Berserker Day coincides almost perfectly with my birthday, so now I tell my wife to please not get me anything since I’ll be spending real coin on myself. My kids realized it was coming up (three boys) and got really interested in whether Flannery and Morgan Ranch Wagyu would be on the slate. Can’t get enough of it, and gave Morgan Ranch Wagyu to my Dad for xmas. This year is going to be painful. Can’t wait!
Also as a PSA, Kitson Wines missed Newbiepalooza, but I had an opportunity to taste through their extremely affordable wines in advance of B-Day. Their pinots are worth a look. A few different styles from nice and light-mid bodied to fuller bodied. Very aromatic wines and excellent cellar defenders. All well made.
So Airbus Tariffs have been suspended since we got a new USTR that actually wants to tackle issues abroad rather than antagonize. But while those tariffs completely halted my ability to import wines, I went ahead and kept importing my olive oil but instead in 1000 liter totes, which were outside of the volume limits of the tariffs. I built my own bottling facility in my warehouse. It’s all semi-manual, 4 head filling station, 1 head Ropp capper and a labeling machine that I put the bottles in twice, front and back! The tariffs made my job harder in some ways, but after also dealing with bottling issues half way around the world, it solved others. Some of the canned seafood I bring in has a 35% tariff based on the invoice price I pay in Spain. Berserker Day allowed me to pay for the bottling facility and the invoices and keep moving forward. Now, to get the winery selling like we were before Juan got sick. It’s all a process and I’m fortunate to have a good team in Spain and the broad reaching arms of people in the wine business along the way including many people here.
Without knowing what will be available, what are folks hoping to see?
I’m a little oversubscribed on Cab and Zin at the moment and I’m hoping for some of the less common varietals, very specifically Cinsault and Gamay. I’ll also be looking for Chenin.
Yep, I’ll be offering my Cinsault once again; my Carignane once again; and a bunch of other non-traditional bottlings . . .and possibly, just possibly some pinots
I was introduced to the Ventresca last year and am now truly loyal. Was hesitant at first, but after some glowing reviews from a few berserkers I took the plunge and won’t look back. Sad to hear about the shipping/pricing issues, but supporting small businesses with amazing products and personal service is really what it’s all about. Thank you Nola. FYI-I may be a friend you just don’t know yet. Just officially became a member about three weeks ago and started posting about a week ago, but I’ve been lurking and was able to get in on some great offers during last years BD including the opportunity to try some of your lovelies. Looking forward to expanding and trying more of your offerings this year.
You are an amateur, unless your measurement is number of full pallets. The idea that the proper number of bottles of wine for me to own is (Current number)+(one bottle) is laughable. I have not bought any since September, so today I bought 30 bottles.
I am in complete agreement with Nola. Everything we buy to produce the wines is jumping in price. It’s a bit nuts.
Add in terrible yields and smoke in 2020, plus low yields again in 2021 and it’s just getting hard to maintain pricing. Because we release very late, and then BD is almost a year from bottling, a lot of the wines we’re offering were bottled before the most recent price jumps. But with 2020 as the next vintage up, we’re going to have to figure out ways to stretch the bottles we have.
I know I’m a contrarian, but I’m hoping all the sellers on BD13 offer the right discounts for themselves as businesses, and not overdo the discounting just because it’s Berserker Day. I’ve gotten involved in BD because I was looking for a way to support the community - and that means both buyers and sellers. Yes I love deals but what I love more are a large number of healthy, long term stable craft wine makers, able to keep making brilliant wine and still take care of themselves, their staff, their land and their families. I would be really sad if BD13 were a race to the bottom. Instead it should be a way to raise some cash, move some wine, engage with the wine loving community and have fun. If the challenges of the last couple of years means that discounts will be smaller than in previous years, that’s fine by me.
Yeah I mean I love a good discount, and won’t buy certain mass produced stuff if the price isn’t right, but people do have to run their business as a business. I want to pay a fair price as dictated by the market that allows the producer to make a good living and keep the business viable. A race to the bottom isn’t good for anybody long term, and a race to the top isn’t good for me, because at a certain price point (that is a lot lower than many on this forum) I need to drop out.
Anyway, some part of BD also seems to be access to limited quantity, library releases, etc. due to our direct relationships with the producer. As long as the producer and the consumer are in a balanced relationship, this ends up building meaningful and hopefully long-lived relationships imo. Getting a great deal isn’t necessarily the important part.
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