On Sunday, we took the boys up to Hood River to see Thomas the Tank Engine and thought we’d make a few days of it before we went to our summer hours in the Tasting Room (which start this Wednesday, by the way – noon to close daily, except Tuesdays which remain by appointment only). Our plan was to spend Monday and Tuesday visiting the Columbia Gorge wineries. There are some great ones: Pheasant Valley, Syncline, Cathedral Ridge, and the Pines to name but a few. And I was going to blog about it here. However, after settling into our hotel room, the boys were CRAZY and we ended up deciding to leave (before we were asked to) and drove home instead. Two years old plus four years old plus ice cream plus confined hotel room equals nightmare.
So, instead, let’s talk about warm summer days and wine. Last week, a gal brought back a bottle of our syrah she had purchased the day before. The cork has been pushed out and I said, “Looks like you maybe left this in your car overnight…?” And she said, “Yeah, I did!” Well… wine is alive and very delicate and does not like temperature fluctuations. If it gets to hot, it will pop its cork…literally. This is also why we won’t ship wine during the summer.
We also suggest that once you open a bottle, try to finish it within the next 36 to 48 hours or so. While leaving a bottle un-gassed over night it a quick way to see if it has aging potential, any longer than that, it will start to oxidize. If you smell the wine and can detect aromas of rust or metal, the wine is dying. My parents are notorious for opening a bottle of wine, having a glass each, then putting the bottle back in the cupboard for a week or more. The next time they want a glass, the wine is undrinkable. Wine is, after all, fruit. And like most fruit, it won’t last forever once exposed to oxygen. So, drink up! (But, responsibly, of course).
We are tossing around the idea of doing half bottles, although it will probably have to wait until our production increases significantly. Doing a short run of labels for the smaller bottles would cost a fortune. Here’s to the day we can take advantage of economies of scale!
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Saturday, June 16, 2007
Oh, Those Tasting Fees
We had a woman in the Tasting Room who angrily threw three dollars at us, enraged that she had to pay to sample our wine. As she stomped out before getting the explanation, I thought maybe this would help clarify things:
#1: The history of complimentary tastes. Wineries initially used complimentary tastes to draw people out to their winery sites – generally miles and miles outside of cities, meaning folks had the winery as their primary destination – guests were “pre-screened,” as it were. The majority of wine regions that don’t need the allure of free wine to attract customers now charge tasting fees. Again, this is a way to ferret out folks with genuine interest in wine from folks looking for a free buzz. So, the first reason we charge for tastings is this: we are not out in a remote winery location. Our Tasting Room is in Downtown Bend.
#2: We are located in Downtown Bend. Our Tasting Room is surrounded by bars and restaurants. In fact, there is a bar right next door. If you had your business right next to a bar, would you give away any alcohol product for free? We get a lot of walk-by traffic, people who notice our signs and mosey on in to see what’s up. And like it or not, folks, most of the industry is heading towards tasting fees.
#3: The OLCC. Our Tasting Room is kid friendly – we welcome families with kids, have toys and chairs for kids, and advertise that fact. The OLCC (Oregon Liquor Control Commission) asks that in return we have certain controls in place to ensure minors are not served alcohol, and one of their requests was “no free tastes.” Do I even need to continue?
#4: We credit back the tasting fee towards the purchase of that bottle of wine. Seems more than fair to us – many wineries won’t even do that, reasoning that the taste is a product (and it is) and you paid to purchase that product.
#5: We almost ALWAYS have additional wines open that we will include in a flight at no extra charge. Unless a visitor is being a butthead, in which case they get nothing. Haha!
#6: We are not a multi-national corporation that can afford to spend millions of dollars promoting their product. The winery is me and Scott. We are very, very small. We didn’t have any money when we started and now we have even less. If someone wants cookie cutter, economies-of-scale, corporate Mega-Mart wine, then we are probably not for them anyway.
#7: Our Tasting Room is a bargain. In contrast to the Mega-Mart wines, the wines we pour in addition to ours are also premium and ultra-premium wines. See similar wines on a restaurant wine list and the glass price will hover close to $20. We are offering folks the opportunity to sample $25, $30 and even some $50 wines for only a few dollars.
#8: Tastes add up. If you are enjoying a full flight – even our shortest flight - you will end up consuming almost the equivalent of a full glass of wine.
#1: The history of complimentary tastes. Wineries initially used complimentary tastes to draw people out to their winery sites – generally miles and miles outside of cities, meaning folks had the winery as their primary destination – guests were “pre-screened,” as it were. The majority of wine regions that don’t need the allure of free wine to attract customers now charge tasting fees. Again, this is a way to ferret out folks with genuine interest in wine from folks looking for a free buzz. So, the first reason we charge for tastings is this: we are not out in a remote winery location. Our Tasting Room is in Downtown Bend.
#2: We are located in Downtown Bend. Our Tasting Room is surrounded by bars and restaurants. In fact, there is a bar right next door. If you had your business right next to a bar, would you give away any alcohol product for free? We get a lot of walk-by traffic, people who notice our signs and mosey on in to see what’s up. And like it or not, folks, most of the industry is heading towards tasting fees.
#3: The OLCC. Our Tasting Room is kid friendly – we welcome families with kids, have toys and chairs for kids, and advertise that fact. The OLCC (Oregon Liquor Control Commission) asks that in return we have certain controls in place to ensure minors are not served alcohol, and one of their requests was “no free tastes.” Do I even need to continue?
#4: We credit back the tasting fee towards the purchase of that bottle of wine. Seems more than fair to us – many wineries won’t even do that, reasoning that the taste is a product (and it is) and you paid to purchase that product.
#5: We almost ALWAYS have additional wines open that we will include in a flight at no extra charge. Unless a visitor is being a butthead, in which case they get nothing. Haha!
#6: We are not a multi-national corporation that can afford to spend millions of dollars promoting their product. The winery is me and Scott. We are very, very small. We didn’t have any money when we started and now we have even less. If someone wants cookie cutter, economies-of-scale, corporate Mega-Mart wine, then we are probably not for them anyway.
#7: Our Tasting Room is a bargain. In contrast to the Mega-Mart wines, the wines we pour in addition to ours are also premium and ultra-premium wines. See similar wines on a restaurant wine list and the glass price will hover close to $20. We are offering folks the opportunity to sample $25, $30 and even some $50 wines for only a few dollars.
#8: Tastes add up. If you are enjoying a full flight – even our shortest flight - you will end up consuming almost the equivalent of a full glass of wine.
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
Obtaining Closure
The Bend Bulletin did a feature story last fall on wine closures – cork vs synthetic vs screw top, etc. They did not consult us before publishing (shocking, I know) and that’s too bad because it is a topic Scott and I have spent many hours researching and discussing. Yes, we are loads of fun at dinner parties.
I bring this up again now because Wine Business Monthly – one of the leading US wine industry trade mags, has just published its 2007 closure survey report. And for the second year in a row, we are quoted. Once it publishes on line I’ll get the link to the article here. The thrust of the piece is that cork still dominates, but screw tops are gaining acceptance from consumers, and new closure types are on the horizon.
For our premiere vintages we opted for natural cork for a variety of reason – consumer perception being one, and lack of studies on long term aging with alternative closures, another. We chose a cork supplier (Rich Xiberta) who controls the full cycle of the cork closure production, from tree selection through final shipment to us. The high incidence of cork taint comes from corks produced without proper quality controls. For our less expensive red blend we chose a synthetic cork, primarily for cost reasons. The corks we use are $.55 each – the synthetic closures are a fraction of that. Since the red blend is meant to be consumed now, long term aging didn’t factor in our decision. For our less expensive wines, we will most likely switch to the screw top closures. Again, costs are an issue, and frankly the screw tops are easier for the consumer (no cork screw needed, a good thing if all your openers are now in the possession of airport security). I do admit the crack of a screw top on opening is not nearly as romantic as the pop of a cork.
We have also decided to switch to the glass stoppers for our top tier wines beginning with the 2006 vintage. These closures are stunning – keepsakes, almost. And recyclable! Sineann uses these closures on its reds - come in to the Tasting Room and we will be happy show you.
I bring this up again now because Wine Business Monthly – one of the leading US wine industry trade mags, has just published its 2007 closure survey report. And for the second year in a row, we are quoted. Once it publishes on line I’ll get the link to the article here. The thrust of the piece is that cork still dominates, but screw tops are gaining acceptance from consumers, and new closure types are on the horizon.
For our premiere vintages we opted for natural cork for a variety of reason – consumer perception being one, and lack of studies on long term aging with alternative closures, another. We chose a cork supplier (Rich Xiberta) who controls the full cycle of the cork closure production, from tree selection through final shipment to us. The high incidence of cork taint comes from corks produced without proper quality controls. For our less expensive red blend we chose a synthetic cork, primarily for cost reasons. The corks we use are $.55 each – the synthetic closures are a fraction of that. Since the red blend is meant to be consumed now, long term aging didn’t factor in our decision. For our less expensive wines, we will most likely switch to the screw top closures. Again, costs are an issue, and frankly the screw tops are easier for the consumer (no cork screw needed, a good thing if all your openers are now in the possession of airport security). I do admit the crack of a screw top on opening is not nearly as romantic as the pop of a cork.
We have also decided to switch to the glass stoppers for our top tier wines beginning with the 2006 vintage. These closures are stunning – keepsakes, almost. And recyclable! Sineann uses these closures on its reds - come in to the Tasting Room and we will be happy show you.
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