type of wine blend, which ends up becoming the “kitchen sink” wine. I recommend against this. In my opinion, blends need to be planned and balanced. Don’t just throw in a bunch of varietals because you need to get rid of something.

Solution: It’s better to either (1) sell some of the wine on the bulk market or (2) store surplus in inventory for use as a specialty reserve in the future. These options are commonly what we recommend for many of our customers.

3. Your customers don’t want the kind of wine you want to make.
You like a particular wine, but your customers want something different, which we have talked about many times, but specifically here: What Do Your Customers Want?  If you have been open at least a year, then you now have real world information about what your customers want.

Challenge: Even though you now have a better understanding of what your customer wants, the wine already exists or you already have vineyards planted or contracts are signed that were originally for a set of tastes that is now changing.

Solution: Masterful blending. A small change in a wine blend can change a customers perspective of the wine significantly. While this may require bringing in some bulk wine, often it is a small volume that will just “finesse” the blend.

From Which Perspective Is Your Winery Operating?

Operational/Production View:  Plant what grows well. Make the best wine possible. Sell it at the highest price point possible.

OR

Strategic/Business View: Look at your sales goals. Plan your production. Plant your vineyard. Make the best wine possible that your customers want. Sell it at the highest price point possible.

Do you understand your customer’s tastes and are you using that information in your product plan? Do you know your forecasted sales?  If you do – Great!  You’re on your way to making your winery a successful business. If you’ve been making whatever grows well and ending up with a lopsided inventory, then I challenge you to review your perspective.

How does your winery operate?  Please share your successes & challenges!

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I work with people who are interested in opening a winery and are doing their research and winery owners who have only been open a few years, as well as established wineries facing new challenges.  After working and being involved in the industry for many years, I have found there are some common mistakes made by new or soon-to-be winery owners that can be avoided.  Let’s take a look and see if any of these sound familiar.

1.  Winery owners want to put their vineyard where they want to live.

Most new wineries were founded on land the owners liked.  They find the land they love, then build a house and plant a vineyard. Some people get lucky because where they want to live is in a good grape growing area.  However, more often than not, they didn’t do a lot of research on the land; or talk with neighboring vineyards about area challenges; or determine which grapes will grow best there…if any.

Example:  In the Burgundy region of France, there is a small town at an intersection forming a Y.  All around are vineyards except in the triangle of the Y, where sunflowers grow instead.  As a newcomer, you may look at that land and see vineyards all around around and think this would be a great place to plant grapes!  Ah, but the reason sunflowers are grown there is because through time, the grape growers have learned they cannot grow quality grapes in that spot.  New people to the area would not know this, but the experts do.  What makes the difference is the experience of dealing with both.

Experts can assist you choosing good land that is good for a vineyard along with a place you would like to live.  Visit with neighboring winery owners.  Ask them what they have learned about the land, weather, best grapes to grow, etc.  Are there real estate agents in your area that have grown with the industry and understand your needs?   You might want to buy two separate pieces of land – live on one and plant the vineyard on the other.

Solution: Where you place your vineyard is critical to the QUALITY of the grapes. You can grow grapes in lots of places, but the quality will be different. Treat the vineyard as a separate business.  If you were buying a business, you would find someone with expertise in this area and you would work with them.  Find an expert to work with.

2.  The winery is established too far into the country.

There is not a large enough regional population to draw upon to sustain the business.

Example:  Messina Hof Winery is located right outside of Bryan, Texas and College Station, home of Texas A&M.  The challenge here is that the majority of the population most of the year are college students, who typically are not your target market and the closest cities are 100 miles away.  How do you attract customers?  Hustling!  The husband and wife team have spent most every weekend traveling around the countryside getting restaurants to put it on their wine list, talking to store owners and getting it on their shelves, going to festivals and doing on-site events.  They have done everything there is to do to market their business.  They now have a B&B, restaurant and actually attract enough customers via harvest events that some pay the winery to harvest their grapes!  Even now they can’t stop marketing, and to get wine out to more people they chose distribution. They are distributing to places other wineries aren’t getting to and after 30 years, they are one of the 5 largest wineries in Texas!

In contrast, Fredericksburg, Texas is a city that chose to bring in tourism and they are close enough to Austin and San Antonio to attract a lot of people.  There are easily 10,000,000 people within 90 minutes of Fredericksburg.  The land around Fredericksburg is great for growing grapes and the town has been smart about attracting wineries and tourists to the area.  These wineries spend little to market themselves because the city has done most of the work.  In fact, Messina Hof has just opened a second winery in the area.

Solution:  For your winery to be successful, there has to be consistent traffic unless your plan is to sell everything in distribution.  If that’s the case, you want to be close to a highway.  But if you want customers to come to your winery (margins are higher, value to customers is higher and you have less competition), then you need to have a large enough population within a 45-90 minute drive to support your business.  Also, are they interested in wine?  You may be within 50 minutes of Salt Lake City, but if the majority don’t drink, then your location is moot.

3.  The new gung-ho, excited winery owners spend all their money up front.

Typically by overbuilding the winery and tasting room, over planting the vineyard or over buying equipment. Reminder: New winery owners built on the “traditional winery” plan need to be prepared to not make a revenue for 5 years.  That doesn’t mean you won’t, but if you have any type of setback, you’re done.  Plus, you need money for marketing and sales!

Example: Caprock Winery, originally Teysha Cellars, was built in 1988.  Over $11,000,000 was spent up front and less than three years later, they were bankrupt.  Pockets ran dry and there was no money to actually build the business after the winery was constructed. (Note: The current owners of Caprock recently bought it at auction for $2,500,000.  At $2,500,000 it’s a sustainable business.  At $11,000,000 it is not.)  Yes, this is an extreme example, but there are many other smaller winery owners who spend all their money up front and don’t have enough money to build the brand or can’t make it through the hard years.

Even though you may have been successful in business before, that doesn’t mean you don’t need help starting a new business.  Your winery, vineyard and tasting room are all separate businesses.  Hire marketing experts to build your brand.  Hire a sales expert to run your tasting room.  Hire an experienced grape grower to help establish your vineyard!

In contrast, Christoval Winery started a small winery and built the tasting room.  Once they had built up cash flow from their wine club and tasting room sales, they put that money into expanding their winery.  The winery has only been in business two years and could currently sell their business at a profit.  They have borrowed money, but not more than what their actual cash flow could service consistently.

Solution:  Building a winery is a marathon, not a sprint.  Do not spend all of your money up front.  Building the winery and tasting room are just the beginning. Building your brand and creating a loyal customer base to actually get to positive cash flow can take a few years.  Working with experts to make you successful is just smart business.

As you can see, consulting with experts will help you avoid these common mistakes that can have a real impact on your business.  And this is a business!  You may love wine and winemaking, but building a winery that will succeed takes forethought, research and planning…not to mention blood, sweat, tears and money!  Don’t fool around and try to “save a few bucks” by not consulting with experts who have first hand knowledge.  If we don’t have the experience in a specific area, we know people who do.  If you don’t know people who have the experience you are needing, we are here to help.  Your success is our mission.

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After the hustle & bustle of the holidays, the tasting room can seem a bit quiet. January and February are typically the slowest months of the year for a winery. The vineyard looks like a bunch of sticks. The days are short and cold. People are generally not out looking for things to do. Sales are down in the tasting room and if you have an event center, bed & breakfast, or restaurant, those sales are down too. January is not a big month for weddings and following family visits over the holidays, winery weekend getaways are few.

So, what’s a winery to do during these cold, slow months?

Remodel the Tasting Room
1. Anything that requires you to shut down the tasting room, such as remodeling or rearranging the room – now is the time. This is probably the least valuable time of the year to be closed with minimal impact on sales and events. If you have a bed & breakfast or restaurant, this is a great time to do updates, maintenance or tackle those long overdue projects.

Host Your Own Events
2. Have a dinner(s) or a party. Release a new white wine from the previous harvest or possibly release a red from an older vintage. Give people a reason to come out to the winery other than just a normal tasting room visit. Host a Winemaker Dinner for your wine club members. These are usually a fairly high-priced affairs. The dinner should be delectable and send home a bottle of wine with the member. You’ve increased revenue significantly and they have left feeling special.

Sell Corporate Events
3. Typically during January, businesses are preparing and laying out their plans for the coming year. Often executives like to get away from the day-to-day operations and focus on the strategic game plan at an off-site venue. Create a couple of corporate packages and reach out to local businesses now. Show them what you can offer. Corporate events are probably the most overlooked business for wineries. Yes, celebratory events are probably your mainstay, but company events can generate revenue for you as well. You need to be marketing now! Have someone start calling local businesses, your local Chamber of Commerce or Visitors Bureau. Let them know what you can offer and that you are willing to work with them to make a memorable event, even if they are working!

Salut!

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Hello Everyone! It’s been a while since I blogged last. I’ve had a busy summer and a great harvest season doing what I love. I’ve been working with a winery in West Texas helping them expand and it’s been fun – even in the sweltering Texas heat. I’m putting together a series on the planning, building and operations of the winery that I hope to have to you soon.

I also taught a couple of wine classes at Grayson Community College in Denton, Texas. After talking with a friend who was asking some question about the classes, I thought this would be a good topic to jump in with because so many winemakers, new winery owners or want-to-be winery owners don’t know how much knowledge is out there at their fingertips. Out-of-state schools are expensive too, so why not go local?

5 Reasons Why Local Enology & Viticulture Classes Are Valuable

1. A local program allows you to get direct feedback from others who know your industry, understand the climate, terroir and the challenges of your region. You will gain knowledge that is tangibly applicable to you, your vineyard and your winery. Here’s an example: In the late 1970′s, a large California wine corporation came to Texas and and planted 500 acres of grapes using the same techniques they did in California. They lost all their vineyards because they didn’t know they needed to deal with the Texas environment differently.

2. Gain knowledge faster and more efficiently by going to class in person where you can interact with others. Research shows that people retain significantly more knowledge when all the senses are involved.

3. In many classes you get actual hands on learning, whether it’s in the vineyard learning about diseases and pests, or in the classroom blending wine or running lab tests.

4. Local universities and colleges often offer extension classes and educational programs that are less expensive than going out of state and are held in the evenings or on weekends. Yes, there is UC Davis, Fresno State, Cornell, etc. and they are great schools, however, if you define quality as applicable information that is useful at your winery, then education nearby may be more valuable to you.  Also, you will often find some of the best winemakers and viticulturists in your region at those same extension courses and learn from their experiences.

5. Create relationships that will last. You will need others to lean on, learn from and share information with to be successful. In a local class, you are much more likely to work with people that are dealing with the same issues you are and learning together.

BONUS! If you support the local program, it helps the entire regional industry. Local education makes available a higher level of knowledge to everyone in the wine business. The better equipped your neighbors are and the better their wine is, and the more you sell and the bigger the market gets!  (More on why you want your neighboring winery to produce a great wine too: Blaze the Trail, Colorado!)

Here’s a great example of why learning your industry and understanding business matters:  80% of small restaurants are opened by people that know nothing about the restaurant industry. Often someone is told over and over by their friends what a great cook or chef they are and decide to open a restaurant. What they find is that running a restaurant has a lot more to do with business than cooking. Within 6 months 80% are bankrupt.

Does this sound familiar with who you know in the wine business? A winemaker makes great wine – all his friends say so. Soon, the idea of running a winery sounds like something that is possible. He make lots of wine, but has no idea how to open the winery, market the product, run a tasting room, or have a business plan, much less how to grow grapes and run a vineyard. After a few years and a small fortune, he finds himself broke – not because he wasn’t a good “cook”, but because being a good cook or winemaker does not convert over to being a good business manager. Reminds me of that old joke: How do you make a small fortune in the wine industry? You start with a large fortune.

In good enology and viticulture programs, there are marketing and business courses available.  Grayson College at the TV Munson School of Viticulture & Enology, where I teach occasionally, have some extended education courses specifically on those topics.

No matter where you are, there is probably a good program nearby and you don’t have to get a degree. Just take the classes you need. Here’s a list of several I found in the southern/mid-west states.

LOCAL ENOLOGY & VITICULTURE CLASSES OFFERED

University of Missouri (MO): http://iccve.missouri.edu/
Texas A&M Agrilife Extension (TX): http://winegrapes.tamu.edu/
Texas Tech Wine Marketing Institute (TX) : http://www.depts.ttu.edu/hs/TexasWine/
Texas Tech Viticulture & Enology Program (TX): http://www.pssc.ttu.edu/VEpage/default.php
New Mexico State (NM): http://aces.nmsu.edu/ces/viticulture/index.html
Oklahoma State University (OK): http://www.grapes.okstate.edu/
Colorado State University (CO): http://www.hla.colostate.edu/Academic_Programs/viticulture_enology.html
TV Munson Center at Grayson County College (TX): http://www.adultedreg.com/cwlgcc/index.cfm?processtype=department&deptid=14941
Redlands Community College (OK): http://www.redlandscc.edu/index.php?q=content/vineyard-wine-making-programs
Yavapai College’s Viticulture Program (AZ): http://viticulture.yc.edu/aas-degree-viticulture-and-enology/
VESTA: http://www.vesta-usa.org/main/ (Online viticulture & enology courses)

If you know of other schools, classes, extension courses near you, please leave in your comment and I’ll update the blog.

Happy Thanksgiving and Salut!

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How about bringing a bit of European tradition to your winery this harvest by making a small batch of nouveau wine? When we think of nouveau wine, we often think of Beaujolais. This is not because nouveau wine originated there, but mostly because Beaujolais has done an excellent job of marketing. Germany and Portugal are also known for their harvest wines released during Martinmas. And although Beaujolais may have cornered the US market for nouveau wines, they aren’t the only game around and you can have fun making your own nouveau wine too. A great example of this is the harvest wines produced by the winery at CSU Fresno State every year.

What is a nouveau wine ? Typically it wine that is created, bottled and sold in the same year it’s harvested. Although what we see here in the stores is bottled, in Europe it is often sold by the glass at the local winery, festival, or restaurant. Customers may also bring their own jug by the winery to have it filled. Purchasing in this way is very common in Europe and being able to enjoy the first tastes of the local wineries’ most recent harvest is cause for celebration. Often, the only opportunity to taste the wine is when the winemaker is pouring, making it an even more exclusive and desirable experience.

Nouveau wine literally means young, new. They are not intended to be aged, complex or oaky. They are intended to be fruity, easy to drink, light (rose, white or light red), slightly sweet or semi-dry. They should be chilled and if red, there should be little to no tannins. Some residual CO2 from fermentation can make the wine enjoyably fizzy or frizzante.

Gamay, Zinfandel, Muscat and Riesling grapes are usually good for nouveau wines because they are showing lots of fruitiness at a young age. In Texas, Jacquez and Blanc du Bois might be great choices too. Whereas Sauvignon Blanc is typically not a good choice due to its minerals and acidity. If you make your wine “Beaujolais style,” meaning using the process of carbonic maceration fermentation, then you can use big reds like Cabernet, Tempranillo, Granache, and even Syrah because this process will soften these reds. Or you can make roses, leaving the skins on for 24-48 hours before pressing off.

The challenge for the typical winery is that the creation process must be happening during the busiest time for the winery. Although you have harvested these grapes early, you probably have 2/3 of your vineyard left to harvest. If your winery and tasting room staff are the same people, this can be a challenge. But there are grapes that may be more conducive in terms of timing in your area too. If you are in a warmer region, like the southern states, and you have a variety that ripens earlier than others – like Blanc Du Bois, this may be your best choice for two reasons: 1) You may have more time to deal with it and it is likely to be your fruitiest grape. 2) Because you are not aging this wine, you can let fruit hang longer without having to worry about how it will affect the aging of the wine. This only works if the wine will be soft, easy drinking, fruity wine, like a nouveau.

This is a different wine-making technique – you are not trying to extract all the flavors from the grapes that you typically do. That’s why these are usually whites or roses. This contradiction to how you typically make wine can be hard to get at first. But remember:

You are not making the wine of the century – and not even trying!< The point of this wine is for it to be easy - on you as a winemaker and easy to drink. You are not trying to make the greatest wine ever, you are trying to make the best wine to drink right now.

As for marketing and public relations, this is a great opportunity to invite existing customers back to the winery. Because nouveau wines typically are not bottled, but served from the casks, you can sell it by the glass allowing your customers to share with you something special and unique. Throw a party for this exclusive once-a-year event! It’s a perfect time to entertain – serve food, have music, charm your guests and leave them feeling like they are valued and are a part of the select few. Don’t we all enjoy that now and then?

Salut!

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The growing season in most states is in full swing now and you’ll soon need to be ready for harvest and crush. The problem is, it’s like getting prepared after you’ve received the hurricane warning – it IS happening, you just don’t when it will strike. The grapes are ripening, but the fruit won’t be ready until it’s ready. And when they are, you better be ready too. The best way to be prepared for harvest is to plan on the worst case scenario – all the fruit is perfectly ripe - all at the same time!

Here in Texas, the growing season is short because of the warm spring and lack of freeze at the beginning of spring, thus the harvest time frame is shortened as well. Missouri has had a cold and wet spring, so their harvest will be later. In Oregon and California, the harvest season is lengthened due to later bud break and a cool wet spring.

Steps to Prepare for Harvest:

1. Make sure your tanks are empty, cleaned and ready. Bottle all of the wine that may still be in tanks. It’s best to do this two months prior to anticipated harvest. This can be a challenge if you have a lot of wine in the tanks. It will take a lot of time, so plan this out. You may need to start bottling during the growing season.

2. Inspect all equipment needed for harvest a nd repair as necessary to ensure everything is working well. Also, make sure you have spare parts on hand for any equipment that might fail or need replacing. Think about your pumps, crusher/destemmer, press, chiller, forklift, trucks, mules, etc. You will not want to experience downtime due to a pump going out and no backup, for example.

3. Have all your yeast, nutrients, SO2, oak chips, tannins, etc. ordered and delivered. You will have to estimate how much you will need, and veraison is usually a good time to order.

4. Have your harvest labor locked in and ready to go when you need them. What do you need to provide them during harvest? Have everything they’ll need on hand in in good shape.  Click here for recent blog on labor.

5. Make sure your lab is stocked and ready to roll, and all of your equipment is up to snuff. The last thing you want to find out during harvest is that your PH electrode is bad (this and anything similar in your lab should have a backup just in case). Some of the more complicated lab work may be able to wait if you need something, but make sure you have everything you need for PH, TA, YAN, and Brix/specific gravity including standards. If you’re outsourcing and lab work, make sure you have sample bottles and shipping worked prepared.

6. PLAN IT OUT! Have some idea of how much fruit of each variety there will be to harvest and what you are going to do with it. Which tanks you are using for what? If you’re using picking bins for red fermentation, do you have enough for both harvesting and fermenting? Make sure you have enough barrels ready to use after fermentation. Use your blending/tank allocation sheet and plan as if it all were coming in at once.

What you will find is that if it all came in at once, you’ve got a big problem! Now you know the worse case scenario. If this were to happen, what’s the plan? Do we work a third shift? Do we put the fruit in a cooler until the next day? Do you have an emergency source for tanks/barrels? IBC totes or bag-in-box shippers can make excellent short term storage if you have a large harvest, but only if you know where to get them. Think ahead and don’t be caught off guard.

7. Once you have the “worst case” plan, then you can create the more likely scenario plan. Which varieties typically come in first? Second? Later? Based on your conversations with vineyard managers, do you know which varieties are ahead or behind their normal schedule? Are there any vineyards/varieties that can hang an extra day or two without impacting fruit quality? Allocate your tanks and equipment based on that.

You may find out that you just need a little extra storage space. If that’s the case you can consider new tanks or alternative options. Or you might need to discuss custom crush services for your worst case scenario.

8. Notice where your bottlenecks might be.  Is it at the press or destemmer? Typically you only have one of each, so it’s an obvious spot to review. If you have a big crusher but a smaller press, then you’ll have to plan for the press taking longer. If you are using special press cycles, how will that impact you? Are you planning any cold soaking, and if so, can your chiller handle bringing all of your must down to the desired temperature?

Your plan is created – great! Make sure your space is clean and everything is running smoothly. Now you can handle the grapes as they come in and adjust as needed. It may not be what you planned, but now you are prepared to handle whatever comes at you.

What’s going on in your neck of the woods? When do you anticipate your harvest? Any other pointers for new wineries to prepare for harvest?

Looking forward to great crush here in Texas! Hope you are too.

Salut!

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Finely crafted wine blends and consulting
(because you’re not a Napa winery!)

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Festivals.  Are you participating in local and regional wine festivals? If you’re not, you should be. Festivals are a great way to have your wine tasted by lots of people in a short period of time. Attendees of wine and food festivals actually enjoy wine and food – go figure! And they are excited and receptive to unique, interesting flavors and experiences. They are out to see what the local chefs and wineries are creating, to have fun and take home something cool and unique to share with their friends.  Make what they want to share with others YOUR wine!  Don’t let these fun opportunities pass you by!

How Festivals Can Benefit Your Winery:

1. Marketing – have brochures or business cards, with the location of your winery and a website for events you host.

2. Sales – actually getting people to buy bottles of your wine at the festival (if legal).

3. Branding – Get your label in front of people. If you have time, tell them a “short”
version of your story – how you came to be and about your wine. Make sure you distinguish yourself from all the other wines they will taste that day.

Below are some local and regional festivals of The Other 46 in the southwest and midwest coming your way soon. I am sure I missed some, so if you have others to add – please feel free to comment and post.

TEXAS

Kerrville Wine & Music Festival
Aug 31- Sep 2, 2012

Grapefest
Sept 13-16, 2012
(See my take on Grapefest and how to get the most out of participating.)

Houston Wine Fest
Sept 24-25, 2012

Fredericksburg Food & Wine Fest
Oct 27, 2012

ARIZONA

Wine and Dine in the Pines
August 19, 2012

Sedona Winefest
Sept 22-23, 2012

Tempe Festival of the Arts
AZ Wine Festival
Nov 30-Dec 2, 2012

COLORADO

Colorado Urban Winefest – Denver
June 9, 2012

Telluride Wine Festival
June 27-July 1,2012

Castle Rock Winefest
July 21, 2012

Steamboat Wine Festival
August 2-5,2012

Colorado Mountain Winefest – Palisade
September 13-16,2012

NEW MEXICO

25th Annual New Mexico Wine Festival
Sept 1-3, 2012

KANSAS

Salute! A Festival of Wine & Food
July 12-14, 2012

IOWA

Iowa Wine Fest
June 9, 2012

IDAHO

Terrace Lakes Wine & Art Festival
June 23-24, 2012

Sun Valley Harvest Fest
Sept 21-23, 2012

WISCONSIN

Lake Geneva Wine Festival
September 8, 2012

UTAH

Park City Food & Wine Classic
July 5-8, 2012

ILLINOIS

Windy City Wine Festival
Sept 7-8, 2012

Festival of the Vine
Sept 7-9, 2012

Illinois Wine & Art Festival
Last weekend of September

MISSOURI

Midwest Wine and Brew Fest
August 11, 2012

Augusta’s Harvest Festival
Sept 14-15, 2012

Missouri Food & Wine Festival
Sept 22, 2012

MICHIGAN

The Paw Paw Wine & Harvest Festival
Sept 7-9, 2012

MINNESOTA

Cannon Falls Wine & Art Festival
July 21-22, 2012

THE DAKOTAS

Great Dakota Wine Festival
Aug 25, 2012

It will be harvest soon too. Maybe that’s a fine time for you to host your own event OR collaborate with your neighboring wineries to create your own wine festival.  Remember, your neighboring winery is not your enemy! If you are small and there are other small wineries nearby, you can create a greater draw by partnering and working together.

Salut!

Custom solutions for your winery.
Finely crafted wine blends and consulting
(because you’re not a Napa winery!)

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888-767-7442
Email Us