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Private wine bottling simple, profitable for the small restaurant owner
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Kenwood Cabernet's 2005 Artist Series feautures artist Paul Klee.
It's Friday in Wine Country. The grapes of this year's harvest are memories. Crush's Cabernet air has dissipated. The leaves have taken on the colors of a Minnesota Autumn and the streets and sidewalks packed with European tourists only weeks ago are slowly returning to residential traffic.
We all become a product of our environment, forgetting at times the assets of life, where we live. When I lived in New York, I accepted the theater, museums, and cultural high as a part of everyday life and paid less attention to them than I should have. Upon moving to Minnesota a friend asked if I missed the culture of Manhattan. At that time I missed the abundant conveniences of Manhattan: shirts laundered across the street, a running tab at J.G. Melon, window shopping hikes, and having a Pastrami sandwich and a Heineken delivered at 3:00 a.m. if the need arose.
Sonoma, on the other hand offers other conveniences. Kenwood Vineyards is down the road from my house. And the vineyard recently announced the 2005 Kenwood Artist Series Cabernet Sauvignon. It's the 31st. vintage of the marriage of art and wine and this series showcases artist Pail Klee and winemaker Pat Henderson.
Kenwood Vineyards initiated the artist series with a simple idea: handcraft the best possible Sonoma County Cab and bottle each vineyard with a unique label showcasing a work of fine art. The original bottle featured a work created expressly for the label by famed poster artist David Lance Goines. In subsequent years the artist series presented works by Miro, Calder, Picasso and Van Gough. An impressive collection of artists for an idea hat began as something so simple, so long ago.
In a recent interview Dan Akroyd explained how his love of wine began while he was filming The Blue Brothers. His palate was experiencing more Beaujolais Nouveau than hardier reds back then until a friend introduced him to Cabernet. Today, DeLoach Vineyards produces a variety of hearty reds for the entertainer.
Wine production is an immense undertaking. For the vintners, growers and experts who tend the grapes it is a full time, year round project partnering with Mother Nature.
But for restaurant owners, private wine labeling is not out of the ordinary. Programs vary in cost and quality, but surprisingly, there is a wide array of quality wines the small restaurant owner can bottle and label under their own brand for sale in the restaurant.
It takes time and effort. Label design and development is not costly, but it needs to be done with a creative flair and branding in mind. Once the label is completed, it needs to be approved in most states by the Liquor Control Commission. Once that process is complete- which is relatively simple- the label is glued on and you are suddenly the proud owner of your own wine label.
This will be a large ego boost. You'll give a case or two away, the first weekend you have it delivered. You will walk the dining room letting people taste it. And then you will realize that the perception of what you have done suddenly elevates the stature of your restaurant if the pour is worthy.
Private wine labeling is an enjoyable winter project. It is cost effective, it's a tremendous way to "raise it up a notch" and it is something to talk about to your customers. Ask you wine representative for more information on how to develop your own private label wine.
Simple ideas often turn into great ventures. Take a look at the 2005 Kenwood Artist Series Cabernet.
Have an enjoyable weekend. Could someone please send me a pastrami sandwich?
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