My buddy Patrick Cappiello of Monte Rio Cellars has an interesting posting on his Instagram about the state of the wine business in the US. Although we’ve hashed the macro reasons here ad nauseam (and it’s not just an US problem), I really appreciate his candor on the subject. We need more openness in the wine business.
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He’s made some interesting videos recently - tackling filtering in a world where it’s considered ‘taboo’ by so many; the modest use of SO2; and discussing the close-mindedness of ‘gatekeepers’ including many somms . . .
The interesting thing, from what I’ve gleaned, is that he is a former somm from NYC that perhaps one of those ‘gatekeepers’ not too long ago according to a few replies I saw . . .
Cheers
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I’ve seen many up and down cycles in the wine biz and this one is no different. Many acres need to be removed over the next few years and it will happen. New negociant brands will pop up as bulk wine gets cheaper. Hell in Europe they’ve been disposing of wine to try to balance inventory. Not many people buying $50/btl CA Pinot, let alone trotting down to Whole Foods for a $125 Napa Cab.
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After 20+ years of collecting, I’ve generally stopped purchasing wine to cellar, but I do continue to purchase 4 labels I like to support. 3 are CA wines and 2 of them are Berserker businesses.
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When most consumers probably keep 1-4 bottles of wine on hand, it’s hard for them to buy local/small/DTC. Availability, shipping costs, minimum orders…
I implored a friend of mine who is a @Adam_Frisch fan to buy your BD offer and he couldn’t imagine trying to store a case of wine. He’d rather pay more to add a few bottles to my orders. That goes for a lot of my friends who live in condos/apartments/with roommates or are intimidated by buying a full case of wine.
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I totally understand that. A case is a big deal to buy from a single winery when you’re just a casual wine drinker. I wish the shipping on smaller shipments was considerably less, but unfortunately it’s not that much of a difference. My 6-packs are only about $5-10 less than the full $50-60 case price.
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Are you using Vinoshipper for most of your shipments or another 3rd party shipper?
Iam probably part of the problem. I passed on a lot of offers this last month or so. For me it’s the shipping, and I feel bad for the wineries who are probably still eating alot of the costs on that. I know wineries can see how many orders are left at the “checkout” portion of a transaction. Be interested to see the data on what percentage of orders aren’t completed once the shipping charges are shown. I’ve found a couple new local wine shops that sell many of the labels that I enjoy. I will be buying single bottles now though, instead of 3 or 6 packs.
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I have my own licenses in the shipping states except for a very few. My FedEx rep keeps telling me I get the highest discount they have, but maybe he’s just butter talking me…
I do think I have a pretty good discount, because when I compare to a few other wineries they seem to be paying a bit more. My highest price is about $62 to CT and PA for a full case.
How often does FedEx pick up? Do you need a min # of orders? And is this thru Family Winemakers or Wine Institute?
Cheers
I drop them off. It’s too tight to get to the winery for a FedEx truck.
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Nothing like making it to open ones eyes to the problems with selling it…
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You definitely have a good deal comparatively. We’re about $90-95 for the same places.
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Thanks for sharing that.
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The $7.50 adult signature that they occasionally bother to get is a big part of that.
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As I said, I love this and all of the transparency. I also posted replies on his post an bout admitting he cross flow filters his wines, asking folks to not ‘freak out’ about the use of SO2 or commercial yeast either - these are not ‘the devil’ . . .
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Do you use UPS? Because in my limited experience, it seems like UPS is always a bit more.
Why is there a glut of American wine? Economy is pretty hot etc., so I wouldn’t have thought there is a general glut of all American wine. Is it because supply overshot demand, American wine consumption declining to mocktails etc.? I know wine prices are softer, but that’s after being up 100% in a short period of time for old world regions etc.
It’s funny(not) that those are things that need to be defended.
Most wine nerds love German Riesling, the vast majority of which is sterile filtered. And typically had significant levels of SO2 added, especially cuvees with RS.
“Commercial” yeast came from vineyards and wineries just like “Native” yeasts. They aren’t bio-engineered or lab created. They’re just isolated strains of yeasts that have been around for centuries. I like native ferments for Pinot Noir ferments, but it’s far more about starting with miniscule populations than it is about some special yeast in the vineyard. And if you’re non-inoculated, the likelihood that the ferment goes with yeast cells that are “native” to the winery is very high. Whether those match a commercial yeast or not is anyone’s guess. For whites, I find native ferments to be hit or miss. We do some, but I also use CY3079(an excellent commercial yeast that is a slow fermenter and really provides a great opportunity for exceptional fermentations).
To look at filtering again. If you have a warmer riper vintage, unfiltered wines can have fine particulate that will provide a savory balance to the richer fruit that comes with the heat. Cooler vintages can benefit from moderating the presence of particles that give an extra astringency to the wine. Having a dogmatic approach to something just isn’t good winemaking…unless it’s whole cluster fermentations 
.
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