Some alternative Business Models
- Have an existing winery make the wine and bottle it under your own (exclusive) label. Has to say on the bottle, “bottled in …”
- Should cost about half of the retail price per bottle
- If you supply the grapes, it will probably end up costing more! (Extra cost to the winery of running a small batch through the equipment)
- Invest in a bottling line, buy bulk wine from other wineries
- Investment costs: Under 10,000 € in a basic bottling line will let you bottle as much as 40,000 bot. per year.
Alternative Business Models (US Market)
- Make unique products other than wine from grapes**
- Total wineries in NC=100
- Wineries making fruit & berry wine=44
- Wineries making dessert wine=46
- Wineries making sparkling wine=10
- Wineries making mead=1
- Wineries making ONLY table wine=24
Business Model Finger Lakes
- Planted vineyards (’97).
- Started (by a graduate student) with a 10 ac. planting (they now have 40 acres)
- Built tasting room with a café that sold wine from other NY wineries (’98)
- Bought grapes from other growers, used custom processing and bottling for own label
- Constructed “bare-bones” winery in an old barn
- Complete new winery (’00), make own wine from own grapes
