Own your Own Vineyard … Maybe

Have you ever dreamed of owning your own vineyard? There was a commercial recently on television that ridiculed the idea of becoming a vineyardist to augment ones retirement. Well, the possibilities are definitely there to purchase an existing vineyard and get into the winemaking business.
First off, don’t think of moving to California and picking up some acreage in the Napa Valley unless you are loaded with money, as the land there is probably some of the most expensive in the nation. Each and every state however, have many small vineyards that may be up for sale.
The big boodle happens to be France, more specifically, the Bordeaux region. While one might think of Bordeaux as the “holy grail” of winemaking, the only ones reaping the benefit from their location are the “Classified Growth” vineyards.
A little explanation is needed here. In 1855, the French government assigned a “pecking order” classification to the vineyards of Bordeaux (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bordeaux_Wine_Official_Classification_of_1855). There are five classification pods and the wineries in each pod are rated according to their quality. Needleless to say, the top pod contains only five wines and their wines are among the most expensive in the world. We can also tell you that these wineries are not up for sale, so fergetaboutit. What are up for sale are many of the smaller vineyards (for the sake of impressing one and all, let’s call them chateaux’s) some of which have been in the same families hands for centuries. Unfortunately, like many of the family farms here in the United States, the younger generation does not want to continue in the family business; a pity for the parents but a boon to investors, developers and buyers. It has been reported that as many as one third of the Bordeaux chateaux’s are up for sale. Our advise to potential vineyard owners if you are interested, is to act now before the Brits, Chinese, Japanese and maybe even the Arabs gobble them up.
We are not joking or making fun of people who always wanted to own a vineyard. Many of the top vineyards of California started as a whim. Fes Parker, who played Daniel Boon and Davie Crocket on TV owns a very successful vineyard. Rodney Strong, a dancer, Alex Trebek, Fred MacMurray, Paul Newman, dozens of CEO’s , entrepreneurs and on and on, all own or have owned a vineyard, proving that the idea is not silly or out of the question- but an achievable goal.
We do not have to stop with wineries or chateaux’s; beer has played a major role in Americas development and is probably the country’s most popular alcoholic drink. In the 1970’s, a relaxation of the left-over restrictive laws from the Prohibition era legalized beer making at home. Boston Lager, the makers of Samuel Adams Beer was begun by a home brewer with a great recipe and a desire to share it . The same holds true for Brooklyn Beer, Anchor Brewing and believe it or not, Budweiser, as were most of the breweries that dot the country today.
The latest addition to the list, much to the consternation of the back woods moonshiners, are micro distilleries. Again, a relaxation of restrictive laws led to the opening of home distillation (of course with the proper government permits) and allowing the creation of micro-distilleries which are popping up almost everywhere.
All of this goes to prove if you have a dream, go for it. We are Americans and will not be stopped or deterred by the naysayers and we never have been. The dream of being a vineyardist and/or winemaker, brewer or distiller has to be pursued if you want it to succeed. Do not say that it can’t be done until every nook and cranny of the subject has been investigated and then investigated again. What you don’t want, is to be lying on you death bed saying “I wish I had.”