This is final blog in this series: Three Ways to Produce Positive ROI in Half the Time or Less. We previously broke down how a traditional winery is actually three separate businesses – growing grapes, making wine and retailing. Using this traditional model, you invest in all three businesses in a series and that it →

Discussed previously in the first blog of this series, Three Ways to Produce Positive ROI in Half the Time or Less, we broke down that a traditional winery is actually three separate businesses – growing grapes, making wine and retailing. Using this traditional model, you invest in all three businesses in series and that it →

In Part 1 of Three Ways to Produce Positive ROI in Half the Time or Less, we discussed the traditional method for building a winery and vineyard from scratch and reviewed cash flow from year 1 through year 10. We saw that, if starting from scratch and planting a vineyard, making wine from your own →

I just returned from Colorado where I attended VinCO. The Colorado Association for Viticulture and Enology (CAVE), Colorado Wine Industry Development Board (CWIDB) and Western Colorado Horticulture Society (WCHS) put on this conference focusing on grape growing, winemaking, and issues pertinent to the business and marketing side of the fruit and wine industries. I came →

It’s the holiday season! Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Cyber Monday,and parties galore. Whether you celebrate Hannukah, Christmas or Kwanzaa…they are all coming up soon. That got me to wondering…do wineries and tasting rooms actually have an increase in traffic and direct sales between Thanksgiving and New Years Day? If your wine is not being distributed, do →

After many books, articles, classes, and consultations about winery ownership and how to build your own winery, the one important topic I find missing, time and time again, is addressing the WHY.  By that I mean, WHY do you want to own a winery?  There are all sorts of businesses you could go into, so →

After a great career as a helicopter pilot in the Army, June Ritterbusch landed in Salado, Texas.  Upon evaluating the market and the busy tourist industry that Salado commands, she set her sight on becoming a winery owner in 2003.  She purchased land in 2004 and planted a vineyard in 2005. That same year, she →

“The tasting room is only second to the label in branding your wine. The biggest mistake owners make regarding their tasting room is making do with what they have instead of creating what they need.” Paul Wagner

Did you know that more than half of applicants lie or distort information on their application? Finding the right people for the job, no matter what position or business, is often frustrating, time consuming, and painful. Either you’re getting a lot of interest, but no one seems to be the right fit or you need →

What is branding? First, branding is not advertising.  It’s not just the company name, logo or label being recognized.  It’s not facts about your winery.  Real branding evokes an emotional response when the consumer sees your label or hears your name. Porsche is high performance, luxury, and cool. Apple is imagination, design and innovation. Yellowtail →