A little over 4 years ago (November 18th 2005 to be exact) I wrote the following:

Welcome to pintoblogger.com, a blog I’ve created to outline the long and painful processes involved in starting and building a family winery in the Russian River Valley.

I’ll be honest, just typing the words above was daunting. I have no illusions that the project will be either quick or painless, but, as they say, nothing worth doing ever is. How bad can things really get when you’ve got the opportunity to build something you are truly passionate about anyway? I guess we’ll find out!

Maybe I’ll look back on this blog three years from now shocked at my own naivety. Maybe I’ll be a shattered man, broken on the rocks of eno-commerce. Or maybe we’ll have made some great, distinctive wine we’ll be proud to call our own. Either way it shakes out, it should be interesting to read.

Well it’s been over three years and I still don’t have any wine to sell (though I have plenty to drink). The length of gestation of this project hasn’t come as any surprise to me, as my initial post shows, but I have been at times perplexed and disappointed at the twists and turns the saga has taken.

In 2007 we were to crush at Vinify which, if it had actually occurred (botched compliance paperwork by our consultant torpedoed the deal), would have meant that our inaugural release would have been this year. This was disappointing at the time, but in hindsight perhaps it was a blessing. Clearly 2009 was not a good year to spring a new luxury Pinot on the market.

In 2008, licking our wounds, we decided that we would start construction on our winery ahead of launching the brand in the marketplace. It was a bold move, but the numbers panned out even at very small production levels (we happen to have some good construction industry connections). While our banker was skeptical, he seemed to be willing to move forward based on both a strong marketing and business plan and some really novel ideas about how to get the wine into the hands of consumers. Indeed, my current biz plan still calls for a completely revolutionary way of looking at tasting rooms. I’m very excited to put it into action.

But then the great crash happened, banks became saddled with illiquid debt, became horrifically risk averse, and we became less attractive as a result of our own financial issues. Yuk.

So, back to square one. Custom crush. Pragmatic, but constraining. Such is life.

Luckily I’m being assisted by a good friend and will have a small amount of wine coming to market next year.

Through the entire roller-coaster ride, this blog and the folks I’ve met through it (and via Twitter) have been a constant source of encouragement. Pinotblogger has opened many doors for me both professionally and personally, I’ve contributed to textbooks on wine marketing, speak regularly at universities, was approached by a literary agent (Candace Bushnell’s no less) about turning our story into a book, and our mailing list is approaching 1700 people. Good times.

I regret not one day. Not one. It’s been quite a ride, and I can’t wait to see how the first act of this play ends. Even if it takes another four years!

Thanks for reading, for your continued support, and for joining me on the journey. I’ve got mad love for you.

Photo by farleyj

Capozzi Winery