Hello friends, I’m a winemaker at a high end boutique winery in Napa. I’ve got two small lots (2023 Pinot & 2022 CS) allocated to bulk market that are not gaining traction at all and at this point, we’re willing to cut our losses and destroy the wine. Do any of you know any cheap means of doing so (that don’t rock the TTB boat)?
Thanks in adavnce for your suggestions.
Have you tried the Napa Valley Vintners?
You may need to consult with the county on how to dispose of it. I know they have all kinds of crazy laws there about everything.
Sorry to hear about this. I’m not ITB, but here are some options to explore before it goes down the drain. @Bobby_Moy has made several NDA wines that have sold well. Find him at Chiron Wines.
There has some success offering a “Berserker Cuvee’” directly here on WineBerserkers. That might be worth considering, if your juice is excellent (i.e. you’re bulking it out of necessity, not due to quality). Having said that, the previous Berserker Cuvee’s have always been under the same producer and label. It’s probably too much of a hassle to create a second label, but perhaps you could partner with someone like @mmalpiede of Ernest Vineyards. I think they still have a couple of labels.
Hope that helps, and welcome to the board.
BevZero in Santa Rosa (my former employer) takes destruction material. Depending on the market and the quality, they may pay a nominal per gallon price or just take it off your hands. My guess is that given the current market they’re just accepting material rather than paying for it. No problem with the TTB, it’s a transfer in bond and then they destroy it by distillation.
I agree with Patrick’s suggestion to sell it for an NDA wine / private label program, if you can. I’m sure you could find a buyer under NDA for a price that’s better than simple destruction.
Thanks for the shot out Patrick. Hi Walter, I just tasted through 35 samples of bulk wine this morning. I’m in the market for '23 Pinot and Chard, and '22 Cab. My budget for these private labeling projects is low, but let me know what ya got. Hopefully, I can help you out.
Hi Bobby, I’d love to send you samples and see if these wines work for you. Absolutely, nothing wrong with them, sound wines; just a testament to the current state of the bulk market.
Fantastic, I will look into them as a last resort - currently have some interested parties but things have been moving much slower, so working on our plan on contingensy.
Thanks!
PM sent to Walter
What was the result?
Happy ending - I got it sold.
good to hear. i came across this thread thinking it was new.
no idea how much of a burden this might be on your time, but for those as ignorant as myself, might you consider a short primer for the community here to explain how this all happens? i’m generally aware of the pressures of the current market but the idea of growing, harvesting, and then actually making good wine only to dump it down the drain seems insane.
if not, no worries and again, happy to read of at least one postiive outcome.
thank you.
Nice
would be curious as well. i saw something referenced as a private label opportunity. are there really opportunities to buy a barrel of a good boutique wine and label under a custom personal label? who provides this service?