Wine Dreams

2009 SB Label

As a new vintner there are many lessons to be learned.  We will bottle our first white wine next Wednesday.  Our Sauvignon Blanc has been 100% barrel fermented and aged.  We used 100% French oak, but only 20% new.  Before you can bottle a wine you must do complete several things.  You have to design a Label, then once you have the design handled you need to get it approved by the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms, lovingly known as the TTB (Tax and Trade Bureau).  Designing the label was not so bad, and getting it approved was even easier.  The TTB allows you to submit for approval electronically.  It took about a week.  The key of course is to have all of the required governmental warnings and mandatory wording included.

Lesson number on came when my printer decided that since they only 7 days to print my labels that they needed to charge me over 100% more to rush my order.  My sales person at the printer is the worst.  She doesn’t even know who I am and it seems does not really care.  Lesson well learned, get your printing in sooner and develop a relationship with a printer who actually cares and at least remembers who you are after having several conversations on the phone and via email.

Once you have your labels ready to go you of course need glass.  We found a great glass company called Demptos.  Kimberly at Demptos has been nothing but helpful.  She helped me choose glass, and got me samples right away.  Lesson number two.  Clear glass is not called clear glass.  It is Flint.

With the glass and the label ready to go next you need closures and capsules.  We ordered corks and closures from Lafitte.  They were great and helped us get some capsules in a small enough quantity so we did not have to purchase 10,000 when we only need about 1200.  Lesson number three if you want your logo imprinted on the capsule it takes at least 5 to 6 weeks and you need to purchase 10k minimum.

Ok, so we have the glass, the label, closure and capsules.  Next we need to tend to our product the wine.  In preparation for bottling we need to rack the wine from barrel to tank.  Since we have such a small quantity, about 240 gallons or so we cannot use one of the wineries giant tanks.  So we need to rent a small tank.  Tank rental is $200 delivery is $142 each way.  No, you cannot pick up the tank and return it since it has the rental companies name on it.  What a BS rule.  So lesson number four, you can probably buy a tank for about what you would pay to rent it and have it delivered.

Next Wednesday a mobile bottling truck will show up at the winery we will run the wine through final filtration, fill the bottles, put the cork in, the capsule on, label each side and place the bottles back into the case boxes ready to be rushed to our customers tables.

My wife and I tasted the wine tonight before bottling, it is so good.  Very nice acidity, with hints of grapefruit and tropical fruit overtones.  Can’t wait for a warm summer night.

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