Ultramarine Email

WINE TALK
21

I LOVED that wine…such a fun drink…prob top 3 of my all-time fav’s from UM! Brad Baker rated it 73-75pts? [scratch.gif]

22

So you’re saying there’s a chance…

23

Oh…if it’s not profitable at $75 per I don’t like what the future holds. Does anybody have production numbers. Maybe it’s just scale?

24

Ha. My first thought as well.

1 Like
25

Part of it has to be the fact that 4 vintages are still sitting in a cellar/warehouse…profitability will only come over time if you’re holding 4 years of cost without the related revenue

26

This is what I was thinking, but eventually the volume has to grow to be able to catch up with the cost outlay to have 4 vintages in the cellar. Or you take pricing action…

27

I don’t know how long Ultramarine ages theirs, but even with modern Gyropalettes to speed up the riddling etc, it’s gotta be closer to 2 years to get a sparkling wine done in the traditional method to the market, I’d guess. So whenever I see sparklers for sub-$20 in the supermarket, I know they probably used the age old SodaStream method… [wink.gif]

1 Like
28

Oh, man, I thought it was today.

pileon

29

Hmmm, think i’m right around the 2-3 year wait. Hope this is accurate

30

Adam,

It depends on a lot of factors, but a number of producers in Europe are able to make a decent traditional method sparkling wine and sell it in the US for $10-$15 (sometimes less) a bottle. There are a lot of US producers who can make quality traditional method sparkling in the $15-$20 range as well.

31

Interesting. I can’t imagine the economics of scale that need to be in place to be able to do that for that price.

32

In Europe, owning your own vineyards for centuries, having very large volume, and having your premises and equipment paid off helps as does only aging the wine for 12-18 months. In the US, having European ownership helps. People can knock the basic Segura Viudas Brut Reserva wine, but it isn’t a bad wine, just not interesting, but how, for many years, Costco could sell magnums of it for $9-$10 is beyond me.

33

This is spot on. For US wine businesses, big and small, having bought the land decades ago is a giant factor in the difference between profit and loss. Granted, there are a pile of reasons why one company makes money and the other doesn’t in CA wine, but generally a lot of them don’t. So it’s honestly not surprising to me to hear that Ultramarine doesn’t turn a net profit.

34

This is my go to super cheap bubbly. It’s a great mimosa maker of course but good enough to drink on its own as well. Amazing value, but I’ve never found it that cheap!

35

Did anyone get a save the day email for the upcoming release?

36

If anyone is in the Southern California area and not going to take their full allocation or is just kind enough to share their allocation, please let me know!!! :slight_smile:

37

I’ll take anyone and everyone’s passes [smileyvault-ban.gif]

38

Did it already get sent out? I recall they previously mentioned the release was on 9/8. I didn’t get anything…

39

My email history shows “save the date” emails being sent on 8/28 8/29 9/1 since the 2012 vintage. No email yet but I cracked a BdB that was in the fridge and the only bottle of alcohol at home. 3/4 went into a fliptop for tomorrow, and 1 glass to end tonight. [cheers.gif]
bdb.jpg

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Not sent yet