Is A New Winery In Your New Year?

Starting a new winery is a daunting task.  People come at the problem from varied backgrounds and levels of talent.  Everybody has a different idea about what makes a winery a success. But few would argue that a winery needs to be a successful business.

Often the decision to start a winery happens in the blink of an eye.  Sure, you may have mulled, pondered and ruminated about it for a decade.  But for most people, it comes down to a single moment of conviction when your passion, drive and hope come together and you say: Let's do it.

Forget about the awards ceremonies, the glowing reviews and the adoration of thousands of wine lovers: that will all come in good time.  The first thing you have to do is make sure you have a good business plan.  Without the plan, you're like a ship without a rudder.

The wine business is capital intensive at start-up.  Returns on investment are delayed, reflecting both the nature of a business linked to an agricultural cycle and a slow inventory turnover.  Investors looking to make a quick buck should look elsewhere as a five year lag before returns in not uncommon.  In fact, without proper funding, your winery could be in serious trouble by the time your second or third harvest comes around.  You may find yourself strapped for funds and without the kind of cash flow you may have expected

The wine business is heavily-weighted to a brand-driven model.  You'll soon have questions about how to best promote and market your brand. Before some of the details become insurmountable, consider engaging the services of a consultant.

In the wine industry that could be someone purely on the business side who has a familiarity with the workings of banks, government and the law.  Or it can be someone from development and production, like myself (the friendly guy in the photo), who will be able to tell you what you'll need to achieve the kind of excellence we all strive for in wine. 

Whether you're starting a new venture or working with an established company, there's never a bad time to re-visit the business plan with a fresh set of eyes.  Consider the talents of a consultant when you need to clearly identify your wine business priorities and and create viable, profitable solution.

Marriage, WIne and Social Media

The wine will flow and the vows will be said on the 18th of August. Karen and her man are getting married in Napa County, California. Trouble is: they want to get married in the vines but they don't have a location yet.

In a test of social media, Karen is hoping one of the winery/vineyard operations (or still some other) we visited during the Wine Bloggers Conference last week will step up and fill the bill. This isn't some elaborate set-up with hundreds of guests and music and food. It's just Karen, the groom, a photog and the vow-sayer. As I write this, the word is going out among the Twitterverse, the blogosphere and the interwebs. The experiment has begun.

She's got a few essentials to cover but really, it is simplicity in itself.

The bonus is: the winning wine operation will get international coverage. Lots of eyes read Karen's Winebard blog and you know she will relate (dare I say 'gush') all the details.

It's a win-win for all.

So if you run a Napa vino scene or know somebody who does, let them know about the Winebard's quest. When they get hitched, the winery gets pitched. It's that simple.

Here's a link with more details.

Karen's K.I.S.S list:

1. Rose bushes at the end of the rows of vines


2. Picturesque location for Wedding photos


3. Can accommodate four people for about one hour on Aug 18th


4. Preferably in the Napa Valley

A big bonus for the couple would be if you could hold a vid camera for 10 minutes.

Spread the word!

Shipping Wine: Not in Canada

This topic has been hot in the press lately. Another writer, Craig Pinhey, weighs in on the subject.
http://wine.appellationamerica.com/wine-review/625/Canada-direct-ship.html

Exceptional Okanagan Falls BC Vineyard For Sale

THIS PROPERTY HAS BEEN SOLD. NOV/08

Properties like this are rare. Mature vineyard with Merlot, Chardonnay, Gewurztraminer, Pinot Noir, Viognier and others in full production. Beautiful 'southwest' style home and many service buildings. Right on Oliver Ranch Road with plenty of winery and agri-tourism potential. About 30 acres and about 2/3 in vines.
For more information, contact me directly.

cooper.bradley@gmail.com

Wine and a Hike in the redwoods

It's not news to most people but here it is anyhow: California is full of things to do. For wine lovers, California is a diverse growing region with thousands of wine-related activities. But to return home after a truly rewarding experience in wine country is not always an easy achievement.

A lot of the time there is a cookie-cutter feel to many attractions. There pre-packaged tours and winery visits that start to look pretty typical. Most of the big name tours could be lifted from anywhere. Just insert different names where applicable.

Among the packed tasting rooms, the parade of buses and the drunk-filled limousines is a California wine country experience that really stands out as unique and fun. California Wine Hikes takes two great activities and combines them for some special memories and genuinely exclusive glimpses of the Golden State.

I've talked about California Wine Hikes in this space before as being something different I had heard about. Back in late May, I got to experience it firsthand.

My wife and I have our best hiking years behind us. We weren't looking for a death march with tough technical sections. So we were delighted with the trail chosen for us by Russ Beebe, owner, operator, guide and all-round great guy. We spent about half a day in the mountains at the south end of the San Franciscan peninsula, somewhere between San Mateo and the ocean. We saw huge redwoods, quiet ravines and an array of wildflowers. The traditional fog off the coast started the day. We ended it in full sun for our mid-afternoon lunch.

Of course, our walk was punctuated with visits to wineries like Thomas Fogarty and Savannah-Chanelle.

Russ' knowledge of the area, his running commentary on the flora and fauna and his contacts within the wine business makes for a memorable day out. Nowadays, I can't think of a trip to California without a wine hike in the itinerary.

(top photo: me and a redwood. Sorry about the focus. bottom photo: Me (left), my wife Audralee and Russ Beebe at Savannah Chanelle)

It's only a matter of time that this kind of thing shows up here. I'm sure BC is ready for one of these businesses dedicated to showing off the scenery and the wines in the various regions of the province.

Until then, make sure you book one of these hikes on your next trip to California.

Wine Maker Wanted / Stag's Hollow

Thanks for checking... POSITION NOW FILLED


One of the better small wineries in the Okanagan is looking for a wine maker. Stag's Hollow in Okanagan Falls makes around 5,000 cases and has a newish production facility. Prospective candidates should have considerable experience; a proven track record in wine making is required.
Contact Larry Gerelus directly at info@stagshollowwinery.com or
250-497-6162

More about Stag's Hollow

15 Cool, Sexy Jobs In The Wine Business

Somebody asked me the other day what kind of jobs there were in the wine business.
Here's a few -
1. Wine maker - duh.
2. Cellar master - any place that puts together more than a few hundred barrels each year could proabably use a dedicated employee to look after them and the wine inside. You'll have to cellar rat a few years and then specialize your training. Perhaps pursue some secondary education. Maybe a stint at a barrel maker would be handy. Which leads me to . . .
3. Cooper - somebody, preferably a craftsman, has to make all those barrels. Study carpentry and joinery and then get a gig in one of the big houses in the U.S. or Europe. Then branch out on your own.
4. Cellar rat - slightly above a hose dragger, mostly a full time gig doing all the menial and dirty jobs around the cellar. There is no better way to learn how the wine is made.
5. Harvest helper (hose dragger) - if you're heading into production you'll have to do this at some point. Depending on the operation, you could be doing everything from picking grapes to filtration to driving truck to filling in behind the shop counter. The pay is minimal; the experience is essential.
6. Sales - after the owner decides to hang up one of the hats he/she wears, sales jobs suddenly materialize. Days on the road, customers with no freaking idea, missed quotas, everybody wanting free wine. Pure joy for the right person.
7. Wine Shop staffer - different operations have different systems, but like any retail operation, look for the place that rewards proven performers. Besides the wage, is there any bonus structure, perks, possibility of advancement, benefit plans or wine allowance?
8. Wine Shop manager - one of those jobs where the crap can come at you from above (boss), below (staff) and sideways (public). If you like to juggle, you may want to try this.
9. Winery Supplies - It's mostly 9 to 5. Wineries need stuff and equipment. The lab has to be stocked, the wine shop needs knick-knacks, the cellar needs another bag of citric acid. You can fill this need with your huge inventory and free delivery for orders over $50.
10. Winery Equipment - The big stuff like presses and tanks. You don't sell one everyday but when you do - yipee! Find a line not represented in your area and get an exclusive distribution agreement. Helps to also be a . . .
11. Equipment technician - if you understand how stuff works (machines) you can carve out a niche in the winery business. A lot of wine makers and winery owners come from varied fields and seldom do those fields include the skills to fix electric motors, pumps, compressors, belt drives and all sorts of stuff.
12.Packaging - even wineries that spend too little time on their wine seems to spend an inordinate amount of time getting the bottle, label, closure and capsule just right. Help ease the pain by representing a spiffy line of packaging for the wine business.
13.Wine Club organizer - wine clubs as sales drivers are nothing new. But with the rapid rise of the internet over the last two decades comes on-line clubs that, in some cases, eclipse the sales of the bricks and mortar wine shops in their own organization. If you're a marketing expert with an emphasis on web communities this may be your calling.
14.Food Service - if you have a background in food preparation or service you may have noticed that many wineries are integrating food into their customer interpretation centres (wine shops).
It could be the fanciest restaurant in the area or a simple cold counter serving deli style take-away. Come up with a concept and sell it to the winery with the greatest need and the greatest possibility of success.
15. Tour Guide - get your chauffeur's license and drive folks around wine country. It seems to get more popular every year. There's all sorts of ways to build in commissions to this gig. They're your captives for several hours. Shouldn't you earn something for recommending the same excellent restaurant everyday to well-heeled visitors?

The End is Near!! Ferment!

The weather is going into its late fall thing so with freezing overnights headed this way by the weekend I've decided to call it all in and wrap it up.

It's time to stop trying to dodge the rainclouds and owe up to the fact that it is all over.

So pick your grapes and blow your irrigation lines. Frosty is around the corner.

What Township 7 is looking at this week:

Viognier (in)

Cabernet Sauvignon (today/tomorrow)

Syrah (before Friday night)

All of Langley (ASAP)

Can you see the spider on this bunch of Syrah?

Winery Owner Exercise: Grow Some Tomatoes

The public asks a lot of questions about the vineyards. Some of the simplest queries have answers that are potentially the most profound.

"Why do you grow the vines like that?"

One of the answers is : "Because the last guy did it like that".

Truth is that a number of cultural practices are in play to achieve a common goal: control. This precept is applicable to the greater farming community and the wine business as well.

Left to their own devices, the average grape vine would simply sprawl across the ground in a haphazard way. Occasionally it would train up a tree trunk or other fixed vertical support but for the most part the vine is content to simply spread to the area of least resistance.

For somebody who needs to harvest high quality grapes this kind of vine behaviour would be a chaotic disaster. Planting a lot of vines and then being unable to tend them would result in wildly varied bunch quality and an almost impossible harvest routine.

Good vineyard management is an analogy for a good winery business. It's about good planning, research, decision making and follow through. There's no point in creating a mountain of grapes if the processing or sales contracts haven't been planned. At some point there's going to be trouble if the planning is not in place.

Let's digress and talk about tomatoes. My family and I love vine-ripened tomatoes. We also love the unusual varieties. So my son and I planned to grow a plot of tomatoes this year. We decided to begin with greenhouse starters. On our trip to the nursery I had 20 separate plants before I started to ponder the number of tomatoes that would potentially yield.

Who was going to look after these tomatoes (farmer)? Who is going to eat these tomatoes (market)? Which tomatoes will be more popular (PR)?

After some sober thought, I planted only eight different plants and we're getting just about what we want. We can manage the tomatoes we have without running around and giving them away (developing new markets) or processing them into sauce (new products) at the spur of the moment. Frankly, my time is worth more than either of those activities so the end result would be $$ out and a questionable return. Best of all, a high percentage of our tomatoes are going to be consumed fresh and not left to rot (productivity?).

Currently, there are a number of winery operations in BC experiencing growth difficulties that could probably been overcome with good planning. There is a market for quality BC-made wine but it doesn't sell itself. Failure to perform at every key stage will result in downstream problems that will either require substantial effort ($$) to correct or ultimately decide the fate of the operation.

So when you plant that vine, know what you expect, understand the steps to get there, control the growth. Try it with tomatoes in your backyard if you'd like.

Dunham & Froese Winery has a blog

It's called backlabel, which is very appropriate.
Informative and anecdotal. Take a look.

I get around

Since January, whenever I see the "wine maker needed" flashed on a cloud by a powerful search beam, I respond in the Cruiser.

Days of Wine & Roses Part Two - Keep it Simple Stupid

After determining your winery is a wreck and you'll need umpteen repairs and thousands of litres of new cooperage, there is a way to make your life simpler.

Design a spreadsheet that hinges on tonnage.

If I can do it, you can too.

Create a spreadsheet that automatically calculates all your requirements based on grape tonnage received. This will allow you to see at a glance what your requirements are using accepted industry rates of addition.

How much yeast for the Joe Blow Vineyards Cabernet? Tonnage X average litre yield per ton X grams per hecolitre. That should do it.

Almost all of your factors are available in the catalogs put out by the suppliers around this time of the year.

If this is still trouble for you, drop me an email. I work internationally.

Winery Help Wanted

Township 7 Okanagan is looking for a harvest intern to assist with the crush.
Details at:
http://winevinebc.wordpress.com/

Safety Meeting called.

Our first 'safety meeting' of the season at Township 7 Okanagan has been inked for Friday, July 6, beginning around 4:30 pm. We're at 1450 McMillan, Penticton. (On the way to Naramata)

We invite all wine types. If you're reading this on this blog then it probably means you. Although dominated by Benchites, we frequently see travellers and visitors and friends of friends. It's all very casual. We generally provide some snacks and suds but people are encouraged to bring wine to share (including cellar work in progress) and whatever they'd like to hear on our sophisticated sound system.
It's inside/outside depending on the weather.
Be prepared to discuss:

Forklift Beverage Holders: The Next Generation
Beer O'Clock: From Concept to Standard Operating Procedure.
Beautiful People on the Pad (BPP): A Welcome Addition or Dangerous Distraction?
The Blue Factor: Why Is He Always in the Way?

Bring your own dissertation or Power Point presentation if you'd like.

Possibly write a poem for presentation about wine, safety and summer.

Hope to see lots of new faces!

Vineyard Demands Take Priority

This time of the year the demands of the vineyard require certain things to be done now rather than later! Nature has a timetable and we're just following along. Here the crew works on training wire for Township 7 Okanagan.

New Winery Links

Finally catching up with my housekeeping around here and added a big whack of winery links in the sidebar.

It is by no means complete but I will keep adding the missing links as they are found.

NEW site for help wanted et cetera

I'm in the middle of creating a new service for all the winery, vineyard, wine equipment, wine store and such businesses in BC. It's a site where you can list for free whatever it is you are looking for.

Still working on it but here's the address...

Wine & Vine BC WANTED

Global WIne Stocks Widget

If you look over in the right hand sidebar, you'll see a new widget from GWS or Global Wine Stocks.
It's a fun little gadget that finds any wine you're looking for and tells you the price and where it can be purchased.
It's kind of fun and handy at the same time.

They Love me in the Old Country

It's a well-known fact that the Irish are mad for wine made in B.C. Here's a demonstration of that feeling. There's a standing offer of a bottle of wine for the best picture of the week featuring the Wine & Vine BC URL. Extra points for tasteful displays of female skin, of course.

This one was taken in a bottle shop in Belfast, I believe.

James, you can pick your bottle up in person.

Work in a Winery

This is your last chance to work at a winery, newbie.
As mentioned in a previous post, I'll be hiring a passionate, driven zealot for a short-term experience at Township 7 this spring.
If you or someone you know finds this interesting please don't hesitate to drop me a line now.
I make my decision tomorrow afternoon at beer o'clock.

cooper.bradley@gmail.com