Winedavid39 wrote:all very good points indeed..

I'm pretty sure you've got my number from my account info, feel free to call. I'll even drop you off by the stadium.

MarkDaSpark wrote:We love it when you hang around after your offerings. Drop into the Cyber-Pub (over on the World of Woot Wine) too sometime. Always welcome!

Just sometimes we jump the gun .... WD will sometimes drop hints as to what's coming up, which always excites us wineaux!

I remember this from my first run. It's a good example of why this community is different then the others. You could still be correct....or not!

CTmasterblender wrote:I remember this from my first run. It's a good example of why this community is different then the others. You could still be correct....or not!

That's just mean, teasing poor Sparky like that.

I almost typed Sparkly, that might have been meaner

I know it's off topic, but one of our fellow wooters, the very lovely Michelle Sisk (aka michelleshari), and her mom are participating in the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer this weekend in the Rocky Mountains. They've both met their personal goals, but their team, and the cause, could still use some support. You can find them here: Solo Strutters

bhodilee wrote:That's just mean, teasing poor Sparky like that.

I almost typed Sparkly, that might have been meaner

Hey, hey, hey. "That's once ... "

MarkDaSpark wrote:Hey, hey, hey. "That's once ... "

twice


THREEEEEE times a Sparkly

bhodilee wrote:twice


THREEEEEE times a Sparkly

That's twice ...... bodily harm may come with thrice

MarkDaSpark wrote:That's twice ...... bodily harm may come with thrice

But do beans come with the thrice?

bhodilee wrote:But do beans come with the thrice?

Nope, no reflied beans with the thrice. Just wedding cake after the thrice ....

bhodilee wrote:That's just mean, teasing poor Sparky like that.

I almost typed Sparkly, that might have been meaner

Ha! just spit out my water, thanks!

Great game last night and a perfect night for ball- (took my son) Its going to be a little sticky here tonight. Your other option after the game is the Old Market area. lots of food and wine choices- great walking area- easy walk to hotel if you are at Hilton or one of the other DT hotels. ENJOY! go WC Bulldogs!

Wine Tour posted over in the RPM tour blog

CTmasterblender wrote:There are so many factors that go into producing a bottle of wine. I produce bottles of wine from $14 to $85 a bottle retail. If you’re in the bulk juice market, you can cut out a lot of costs and can provide wines at a better price. If you had to produce the wines from start to finish you have a lot more costs. Here is a Napa Valley breakdown: custom crush fees (if you don’t own you own winery, which also carries a little cost to it) $35 - $50 (goes as high as $150) a case, 50% new oak (American $10, French $20), Fruit - Napa Average Cabernet $69 a case (2007 Napa Valley average was $4,300 a ton), packaging $15 a case (very basic), bottling $4-$6 a case, winemaker if you need one $20 (low to mid range) a case. This doesn't count the costs of money being tide up for 2 years, traveling, marketing, samples (for trade and personal consumption once you figured out what you just got yourself into...), health insurance, life insurance....(all this can add up to20% to 30% of sales) say $40 a case (20%). This is working at par. Here is the tough part, most people look at these costs and look at it from a retail perspective and we all wish we could sell everything at retail! But, in the real world, most of the wine is being sold at FOB to our out of state markets, which is 50% of retail. Put these costs together and you have roughly $204 in per case or $17 per bottle which translates into a $34 retail, $204 FOB. You still haven't factored in making a profit on all your work and travels. I’m not trying to be a syndic, but I like people to understand what goes into a bottle of wine. On the bulk side, you buy juice, blend and may need to do a little winemaking, bottle it and start selling – fun and straight forward.
This obviously all depends on quantity of scale, but it's pretty accurate for the small producer of 7,000 case and under.

CT absolutely nails this on the head and wooters, this level of info usually doesn't leave the office. You're getting a very good picture of the cost of making wine, albeit from a negociant POV.

The only real difference for us, we have eliminated the custom crush fees (but spent $$$ on property and equipment, but now it's an asset) and we "buy" fruit from our own vineyard (that we set up as a separate entity) and our fruit costs are 1/3 of what we'd pay for Napa fruit. The biggest cost increase I have seen in three years is freight. We eat shipping on winery-direct wholesale in CA, the wholesalers eat it out of state. We charge exact shipping on consumer-direct (freight plus cost of materials). Some wineries make a little money on shipping, but my guess is fewer are doing this these days. We actually offer free shipping on a case (12 bots) in a few states and it's been popular.

dfvlee wrote:CT absolutely nails this on the head and wooters, this level of info usually doesn't leave the office. You're getting a very good picture of the cost of making wine, albeit from a negociant POV.

The only real difference for us, we have eliminated the custom crush fees (but spent $$$ on property and equipment, but now it's an asset) and we "buy" fruit from our own vineyard (that we set up as a separate entity) and our fruit costs are 1/3 of what we'd pay for Napa fruit. The biggest cost increase I have seen in three years is freight. We eat shipping on winery-direct wholesale in CA, the wholesalers eat it out of state. We charge exact shipping on consumer-direct (freight plus cost of materials). Some wineries make a little money on shipping, but my guess is fewer are doing this these days. We actually offer free shipping on a case (12 bots) in a few states and it's been popular.

the people making money are those damn packing and shipping companies. Worse than ebay!

Thanks for the overview!

I'd like to add: Go Bulldogs (FSU).

I went to Cal Poly and support Big West baseball. I was set to go to FSU out of high school, but changed my mind and went to Cuesta and played baseball for a full season, hurt my shoulder in summer ball and decided that a career in wine was the next best thing to playing ball

WD, sorry to sidetrack, are we still on schedule for sparklers arriving before 7/4?

I've already posted this on the labrat report page, but in case you haven't found that yet:

Checking in with a preliminary labrat report on the 2004 Merlot (at least that's what it said on the label):
I know it's not even 4:00 in here in Buffalo, but the wine has been here over an hour now, I've got it cooled down to a proper drinking temperature, and I can't wait. I'm even waiving my customary "refusal" to drink alone. I just poured a bit into a nice big glass, swirled it around a few times, and I'm looking at the color. Even in such a small amount, there's a big, deep, rich garnet color. I look at the label again. It still says Merlot.
I detect a faint hint of alcohol on the nose, with pepper and plum. With just a sip, the alcohol recedes to the background, and there is plenty of flavor to replace it. Cherries, plums, still some pepper, maybe even a little vanilla. OK, now I'm looking back at the specs on this beauty, and I find 9% Cab. Doesn't seem like enough to give it all that structure. It must be that these winemakers know where to grow Merlot grapes and how to make a really good wine from them. Mind you, I've never been a Merlot-hater ("I'm not drinking any effing Merlot"), but those who think they are should try this.
I have to go finish getting dinner ready (an alfresco repast of curried chicken salad with grapes, celery, and sliced almonds, while waiting for the curtain to go up on King Lear). I had a different wine in mind for that, but this one should do nicely.
I'll be back later with more on this wine, but if you're still on the fence, you've got less than 9 hours to get down and push the buy button.

clayfu wrote:the people making money are those damn packing and shipping companies. Worse than ebay!

And here I thought it was the oil companies...FedEx and UPS at least have had crummy earnings.

aces219 wrote:And here I thought it was the oil companies...FedEx and UPS at least have had crummy earnings.

Not nearly as bad as the post office. But what's a few hundreds of millions between taxpayers?

clayfu wrote:the people making money are those damn packing and shipping companies. Worse than ebay!

Thanks for the overview!

Not lately. All the shippers are eating gasoline costs as well. Most of them are probably not profitable at present, and you should expect some significant price increases in the near future.

Must be good if a discriminating person like a trombone player likes it.

DonaldWilliams wrote:I've already posted this on the labrat report page, but in case you haven't found that yet:

Checking in with a preliminary labrat report on the 2004 Merlot (at least that's what it said on the label):
I know it's not even 4:00 in here in Buffalo, but the wine has been here over an hour now, I've got it cooled down to a proper drinking temperature, and I can't wait. I'm even waiving my customary "refusal" to drink alone. I just poured a bit into a nice big glass, swirled it around a few times, and I'm looking at the color. Even in such a small amount, there's a big, deep, rich garnet color. I look at the label again. It still says Merlot.
I detect a faint hint of alcohol on the nose, with pepper and plum. With just a sip, the alcohol recedes to the background, and there is plenty of flavor to replace it. Cherries, plums, still some pepper, maybe even a little vanilla. OK, now I'm looking back at the specs on this beauty, and I find 9% Cab. Doesn't seem like enough to give it all that structure. It must be that these winemakers know where to grow Merlot grapes and how to make a really good wine from them. Mind you, I've never been a Merlot-hater ("I'm not drinking any effing Merlot"), but those who think they are should try this.
I have to go finish getting dinner ready (an alfresco repast of curried chicken salad with grapes, celery, and sliced almonds, while waiting for the curtain to go up on King Lear). I had a different wine in mind for that, but this one should do nicely.
I'll be back later with more on this wine, but if you're still on the fence, you've got less than 9 hours to get down and push the buy button.

is their a link to the labrat report page or is it eyes-only? please post link,ty

Labrat update:
Bonnie got home in time to try the Merlot before we head to the park to see King Lear at the 2nd largest FREE outdoor Shakespeare festival in the US (We're both on the Board of Directors.). She picked up the same spiciness (pepper?) in the nose that I noticed, but she caught a whiff of cherry that I didn't get until I sipped it. We have drunk a lot of wine together, and tend to have similar taste, if only by chance. After tasting it (just a sip, really), she has pronounced it "full-bodied, smooth, I like it."
We'll be back later. Meanwhile, another vote for getting off the fence, and pressing that Buy button.

EDIT: I almost forgot, I used to play the trombone, too!

boaz38 wrote:is their a link to the labrat report page or is it eyes-only? please post link,ty

http://wine.woot.com/Forums/ViewPost.aspx?PostID=2292848&PageIndex=1&ReplyCount=76

deejanke wrote:Must be good if a discriminating person like a trombone player likes it.

What does that make tuba players?

ptoledo wrote:What does that make tuba players?

ridiculed?

bhodilee wrote:ridiculed?

Oh yes, band kids torturing other band kids about their stature. This makes for amusement.

canonizer wrote:Oh yes, band kids torturing other band kids about their stature. This makes for amusement.

I concur, now we just need to hear from the wind and string instruments.....

canonizer wrote:Oh yes, band kids torturing other band kids about their stature. This makes for amusement.

this one time, at bandcamp, I never went there, cause I'm musically inept. I've never played an instrument or sang. I'm incapable.

on a side note i just got my replacement ty bottles and my mumm

bkarney wrote:I concur, now we just need to hear from the wind and string instruments.....

Also a trombone player here... Hoping that the CT idea is correct, although I'd really like some Moffett. Would be a bit more pricey, but oh so yummy.

ptoledo wrote:on a side note i just got my replacement ty bottles and my mumm

replacements?? what happened to the originals?

I used to play the baritone - the Hephaestus of the horn family... except not all that utilitarian.

For those of you who've gotten your Mumm order, what state or region are you in?

Just curious...

crisangel wrote:I used to play the baritone - the Hephaestus of the horn family... except not all that utilitarian.

For those of you who've gotten your Mumm order, what state or region are you in?

Just curious...

Yeah, mine hasn't shipped yet.

bhodilee wrote:this one time, at bandcamp, I never went there, cause I'm musically inept. I've never played an instrument or sang. I'm incapable.

I'm with you on that one...wonder where that puts us.

clayfu wrote:or they have a style they prefer over another one , a style they prefer so much they they are bias against the style that is directly contrasting it.

I had two french winemakers tell me how much california wine is swill. Does that mean california wine is bad? I had a group of prominent california pinot producers hate on other pinots that are picked at a normal period of time opposed to the ultra ripe grape picking so many pinot producers do now.. is that bad?

just preference is all. I could honestly not care how long someone's been in the wine biz, we all have our preferences. One man's trash is another man's gold.

Actually, the others aren't in the biz, and we often don't agree on preference. We can agree whether a wine is well made but we just don't care for it. The wine in question was not well made, so this wasn't a matter of stylistic preference.

SonomaBouliste wrote:Actually, the others aren't in the biz, and we often don't agree on preference. We can agree whether a wine is well made but we just don't care for it. The wine in question was not well made, so this wasn't a matter of stylistic preference.

you basically described a fruit bomb in your description. Some people actually like that kind of stuff.

clayfu wrote:you basically described a fruit bomb in your description. Some people actually like that kind of stuff.

There wasn't any fruit, that I could tell

SonomaBouliste wrote:There wasn't any fruit, that I could tell

fine then i am wrong ^_^

Winedavid39 wrote:sorry.

Meh...my Ty catons are waiting for my wootleg trip...they are in good company as I have several woots to pick up, so my sore feelings will be AOK soon!