Orange Wine

Bottles, Books and Business

“Which wine sells best?” I asked the tasting room manager.

“Depends on season: reds in winter, whites in summer.” I knew that men tend toward reds, women like sweeter whites. I paused a moment to fill the new manager in on what had happened the previous vintage.

“Or last manager, the one who unsuccessfully bid to buy the winery, thought we offered too many red blends. He favored just one expensive big, bold red, something heavy on tannat. It was annoying having him hover over the blending trials I did last year, but you know what? The blend I thought had far too much tannat, won a gold medal at the San Francisco Chronicle International Wine Competition last week…”

Different people have different tastes. They always precaution winemakers against blending exclusively to their own tastes. After all, the three thousand people in the wine club buy the most wine and it was to their collective palates, not my own, the final result should appeal.

****

We talked about making an orange wine last season and did a small lot as a trial. I am not a fan of this style but Jacob, the assistant, was so eager I encouraged him to give it a shot.

“Sweet, off-dry or dry?”

“Good question: we could go either way.”

Winemakers never add sugar to dry wines, the ones with no sweetness. To make a sweet wine, the fermentation process is stopped before the active yeast consume all the sugar of the original grape juice.

“Make it sweet. Another dry orange or white would compete with the our other whites, Sauvignon blanc and chardonnay…”

“What will be in the Mandolin this year? We’re out in pole barn case storage, and people, the regular wine club members are asking for it…”

“It is most often a blend of traminette and a few other whites, but we don’t grow Vidal blanc anymore.”

“By the way, how are your tastings set up?”

“We have red or white flights of four as samplers.”

****

There is reason behind the order of serving.

The classic tasting (or formal meal) follows a long-establish established schedule. It is one of the first things taught in courses like the Wine and Spirits Education Trust (WSET) series, an international organization based in the UK that traces its roots to a London wine guild of the 1300s.

In general, the rules are these.

Sparkling whites first, then still whites from light to heavy; then rose’ wines, then reds light to heavy. Finally, as with port served with a meal, port (or dessert wine) usually heavy, dark and sweet, completes the program.

…..

Of business models, there are a few.

Some wineries aim for high volume in which less care (usually manifested by fewer staff in the cellar) is taken to render the wines long-lived. In addition to French varietals, such wineries may offer fruit wines, chocolate wines and other novelty that may raise questions among the strict, conservative operations.

We are talking twelve dollar a bottle that are usually consumed soon after purchase, not laid up in a wine collection to age. Such are generally non-ageworthy.

There are those who opt for a more narrow spectrum of styles and a more modest total production. This approach is often found among the middle grade boutique and family wineries. The range of styles offered must be balanced with quality targets.

In Virginia, such mid grade wines run about twenty-eight dollar a bottle.

Then there those elitist wineries who struggle fort a limited offering of three or four types of wines. The only way this can be sustained is by very a high price point for tastings and bottles. The clientele for such fine, serious wine is well-heeled and exclusive.

These are wines that retail for eighty to a hundred twenty per bottle.

….

As I mulled over such things, it dawned on me there were marketing principles from the winery that apply to Substack.

What is the business plan, if income is the objective of writing?

Do you offer one style and aim at one niche? Or many, and let the readership pick?

It may be worth considering a broad range of styles to see how the readers react.

When you think about it, this triage method applies to any creative endeavor. Some writers experiment with many styles, lengths and market before they settle into the one that suits them best.

Maybe its a mistake to decide, without “bench trials”, which direction to take. Remember: you write for them, not for yourself if income is the objective. The readership may surprise you.

When chatting with a major Maryland winemaker, winery owner and entrepreneur the harvest I worked at Breaux in Virginia, I asked him how he worked out which grape varietals to grow (he was the first winemaker at Breaux), that decision being critical for investment capital and eventual success of such a large gamble as a winery.

“I just threw them at the wall to see what would stick.”