Production Values

A recent poll within the wine industry determined that when it comes to impulse buying at the wine store, 76% of consumers select wine based on the design of the label. 

Ok, I actually made that stat up, but I’m sure we can all agree that it’s probably true.  In fact, that really goes for all purchasing decisions consumers make and harks back to my econ days at Vanderbilt.  As the old adage goes, it’s best to have a brand, but if you can’t have a brand, then you better have a pretty label.  (I made that adage up also.)

This is why I’ve spent several weeks trying to design the perfect Dry Run label.  While I realize this wine will never be placed on a store shelf, I’d at least like it to pass for something that could - with matching labels, front and back, and the perfectly coordinated foil capsule at the top.  My goal is to bring it to a party, set it down on the bar next to everyone else’s store purchased contributions, and have it blend in so readily that anyone passing might choose to pick it up and pour it without ever realizing it is homemade.

Oh yeah, and I want it to taste good too.

Anyway, with the bottling of my 2010 Chardonnay and Malbec now just two weeks away, I’ve finally settled on a label I can live with.  Frequent readers here will note that I don’t claim to have any design skills whatsoever, but I did make a genuine effort to steal what ideas I could from those individuals who do.  And so, with that, I present the new official Dry Run Winery labels.  Do they make you thirsty?

  

The Bitch is Back

As of this posting, I’ve now given the Hilton Corot Noir vines five regularly spaced applications of Captan fungicide to avoid another black rot epidemic.  Nonetheless, over the weekend I discovered this season’s first presence of the disease in the vineyard.  Little brown circular spots with a black ring around the edge have formed on about half a dozen or so leaves, which if not addressed can quickly spread to the entire row of vines.  I removed and destroyed those leaves, and will continue to spray every week or so, but I won’t know until later in the summer if the still green, immature berries have been infected.  More photos of the row’s progress are shown here.

The new 2011 Chardonnay is on the right.

Meanwhile, the 2011 Chardonnay has continued to proceed on schedule.  After last year’s difficulty initiating malolactic fermentation, it was a relief to see this year’s version complete MLF in just two weeks, with the corresponding buttery characteristic immediately present.  As demonstrated in this side-by-side comparison of the 2010 and 2011 Chardonnays, the later version needs the benefit of several months of aging to allow all remaining settlement particles to settle, and I still have oak chips to add, but I already feel like my latest production is off to an excellent start.