Subject: Orangewood Wines Newsletter - Volume 3, Issue 34 – December 30, 2009
Sent: Wednesday, December
30, 2009, 10:33am
Another year and another decade, come to a close. It’s time for reflection or perhaps a glass
of
New Restaurants: 3
New Retail/Wine Bar Outlets 1
New Wineries 0
New Sales Consultants 0
New Office Person 1
New Warehouse 1
Winemaking Method of the Month
6751 Sunset Boulevard, Suite E-110
(623) 877-4760
(480) 994-148
(480) 423-7000
(
(480) 596-8200
It was a year and a half ago that I had tried to recruit
someone to help in the office. Fortunately,
that did not work out and we kept our overheads low through the recession; but
now that we are optimistic about our prospects, we are training someone to run
the office, and thus free Laurie and I up from our desks. Sylvia is someone we have been meeting on our
hikes in the mornings, but recently it occurred to us that she might be
interested in helping with the business.
With a very rich background that includes writing, sales and attending
seminary, she has the kind of experience that will adapt well to the bedlam
that happens in our office. Don’t be
surprised to hear her voice when you call.
Unfortunately, the warehouse we were using up to a week or
so ago was about to go into foreclosure.
We did some research on alternatives and picked one close to the
Intersection of 101 and 202 in
It was autumn of 1989 and a beautiful Monday to drive from
In
These wines are usually made from Chardonnay or Pinot Noir
grapes, and the resulting wine is often referred to as blanc
de blanc or blanc de noir, respectively. Or the name is left blanc (as opposed to right blanc) if it’s a blend.
Once primary fermentation is complete, the wine is put into bottles – the same
bottle the wine is eventually sold in – inoculated with some yeast for a
secondary fermentation and then capped with a crown cap (those things you
usually associate with a beer bottle and then put in riddling racks to prepare
for removal of the dead yeast. Riddling racks are wooden boards that are
riddled with holes. The bottles start off with the necks largely pointing
up. Each bottle is turned 1/4 turn per
day and the bottom is raised just a bit with each turn to work the yeast into
the neck of the bottle. At the end of
the process the wine is fully fermented and the neck is level with the
bottom. For sparkling wine. the
dent (or punt) in the bottom of the bottle is there to make the bottle easier
to grasp and turn. You may notice a mark, like a painted line, that helps
the cellar rat know how much to turn the wine, and remind him or her where they
have got to on the rack after a break.
The next step in the process is disgorgement – getting the
yeast out of the bottle. Laurie and I
were lucky enough to visit Frank Family Vineyards one day when the team was
disgorging. The end result of this process is supposed to be a bottle with an
oversized cork in it and the wire cage holding it in place. Hmm, we now
have a bottle with a beer cap and a load of old yeast in there, not to mention
all the carbon dioxide produced by the secondary fermentations. Seems
there is a problem here. The yeast is now conveniently located at the top
of the neck – the whole point of that riddling was to collect it there - and
here is what they do: put the bottle neck down in super cooled brine or glycol,
so the wine in the neck of the bottle just below the yeast freezes. Ah
ha! The bottle is then turned upright, the beer cap removed and
carbonation in the bottle blows the yeast out. Now it is almost ready for its
cork. Almost. The only issue is what to put in
the bottle in place of the yeast.
It’s called dosage. Frank Family, like some super premium facilities, top up with
vintage cognac. Most add wine
with extra sugar dissolved in it. So
there you have it. Add a label and the wine is ready for market.
Orangewood
Wines carries traditionally made sparkling wines from:
Richard Grant Winery
Frank Family Vineyards
Last month I was left gazing at my navel wondering what was
happening with the world. Now that
Christmas is behind us and the New Year is imminent, I have further examined my
navel… Orangewood Wines was conceived
nine years ago, shipped its first 3 bottles of wine 6
months later. We grew steadily until two
years ago. We dropped a little in 2008
and stayed at the same level in 2009. In
2010 our plan is to resume growth. We think
we are well positioned for this. Our
weaker (or maybe unluckier) competitors have gone out of business or
merged. Our stronger competitors should
have worked through the oversupply of wine and will be stopping the ridiculous
wine deals they were making for most of 2009.
Our customer friendly policies are paying off with loyal existing
customers and new customers. Our
portfolio has strengthened over the last nine years making us more attractive
to both customers and sales people. We
are poised for growth. Enough of words. Our
actions this month, recruiting someone to help in the office and moving to a
new and bigger warehouse, demonstrate our optimism about what is
happening. Thank you navel for your
insights!
The Rambler
rambles on…
Best
wishes for the New Year and New Decade from all of us at Orangewood Wines,
Richard
(newsletter writer), Laurie (editor) and
Orangewood
Wines