arrrrgh, Small Vines dropped today and I knew this would be on the horizon I was just hoping for a different cycle on my credit card. Oh well, the juice is too good to pass up.
i took all my Small Vines as i’ll pick the wine up but that shipping is onerous! not sure how much Rhys i’ll get.
Damn, I just looked at the shipping and those rates are aweful. I always knew I would pick mine up so I never bothered to look.
+1
Small Vines is up to $65 per??
Wow, $65 per? I tasted these at Pinot Days and was not impressed. And no way would I spend $65 per plus tax/shipping.
Wanna bitch about shipping?
Abreu Madrona Ranch Olive Oil is $24.00 to ship ONE bottle to TX. The bottle costs $35.00 for 500 mL.
I was iffy on the prices and then the shipping to FL made my decision easy…pass.
you taste the 2006 @ Pinot Days?
I’m gonna ask a stupid question - and I don’t want to be blackballed here - but why do consumers put up with wineries that seem to use shipping as a profit center?!? I just don’t get it . . .
Costs certainly are higher if you pass the responsiblity of packing and shipping to a third party . . .Guess what - there are LOTS of companies out there doing it . . .
But why in the heck would wineries risk losing customers NOT based on their juice, but on their shipping?!?!?!?
Blows me away . . .
Cheers!
Exactly!!! 
Glenn, I don’t recall but I do believe them to be the 06’s. Just not my cuppa tea. One of them seemed to have an Ethyl Acetate issue and the other wasn’t very exciting either. I made a point of checking out the wines due to the buzz but I wasn’t that impressed. I had no idea the price point of these either.
i adored their 2005 wines Tony and like most i just think the really hot 06 conditions simply didn’t lead to great CA PN in W Co Sonoma. i barrel tasted both 07 wines last fall though and thought the quality really was apparant, delicious and mature barrel samples. in a few years maybe we’ll cross paths and split one the 07s i have purchased.
Glenn. Sounds good to me. A lot of very good 07s were made. I’ll bring some august west or Freeman
HI Larry,
Not at all a dumb question, but a question I wrestle with constantly. I would love all feedback and information out there to improve my position.
For a micro producer like us we get no economies of scale. It bites. We have shopped around, and went with Vintrust for their uncomprimising quality and superior service ( i do not know if they post prices but i do not mark up) . As far as a profit center…I wish. I do not make a dime on shipping, but I also cannot afford to eat it. We are farmers, big time. No fancy Chateau here, just ask some of our visitors. We are trying to do something unique in viticulture here in Sonoma County and put all of our energies there. No Pomp, no circumstance, just California property taxes 
.
I am open to suggestion…please.
[quote=“larry schaffer”]
I’m gonna ask a stupid question - and I don’t want to be blackballed here - but why do consumers put up with wineries that seem to use shipping as a profit center?!? I just don’t get it . . .Costs certainly are higher if you pass the responsiblity of packing and shipping to a third party . . .Guess what - there are LOTS of companies out there doing it . . .
But why in the heck would wineries risk losing customers NOT based on their juice, but on their shipping?!?!?!?
Blows me away . . .
Cheers!
[/quote]
Tony,
Were you the kind gentleman that pointed out an “off” bottle to me at Pinot Days SF???
I was moving so fast, opening bottles with a sniff, thanks to the super swamped booth next to us (Sojourn and their 95 points) that I missed an off bottle and poured it for who knows how many folks. Embarrassing does not even cover it! I had some gentleman tell me that it was off and I ran it by the boss and he said “pull that bottle now”. Good thing he did not fire me, but then again I am sleeping with the boss 
.
That was also our 2006…2007 is the best wine we have made to date.
Hope you will taste one of your friends and give us another try.
Kathryn,
I understand EXACTLY where you’re coming from and I applaud your presence here!
But you truly seem to be ‘between a rock and a hard place’ with respect to shipping charges . . . As I posted earlier, it seems ludicrous that you may lose customers not because of the quality of the wines but because of your shipping charges . . .
Just something to think about this morning . . .
Cheers!
Did this get pulled out of the Rhys Mailer thread? I could have swore I posted the first post in there and not started a new thread. The context seems weird, oh well I placed my order last night.
WRT shipping I’m glad I live in CA, I can generally travel to a source to pick up directly, taste some wines and meet the winemakers. Just another benefit of the sunshine tax.
Kathryn - sorry not to respond sooner but I have been reading this on my iPhone and well, it’s a pain to type out answers on that thing.
I did not mention the wine being bad to you or anyone else. I just thought one of the two Pinots, IIRC, had a little EA problem. The other was okay but not worth the tariff to me. Now I don’t think you poured your 07’s which is a better Pinot year from everything I have tasted.
That being said, for $50 or so I would take the Ceritas 07 Pinot anyday over the Small Vines. My palate preference.
Thank you Philip for the warm welcome!
Thank you Larry for the heads-up!
We are brainstorming some ideas and doing some more research to see what we can do in todays climate.
My presence here will be spotty at best due to harvest and crush…we get both sides (farmers for ourselves and others and winemakers). So…No sleep for us .
Cheers,