Building the Foundation for Your Winery I have found that one of the biggest stumbling blocks for people in starting a business is not asking enough questions. And if they’re asking questions, often they aren’t the right questions of the right people. Many times entrepreneurs are so lit up and passionate about their idea or →

You are passionate about wine. Perhaps you’ve been making your own wine for family and friends. Maybe you’re even growing a few vines! But now you’re really excited and motivated about living the dream – being a winery owners and sharing your passion with many. Where do you start? One of the biggest Catch-22’s of →

Are your wines distributed?  Should they be?  Many small wineries ask themselves these questions.   The answers are not always easy to come by.   Let’s shed some light on the subject. First, how did we get here? Why do we even have mandated distribution in most states? The 3-tier system, born out of the →

Wine commercials can be silly, funny, ridiculous, true…and not so true. This list was created by Paul Wagner of Balzac Communications. Enjoy! Zinfandel Festival ad Gallo Pink Chablis story USB Wine 1950’s Melody Hill Wine Commercial Rigos wine ad Dixie wine. Really. Gallo Cartoon 1930’s Riunite lifestyle ad Rosemount—wine for women Wine opener Indian Wine →

Your customer purchased your 2009 Viognier and raved about it to their family and friends.  Great!  But will you be able to produce one similar next year when they come back for more?  From grape growing to customer visit cycles, creating stability is one of the biggest agricultural challenges and in turn, marketing challenges facing →

The Fingers Lake International Wine Competition, held this past weekend in Rochester, NY, is the largest charitable wine competition in North America.  The 11th annual competition set a record for entries with 3,259 wines from 788 wineries.  The wines came in from 19 nations, 6 Canadia provinces and all 50 states! Congratulations to the Southwest →

Fire destroys truckload of wine on I-80. How would you like to get that news from the truck drivers transporting your wine?   The fire broke out in the trailer’s refrigeration unit while being delivered. Perhaps you’re saying “Man that sucks. Glad it wasn’t me.”  The big question here is what if this had been →

Recently I attended the annual Texas Pierce’s Disease Research Symposium conducted by Texas A & M’s Texas AgriLife Extension. Pierce’s Disease, also known as PD, is such a big problem for grape growers that many states have annual conferences and research projects devoted exclusively to it such as this one. There are several culprits for →

I recently attended a seminar at Grayson College, Designing Varietal Wines & Blending, led by Texas wine industry leader, Dr. Roy Mitchell.  Credited with being one of the founders of Texas wine as we know it, Dr. Mitchell has been making wine for over 40 years.  I’ve studied under him, worked with him and am →

It’s February, you look out over your winery and vineyard.  The landscape is brown, the wind is blowing cold, the vineyard is barren, tours are down and there aren’t any wine festivals.  Winters can play havoc on your customer traffic and sales, causing you stress if you aren’t prepared and sometimes even if you are! →