Hi all! I'm opening my first boutique (fancy word for silly small) winery in southern California and wanted to ask around for lessons learned. Check us out at meyerwine.com! What are some things that you would do differently/better if you had to do it all again?
The rest of this is just info, feel free to skip if uninterested:
The rest of this is just info, feel free to skip if uninterested:
Currently, we have 24 acres, not all planted yet, but getting there. 4-6 acres are actively producing good to excellent qualify Zinfandel, Malbec, Sangiovese, and Sauvignon Blanc. More to come over the years. As weird as it sounds, the goal of the winery is to make good wine, not to turn in to an empire. I'm fine if we just break even.
I'm the only winemaker here, so it's a lot a work and I love it. I'm open to hiring. I'm very confident in the wine quality, and have awards to back it up, though I really don't think they should be required.
I'm currently doing batches of 50-60 gallons of must at a time (larger tanks aren't really viable just yet until we have more grapes). 112L (31ish gallons?) barrels because they're easier to with with than full size ones. I'd like to keep the winemaking as "homemade" as possible. Focusing on the terroir and history. I plan on hand labeling, hand corking (floor corkers), hand-crank crushing/destemming, air vacuum transfers or siphon only (no big must pumps), etc---yup, that kind of hand made! This isn't for financial reasons or anything like that, I just love the process.
Once open (just waiting on county and ABC permits now), I'm planning on doing a wine club subscription, direct to consumer shipping, on-site sales during events only, and limited on-site tasting.
I'm the only winemaker here, so it's a lot a work and I love it. I'm open to hiring. I'm very confident in the wine quality, and have awards to back it up, though I really don't think they should be required.
I'm currently doing batches of 50-60 gallons of must at a time (larger tanks aren't really viable just yet until we have more grapes). 112L (31ish gallons?) barrels because they're easier to with with than full size ones. I'd like to keep the winemaking as "homemade" as possible. Focusing on the terroir and history. I plan on hand labeling, hand corking (floor corkers), hand-crank crushing/destemming, air vacuum transfers or siphon only (no big must pumps), etc---yup, that kind of hand made! This isn't for financial reasons or anything like that, I just love the process.
Once open (just waiting on county and ABC permits now), I'm planning on doing a wine club subscription, direct to consumer shipping, on-site sales during events only, and limited on-site tasting.
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