In many cases, these ‘labels’ simply get samples of finished wines from a third party, let them know that this lot or that lot is okay, have the wines bottled and they slap their own label on it - OR they may just purchase shiners (already bottled wines with no labels) and slap their own labels on it.Ī big difference to me. I work with specific vineyards and go into the vineyards, meet with the vineyard management team, discuss the plans for the harvest, test my blocks during harvest, determine pick dates, take the fruit in, foot stomp all my own reds, supervise cellar staff to do what I can’t in the cellar, do all of my own punchdowns, barrel down my wines as best as I can myself, choose the used barrel selection for each lot, monitor each lot during elevage, put final blends together, and oversee bottling. So is that really any different? I’d argue it isn’t. The guy who owns it does nothing but drink it and sell it. They own no vineyards (that I am aware of) and their winemaker is part time. They outsource the grapes, the winemaker, etc. The latter is no different than many wines, even some highly rated wines. These people are simply doing the same or removing one more step which is outsourcing who makes their wine. Is it really no different than what you do? You don’t own vineyards, you buy grapes and make wine. The ‘barrier to entry’ in the wine biz has never been lower or easier, and you as consumers are about to be even more inundated with new labels.
They’ll put a picture up on the website of a ‘winemaker’ next to vines, with a quote about how this person is ‘committed to the land’. Every large production house and custom crush facility offers ready to go wines, not only from CA but you can literally bottle and Italian blend from Italy that will be purchased in bulk, shipped over by large container, and then bottled specifically for you.Īnd guess what - the consumer will have no clue. Yep, there are tons of operations like this popping up - and I expect even more to do so in the coming years. Should I be ordering these so I can brag that I followed HoudiniWines from the very start? Anybody know who Hillarie is? Is she a hot wine chick I should get to know? This seems like a really good deal…prices are reasonable. However, for obvious reasons, we have assured these vineyard owners that we wouldn’t disclose their identities. And much of the grapes and juice that we use to produce this wine comes from some of the premier growing regions and vineyards around California, names you would instantly recognize. Less people involved gives us more control so we can produce higher quality wines at a much better price than you will find elsewhere. Through our connections, we directly source the best California grapes and work with our winemaker to produce the consistently good wines that Houdini/Wine Country Gift Baskets have become known for over the last several years. These relationships have allowed us to source our own grapes and work with the winemakers to create many wines that we know our customers and their gift recipients will enjoy.Ĭutting out the middlemen allows us to remain involved in the entire process. During this time we have tasted thousands of wines and met a variety of characters including some of the best wine grape growers and winemakers in California. Houdini and Wine Country Gift Baskets have been in the wine business, sourcing and selling wine, for over 30 years.
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