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. Read the rest of this entry »

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. Read the rest of this entry »