Our little wine project out in Bolinas has exceeded our wildest expectations. We started out three years ago with a plot of land and a single (used) barrel of Dry Creek merlot buried under some pine trees. We’d occasionally thief some out, taste it, have a fun day in Bolinas, and wait till the gods told us to bottle it, which we did, last year. The experiment went so well and we enjoyed it so much that, the next year, we upped it to five barrels — three of syrah and two of sauvignon blanc. Each barrel contains 60 gallons, or roughly 300 bottles (25 cases) of wine. But don’t get too worried about my liver: I have two partners!
We bottled most of the syrah and all of the sauv blanc, and I must say: they’re really delicious. Even more important, it’s been an absolute blast. We bought the crushed grape juice from trusted growers and just let it do its thing in the cool and groovy climate of Bobo.
There’s something wildly satisfying about popping open a bottle with our regular meals, yet one more piece of the overall food picture in place, alongside herbs and flowers from the yard, meat from the whole animals we buy from (again) trusted farmers/ranchers, veggies and fruits from, yet again, farmers we like. It’s gratifying beyond description to be fortunate enough to eat and drink in this manner.
If anyone out there is considering making a little wine on a very small scale . . . do it!
Have a happy 4th, everyone.
Wow! That’s really neat! You have meals that everyone dreams… I’m so jealous. Have a happy 4th!
The look on your face is pure joy……we sell our excess blueberries and also cut flowers (sweet peas and other old fashioned flowers) for fun…….we have 20 acres of unused hillside land(in the mid willamette valley ) we’ve been considering putting in grapes…..
If you don’t mind sharing – how did the economics of your 1 barrel experiment work? Did you calculate your ~cost/bottle?
ps. hope you hit the Bolinas parade on the 4th. Classic Bobo.
Thanks Em! Marianne, I’m surprised you as a Willamettite don’t have some in the ground already; although blueberries actually sound better in some ways.
Alex, I can’t break it all down without the consent of my partners, but you can roughly figure that you can get good juice from a reputable grower for about $10/gallon and used barrels for less than $100, plus bottles, corks, and any bottling rental equipment. And of course the more you do, the more it all amortizes out. Email me for more specifics if you want.
i opened one bottle last night – ling-rah – delicious! thank you again.
Glad you liked it Alison. Which reminds me: I have quite a bit of this stuff, so if anyone would like a case, email me!
So completely jealous! Three years?! Well I suppose I better get started right now if I wanna make this stuff too. Thanks for posting!