Peter Pan Producers

People sometimes wonder why we are a small winery. Why don’t you produce more? they ask. Why don’t you distribute in more states? Why don’t you charge more? Why don’t you pour at more events?

The answer is, because we don’t want to grow up. We don’t want to become a large winery. As we have both worked for larger wineries, we have seen every advantage of growth—and every sorrow. Here are ten reasons why we are small. I haven’t used the word ‘passion’ once. That’s because ‘madness’ is probably more appropriate.

Ten reasons why some wineries are small:

1. They are "small and unsuccessful."
2. Financial freedom
3. Individual goals
4. Artistic independence
5. Time efficiency
6. Family bonding
7. Daily variety
8. Personal connection with the product
9. Personal connections with our customers
10. Because we can.

1. They are "small and unsuccessful."

In the eRobert Parker discussion forums, someone asked, "What is your definition of a ‘boutique’ winery?" and another member responded, "Small and not successful."

Dan and I have worked for, and are friends with, owners of larger, more ‘successful’ wineries. One night in the cellar of one such winery, I was invited to join in blending trials, and during the long evening and much barrel sampling, the winemaker said to me, "This is as close to winemaking as I get anymore. I never even drive the forklift. And do you know what I really miss? I miss being in the vineyard every day."

Another winemaker, who is also a pilot, complained, "Most of the time I’m flying a desk. It’s a never-ending chain of paperwork and human resources."

A prison of circumstance, this is analogous to taking a boxer out of the ring at the top of his game because his ‘success’ has elevated him to promotion.

2. Financial freedom

You might think that growth presents more opportunities for financial stability and freedom, but in fact that’s seldom true.

Some people come into the business with more money than God, and some succeed if they buy the best grapes, equipment, and people. But as often as not, many get discouraged because they did not plan well for these huge capital outlays. They look at quietly reposing barrels, and vines dancing in the breeze and they assume that the wine business is easy.

The fact is that most people building fantastical tasting rooms, huge production facilities, olive-lined drives and impressive gates are relying on partners and loans. Many ‘successful’ wineries are leveraged to the hilt. One young winemaker told me that his salary was routinely paid 6 weeks late, while the "staff" (composed primarily of the owner’s family) were always paid on time. He felt that he was lucky at his age to have a primary winemaking position, so he held on as long as he could, but eventually he quit, for the sake of his pride as well as his pocketbook. He is now a cellarman for a renowned winemaker, and in that position he is happier, more secure, and will learn much more in the long run.

While many larger wineries are actually well run and professionally financed, it nevertheless remains that there are looming economic pressures to produce and profit at a certain level.

In our case, we have turned away investors and even offers of more money from our lenders. In addition to Dan and myself, two other family members have invested in Dover Canyon, and we are comfortable with that. No matter what ‘outside’ investors say initially, there will come a point when they expect a return—and often the return they imagine receiving from a winery is far greater than the economics that small, or even medium, production will allow.

3. Individual goals

Our desire to remain a family firm with a small production is personally selfish as well as financially practical. We are both fiercely independent, and enjoy our work most when it is an expression of our individual goals and talents. Just look at our label, for example. Dan refused to abandon the dog label long before "critter" labels were popular. Our label was criticized for being "unglamorous," "stupid," and "not serious." Dan said, "It’s funny, I like it, and it stays."

Like the label, there are other things we do because . . . we can. With little debt and no outside partners, our choices can be uniquely individualistic.

4. Artistic independence

All winemakers claim to have this, of course. But even at our tiny level of production we feel the pressure of supply and demand pushing against us like a Sumo wrestler. Perhaps that’s not the best analogy, because the dance between producer and customer is romantic, even sexy. Our customers breathe deeply of our perfume, drink us in. They murmur sweet compliments. They introduce us to their families. We are so in love with our customers. We are very grounded in who we are; we have already decided that choices of fruit, harvest, barrels, and yeast are ours alone, as unique to us as our hair, eyes and laughter. So the dance between us and our clientele is relaxed, expressive, with an undercurrent of sultry tension.

Our most challenging artistic choices involve source vineyards. Some vineyards might bring us acclaim, but if the price tag is vanity and the owners are high maintenance, they are cut from the list. Too many successful wineries have been brought to their knees financially by contention and contracts between the vineyard and winery, not to mention a huge waste of personal time in dealing with these issues. Other vineyards surprise us with their upcoming talent and dedication to quality; we are proud to feature designate wines from these otherwise not-yet-discovered vineyards.

5. Time and efficiency

How many people are needed to run a vineyard, winery, office, tasting room, and shipping center? What levels of production are most efficient? And most satisfying? At what point would Dan end up "flying a desk" instead of driving the tractor and racking wine? At one point in his career, Dan was able to produce 20,000 cases a year with one assistant. However, he had no office, marketing, tasting room, or vineyard duties. Together, we have decided that as an experienced couple, we can handle a production of 5,000 cases and a 10-acre vineyard, with seasonal vineyard crews and a part-time sales staff. If we go beyond that, we risk becoming coaches instead of players.

6. Family bonding and personal strengths

No mattter how great your wine is, at certain levels of production, winery owners must travel. And it can be great fun—Charlotte, New York, Atlanta, Aspen, Seattle—all great destinations with high-ticket events. However, Dan and I are homebodies. We hate road rash. We love cooking for friends, grilling, and casual entertaining. We are the Paula Deen of Paso Robles. "Y’all come over right now and we’ll just fill you right up."

I should also add that we suck at marketing. I can manage a pretty good effort, but my most talked-about appearance is still the one for a dot.com crowd in San Jose. During the course of the evening, after mapping out the terrain of Paso Robles, and discussing the area’s growth and primary varietals, I was asked to talk about the Dover Canyon label, and so for the 500^th time I related the exciting and heart-rending story of Blue rescuing Dan from certain death in a killer surf. I paused to take a sip of wine (because I was nervous) but it caused the room to become silent with pregnant expectation. Into the dramatic silence I blurted, "It’s all bullshit."

7. Daily variety

Dan is addicted to the tactile feel of barrels, the aroma of fermenting wine, the growl of a tractor. He would be miserable returning to a cellar job with little prospect of killing gophers, giving vines salon haircuts, and riding around on ATVs. But as much as he loves the vineyard, I cannot imagine him without a cellar to care for.

I hate sitting at my desk day after day, never seeing the sunshine. I know, because even at our small level of production, I often do. As often as I can I escape to my garden or to the vineyard. The pockets in my vineyard apron contain sunscreen, gloves, visor, pruning shears, drip emitters, and tying tape. Water bottle and digicam are thrown in at the last minute.

As proprietors, we also do much of the landscaping, scraping, painting, gardening, entertaining, bullshitting, tilling, trimming, repairing, emailing, and crisis control. Life is never dull.

8. Personal connection with the product

There’s an indescribable feeling of satisfaction arising from holding your own product—designed, harvested, created, labeled—in your hands. Any winery owner at any level is going to feel that same deeply chakra pride in his accomplishment, but that feeling is intensified when, like us, you harvested your own vineyard’s first crop by hand, under a full September moon. It was painful; it took three days; it was like having a baby and I cursed Dan for it. It was wonderful.

9. Personal connections with our customers

I know about 300 of our wine club members by name and face. Although I can’t always be in the tasting room on weekends, I enjoy greeting customers by name. I like remembering their preferences and what they purchased last year. I like learning about salt-curing olives and trading recipes for gravlax. We go out to dinner with customers, who quickly become friends.

10. Because we can.

Much of what we do, we do because we have made a conscious choice not to overachieve. We don’t distribute to every state. We don’t sell to every store that asks. We don’t submit wines to the Wine Spectator. We don’t do festival booths. We don’t buy grapes on contract.

We can work an entire crush ourselves. In an easy vintage, Dan still requests my presence on the crushpad, if only to deliver lemonade. We can ride on one ATV together through the vineyard, even though we have two ATV’s. We can barrel sample in a silent cellar together, secure in the knowledge that we can revisit these wines and evolve with them.

We can wake up each morning and ask ourselves, "What shall we do today?"

Because we have a life rich in unfinished projects.

A life rich in choices.

A life that is by some standards unsuccessful, but undeniably rich.

Comments

[Mike Duffy]

Wow! What an excellent post, Mary. Well-written and from the heart. It's clear that you *are*, in fact, very successful at living.

I am so glad you are blogging. I have to wait for your posts, but they are of uniform high quality, and every once in a while, you knock it out of the park.

[Mary Baker]

Thank you, Mike. Your opinion means a lot to me, particularly as you are a connoisseur of winery weblogs!

[Alder Yarrow]

This is probably the best single blog post I have ever seen by a winery. Very well written and inspiring.

[Wm E Mole]

What a pleasant story that was/is. Thanks!
Your writing is just excellent. As close to being there while being here as I've ever felt. Hope to visit soon.