What’s your 5 yr winemaking plan??

[vacuumpumpman]

I like others on this forum -

I am scaling back on production for at least this year - I have approx. 300 + bottles of wine and 5 carboys left, That will need to be bottled in the next 6 months or so.

I am definitely getting more picky on what I want to ferment with, to make better wine than previously.

 

[cmason1957]

I am like Steve above. This year, I'm be scaling back some. That probably means longer bulk aging, more measuring, more testing and hopefully better wines. I gotta drink up some of that about 1000 bottles sitting in my basement.

 

[FTC Wines]

We too are scaling back some. We have almost 900 bottles and 250 in carboys. So we are now concentrating on making wine from grapes & juice buckets. Will still make some wine from concentrate for our early drinkers, but early drinkers are now at 1 year vrs the 6 months they used to be. Roy

 

[Ajmassa]

Everyone is scaling down! I guess someone’s gotta pick up the slack
The idea scaling UP is definitely fun. And hard not to be upbeat and enthusiastic about it. Hoping that by age 40 I’ll have some big barrels filled. And possibly locked down a connection for high quality grapes outside my typical suppliers.
My future apprentice almost lost a finger to the floor corker last night at Easter dinner. Then actually asked “so how does the grape juice become alcohol anyway?” unprompted. He’s Only 8, but the force seems strong in him.

 

[Redbird1]

I'll probably keep a similar pace on the winemaking side of the house. 4-5 kits per year, plus some smaller batches of fruit wine. I might add a white juice bucket in the next couple years to start working towards all-grape batches.

The plan is to add some ciders to the mix this year and a couple more batches of beer now that we finished up the last of the bigger, near-term house projects. Next up in a couple years will be a bar with a homemade keezer for beer and sparkling cider! That's one project I'm actually looking forward to.

 

[KevinL]

I'm scaling up. Planting another 75 vines in spring. I should be pulling in a modest harvest this year. I've been making a few kits a year for the first 10 years of my wine making, and since I moved to my new place with enough space to plant I figured I'd go all in. Throughout that time I've done a few country fruit batches and fresh grape ones.

I'm also in the process of getting my commercial license, although it looks like I still might be producing less than some of the hobbyists! Hoping to go from last years 20 gallons to 40 gallons this year.

 

[Mismost]

Five year plan? To still be making wine! But, I have zero desire to go "from grapes"...just means more gear, more ate up storage place, more crap.
I am going to stick with kits and maybe juice buckets if I can find some around San Antonio. I like simple, works for me.

 

[Slappy]

I currently do as much as I can in the space I have. So that's about a quarter tonne of grapes at vintage time, and a few gallon batches of fruit wines and meads in between. But my 5 year plan involves buying a bigger house and I've made it clear that I want a very big shed that I can hopefully dig a cellar under. Plan is for one side of the shed to be my winery and brewery with a bar in it. And the other side for my boats and other toys and tools. I want to crush a tonne a year of various red grapes. I'm lucky to have access to world class wine regions within an hour to 2 hours drive so have so many options. Beautiful old vine Grenache and Shiraz from Barossa Valley, cool climate Shiraz and lovely Pinot Noir from the hills area. Some good Cabernet Sauvignon around the place as well. Plus a few fringe varieties I can grab here and there to blend or do small stand alone batches. Should be plenty to keep me occupied and my friends and family well supplied which is what it's all about. I'm glad I found this hobby and am surprised I never found it earlier considering I've been brewing for 15 years.

 

[Johnd]

I can't say that i have a 5 year plan, mine's more like year to year. During 2018, I'll probably just make one batch of wine in the Fall, just as in 2017, while finishing the barrel aging and bottling of wines from previous efforts. The occasional white wine production could occur as those supplies dwindle. Currently, my cellaring ability is pretty much at capacity, and the wines that I've made are getting some age on them, kits are in the 2-4 year range, while the oldest grape wines are just hitting 2 years. Been drinking / gifting the kit wines regularly to make room for the grape wines, which still need some bottle time before they hit the drinking cycle. Really looking forward to retiring the fleet of small barrels and just having one large barrel per year to deal with.

 

[wpt-me]

At my age ?? Enjoying the present. Making whatever strikes my fancy, but i am also still trying
to learn and keep reading. Made my first juice bucket last fall.

Bill

 

[jburtner]

5yr plan -
Continue making grape wines, fruit wines, and meads in the basement.

Start a small garigiste and sell small batch wines. 75-150 cases / yr. just need a place

-j

 

[JohnT]

My plan is to (unfortunately) scale down or (better yet) hand off the operation to a family member.

 

[mainshipfred]

My plan is to (unfortunately) scale down or (better yet) hand off the operation to a family member.

I can't believe you posted this. Not knowing you except for the forum it appears you enjoy making wine and all that goes with it. Be carefull what you wish for.

 

[Ajmassa]

I currently do as much as I can in the space I have. So that's about a quarter tonne of grapes at vintage time, and a few gallon batches of fruit wines and meads in between. But my 5 year plan involves buying a bigger house and I've made it clear that I want a very big shed that I can hopefully dig a cellar under. Plan is for one side of the shed to be my winery and brewery with a bar in it. And the other side for my boats and other toys and tools. I want to crush a tonne a year of various red grapes.........Should be plenty to keep me occupied and my friends and family well supplied which is what it's all about.

YES! Your cellar idea sounds awesome. It’s fun when you start to look at homes- because that’s when a rough idea becomes real, needing to factor your wine into your house hunt. It definitely forced me to think about the future. And a few others too it seems.
Every post is interesting really with all different stages in life and winemaking. And reading about the ones who already ‘been there done that’- and the different things being done to shake it up and keep interesting. — always loved the term ‘garagiste’ even tho I only recently learned the true meaning.
@sdelli great pics! Going commercial is a whole other ballgame. You make wine from Napa grapes IIRC right? Any rough idea on cost per bottle yer? And if your supplier also makes wine will they continue to sell to you knowing you’ve gone commercial?

 

[Mcjeff]

So we have a few acres that we had horses on..kids get older, # of horses and pastures dwindle. I told my wife we need to do something with the land besides just mowing it..She vetoed cattle, sweet corn and other ideas...so my son said what about grapes & wine?...so here we are. Planted Marquette and Cayuga last year, Noiret and Chambourcin to plant this year. A brewer friend wants me to plant hops. So while I'm waiting for them to mature, I built a winemaking area and 240 bottle wine rack. Took a class and have done 4 kits so far and I just ordered some Chilean Juice.....having fun so far, we'll see how far it takes us!

 

[JohnT]

I can't believe you posted this. Not knowing you except for the forum it appears you enjoy making wine and all that goes with it. Be carefull what you wish for.

Winemaking has been a major part of my life for a good thirty years. It has taken my blood, sweat, tears, and a great deal of finances. Although I have been on the receiving end of a lot of aggravation, winemaking has given me great joy. The crush day events, bottling parties, racking parties, and wine tasting parties have been well worth it all. Just simply being able to relax, rest my back, and sip the rewards makes it all worth while.

Winemaking has taught me a great deal about people. Mainly, it has taught me how to tell a true friend from a dishonest jerk that only wants something from you (it's a long story) and how each should be dealt with. In that way winemaking has made me a more grounded person.

I have received awards and accolades galore. Currently my medal count stands at well over 100. This is not bad since I only enter competitions only now and then. I guess a bigger man wouldn't care about external validations, but I have to admit that I do get a boost.

Currently, I run a wine club just for my family and a handful of good friends. The wine we make supplies over a dozen homes and the work involved at this level is something I can't do forever.

In five years, retirement from work will be just around the corner. This means down sizing all aspects of my life such as my house, car, general possessions, and (sadly) winemaking too. This will sadden most of my family, but the tough decisions will need to be made.

My dream is that a family member (I have one in mind) will catch the bug a little harder want to take it over. I would be more than willing to share knowhow and simply hand over all of the equipment. That is, except for a couple of demijohns and a couple of carboys for personal use (I am retired, but not dead). This would be heaven since I could then play a more "let's ask the old man" roll until the Lord calls me home.

This would be wonderful. Winemaking has been in my family blood for over 10 generations and seeing it carried down to the next generation would be a life goal realized.

All in all, I am just in the planning stages now. For this year at least, It will still be "crush as usual". Next year things may be different. Since I age two years, I need to think way ahead.

 

[Kraffty]

@JohnT I was wondering the same - about you slowing down- but the 5 years out from retirement makes a lot of sense. Seems like there are a number of us in that same timeframe and what you say about planning for it is really starting to play into almost all of my decisions at this point. I'm also thinking what year will be our last crush here in california, even thinking what time of year to move that would have the least amount of problems moving our built up supplies of wine. We're pretty fortunate to be able to plan for it and, all in all, really excited about the next phase. I've mentioned moving to Arizona before but haven't really spelled out that the towns were looking at are in or around the Verde Valley which is the home to a growing number of vineyards and wineries. It's a growing and upcoming wine region and I figure why not be there for our second half and watch it grow. Might even try to find some part time volunteer work around a winery. I certainly can't afford to go live in Napa or Sonoma or even Paso Robles. We're actually spending a few days out there towards the end of this month to look at lots. Lori has just about got me talked into buying the land now, planning and designing the house for a few years and then building our own place at the same time we close our company here.

Interesting Post. I guess planning for the next 5 years is essentially setting yourself up for the following 5 years and so on....

Mike

 

[JohnT]

That bit about finding some volunteer work is exactly my though. We plan to move to an upcoming wine area as well and there are about a dozen wineries in the area.

 

[Kraffty]

careful what you plan for... you might end up with a second career as head winemaker for some craft winery.

 

[JohnT]

careful what you plan for... you might end up with a second career as head winemaker for some craft winery.

... with a little luck