Why we close the Tasting Lounge at 5 pm

We frequently get these questions/comments in the tasting room: Why do you close so early? Why don’t you stay open later so we can have a glass of wine before heading out to dinner? I came by but you were closed...

There are several reasons behind our hours that I will address.

1. The most basic reason is that traditional tasting room hours, from Paso Robles to Walla Walla, are noon to 5. Tasting rooms are not bars – we are here so folks can sample our wines – especially important for the wines we won’t sell to the distributors. It is an opportunity to try before you buy, plus speak directly with someone who can answer your questions about the wine, the winery, the vineyards, etc.
2. The tasting room is only one portion of our business – we are a winery and are responsible for the making of the wine, overseeing the vineyards, the marketing , advertising, public relations, online sales, shipping, distribution, special events, compliance and reporting to individual states… and we have no employees, it is me and Scott, with a little help from our friends. It was necessary to set some limits.
3. Scott and I were both in the restaurant industry for years. We do not want to be a restaurant or a bar. We feel that many others in Bend are already fulfilling this need.
   Staffing is also an issue. Our glass prices are very reasonable from the consumer perspective, but the margins we make are quite low, nothing like restaurant glass prices and a world away from the margins that coffee places enjoy – therefore a critical volume would need to be sold each evening to allow us to break even.
4. Scott and I have two small children. The family dinner is an important part of our lives, not to mention our bedtime routines with reading books, lullabies, hugs and kisses.
5. By closing at 5, the tasting room is available for private parties. We have just a $25 per hour room fee and a $150 per hour minimum of wine sales. Bring in your own food, or have it catered. We can accommodate up to 35 people inside – even more if it is warm enough to use our outside space, or up to 20 for a sit down dinner inside, plus seats for an extra 12 outside, again, weather permitting (for dinners, service is extra). Call or email for more info: 541-617-1102 info@VolcanoVineyards.com

Keep in mind that Wednesdays and Fridays we usually are open a bit later – Scott or I are generally there until at least 7 on those nights. Call ahead and arrange a private tasting if you like…if we’re around, we’ll happily accommodate you with enough notice and within reason.

Squashing a rumor...

No, we are not moving our tasting room. I know there was some confusion with Melanie moving her retail wine store off of Brooks Street, but we are staying put.

What we are doing right now is looking for some commercial space for our winery production facility. We’ve looked at spots in SoMi , the Mill Quarter, along 2nd Street, on the west side behind Safeway… all over town, in fact. This facility will be for our Magna Wines, Magmita Sangria, and ultimately for Volcano Vodka as well. The rents downtown (and zoning, for that matter) are structured for retail and dining, not production facilities.

Yesterday was just another day, after all.

At the 11th hour yesterday my brother’s transplant was called off. Some blood results from the donor came back in the “no go” range, so… now they start from scratch.

And in other news, we made an attempt to eat at the newly opened Ciao Mamba yesterday. Unfortunately, our three year old was acting like a three year old and we had to leave. This is why Scott and I rarely are seen in public!

Tuesday is a big day

Thanks to those of you who have asked about my brother. For those of you who don’t already know, my older brother, Tom, has been fighting Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis (PSC) for years. PSC causes the bile ducts of the liver to become clogged. There is no known cause and the only possible cure is a liver transplant. You may have heard of it, as it was what killed Walter Payton, and it was the disease Olympian Chris Klug had, prior to his successful liver transplant in 2000.
And tomorrow, June 17, my brother will undergo a liver transplant at Georgetown Hospital in Washington DC.

Tom has been chronicling his ordeal through his Caring Bridge site. It is fascinating reading. After tomorrow, his wife, Kathy, will update the site on his condition until he is well again to write.http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/thomasbutler

And to find out more on PSC, check out http://www.pscpartners.org/

Tasting Room Advice from The Wall Street Journal

I have had a few people mention to me piece written by John Brecher and Dottie Gaiter that ran in the WSJ a few weeks ago. It was titled “Tips for Tasting Rooms,” a very thoughtful list of suggestions. I am happy to say that most of them, we heed already: we’re kid-friendly, our wine club pressure is so low we usually forget to mention we have one, we have a simple tasting fee that we refund with purchases. Many of their bits of advice are the exact opposite of the “you shoulds” we daily hear from people in our tasting room.

The most frequent “you should” we get, next to “You should serve food” (and considering how tenny weeny our space is and the fact that there are too many restaurants in Bend already, food ain’t gonna happen), is that as part of the tastings, we should give folks a glass with our logo. John and Dottie say “No glass!” and we totally agree. After we moved our collection of winery commemorative glasses for he fifth time, Scott took them all to Goodwill. Two from this place, one from this other place, different sizes, different quality – just a big pain the rump. We opted to use Riedel crystal glasses in our tasting room. And while yes, they can be etched with our logo, the added expense doesn’t make sense.

The one bit of advice we are guilty of not following was “Ease up on the numbers” – meaning don’t spout off the Wine Spectator/Enthusiast etc scores. While we have yet to submit our wines to any of the “number” publications (and that’s a whole nuther blog in itself), our basic info on the wine includes our awards and our Wine Press Northwest or Northwest Palate reviews. This is information we feel is vital to building our brand – as a relative newcomer to the wine industry, people are skeptical, and having that “third party validation” of our wines absolutely adds to our “legitimacy.” Yes, your palates are not fooling you – our wine is indeed yummy!

What's up with Vintage 2007

Scott went down to the winery two weeks ago – it was racking and blending time for the 2007s. He’s going to keep six barrels of the Fortmiller Syrah as a single vineyard designate, then blend five barrels of Fortmiller with seven from Lakeside. For the Fortmiller Merlot, he has decided to blend in one barrel of Tempranillo (from Red Lily Vineyards) which will mean the Tempranillo comprises about 7% – similar to the 2005 Merlot which was blended with 7% Cab Franc.

This weekend, Memorial Day weekend, we’ll be pouring our 2006 Syrah, Lakeside and Serenade Vineyards and 2006 Merlot, Fortmiller Vineyard and offering futures on case sales. Both these wines have already won GOLD MEDALS at major competitions, the Syrah at the SF Chronicle, the Merlot at Riverside. Pop on by! We’ll be in both the old Painted Pony space and in the Tasting Lounge.

Riverside Gold

The results of the Riverside International Competition were just announced, and we received two golds, one for our 2005 Syrah, and one for our 2006 Merlot. As far as we can tell, wineries from Oregon came away with a total of four gold medals this year (Willamette Valley Vineyards won the other two golds). The Riverside Competition is generally considered to be the most prestigious wine competition in the US. During Memorial Day weekend at our Tasting Lounge in Bend, you can sample the 2006 Merlot, as well as the 2006 Syrah, which won gold earlier this year at the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition.