Preparing for harvest is critical and happens during all the
larger part of a year. Let’s start
thinking about harvest now. It’s not a
one-day process just before the first load of fruit arrives on the crush
pad. We will go over the planning
process of how to be most prepared and confident when the fruit of the harvest
starts to arrive. Part of the plan may
include taking a vacation so read on!
Obtain a calendar: This will be the most useful tool for your
planning from bottling, to fixing equipment and ordering yeast/chemicals
etc. I prefer a large erasable calendar
so one can plan out 4 to 6 months at a minimum.
Have cellar workers use this for their projected time off also. It is a great communication resource for
everyone!
Note taking during harvest: This is the first step and the key step for subsequent success in
future harvest(s) to come. Make notes of
any production pitfalls, machinery issues, fruit handling upgrade wishes,
squealing bearings, worn belts etc. Keep
visiting this list and make sure to plug budgetary items in at the appropriate
time.
When do you start? Start preparing for the harvest planning
exercise by optimistically looking at the vineyard and expected fruit or juices
for the harvest seven or eight months in advance. Plan, order and negotiate any cooperage or
tanks space adjustments early on to fit upcoming predicted production.
Plan tank capacity: With initial vineyard tonnage projections in
hand start to forecast empty tank capacity and cooperage. Plug into this projection tanks you expect to
have bottled by harvest. Is there enough
predicted empty tank capacity available to allow all the fruit projected to fit
into the cellar? Is there an overrun
plan? Would large tanker trailers be
available if needed for excesses? Think
through as many options as possible. If
you calculate you need more volume capacity– get that on order.
Place orders for tanks and cooperage: Take time near January of each year to place orders for stainless
steel tanks and barrels. In many cases
for stainless steel you can order custom made tanks for the same price as
stock. This way – you get exactly the
features you want in your tank and you can specify quality. Treat cooperage the same way. Talk to your barrel supplier(s) and express
an (“optimistic”) order should agricultural expectations go as planned. Most barrel suppliers will work with you to
be flexible (within reason) to help you plan your tank capacity and this helps
them plan their production work load.
Make a bottling schedule: Make sure to plan exactly what you need to
bottle to integrate properly with the sales goals and to empty the amount of
tank space needed. This will need to be
coordinated with the warehouse personnel and taking into consideration
warehouse space. Stick with the bottling
schedule since it is integral to your projected bulk wine volume tank space
requirements needs. Speak with sales to
understand their expected sales rates and understand if any varietals will be
placed on “special” accelerating predicted sales rates.
Visit the machinery in the winter months: Start reviewing worn out belts, replace and
repack bearings that are showing wear.
Motors; bearings; chains etc.
Order spare parts of anything that seems worn or in need of repair
soon. Create a plan. Upgrade the machinery and adapt to making the
crush process easier. Look at pomace
removal systems and explore options. Do
these repairs and reviews while you have the time to take action. (The same theory applies during harvest –
work on your bottling line!)
Review the cellar journal/log: Looking at entries in the cellar log will
often jar the memories of items that needed refinement of the harvest
prior. This will help in the planning
process of what may need attention for next harvest also.
In the Spring: Start to count picking lugs, bins, shears and
gondolas. Review vineyard data
projections for tonnage and get a grasp on how that tonnage will be transported
to the winery. Inspect wagons, tires and
gondolas. This review in the spring will
allow enough time to make adjustments and to plan for these upcoming events. Make plans for harvest help and contact any
interns you plan to have in place
Early Summer:
Have
a refined crop estimate submitted by each grower. With more solid fruit estimates in hand
refine your tank and vessel needs for the winery. Start thinking about yeast and stylistic
production goals. How will these be
achieved? Start taking further action to
fix and refine the machinery for the crush pad.
This is a time of year better suited for this work outdoors and allows
for errors to be fixed with ample time.
Mid-Summer: Have a review done of your chilling
system. Is it operating properly? Will there be enough cooling tonnage for the
increased capacity? Do you care to
relocate any tanks? Will
refrigeration/glycol lines need to cut for adding additional tanks? Will this impact your bottling schedule?
Two months before harvest: Place an order for yeast, enzymes, nutrients,
ML cultures, tank cleaning chemicals, citric acid, soda ash, etc. Have comfortable shipping dates discussed
with your supplier to avoid rush fees.
(Keep in mind some companies offer free shipping in July)
• Start to address clutter
in the winery and on the crush pad.
Contact the appropriate people to solve any situations that exist. Having the proper elbow room at the start of
crush is crucial for mobility during crush.
• Fix and / or replace any
leaky transfer hoses. Order needed
gaskets; clamps etc to make sure the hoses can be repaired and assembled
without leakage.
• Clean all your hoses a
few times before harvest.
• Order all fresh lab
chemicals to get you through the entire crush season. Date them as they arrive. Clean house:
Out with old… in with new.
• Develop and refine any
written protocols (Lees filter press operation, tank cleaning, press cleaning,
crusher cleaning etc) for upcoming harvest helpers or interns. If interns will be from another country try
to have your protocols translated or have interns do this at the end of one of
their previous seasons.
• Physically rehearse step
by step the harvest crush pad process on the crush pad. Have everyone understand the
grape/must/product flow that will be anticipated for each style of wine.
• Discuss possible two
shift scenarios if you envision this may be something you are considering. Most people are receptive to this option if
they can mentally prepare. Less success
is achieved if the idea is new and forced.
Start a list of odd jobs: I have often found this to be very helpful
when fruit is delayed arriving at the crush pad and harvest helpers are apt to
stand and wait. Painting the outside
fence, sprucing up the winery entrance or repairing picnic tables for common
area can be some examples.
Landscaping. All wineries have
project lists that are usually very long and this can help cross those off the
list. This is a great point score with
owners and keeps employees busy.
Once all the bottling is
finished and some breathing room potentially exists start to work on and repair
the bottling line during harvest.
Take a vacation: Once you have successfully completed the
bottling and all your harvest chemicals are either in house or confirmed on
their way…. take a vacation and make sure your other staff take a
vacation. This is the dangling carrot
that keeps us all challenged and ultimately relaxed going into a harvest.
Low stress: Start your harvest in a low stress relaxed
environment while taking notes on future needs and improvements so each year
will become smoother and smoother. Your
low stress start will allow you to handle the complexities of harvest with
confidence, courage and excellent judgment.
Your winemaking will shine as a result of your planning.
In short: Start
taking notes this upcoming harvest and plan your machinery maintenance very
early. Use a calendar to help keep this
project moving along, bottle up all the wine projected and be ready for the
expected tonnage to arrive and perhaps…a few extras.
A quick glance at the wine list at Fullerton Wines, and one could
easily be fooled into thinking this family-run venture is a large-scale
commercial winery. Depending on one’s palate and pock-etbook, they can choose
from Fullerton Wines’ Single Vineyard and Reserve wines, their nu-anced Five
FACES line of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, or their more playful and lighter
Three Otters line of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir Rosé and Pinot Gris. So
how can a boutique winery that produces 8,000 cases annually craft such a vast
array of wines?
The short answer? “I’m on
the road a lot,” said Fullerton Wines’ winemaker, Alex Fullerton. The long
answer starts with Alex’s lifelong passion for wine, cultivated through his
family back-ground and education in viticulture and enology at Oregon State
University. These factors gave him the tools he needed to craft distinctive
wines that reflect the soil where they are grown.
A Wine-Loving Family
Prior to founding
Fullerton Wines, Eric and Susanne Fullerton, hailing from Denmark and Swe-den
respectively, introduced their passion for wine to son Alex and his siblings.
As a teenager, Alex caught the wine bug during a trip to France with his
father. His interest continued when he journeyed with his family through
Burgundy, Bordeaux, Champagne and other Old World re-gions. During these trips,
he learned how wine can serve as a bridge between cultures.
After high school, Alex attended
OSU, where he graduated with an economics degree before en-rolling in the
Viticulture and Enology program. Here he obtained the scientific skills needed
to fine-tune the informal education and refined palate he received from his
parents.
After college, Alex worked
at Drylands Winery in Marlborough, New Zealand, as well as Pen-ner-Ash Wine
Cellar and Bergström Wines, two wineries based in Newburg, Oregon. While
get-ting hands-on experiences at Willamette Valley wineries, he gained an
in-depth understanding of Willamette Valley soils. While the Valley’s soil is
known internationally for producing award-winning Pinot Noirs, other area soils
are ideally suited for growing white wines such as Char-donnay and Pinot Gris.
In some instances, the same soil can produce both grapes.
In 2011, Alex and his
family put that Willamette Valley soil to the test. Despite a challenging
growing season, they achieved success with the 468 Chardonnay vines planted at
Estate Ivy Slope Vineyard, the formal name of the family’s backyard in
Beaverton, Oregon, on the northern border of Willamette Valley.
From the winery’s
inception, the Fullertons have sought to produce quality fruit that mitigates
the impact of climate change. They achieved this goal by employing organic and
biodynamic farming methods such as permanent cover cropping and the use of
organic fertilizers.
Looking to the Soil
Since then, the Fullertons
expanded their winery by exploring which grapes work best with the type of soil
in a given vineyard. The soils present in the Willamette Valley are
sedimentary, vol-canic, and loess. The history of how the soil came to be so
varied is as complex as the grapes that grow from it.
Flooding during the end of
the last ice age formed the Willamette Valley and left behind a com-plex series
of soils with unique characteristics. A repeatedly melting glacial dam led to
Missoula flood deposits that were brought down the Columbia Gorge and
eventually became the Valley’s floor soil.
The flooding from the
Pacific Ocean brought marine sediments, creating the soil that produces
voluptuous blue and black fruit with rich aromatics, denser tannins and earth
tones.
Basalts originated due to
lava flows from eastern Oregon, which gave rise to the volcanic hills in the
Valley. Here, one finds grapes that produce red-fruited wines with soft
tannins, a noteworthy acidity and spicy aromatics.
Silt blown up from the
Valley onto the northeast side of the Willamette Valley produced wind-blown
loess. This soil tends to produce a darker flavor with grapes that have a round
tannin structure and mixed berry aromas with undertones of exotic spices and
briar patches.
A Vast Portfolio of Vineyards
This year, Fullerton is
working with a dozen vineyards nestled among the AVAs that spawn the entire
Willamette Valley wine region. These AVAs and their corresponding vineyards
include:
• Willamette Valley
(Apolloni Vineyard, Bennett Vineyard, Croft Vineyards)
This vast portfolio of
vineyards are selected based on the Fullerton family connections. The net-work
allows Alex to pinpoint the exact plots of land that will work best for
producing particular types of wine. “This selection process preserves the heart
and soul of the individual vineyards so they can all speak for themselves,” he
said.
According to Alex, this
diversity allows him to blend with consistency, as he has a vast palette of
grapes at his disposal that he can use to craft specific wines. Furthermore, by
having vines scat-tered throughout the Willamette Valley, Fullerton Wines can
still harvest grapes should one re-gion experienced a severe weather crisis
such as drought or fire.
Still, Alex admits it can
be draining to run around sampling the vines. He decides when it’s time to
harvest a particular vineyard based primarily on his taste assessment. A
refractometer helps him assess the sugar and when to mash the grapes. Then he
titrates the wine and uses a spec-trometer to evaluate the enzymes.
Less is More
Zoning restrictions and
the desire for a modernized facility led the family to move the winery to
Corvallis, Oregon. Here Alex puts his “less is more” belief into practice. For
example, the reality that wine can be made naturally with the aid of wild
yeast, combined with Alex’s years of tasting hundreds of inoculated and
spontaneous fermentations, led to his preference for spontaneous fermentations.
He eschews fining, which results in producing vegan-friendly wines. Also, only
select wines will receive cross-flow filtration once testing proves they will
benefit from the pro-cess.
Fullerton’s Single
Vineyard and Reserve wines point to those selections that Alex believes come
from the best barrels from their premier vineyard sites. Each bottle represents
the unique condi-tions of that particular vineyard, and are marketed towards
the serious wine connoisseur.
Their Five FACES label, an
acronym for the five Fullerton family members—Filip, Alex, Caro-line, Eric and
Susanne—was created to make a true Willamette Valley blend. Five FACES Pinot
Noir and Chardonnay blend fruit from both volcanic, basalt-based soils and
sedimentary, sand-stone-based soils. The complexity of this wine is due to
their restrained use of aging in new French oak.
Five FACES Pinot Noir
tends to be on the lighter side, with refined tannins and high but
well-integrated acidity. Notes of spice, smoke, and wet earth speak to the
mixed berry aromas and fla-vors like fresh marionberry, strawberry, and cherry.
Five FACES Chardonnay
speaks to the growing acceptance of white wine grapes in the Willamette Valley.
This wine has a medium-plus body with an elegant tension between acidity and
texture. Underneath the intense aromas of apple, pear, brioche and citrus, is a
sense of min-erality and spice notes.
In 2014, Fullerton
launched its Three Otters line with the intention of offering an intriguing
value wine. The line is geared towards the broader market by appealing to
consumers who are seeking a quality wine in the $15-$25 range. The label honors
the family’s Northern European heritage, as three otters have rested
prominently on the Fullerton family crest since the 13th century. This label
also highlights the playful nature of this approachable, lighter and easier
drinking wine.
In addition to Pinot Noir
and Chardonnay, the Three Otters line includes Pinot Noir Rosé and Pinot Gris.
The rosé was crafted as the result of a friendly competition between Alex and
his fa-ther, Eric. It has soft floral undertones and a light, breezy structure
with notes of watermelon, strawberry and citrus. Even though Alex admits that
Pinot Gris can be a “boring wine,” he want-ed to add one to the Three Otters
line because he had a unique chance to work with some fifty-year-old Pinot Gris
vines.
While the winery is not open to the public,
visitors who take a trip to Fullerton’s wine bar and tasting room in Northwest
Portland can take a mini-tour through the range of wines produced by the entire
Willamette Valley. That way, they can sit and savor without spending the day
navi-gating traffic.
Concern about threats
related to climate change is inspiring more consumers to make lifestyle changes
like going vegan, upgrading to electric cars, reducing plastic waste and
seeking more environmentally sustainable products. It’s also starting to affect
how consumers select their wine.
Surveys of wine consumers
in Canada, the U.S., Sweden and the UK are indicating a growing interest in
purchasing sustainably produced wine, favorable perceptions of sustainable
certifi-cation programs and certification logos, and a willingness to pay more
for sustainably pro-duced wine—particularly by Millennials and Gen Z.
For many Canadian
winemakers, however, their interest in sustainable winemaking began well before
consumers started paying attention.
According to veteran British Columbia winemaker Gordon Fitzpatrick, adopting environmentally sustainable practices isn’t just the right thing to do—it also makes good business sense. “Often, sustainable choices have economic benefits. It’s not mutually exclusive,” Fitzpatrick said. “Every little bit helps.”
Fitzpatrick has been in
the wine business since 1986 when he founded Cedar Creek Estate Winery. He sold
the majority of his vineyards to Mission Hill five years ago, but kept one
be-tween Peachland and Summerland. In 2017, he launched a new label,
Fitzpatrick Family Win-ery, using those grapes.
The boutique winery
focuses on sparkling wine and has approximately one-fifth of the produc-tion
capacity of Cedar Creek, topping out at about 10,000 cases at full production.
The shift into sparkling wine was a strategic choice to take advantage of the
vineyard’s unique microcli-mate.
“We lose the sun about two
and a half hours earlier than most other vineyards,” Fitzpatrick said. “That’s
why we specialize in sparkling wine. It creates that natural crisp acidity. I
call it shade’s gift.”
Fitzpatrick Family Winery
is located in the Thompson Okanagan region, British Columbia’s pri-mary
wine-growing region. The area boasts 84% of the province’s vineyards by acreage
and has over 200 wineries. Wine tours are a big draw for visitors to the
region. With the local tour-ism association increasingly spotlighting
sustainable tourism, wineries like Fitzpatrick’s are get-ting more recognition
for their environmentally friendly choices.
The Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association recently developed a sustainability pledge to identify and feature responsible tourism providers in the region, including Fitzpatrick Family Winery. Other wineries who have signed on to the program include Poplar Grove (https://www.poplargrove.ca/), Grizzli Winery (www.grizzliwinery.com) and Meadowvista (www.meadowvista.ca).
The region was also officially certified as the first destination in the Americas to achieve the Sustainable Tourism Accreditation from Biosphere International and the Responsible Tourism Institute. The certification criteria includes commitments to environmentally sustainable practices, including ensuring access to sustainable energy and adopting measures to mitigate cli-mate change.
Fitzpatrick Family Winery was a pilot winery for the program last fall, Fitzpatrick said, which included a thorough audit on water, energy and waste management practices.
“We think of ourselves as
good stewards of the land, but you always want to look at how you’re doing
things. They came up with some recommendations on how we can do things even
better than we currently are [doing them]. It was a very worthwhile process to
go through,” he said.
Recommendations ranged
from replacing big-ticket items like a 25-year-old water pump with a newer,
more energy-efficient model, to less costly initiatives like installing flow
meters to better monitor water usage, and expanding the winery’s compost program
to incorporate food waste from the on-site, seasonal restaurant.
The winery is also now
pursuing organic certification, following a recent $40,000 investment in
mechanical weeding equipment that will allow Fitzpatrick to stop using
herbicides in the spring.
In the last five years,
Fitzpatrick said consumer awareness of sustainable practices has changed
significantly. “People are much more aware and want to know what your practices
are, and are you being a good steward of the land,” he said. “it’s nice to be
able to stand be-hind what we do.”
Do Wine Consumers Care? Researchers Say Yes
According to market
research by Wine Intelligence, it’s not just hippies who are choosing more
socially and environmentally conscious purchases. Interest in organic, fair
trade and sustaina-bly produced wine is growing and is now considered
mainstream, particularly among consum-ers under the age of 45.
In the U.S., almost
three-quarters of consumers surveyed said they would consider buying
sus-tainably produced wine in the future. Seventy percent of Canadians agreed.
Nine out of ten millennial
consumers surveyed said they would be willing to pay an average of $3 more for
sustainably produced wine. The research found that sustainability
certifications for wine improved consumers’ willingness to buy.
The research was presented
at the first U.S. Sustainable Winegrowing Summit in Sonoma last June. In a
speech at the event, Wine Intelligence CEO Lulie Halstead outlined five key
concepts to “sell” sustainability to
consumers, highlighting how it’s good for people as well as for the
environment:
1. Focus on the small steps
producers and consumers can take today.
2. Frame sustainability as a
positive choice: talk about positive benefits.
3. Use groupthink for good:
invite customers to be part of a larger movement to make greener choices.
4. Appeal to feelings, not
facts: logic is not as persuasive as emotion.
5. Be brief: keep messaging
succinct.
The second edition of the
U.S. Sustainable Winegrowing Summit will be held this year on May 5-6 in Long
Island, New York. The event will feature tours of sustainable wineries in the
area, as well as a full conference program. Tickets are $50. More details are
online at https://www.sustainablewinegrowing.org/summit/.
British Columbia to Host Global Sustainable Tourism Conference
The Thompson-Okanagan
region is also hosting the 2020 Global Sustainable Tourism Confer-ence November
19-22—the first time the annual event will be held in Canada—at the Delta
Ho-tels by Marriott Grand Okanagan Resort in Kelowna.
The event will feature
expert speakers and panelists from around the world. Over 500 local, national
and international delegates are expected to attend, including destination
marketing professionals, airlines, travel agents, international media and
tourism-oriented business lead-ers.
According to President and
CEO of Tourism Kelowna, Lisanne Ballantyne, industry research indicates that
interest in sustainable tourism destinations is growing. She said recent
reports have found 87% of consumers want to travel sustainably, and 67% are
willing to pay more for travel that has a less negative impact on the
environment.
In 2019, for the second
year in a row, TOTA was named the World Responsible Tourism Award Winner at the
Annual World Travel Awards.
According to British
Columbia’s Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Lisa Beare, the prov-ince’s
stunning scenery and unspoiled wilderness is a key draw for visitors from
around the globe, and the region’s tourism strategy reflects that.
“Our strategic framework
for tourism seeks to responsibly grow the visitor economy by re-specting nature
and the environment, and making sure that everyone sees the benefits of this
important industry,” Beare said in a press release about TOTA’s award win.
I can’t count the number
of times I’ve heard people say, “I don’t like Ontario wine.” It’s a statement I
constantly hear, especially in the Niagara region, where a lot of wine lists
focus on local producers. Every time I hear this sentiment, I’m a little appalled.
It’s like saying you don’t like Chardonnay. Maybe you just haven’t found the
right Chardonnay for you. So, this year, when I attended my very posh friend’s
annual holiday wine tasting party, I brought along a nice, moderately priced
bottle of Ontario wine to add to the mix of thirty bottles we were blind
tasting. The premise: each person brings a bottle of wine and, throughout the
night, tries each one and chooses their favorite. The winner was chosen based
on everyone’s overall rating. Simple. The prize: a $200 bottle of Gamble Mary
Ann, a Napa Valley Bordeaux Blend. I quietly uncorked my bottle of wine from
Ontario’s Ridgepoint Wines and waited for the night to unfold.
Currently, Ontario is
cursed with the same stigma that California received in the 1970s before the
Judgement of Paris. No one seems to believe Ontario vintners are capable of
producing great wine. Forty years later, California is one of the leading
producers in the world and seen as a premier destination. However, Ontario
winemakers are still fighting to make a name for themselves in the
international market, despite having been producing wine for decades. Several
factors influence this: the lack of knowledge when it comes to the Ontario wine
region, the stereotypes associated with Ontario wine, and the need for better
distribution of wine from within the province.
Winemaking in Ontario
dates back to 1811 when German native, Johann Schiller planted
Pennsylvania-native Labrusca grapevines in Cooksville, Ontario. The first
winery in the province opened its doors in 1866 on Pelee Island and Niagara’s
first winery, the Ontario Grape Growing and Manufacturing Company, followed
shortly after in 1873. These early days of winemaking in Ontario saw over
thirty new wineries open for business by the late 1800s. Unfortunately, by the
time prohibition was repealed in 1927, this number had fallen from 61 to six.
At this same time, the government created the Liquor Control Board of Ontario
to control the sale, transportation and delivery of alcoholic beverages in the
province. Eighty-six LCBO stores opened by the end of that year, and liquor
permits were issued at $2 each to enable individuals to purchase alcohol. At
this point, the rules and regulations surrounding the production and sale of
wine did not allow for new wineries to open.
It wasn’t until the early
1970s that winegrowers started to take the first steps to revitalize the
Ontario wine industry. In 1974, Inniskillin Winery became the first new Ontario
winery to open its doors since 1916. They opened the gates for a slew of other
wineries to follow, and, by 2005, a total of 75 new wineries had opened up in
the region. In 1988, the Vintner’s Quality Assurance laid out the specific
geographic guidelines for the winemaking appellations of Ontario and set strict
production standards on wine throughout the province.
Today, there are three VQA
wine appellations in Ontario: Lake Erie North Shore, Niagara Peninsula and
Prince Edward County. Within the Niagara peninsula, there are two regional
appellations: Niagara-on-the-Lake and the Niagara Escarpment. These regional
appellations are then broken down further into 10 sub-appellations based on
their unique geographical conditions. Each sub-appellation has different
geology, soil, elevation and variation in temperatures and precipitation. There
is such diverse terroir in this 13,600 acres of land that they can produce
everything from delicate Rieslings to bold and tannic Petit Verdot. The Niagara
Peninsula currently boasts over 46 different grape varietals. Riesling,
Chardonnay, Cabernet Franc, Gamay Noir and Pinot Noir particularly flourish
here.
When people think of
Canada, they don’t naturally think of wine. They think, “The Great White
North,” hockey and snow. The reality is, the Ontario landscape is so vast and
varied that it allows for the production of a lot more than just icewine. The
Great Lakes border the southern part of the province. Most vineyards are
planted along the perimeter of Lake Ontario, an enormous body of water that moderates
the typically colder winter temperatures of the area. Moderate temps also make
for a longer growing season. Harvest of most grapes doesn’t start until late
September, with the late-ripening grapes being picked still well into November.
Everything from Malbec to Nebbiolo can be grown. Ontario may have cold winters,
but the summertime temperatures reach Mediterranean levels of 95 degrees
Fahrenheit.
Ontario also has
elevation. The Niagara Escarpment stands 177 meters tall and runs through the
entire Niagara Escarpment appellation. The enormous cliff formation faces north
and, combined with the moderating effect of Lake Ontario, creates the perfect
micro-climate for nurturing a diverse variety of grapes. The escarpment
shelters the vineyards from prevailing southwest winds and traps warm lake air
from the north, allowing for later bud bursts and less risk of frost in the
spring, as well as extended growing seasons in the fall. Hot days followed by
cold nights allow grapes to retain their acidity while fully ripening, making
for exceptionally well balanced, food-friendly wine. The streams that run
through the escarpment provide drainage during the spring melt and provide an
excellent source of groundwater during the dry summer months.
The soil in the Niagara
Escarpment is rich and complex. UNESCO recognizes the region as a World
Biosphere Reserve due to the regional appellation’s fossil-rich sedimentary
soils, not unlike Burgundy and Loire Valley. The Beamsville Bench
sub-appellation has some of the most sought after vineyard land because it’s
home to fossil-enriched dolomites. High in calcium-magnesium, the dolomites
give the wines of Beamsville Bench a distinct minerality, similar to a Chablis.
Beautiful Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Gris are being produced here with notes of
slate and wet stone, complemented by fresh pear and crisp green apples.
Just a few kilometers from
the Beamsville Bench, you find yourself in the Twenty Mile Bench with a terroir
comprised predominantly of limestone and shale. These soils provide excellent
water holding capacities during the growing season. Combined with the numerous
streams that dissect the escarpment and provide drainage in the spring, Twenty
Mile Bench is a highly regarded VQA sub-appellation. Here you will see producers
focusing primarily on Burgundian style Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. These
beautiful cool climate wines are a breath of fresh air after an onslaught of
overripe and overproduced New World wines the market has been seeing over the
recent years.
Directly next to Twenty
Mile Bench, nestled between the escarpment and Lake Ontario, the Lincoln
Lakeshore appellation has one of the longest and warmest growing seasons in the
region. The scarp acts as a shield from heavy winds, and the lake provides insulation
against cold temperatures and traps moisture during hot, dry summers. The most
notable characteristic of Lincoln Lakeshore, though, is its terroir. The soil
within this appellation is extremely varied. Fifty-five percent of the area is
covered in light sand, but you will also find pockets of deep red clay loam and
alluvial deposits from the ancient lake that once existed here. Cabernet Franc
seems to flourish in these areas in a very classic expression of the varietal.
Big tannin, bold black fruit and a hint of crisp green pepper are typical in
these wines.
Meanwhile, along the sunny
banks of the Niagara Lakeshore appellation, light, sandy soils allow for
deep-rooted vines and later ripening grapes. Here, you will find notably
fuller-bodied wines with potential for maturing: big Bordeaux style blends with
bold black fruits and ripe tannin. They are even growing Petit Verdot and
Tannat in this appellation. The simple geography and proximity to the lake and
Four Mile Creek ensure warm temperatures and lots of sunlight year-round. In
other words, when it comes to wine in Ontario, there’s the opportunity to
produce just about anything.
The issue is you won’t
necessarily find the best Ontario wines in the local liquor store. Ontario
vintners can’t even get most of them on the shelves in their own LCBO stores.
The process of getting wine in the hands of consumers is not an easy one in
Ontario.
Most Ontario wineries are
opting for small-batch wines that are only available in the winery tasting
rooms. Recently, “virtual wineries” have started popping up with no physical
storefront, just a product packaged under a winery name—similar to the Old
World French tradition of “negociants.”
The best way to find the
best Ontario wine? Come to Ontario. Let the locals tell you where to go. It
won’t necessarily be the big names like Wayne Gretzky or Jackson-Triggs. Some
of the best wineries are literally inside the winemaker’s house, and they’re
all too happy to have you.
Since moving to the region, I have had the pleasure of discovering numerous wine producers who are doing remarkable things. Ridgepoint Wines, located in the Twenty Mile Bench, is one of the wineries that impressed me. At Ridgepoint, they are producing everything from appassimento-style Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot to single varietal Sangiovese and Nebbiolo. The wine that I brought to the holiday tasting party was a 2012 blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Ripasso-style Aglianico. Amongst the juicy California Cabs and concentrated Amarones on the table, it was a delightful respite.
Tasting thirty wines in one night is no easy feat. Your palate can only handle so many Barolos in one evening. What my wine offered was a beautiful variation from the others, starting with a complex nose of cherry and cassis, toast and cedar. The refreshingly bright acidity stood out amongst the other wines, and the body, tannin and alcohol still held up against all of the heavy hitters. The palate showed lots of plush fruit balanced with oak and developing notes of leather and tobacco that lingered on the palate in a long, complex finish. The crowd didn’t know what hit them.
At the end of the night, I put on my jacket and packed up my newly acquired bottle of Gamble Mary Ann with a smug grin on my face. I proved to myself, and the others at the party, that Ontario has something to offer the world of wine. Ontario wine is not just good—it’s great.
Last fall, the state of
Texas began the process of auditing all of their direct-to-consumer (DtC) wine
shipping licensees, the biggest such audit in the history of this market.
While all states reserve
the right to audit their licensees, the scope of this mass audit surprised
many. More than 1,600 wineries possess permits to ship directly to Texas
customers. Many have already received a notice from the Texas Alcoholic
Beverage Commission (TABC) requesting to review their records. This
time-consuming process began in September 2019, when the first round of notices
were sent, and will continue as the TABC reviews all permit holders to ensure
they are in compliance with the state’s laws.
At the heart of this
heightened regulatory scrutiny by Texas is the dramatic rise in popularity of
the DtC channel in recent years. Many wine drinkers have come to appreciate the
DtC wine shipping market for bringing a direct connection to their favorite
brands and greater access to wine clubs and highly-allocated labels, creating a
$3 billion national market.
The beverage alcohol
industry has long been one of the most regulated enterprises in the country, so
it is little surprise that this increased scrutiny has come to the DtC wine
shipping channel. States have a vested interest in making sure they collect the
full balance of tax money they are due and that their laws are followed to the letter.
As Texas’s audits proceed, they could well represent a harbinger of what’s to
come for DtC wine shippers, making it important to understand how and why
regulators are examining this market.
Even the Audits Are
Bigger in Texas
In May 2005, Texas Governor
Rick Perry signed into law Senate Bill 877, a transformative reform of the
state’s Alcoholic Beverage Code that smashed open the door for wineries to ship
directly to consumers in the state. Since then, wine enthusiasts in Texas have
been able to purchase wine directly from out-of-state wineries, provided those
wineries obtain the necessary sales tax and Winery Direct Shipper’s permits.
The state’s timing was
no coincidence. Just one week after Gov. Perry signed the new bill into law,
the Supreme Court held in Granholm v. Heald that the states’ ability to
control their internal alcohol markets under the 21st Amendment did not
supersede the general prohibition on discriminating against out-of-state
interests under the Commerce Clause.
Under the decision,
states could no longer prohibit direct-to-consumer wine shipping if they
allowed in-state shipping. In the years following Granholm, a wave of reforms
flowed across the country. But Texas was one of the first to update its wine
shipping laws. And today, the state lives up to its outsized reputation by
being the second-biggest recipient state for direct-to-consumer wine shipping, according to Sovos ShipCompliant data.
So what are Texas
regulators seeking to achieve with this wave of audits? The goal appears to be
ensuring wine shippers are properly licensed, paying excise taxes, reporting
shipments, and not exceeding limits on how much they can send to individual
Texans. The TABC has asked licensees for the sales data used to produce their
Texas Excise Tax returns, including requests for copies of certain invoices
In addition to order
data and invoice copies, the TABC has requested information regarding
licensees’ business structures, including copies of their state and federal
permits, and lists of corporate officers and directors. Contracts or other
agreements that licensees have made with fulfillment houses and similar service
providers have also been sought.
Finally, the TABC is
looking into the specific wines that licensees have shipped to Texas consumers.
Texas’s DtC statutes prohibit licensees from selling wines that the licensee
does not personally produce or bottle. As such, the TABC has requested
licensees provide Certificates of Label Approval (COLAs) and production records
for wines shipped to Texas consumers.
These past requests,
though, are subject to change at any time and any DtC wine shipper that does
receive an audit notice should ensure they comply with the specific requests on
their notice.
This heightened review by the state of Texas comes at a time when
many states are working to ensure that direct-to-consumer shippers are
complying with local regulations. For example, the Michigan Liquor Control Commission
is stepping up in response to reports by the Michigan Beer and Wine Wholesalers
Association alleging widespread violation of its DtC shipping laws, and the
Mississippi Supreme Court recently heard a case regarding stings conducted by
the state Alcohol Control Board to catch illegal DtC shippers.
While Texas is currently the only state to have announced a review
of this size, it almost certainly won’t be the last.
As the Market Grows, So
Will Regulator Scrutiny
The Supreme Court’s
decision 15 years ago in Granholm v. Heald triggered a wave of wine
shipping reforms across the country. Today, 45 states plus the District of
Columbia permit DtC shipping, enabling over 90% of Americans to connect
directly with their favorite wineries.
As a result, direct-to-consumer wine shipping has grown from a
small, niche market in 2005 into a hugely important channel worth more than
$3.2 billion in 2019. According to Sovos ShipCompliant’s annual
Direct-to-Consumer Wine Shipping Report, the channel grew by 7.4% percent
in value and 4.7% in volume last year as more wineries invested in e-commerce,
the average price-per-bottle increased, and Oregon and Washington again
outpaced the overall channel in shipment growth, among other trends.
In many cases, DtC
shipping succeeds because it allows smaller wineries access to markets they
would struggle to enter if they relied solely on the traditional three-tier
system due to their relative size. According to the 2020 Direct-to-Consumer Shipping Report, wineries in the small winery category (5,000
to 49,999 annual case production) again dominated the winery shipping channel
in 2019, accounting for 42% of the volume of shipments and 45% of the value of
the DtC channel. DTC shipping has emerged as one of the best ways for these
smaller producers to reach a national audience.
This growth also reflects
consumer demand across the economy for goods delivered directly to their
doorsteps. Apps like Instacart and UberEats have democratized delivery, and
consumer expectations for quick and convenient delivery have never been higher.
This presents a tremendous opportunity for wine sellers to expand their reach,
develop their customer base and increase their sales online.
The marketplace is also
likely to get more competitive in the new decade. In 2019, the Supreme Court
paved a path for expanded DtC shipping of wine by retailers in its ruling in Tennessee Wine & Spirits Retailers
Association v. Thomas. While only 15 states
currently allow some DtC wine shipping by out-of-state retailers, many see this
decision as an opportunity to challenge old laws to expand this market.
Litigation is ongoing in several states that seemingly discriminate against
out-of-state retailers in regards to their ability to ship wine DtC – notably
Illinois, Michigan, and Missouri. Much in the same way that Granholm
prompted a wave of statutory reform, observers expect consumers and advocates
to push legislative changes across the country. While it may take a number of
years for these changes to take effect, expanded retail shipping is something
everyone should be watching closely.
In the meantime, regulators have a vested interest in making sure
all sellers—whether package stores, direct wine shippers or otherwise—are in
compliance with the law. That means ensuring they are properly licensed,
collecting all applicable taxes, not overselling to individuals and preventing
sales to minors. So if other states see the Texas audits bring positive
results, they are likely to follow suit to uncover gaps in their own systems.
Overall, the DtC wine shipping market is still young and
regulators are still figuring out how to manage it. As the market grows, we can
expect this trend of closer attention being paid to DtC shipping to continue at
the state levels, making now the best time for wine producers to firm up their
direct-to-consumer compliance processes and overall channel strategy.
Now Is the Time to
Ensure Compliance
The risk of audits like those in Texas underscores the importance
of closely adhering to the various laws and reporting requirements imposed by
states. That the regulations can vary among states only adds to the complexity,
whereas failure to comply may result in fines, loss of home state or federal
licenses, and even possible criminal charges.
Wineries have a number of ways to handle this. Some are able to
build in-house teams that can manage compliance, though this can be expensive.
Others rely on outside consultants to manage their compliance needs. But of
course, automating compliance processes is the easiest way to ensure audit
success, limit compliance risk and reduce the overall administrative burden on
shippers as state-by-state tax rules, rates and forms change.
Shipping wine can be complicated, and compliance will never be a task that anyone relishes. However, as the direct-to-consumer channel grows in its importance to the industry, it’s vital that producers shore up their compliance strategy now before the next round of state audit notices goes out.
About the Author: Alex Koral, Senior Regulatory Counsel with Sovos
Alex Koral is senior regulatory counsel for Sovos ShipCompliant. He actively researches beverage alcohol regulations and market developments in order to inform development of Sovos’ ShipCompliant product and help educate the industry on compliance issues. Alex has worked with the company since 2015, after receiving his J.D. from the University of Colorado Law School.
Wine grapes ready for crushing, Yarra Valley, Victoria, Australia
By: Thomas J. Payette, Winemaking Consultant
The crush pad design of a winery is one of the most critical areas
of the winery. Much of the hard work, in
making wine, happens on the crush pad especially during harvest. Make sure to design and implement all aspects
of the desired needs into the crush pad of your functional winemaking
facility. Below are some broad and
expandable review points that apply to most, if not all, crush pads.
Weather: Often grapes are picked
based on weather. Realistically, if
inclement weather is forecasted the vineyard and winery team may make a
decision to pick a variety before that forecasted event. This will often mean that the crushing and
pressing of that fruit may happen during poor weather conditions. For this reason and for protection from all
the elements, including hot sunshine, it is recommended the crush pad have a
roof or cover over it. Be sure to have
ample ceiling height under the cover so as not to restrict certain activities
such as dumping fruit into hoppers by way of forklift.
Cost: This will be some of the
least expensive square footage you will build at your winery. Make sure to have enough room to handle the
bulky mass of grapes so that the fruit may be crushed or processed into their
respective least bulky state whether it is juice or must. Make sure the concrete floor, if used, is
thick enough to handle forklift traffic and that the finish has enough
aggregate (rough surface) to make sure foot and vehicle traffic will have ample
traction on the surface. Because this
will be some of the least cost in terms of square footage be sure to battle
building planners that may want to reduce the amount of crush pad space
allocated in the plans.
Plumbing: Think through your
operations anticipated on the crush pad.
Then use critical thought as to where certain needs for water are. Winterizable plumbing, hot and cold, should
be placed so hoses can be used but out of the way of foot and vehicle traffic,
including doorways. Size the lines to
the area to allow for ample flow and encourage the plumbing contractor to use
full port handled ball valves and to not use standard boiler valves for water
supply. Plan mechanical “stub outs” is
this area if this area is planned to be the future expansion area of the winery
buildings growth.
Wiring: Make sure to think through
plug outlet placement in respect to how it will service each piece of equipment
anticipated, use the shortest length of cord and placed so the cords remain out
of the way of foot and vehicle traffic.
Examples of operations that will need power are: Press, pump, crusher, must pump, sorting
table(s), shaker(s) and perhaps a few extra outlets if multiple operations will
be happening in alternate work areas.
Make sure these electric outlets have weather proof closures and
possibly set up on GFI’s ( Ground Fault Interrupters ). Ample work lighting, including lighting to
view into tractor trailers, should be addressed and ample 110 volts outlets
should exist. Review if ceiling fans are
desired on your crush pad and if so – place them high above the floor to allow
for forklift activity. Review if any
“mood lighting” is desired on a marketing level outside crushing hours. Make sure to know what power service is run
to your building in terms of amps and how many phases (single vs. three
phase). Additional wiring needs may be
for internet access, cameras, intercoms, phone etc.
Drains: A critical feature of the
crush pad due to the large volume of water and cleaning used. Proper sloping floors to these drains should
be used so water will gravitate toward them without the assistance of a
squeegee If portions of the crush pad
are not covered, make sure to place a three-way valve from the drain to
redirect storm and rain water to a more proper location (review local building
suggestions). Review the need for a
catch basin to strain solids from the crush pad effluent. Make sure these drains will withstand the
heavy forklift and equipment traffic.
Walls: The walls on the crush pad
should be durable and reasonably easy to clean.
Concrete, cinderblock, tile or other physically strong materials should
be considered for at least the first 40 inches of height of the walls. These are reasonably cleaned and very durable
to resist bumping from pallet jacks, forklifts, tractors and other heavy
items. Above the 40 inches, if the
masonry is not extended, perhaps look at an easily cleaned attractive and
durable surface such a metal or vinyl siding materials.
Flooring Surface: Mentioned earlier but
worth re-emphasizing. Make sure the
surface of the flooring will handle all predicted vehicles, such as pallet
jacks and forklifts, in terms of its thickness and PSI ratings. Also make sure the surface has enough
aggregate finish to avoid slipping of foot and vehicle traffic.
Mirrors: An easy tool to implement,
and rarely considered, if certain areas are difficult for forklift and
machinery operators to see. Try and
locate a mirror placement that will allow sight to that area. This could be in, near and around door
ways. Another area nice for mirrors is
above any equipment that has high hoppers filled by forklift. This will allow the operator to remain on the
forklift, yet, be able to see inside the hopper to know all the fruit has moved
through the hopper before adding more or closing a press door for example.
Catwalks: Study your crush pad
operation to determine if you need catwalks to service, operate and clean
certain machinery. Can these catwalks
have dual purpose by allowing winery production staff access the catwalk while
also allowing tour guides to accompany tour traffic through the same area? This can be a great marketing tool as well as
a great working tool. Some wineries have
successfully placed their hopper to the press along a catwalk so winery workers
may rinse and clean that hopper carefully from that catwalk location. The same
area can be used for customer tours.
Crush Pad Access Into Building: Many
wineries opt for a lay out that gives access to the tank room from the crush
pad. Often this is the first place the
juices or must will go so that layout makes logical sense. Try and have easy access to the lab, also, so
winemakers can easily assess the fruit and corrections, if desired, can be made
quickly and easily.
Crush Pad Access from Outside:
Makes
sure to plan for forklift, pallet jack, truck, tractor trailer and drive on
traffic by way of tractor and wagon.
Most designs have at least two tractor trailer loading dock stations so
one may park a refer semi on the premise to chill fruit as needed. Another dock may be used to receive fruit or
other items by way of tractor trailer.
If possible include a height to load a box truck or pick up with some
relative ease and then make sure vineyard tractors and wagons may drive on the
crush pad for delivery and perhaps pomace removal from the crush pad. Many smart winery setups elevate their
presses high enough in the air so that pomace may be dumped directly into a
wagon or manure spreader to remove that pomace quickly and efficiently with
little shoveling. Think this through when deciding on placement of the
equipment.
Building Door Access Placement: Make
sure to have at least one people door, with glass panes , and one larger overhead
door, with see though/drive through plastic strip doors added. The overhead door is usually where large
tanks are brought in and out of the winery.
New glass shipments, if arriving at this loading dock will need to have
access to the building and this door is often the door of choice due to its
proximity to the loading dock.
Thresholds: Make sure to design most of
the crush pad, as well as the complete winery building, with minimal raised
thresholds in doorways or between floors so as to allow for easy movements of
items by way of pallet jack, forklift, dolly etc.
Vineyard Safety Assistance: If
your winery has vineyard operations on the property or close by, review if one
may place the potentially required outdoor chemical safety shower on the crush
pad in case of emergency. Check with
someone who knows locality regulations to see if this is an option at
reasonable savings. In many cases this
same shower may be enough for the winery lab and production needs.
Non-Stationary Equipment: If
your winery has movable equipment make sure to place electric outlets
appropriately to service these pieces of equipment. Plan to be able to crush reds and to press
whites simultaneously if possible. Many
pieces of equipment come with short flexible electric cords to them so take a
proactive step, before crush, to replace them with reasonable length cords so
as to allow various configurations and flexibility in their set-up. Not each grape with go through the exact same
process and the winery will benefit from this flexibility.
Stationary Equipment: Make sure stationary
equipment is placed strategically to allow it to function properly. Make sure, for example, that a press is
placed far enough away from a wall to allow its juice pan to be moved so a
pomace wagon may pull underneath for unloading.
Protective Corners: Wall corners, by way of
some form of angle iron type material, to protect from day to day traffic and
worker abuse are a great asset. These
areas often have hoses and cords pulled through them and they wear easily. It is best to protect them. Other areas to
need protection may be around mechanical equipment or winemaking gases such as
: Nitrogen, Carbon dioxide, Argon,
Liquid Sulfur Dioxide and now Oxygen.
Pilings best protect these areas from larger traffic issues.
Sight Into Cellar: If possible make sure the
winemaking staff can see into the cellar from the crush pad. Often transfers are being made and a design
that allows visual inspection that the transfer is happening as expected is
important. This function can be a simple
as glass paned doors as mentioned above.
Other groups have used cameras to assist the winemaking team confirm
their valuable juice or wine moves safely from the crush pad to the cellar or
vice-versa.
Hose Access to Cellar: Many wineries now have
openings, usually oversized PVC pipes through the walls, of the buildings so
small wine transfer lines may be run through them. This helps eliminate leaving cellar doors
open during the crush allowing cold air to escape and more than likely large
amounts of fruit fly access. These may
be used additionally for water hoses and electric lines, if unplanned for in
the lay out. I recommend two PVC
“sleeves” with plugs at a minimum place about two inches above the crush pad
floor with a slight fall back toward the crush pad so wine, juice and water
will drain out on the crush pad for proper cleaning/disposal.
Gravity: Keep in mind the crush pad
placement if gravity is desired to be used and how that feature will integrate
into the rest of the structure and winemaking processes. Must can transfer into the tanks by way of
gravity if the crush pad is elevated higher than the tanks. Other ways to achieve gravity are by way of
forklift. Be sure to work with all
winery personnel and designers to make sure these areas are discussed and
completely thought through. The
forklift should be the only machine (see below) that is critical in your
process. This machine is typically
easily fixed or replaced on short notice.
Always place a few calls before crush to have a plan “B” as close to
your potential needs as desired.
Forklift: Often the most utilized
piece of equipment for moving materials during the crush on the crush pad. Gravity may be achieved easily with a
forklift. Heavy items are also easily
moved from one point to another. Allow
plenty of space for the forklift operator to have adequate space to perform
these tasks easily.
Over Thinking Your Processes: Make
sure that your crush pad set up is not so rigid that production on the crush
doesn’t have some flexibility. Imagine
if one machine, in a series of machines, were to become broken. Can a crushing set up plan exist to skip that
machine or does the complete process come to a halt? Make sure the winemaker has enough “stage”, if
you will, to have several variations in production choices.
Emergency Processing: Similar to over thinking
the process above. Imagine poor weather
has been persistent for many days during harvest. Projections of more poor weather are
predicted and you are rapidly losing your crop and/or quality. Contract growers and estate vineyard crews
are grumbling. You can’t keep enough
labor at your sorting table and/or you choose not to sort. Can this process or any other parts in your
process be skipped, at will, to not loose or jeopardize the complete
vintage? Perhaps a break down occurs
with one of the machines. Can they be
worked around or does this bring the complete processing to a stop?
Equipment: Make sure when planning
your winery and crush pad to think through all the pieces of equipment that may
needed. Make sure ample space is
provided on the crush pad for these items.
A starter list of equipment may include but not be limited to : Press; crusher-stemmer; must pump, pump,
sorting table(s); shaker(s) and other(s).
Make sure enough power, light, refrigeration, compressed air or other
needs are supplied to the crush area to support these selected pieces of
equipment.
Non Crush Pad Use: I always like to think of
the winery as a large refrigerator. I
often will move barrels, on racks by way of forklift, from the winery and work
with them on the crush pad when possible.
This allows me to access the barrels fully for a quality control check
and to work with them for such activities as racking, stirring, topping,
adjustments and making blends. Working
on the crush pad allows more efficient use of the winery square footage inside
for storage and minimizing utilities associated with the winery power usage.
Crush Pad Café: Using this term loosely to
suggest other activities can happen on the crush pad area. This could include tables and chairs, picnics
and other winery marketing functions.
Small heaters can make the season longer for this type of use. Winery personnel often want to hide the
machinery associated with processing grapes but we must remember customers
often find it interesting if it is clean and safely arranged on the crush pad.
Noise: Be sure to have mechanicals
such as HVAC compressors and glycol units placed with enough distance from the
crush pad. This will assist in better
employee communication and help with the use of this area for marketing
functions. Often architects and builders
see this ample flat area as a place to station these mechanical units. Be certain to tackle this topic well in
advance to make for better planning and smoother operations both at building
and during upcoming harvests.
Future Building: If the crush pad will
eventually be another part of your winery building planned in the future, make
sure to include the infrastructure to support those plans into the mechanical
aspects of the crush pad. This could
include footers to code where load bearing walls are projected to be
constructed, plumbing stub outs, electrical trunk feeds etc.
Regulatory: Make sure to review your
plat and bonded area before moving forward with some of the operations
mentioned above. In many cases wines
being handled on the crush pad means that area should be bonded. In other cases such as social events taxed
wine may not be allowed back onto a bonded premise area. Review the needs of your winery to see if
multiple uses may be possible in one
form or another.
Ancillary Thoughts:
• Will a large water tank,
elevated high, be mounted on/near the crush pad to fill a sprayer rapidly?
• If production and tour
catwalks are used to service both needs simultaneously? Will rinsing water overspray be an issue?
• Will employees respect the
crush pad space by keeping it organized and not parking personal vehicles on it
during working hours?
• Will extra unused pallets
be stored on the crush pad and if so where?
Summary: When thinking of the crush pad it is best to list everything one may want to do in the space. Try to think in terms in how each operation can be done with the least amount of physical effort, maximizing quality, and employ those ideas. “How can I do the best possible job with my fruit, wine and marketing with the absolute minimal effort?” Make it a pleasure to work at your winery structure with ample planning on the crush pad.
Businessman hand using tablet with flying application icons around
By: Scott Moss and Susan DeMatei
According to Forbes, 2020 is going to be the year of personalized
marketing. The current opinion is that we are all so bombarded with advertising
and emails that we now tune out anything that isn’t specifically relevant to
us. When Ad Age asked executives the one thing anyone could do to impact their
marketing in the future, a full third of them answered “personalization.” And
Conversant Media noted 94% of customer insights and marketing professionals
they surveyed listed personalization as either “important,” “very important,”
or “extremely important” for meeting their current marketing objectives.
Back in the 1990’s when the internet and data tracking was young, there was a public outcry concerning privacy and personalization. Individuals were nervous about the newly formed “cookie” technology and didn’t like being tracked online and were suspicious about loyalty cards being scanned at checkout in stores. But now, we take it for granted that when you leave something in a cart you’re going to see an ad for it the next time you log in to Facebook, and we don’t feel creeped out when we buy kitty litter at the grocery store and we get a coupon for cat food along with our receipt.
Personalization is
everywhere and we’re used to it and we like it – which makes the blanket,
non-personalized communications all the more blatantly lazy and unappealing.
According to an online Epsilon survey of 1,000 consumers ages 18-64, the appeal
for personalization is high, with 80% of respondents indicating they are more
likely to do business with a company if it offers personalized experiences, and
90% indicating that they find personalization appealing.
And, personalization does
work. In multiple studies, personalized ads and emails are perceived as more
engaging, educational, time-saving, and memorable than mass advertising or
emails. Experian reports personalized emails deliver 6x higher transaction
rates. And, with new affordable tools, there really isn’t an excuse for mass
marketing anymore.
What this means is that we
can no longer rely on mass, generic email blasts to our customers and expect
the returns we did in the past. Our buyers are now empowered, and their
expectations are high in the messaging and advertising they receive. In the Age
of the Customer, we need to be smarter about how we communicate.
The good thing is, this
doesn’t require us to restructure our entire marketing plan. Here are three
simple things we can do today to improve the way we interact with our customers
on a more personal level:
EMAIL LIST SEGMENTATION
List segmentation is the
quickest way to personalize messages to customers. It can be as simple as
creating an email for recent visitors to your tasting room or website
purchasers. Sending these customers, a
thank you email 30-days after their visit or purchase is a great way to
personalize and engage with a follow-up offer.
You can add a deeper level of personalization if your email provider
gives you the ability to insert the customer’s first name in the body copy.
Additionally, each email
can be more personal by modifying the subject line with the purchase location,
“Thank you for visiting our tasting room,” or “Thank you or your online
purchase.” Although this may require two
email sends, it refines the touchpoint and serves as a reminder of the customer
experience.
Start Crawling: Set up some automatic
emails like “abandon cart” and “thank you for visiting.”
Learn to walk: Take your email list
segmentation beyond Wine Club and Non-Club into purchase history. To do this,
divide your list into first-time buyers, repeat buyers, and
non-buyers/prospects. Then, for every campaign, tailor the message for each.
For first-time purchasers give them easy second purchase options similar to
their first, for repeat buyers offer them volume or shipping discounts, and for
prospects, tell them a little more about yourself and offer a trial package.
Learn to run: Combine the two. First,
set up ongoing automated campaigns (called “drip” campaigns) that remind people
they’ve left items in their cart, or that they haven’t logged in to rate or buy
a product, or to thank them for an order. Then, take a look at your campaigns
in 2020 and brainstorm how you can segment them by purchase or other behavior.
CUSTOMIZED LANDING PAGES
Sending personalized
communications to customers that include a call to action should take them to a
page on your website that corresponds to the offer in your email. Keeping the
customer journey with our brands consistent is a key component in lowering attrition
and increasing sales.
This requires creating a
page template within your website that can be easily duplicated and modified by
changing the title, image, or copy to match your outbound communication. This
enforces the personalized offer and brand consistency with your customers,
while providing a clear path to purchase.
Brand consistency is the
pattern of expression that affects what people think about your company. The
more consistent your messaging, the more consistent your branding — whether via
words, design, offerings, or perspective. Your brand should build awareness and
develop trust and loyalty with customers.
Start Crawling: For those emails
discussing several wines, rather than dumping the clicks at the top of the
store page, set up a customized landing page and only include the wines in the
email with a header and the offer.
Learn to walk: For your social
campaigns, try a separate landing page with introductory copy about your winery
and why they should sign up for your mailing list or like/follow your winery.
Learn to run: In addition to emails and
social media, consider custom landing pages for most initiatives such as
pouring events, coupon redemption, Google Ads, and print.
GET TO KNOW YOUR LOYAL CUSTOMERS
A loyal customer is one
that makes repeat purchases rather than switching to a competitor. A loyal
customer will be more likely to purchase additional products and recommend your
brand.
Without digging too deeply
into your data, a few key metrics can help identify your most loyal
customers. High average order value,
buying frequency, and last purchase date is what you will need to start. These
metrics can all be found in the customer purchase history of your database.
When vetting your data, don’t assume that your best customers are also wine
club members. However, if they are not, you may have a missed opportunity.
After identifying your
most loyal customers be sure to nurture the relationship, they are your best
buyers for a reason. Knowing what they purchase, how often they purchase, and
how much they spend per order will help guide you on when to reach out and with
what offers.
The communication and
touches to these customers should be as a personal friend and offers should be
presented as gifts. Offering a specially selected “pre-sale” wine or early
event access will build continued loyalty.
Start Crawling: A handwritten note of
thanks for attending an event or a customer referral is an easy way to start
and goes a long way to keep your best customers.
Learn
to walk:
Identify your top customers and find them on social media. Set up alerts for
their posts and like and comment on them as your brand. They’ll be thrilled you
care enough about their lives to get to know them.
Learn to run: Look at your campaigns
and give first dibs to your best buyers. Either offer them a pre-order
capability or maybe access to the pick-up part a half hour in advance. Realize
that discounts aren’t always what they’re after – they want a relationship and
time with you.
The true end result will
look like taking your linear annual campaign calendar and splintering it into
multiple, smaller, targeted communications that run simultaneously. It takes
more work, but it’s worth it.
Susan DeMatei is the President and Scott Moss is the Director of Operations
of WineGlass Marketing, a full-service direct marketing firm working within the
wine industry in Napa, California. www.wineglassmarketing.com
By now, most winery owners have heard the buzz regarding event insurance. Sure, you know it exists, but do you really know exactly what event insurance covers and how it can benefit your clients (and you)? Event insurance is a necessity for winery owners looking to keep themselves, and their clients, protected. We recently talked with Lauren Hernandez, Senior Event Insurance Specialist at Markel Specialty insurance to learn more.
“It is probably important
to first point out that there are two different types of event insurance– event
liability and event cancellation,” states Hernandez.
EVENT LIABILITY INSURANCE
“Event liability protects
the person hosting an event at your facility,” Hernandez explained. If during their event someone causes property
damage to your winery or someone is injured and the host is liable, an event
policy will step in to provide coverage.
The coverage is typically primary over any other insurance protection. That means the event policy will pay first
before any other insurance policy.
Primary liability coverage by event hosts, such as your clients, is preferred by most venues because it helps minimize the associated risks and exposures of owning a winery. “More and more wineries are requiring their clients to purchase one-day event insurance policies for events hosted at their facility because it reduces the possibility of having to pay for an accident that is out of the wineries’ control,” said Markel Specialty’s Lauren Hernandez.
Wineries must also remember to require the host to name the winery as an Additional Insured on the host’s event policy. That way, if there is a claim made against your winery due to the actions of the host, the event policy will defend and indemnify you against that claim. It is also a good idea to require the host’s insurance carrier to be A.M. Best rated “A-” or better. That way the carrier is financially strong and likely to be around to pay the claim should one occur.
Examples of claims that
would be covered under an event liability policy can range from damage to a
furnishings such as couches, mirrors, coffee tables – even toilets and landscaping from wedding or
other event guests. Event hosts would
also be protected if someone slips, falls and gets injured at the facility if
the host was negligent. There are even
worse claims that the event host needs protection from when an over-served
wedding guest is involved in an auto accident on the way home. These situations would be covered only if the
damage or injury was the fault of your client.
Your business should have your own risk management plan which includes
liability coverage to protect you from the hosts wrongdoing.
ADDITIONAL EVENT LIABILITY COVERAGE BENEFITS:
• Limits vary by insurance
carrier, but bodily injury and property damage liability limits typically are
up to $1 million per occurrence and $2 million total per policy period.
• The venue can be named as
“additional insured” on the certificate of insurance for no extra cost.
• Host liquor liability is
included for free.
• Set-up and tear-down is
covered (within 24 hours of the event).
• If the event being held
at your facility is a wedding, an event liability policy covers the ceremony,
reception and rehearsal dinner (if the rehearsal dinner is within 48 hours of
the event).
• Many policies are primary
over any other insurance policy. This
means, if a claim were to occur, the event liability policy would pay out
before any other insurance policy and there would be no need to worry about a
potential increase in rates with a commercial business policy (as an winery
owner) or homeowners policy (as a bride).
• Protection and peace of
mind for a low cost— there are policies available that start as low as $75.
WHY SHOULD YOU REQUIRE EVENT LIABILITY INSURANCE?
It protects you. One day event insurance
policies are typically primary coverage over your commercial business policy
for property damage to your facility caused by your client’s negligence. Your
facility can be named as an “additional insured” on the certificate of
insurance often for no extra cost.
It protects your customers. Event insurance is an easy and affordable
solution that helps protect your guests from the unexpected – because when your
clients are properly protected, so is your reputation.
It’s an easy solution. More and more commercial winery insurance
policies are requiring one day event insurance for all events hosted at the
insured winery. An event liability
policy fulfills this requirement and are easy to purchase and you can direct
your client to purchase them online or over the phone in minutes.
EVENT CANCELLATION INSURANCE
Another popular event
insurance option is cancellation coverage.
Being in the event industry, you’ve seen it all. Photographers go
missing the day of the event, gifts get stolen, and hurricanes can ruin a
perfectly planned event. Event cancellation insurance is becoming increasingly
popular because it reimburses the event host for lost deposits and
non-refundable amounts if they need to cancel or postpone their special event
due to unforeseen circumstances.
Examples of unforeseen
circumstances include:
• Vendor bankruptcy.
• Accident or illness of
the bride or groom or an immediate family member.
• Extreme weather
(hurricane, named tropical storm, etc.).
• Military deployment.
• Event cancellation insurance
also covers additional expenses your client may incur to avoid cancelling their
event, and pays for other losses or damages such as:
• Lost wedding rings.
• Damage to special attire.
• Vendor no-shows.
• Lost or damaged
photography.
• Lost or damaged
videography.
• Lost or damaged gifts.
The pricing for an event
cancellation policy is a little more involved as it is based on where the
wedding is set to occur and the overall wedding budget. Policies start as low
as $130.
Exactly how much event cancellation coverage does each event need? Look a look at the chart below that outlines coverage limits based on the total overall event budget.
Total Event Budget
$7,500
$15,000
$25,000
$50,000
$100,000
Loss Of Deposits
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$3,000
$5,500
Photography & Videography
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$3,000
$5,500
Special Attire & Jewelry
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$3,000
$5,500
Wedding Gifts
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$3,000
$5,500
Extra Expenses
$1,875
$3,750
$6,250
$12,500
$25,000
Professional Counseling
$500
$650
$1,000
$1,000
$1,250
WHAT ISN’T COVERED UNDER EVENT INSURANCE
With event insurance, some
claims would be hard to disprove.
Because of this, many insurance carriers will exclude covering certain
circumstances because of the potential increased risk of insurance fraud.
Examples of circumstances
typically not covered:
• Change of heart
–Typically if either the bride or groom get cold feet and change their mind
during the wedding planning process or are at the altar and decide not to go
through with the wedding, this would not be covered.
• Known Circumstances – Previously
known issues that could affect the event (Example: planned medical procedure
delays or cancels the event).
• Lack of Funds – if the
event host is unable to pay for the planned event.
• Non Appearance – if
certain individuals (such as parents, the bride, etc.) don’t show up for the
event, the show must still go on as this would not be covered. Polies do not cover cold feet if either the
bride or groom change their mind during the wedding planning process or at the
altar and decide not to go through with the wedding.
START PROTECTING YOUR CLIENTS
It’s easy to start protecting your clients (and yourself). Request free brochures from Markel Event Insurance and provide your clients with an easy & affordable option to protect their special event. Event liability policies start as low as $75 and can be purchased online or over the phone in minutes. Visitwww.markeleventinsurance.com/grapevine to learn more!
The artistry of cooperage and winemaking is a genuine friendship. And like old friends, there is widespread agreement among coopers and winemakers that the success of most wines depends a great deal upon the barrel in which that wine is aged.
A master cooper can build a barrel with nothing but hand tools from the log to finished product. Along with that experience is a wealth of knowledge of the finer points of barrel-making, such as where to source wood as well as how (and why) different woods are used to create different wines.
Those who have spent
decades in cooperages have fashioned barrels created from woods sourced not
only from the United States but also as far away as France, parts of Eastern
Europe and even Japan. While white oak
is dominant in the cooperage industry, there are some rare uses of woods that
include acacia, chestnut, cherry tree and exclusive species. Combine the cooper’s experience with that of
a winemaker and the result is what wine consumers taste from the glass and feel
on the palate.
With some 30 years of
working with wood, few know more about making barrels for wineries than master
cooper Russ Karasch, who has taught the industry to his daughter, Heidi Korb.
The result is Minnesota’s Black Swan Cooperage, launched in 2009.
Karasch is responsible for
the company’s unique styles of barrels, including a patented HONEY COMB®
Barrel, which he invented. While most of
Black Swan’s clients are craft distilleries and breweries, Karasch is a living
library of the kind of knowledge upon which coopers and winemakers thrive. A vital part of that knowledge, Karasch says,
is an understanding of different kinds of wood,
their origin and their impact in making multiple types and varieties of
wines.
“Quercus Petraea and
Quercus Robur are European Oak, French Oak, Hungarian Oak and German Oak, as
well as other countries. Quercus Alba is
the main American Oak. However, there
are many sub-species of Quercus Alba. It
used to be (that) most winemakers preferred French Oak but, as we advance in
technology and learn what the wood does and doesn’t do, by toasting and
treating the wood in different ways, we are ending up with some phenomenal
wines using all the woods. It used to be
if you made red wine, you would use this wood, or white wine you would use
(that) wood. We are advancing in knowledge in both wine and wood, so the rules
are changing.”
It is no coincidence that master coopers like Karasch understand the language of winemakers because both professions require a blend of art and science.
Another case in point is Kentucky-based Canton Cooperage. Founded in 1933 and acquired in 1998 by Chene & Cie (owners of Taransaud Cooperage of Congac, France), the company benefits from the experience of master coopers who, with a cumulative total of more than 600 years in the business, have a keen understanding of what winemakers need and want. Canton Cooperage operates from a platform of social responsibility, sponsoring an apprentice program in local schools and partnering with American Forests, a nonprofit organization dedicated to reforestation.
Enologist Bruno Remy, Sales Manager and Vice President at Canton Cooperage, explains why the wood of choice for most cooperages is oak and why most wineries prefer it.
“Oak wood is prevailing in
the cooperage industry due to its positive physical characteristics to make
staves, to give the shape to the barrels and no leaking. Most importantly, due to its richness in many
interesting molecules, the wood will bring structure and flavors to the wines
or alcohols. In addition, the wood offers a certain porosity to allow
oxygen and other gas to pass through the staves, in and out.”
Remy points out that there
are several elements that winemakers take into consideration when choosing
barrels and the different woods used to make them.
“A barrel should have a
positive impact for the use of fermenting or aging a wine. The choice is coming from the flavors that
you will look for, size of the barrel, the percentage of new wood in your final
blend, time for aging in the barrels, cellar conditions to store the barrels
(temperature, moisture).”
Black Star Farms, located
in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula near the four-season resort town of Traverse
City, understands these multiple considerations. The award-winning, family-owned winery
sources from cooperages that provide
barrels derived from American, French and Eastern European Oaks. Winemaker and Managing Partner Lee Lutes
explains the reason for such careful diversity.
“We use French Oak
exclusively for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, as they simply have an affinity for
one another that is time tested and consumer ‘qualified.’ We use two other primary barrel types,
American and Eastern European, for other reds, such as our Red House Red, our
Merlot or our Cabernet Franc. These two
types of oak tend to have more spice and tannin to them than French, which
works well with these bolder red
wines.”
In the case of barrels
made from American and Eastern European Oaks, Lutes adds that the attention to
detail used to select these types of barrels is driven by knowing the
cooperages that produce them and the source of the actual wood.
“We tend to prefer
American Oak that either comes from Minnesota or Missouri, as these tend to be
tighter grained barrels (from slower growing trees), but with good spice. The EE (Eastern European) barrels we prefer
tend to come from Hungary, as they provide some cocoa and coffee tones that are
very complimentary to deeper red wines.
Different coopers source from all of these regions, so there is much to
choose from for wood sourcing. There are
specific coopers we prefer, but most in the industry are quite good and make
solid barrels.”
Jeremy Santo, Winemaker
for Washington’s Mercer Wine Estates in Yakima Valley, agrees. The
fifth-generation winery sources barrels from 14 cooperages. Santo emphasizes the mutual trust and respect
that winemakers and cooperages share.
“Why do I use the
cooperages I do? The obvious answer is
they make amazing barrels. But the
relationship is the most important part.
My favorite cooperages are also my friends. This allows for a relationship that you can
collaborate and ask questions on what’s the best type of barrel for which
wine. The coopers know what they are
doing. They guide me in the direction to
make the best wines.”
Santo echoes a recurring
theme shared by Lutes and Remy when it comes to selecting which barrels to use
for different varieties and even styles of wines. The type of wood used, size
of the wood grain and toast levels are all key factors, he says.
“I like to use French Oak primarily on higher quality fruit. French Oak tends to add nice sweetness to the mid-palate of wines without overt oak aromas and flavors. French Oak allows the fruit of the wine to shine as well as providing sweetness to the mouthfeel. The American Oak I like also adds a lot of mid-palate sweetness but has more of the roasty, toasty, marshmallow and vanilla characteristics that’s perfect for mid to entry level wines. For higher tier/reserve wines, I lean more towards French Oak (tighter grain wood). The tighter grain wood allows for longer aging of the wine. The oak impact is gradual/slower, so the wine can age longer and develop flavors/aromas over a longer period of time. For reserve quality wines, you have more time to age unlike the $15 to $20 bottle of wine which is made to drink ‘now’.”
The question of using staves
is met with mixed results, despite the lower costs as compared to barrels.
According to Remy, staves can be installed in tanks, mimicking the use of
barrels, adding micro-oxygenation. He
adds that the actual quality of today’s staves is much higher than, say, 20
years ago, due to technology and the knowledge of how to select better oak
wood, how to season the wood and how to apply precise toasting.
In contrast, Santo opts
out of using staves and prefers oak cubes, citing ease of use and faster more,
efficient extraction of oak impact of the wine, while keeping aromas and a nice
feel on the palate intact.
As for oak barrel alternatives, Santo favors using oak cubes in tanks to achieve more oak impact on lower priced wines.
Another wood barrel alternative is Karasch’s latest patented invention, called Squarrels. ® The play on words describes a customizable, square, steel, stackable barrel, using wood only where it’s needed, saving winemakers time and money.
Most of these experts agree that over time, a
traditional barrel loses its potential to release flavors in wine roughly after
four to six years of use. When barrels
become “neutral,” some wineries simply use them to add the breathing factor. Once retired from winemaking, barrels can be
reconditioned for spirits, flooring or even furniture.
While one can still find wine producers who rely on paper ledgers, Excel spreadsheets and other pen and paper methods to manage their business, wine producers are increasingly turning to technology to help them perform these tasks. The proliferation of software explicitly geared to the wine industry has streamlined how many wineries operate. This software can help winemakers better manage a range of functions starting with regulating environmental conditions in their vineyards to performing a variety of eCommerce functions, as well as helping to enhance the consumers’ experience in their tasting rooms.
Microworks Wine Software
Microworks Wine Software was formed in 1991 to address the lack of technology servicing the wine industry. Currently, this software includes a suite of tools that help wineries manage their direct-to-consumer sales. The software takes complex tasks and simplifies them for efficiency and accuracy. With Microworks Wine Software, all details of sales, customers and inventory are tracked and reported to management so they can execute informed decisions.
These tools include
visitor center tracking, wine club and eCommerce sales, customers and
in-ventory, as well as helping with accounting, fulfillment and alcohol
compliance. This software suite allows wineries to manage their retail
operations by tracking sales data and then issuing re-ports. Tasting room
managers can track visitors and staff, and wine club managers can oversee the
wine club and its members. Inventory staff can track products across multiple
warehouses while managing wine shipments and pickups, and accounting can track
and reconcile all sales and inventory activity with complete audit trails.
Additionally, marketing managers can track all customer activity, including which
wines consumers buy, when they buy their products, how fre-quently they
purchase wines and the channels through which they make these purchases.
When a wine producer
purchases the software, Microworks performs an initial onboarding pro-cess.
Then apps can be downloaded by the user on devices through the Microworks
website, Ap-ple’s App Store or Google Play. Users can take advantage of
Microworks certified training ser-vice—a one-on-one instruction for winery
employees that ensures they’ll get the most out of what the software has to
offer. Online documentation and tutorials are also available.
The latest release of
Microworks Wine Software’s iPad mobile POS offers an offline mode, so users can
now access this software without having to connect online. When the software
gets used offline, transaction data is stored and then uploaded to the server
when the device is back online. Currently, they are working on an automated
email system to simplify and tailor custom-er communications to drive more sales.
Sensaphone
Sensaphone software complements the hardware that measures temperatures, humidity and other environmental conditions in the vineyard. Since its founding over thirty years ago, Sensaphone has transitioned from having its software utilize traditional alarm auto dialers hooked to phone lines to a cloud-based platform.
Using this software allows producers to know the exact temperature in the fields, and to be alarmed if the temperatures sink too low. In the case of ice wine producers, it allows them to pro-tect the grapes during cold temperatures.
This software allows wine
producers to see the temperature values of their vineyards in real-time, set
high and low alarms, and datalog those values. These features monitor
environmentally sensitive assets and can be programmed to send emails or text
messages to users when those as-sets are in danger. Also, it offers real-time
visibility and the ability to datalog values for a com-parison over time.
Sensaphone products are
easy to install and program. It is a one time purchase with upgrades in-cluded
with the purchase price. Also, they feature an app that allows producers to
view data from any mobile device.
VineSpring
For the past eight years, VineSpring has offered winery eCommerce, allocations and wine club management software designed for wine producers who sell directly to consumers. Through this software, wineries can easily manage their club and allocation offerings, saving administrators time, and providing wine club members with tools that are easy to access. Online tutorials allow wineries to maintain the software on their own.
VineSpring can connect to
many third party programs, and natively supports integrations with MailChimp,
ShipCompliant and Square POS. Also, they have partners like WineGlass Marketing
that have built powerful integrations, including automatic sync with Quickbooks
desktop. Mov-ing forward, they look to expand the options for wine clubs,
especially surrounding automatic recurring billing.
VinNOW
Created in 1999, VinNOW software was specifically designed for wineries to manage customer data and purchase histories, tasting room sales, wine clubs, multiple location inventory tracking and wine production. Wineries can use this software on a single stand-alone computer, a tablet, or on a network multi-point of sale operation. Also, as this software does not require a good in-ternet connection, it works well for those wineries located in regions that do not have reliable internet access.
The software includes a
customer management system, point of sale, wine club automation, eCommerce,
inventory management, reporting and order processing with QuickBooks,
compli-ance, email and shipping integrations and EMV credit card processing.
Also, bulk wine tracking and custom crush billing module are available. When
necessary, features are added that respond to industry changes, such as the new
California District Tax.
For those wineries
offering wine clubs, the software’s one-step wine club processing includes
shipping labels for UPS and FedEx. Also, GSO shipments can be tracked through
VinNOW. In addition, the software has options for easy email and postcard
marketing campaigns. It also inte-grates with QuickBooks desktop or online
versions, web shopping providers, and ShipCompli-ant.
VinNOW can be
self-installed and maintained and includes a comprehensive help database. New
customers are encouraged to go through the free training program, so they
understand the full capabilities of the software. Customer service is available
seven days a week.
Winetracker.co
Winetracker.co is a wine tasting app launched in 2017 that’s available for iOS and Android, as well as the web browser.
Users snap photos of the wine they are drinking and then use the app’s four sliders to give their personal opinion on the aroma, taste, finish and overall impression of the wine. The app then auto-generates a wine expert score (50 to 100 points) based on these four sliders. Optionally, the user can use “TouchTags” to describe the unique elements they detect in the wine. As they continue using the app, they end up with a visual history of the wines they drink, similar to a “Pinterest for wine.”
The second primary feature of this app is a multi-person, real-time experience called Group Tasting. Anyone hosting a tasting event, whether a winery, event planner or party host, can create a tasting list ahead of time. At the event, attendees can collaboratively taste the wines together through the app. They can see each other’s wine scores and comments popping up on the screen in real-time. Also, there’s an optional Blind Tasting mode for the Group Tasting feature.
According to Tony Jacobson, Founder of Winetracker.co, wineries who use the Group Tasting feature increase their wine sales. He ascribes this to the fact that when people taste wines with Winetracker.co, it causes a fuller engagement with each wine they sample. “When they are pondering the aroma, taste and finish of a wine, they get a much better sense of how much they like or don’t like it. This creates a deeper connection with the wine they’re drinking.” Winetracker.co is willing to schedule one-on-one consultations with wineries and event planners to help guide them through the process of creating Group Tasting events.
In the future, the company
plans to launch tasting groups similar to Facebook groups, where us-ers can
join and automatically be notified whenever someone adds new wine scores. These
groups can be public or private. Also, they plan on adding the ability for
users to follow individ-ual people on Winetracker.co. Along those lines, users
can automatically receive notifications whenever people they follow taste a new
wine. Winetracker.co is also looking to enable wineries to have conversation
threads or email conversations with the people who participate in their
tast-ing events.
As technology continues to evolve, expect to
see these software companies continue evolving to meet the needs of
21st-century wine producers.
