There are a bazillion people that have wine labels that don’t own, nor will they ever own, a brick and mortar winery.

There’s a certain fantasy that people want to have about making wine. They want you to own your own vineyards. They want you to own the winery. I like to keep that magical thought going, I do. But, I’m a Southern Baptist preacher’s kid and I don’t have the money to do that. Maybe some day I will, but for now I work super close with the growers and stay intimately involved. That’s the way you do it if you want to make great wine on a shoestring. Some of our largest competitors start with $40 million plus in their bank account. That ain’t us. (more…)

Precious few people will actually make the mental trip back through the chain of events that led to that glass of Manifesto! in their hand. Winemakers will get a bottle and go, “Cool. This is right on.” Most folks will grab it and say, “Let’s get a steak!”

Here’s the way it works:
Once your fruit comes in you know if you’ve made a good picking choice or not. Cool. Then during fermentation you know if you have a chance to make some great wine. But, with anything based on a mix of science and Mother Nature, you never know. Hopefully, as a winemaker you’re the most judgmental person to come across the wine, and you pick out any flaws long before anyone else will. (more…)