So let’s say I’m not super rich but have some money and have some friends who have some money. We all love wine and would like in some way to be part of the industry. Also, there’s something to be said for diversifying assets out of the stock market (generally, but perhaps even more now when it is at an all time high). Having said that, we have jobs that pay the bills and don’t want to quit those jobs. So that means the best wine investment would be something at least mostly passive, but we would also want it to be cool/fun, etc. Perhaps buying a small vineyard or two with contracted management…but I certainly don’t know enough about land/soil/mesoclimates/the market to make sure I’d be getting a decent deal. Also, my guess is that the best deals aren’t just out there with a for sale sign hanging on the vineyard, but come from opportunities known more to people in the industry than outsiders.
On a related note, I don’t know how many times I’ve heard the story on a wine podcast or blog or something about the young winemaker or assistant winemaker that has the personal side project/label dream in addition to the day job. To accomplish this, they have to source grapes and custom crush, as the winemaker/assistant winemaker gig doesn’t create the kind of cash necessary to own land. These stories also often talk about how they only got the grapes they wanted after a few wrong turns, or they didn’t have control of farming to do what they wanted, etc.
Is there an opportunity to partner with someone like this (let’s call him/her “Winemaker Chris”)? We (my friends and I and Winemaker Chris) find the location together relying on Winemaker Chris’ expertise, we supply the cash and get the vast majority or all of the ownership, Winemaker Chris gets a guaranteed fruit source, good pricing, and farming control in some kind of lease deal, etc., perhaps a slice of ownership or an opportunity to buy in at a fixed price in the future. Another alternative would be to also participate in ownership of the label in some way with Winemaker Chris getting the large slice of that in sweat equity. It would need to be set up in a way that creates appropriate incentive and value for both sides, and I haven’t thought through the all the details, but seems like it could work by putting the cash in from one source and the knowledge/expertise/sweat in from another.
We wouldn’t be doing this solely to make money, but out of the passion to help create something cool in this industry.
Any thoughts?