Business Engaged with the Production of Wine Flashcards
What is an estate producer?
An estate producer producers wine exclusively vineyard land that they own or lease
What is the benefit of being an estate producer?
Estate producers have control over all aspects of grape growing and wine making
What is the main drawback of being an Estate Producer?
The cost of managing the vineyards, as well as, equipping and running the winery
What is the second large drawback of being an estate producer?
If there is a difficult vintage, either due to poor growing conditions or loss of crop, there may only be a small portion of wine to produce and sell
List the two options that growers have for selling their grapes
The first option is to enter into a contract with a partner for one or multiple vintages
The second option is to sell grapes on the spot market. Which means that the grower does not have a contract and will sell the grapes at the time of harvest. (This option has the highest risk/reward)
Grower-producers are fairly common in which wine region?
Burgundy
Define what a grower-producer is
A grower-producer is a grower who grows grapes, produces wine, but then sells that wine to a merchant to mature and bottle.
What are the main advantages and disadvantages of being a grower producer?
The advantage is that grower-producers do not have to incur the cost of maturing, bottling and getting the wines to market
The disadvantage is that grower-producers will make a smaller profit than if they had sold the finished wine
What is the french word for merchant?
Negociant
What is the traditional role of a merchant?
The traditional role of a Merchant was to buy immature wine, mature it and sell it under the merchants name.
In many cases the merchant would blend the wines of different producers prior to bottling.
What is the biggest risk associated with being a merchant?
That they do not have control over the grape growing or winemaking process.
How did merchants over come the lack of control over the grape growing and winemaking?
They began to make their own wines and then provide technical support to suppliers so that the wine or grapes were at the required quality.
What is one of the key advantages of being a Merchant?
That even if they have to have higher labor cost due to retaining so many viticulturist and winemakers, they do not have the expense of buying and managing vineyards
What is a micro-negociant?
Small merchants in Burgundy who specialize in small production wines from individual vineyards that can be sold at super-premium prices
What is a grower-merchant?
It is a producer who owns land and produces wines off that land along side wines made from brought-in grapes