Another Year in the Vat

By Doug Fabbioli The juice has been pressed from the fruit, fermentation is complete and now the wine is resting in vats or barrels. The skins and seeds from the grapes are in the compost pile transforming into the black gold that will be returned to the field. The leaves are off the vines and have blown into the surrounding fields. The crew has been winterizing equipment, cleaning up the landscape and generally catching up on some of the jobs that were not as critical to address during the growing season. We have plenty of work ahead of us and spring will be here before we know it, but naturally the end of the year is a fitting time for reflection. There seems to be some significant interest in buying and selling local wineries lately. Maybe it’s the age of the industry, or the businesses, or the owners, but I certainly see some shifts coming soon. This business is not for the faint of heart. High capital investment, slow returns and agriculture in general adds up to challenges that m

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