Lieb Behind the Scenes – February 2016

It’s 50 degrees today and I hear Punxsutawney Phil failed to see his shadow this morning so I’m officially in spring mode. Adios boots and scarves, hello loafers and sunglasses. Spring mode means I’ll also soon be resuming my daily vineyard walks, a ritual I sorely miss in the winter when the snow and high winds on Oregon Road make trekking through the vines a bit difficult. In the warmer months my daily walks give me and Jersey, my golden retriever, a chance to get out and breathe some fresh air but also to observe the vineyard in its various stages of growth. This time of year our vineyard crew is making their way through our 85 acres, vine by vine, pruning various canes (essentially, branches) and buds in order to control growth during the season ahead. It’s a long, arduous process and one that rarely receives as much PR attention as the more glamorous vineyard events like bud break and harvest, but it’s arguably one of the most important phases in the annual life cycle of a vine. Without getting too technical, careful pruning practices directly impact fruit quantity and quality. It’s a skill, an art. Lucky for us, our vineyard foreman, Jildo, has 20 years of experience in our vineyard perfecting this art.

It’s bottling season at the winery. So for us that means bottling, boxing and kegging season. All of our 2015 white wines, with the exception of our barrel-fermented Chardonnay, have completed filtration and cold-stabilization and are ready to be placed in their respective packages for release. First up for us, as always, is Bridge Lane Rosé. The glass bottles and screwcaps have already arrived, so bottling will commence as soon as the labels come in from the printer. Each year, we’re seeing rosé demand from our NE wholesale market earlier and earlier. While restaurants and retail shops once waited until April-May to sample and order rosé, they’re now asking to taste it in February and March. Rosé’s popularity has skyrocketed in the past few years and we don’t expect this year to be any different. Rosé was our #1 seller last year, surpassing Pinot Blanc for the first time in Lieb’s 23 year history. We project nearly doubling rosé sales this year. Hip hip rosé!

Speaking of our wholesale market, I have some exciting news to share. In past blog posts, I’ve examined the retail vs. wholesale models for small wineries, debating the merits of staying small and selling 100% of our production through direct to consumer (DTC) channels like our tasting room, e-commerce and wine club. Or, by contrast, seeking to expand by employing wholesalers (or “distributors” as we typically call them) to represent us in non-local markets. Under the distributor model, we of course incur fees to the distributor and are forced to operate under lower margins. On the flip side, distributors afford us the opportunity to break into markets that we wouldn’t be capable of managing on our own, given the capital and resources needed to do so. In 2013, Lieb was at a crossroads. We sold approximately 7,000 cases of wine that year but had the capacity to produce 15,000 cases. We had to choose between staying small and local and selling our extra grapes to other producers, or keeping those grapes for ourselves, bottling them and finding new markets for the additional wine.

In 2014, we chose the growth model. We found distributors to represent us in not only NY, but CT, NJ, PA, MA and RI. We became a regional brand. Or I should say, we started the process of becoming a regional brand, as working with distributors and building a market is definitely a process. Now 18 months into these relationships, we’ve worked through the kinks, learned A LOT, know what we need to do to support them and are in a position this year to see real return on our investments. A close industry friend of ours told us a while back that it takes a minimum of 3 years to build a relationship with a distributor and realize full potential in their markets. We hope to speed up that timeline by a half a year and reach our target goals in these markets by the end of this year.

Which brings me back to the part about exciting news. Since gaining footing in our 6 states in the NE, we’ve decided to dip our toe in our neighbor region to the south, the mid-Atlantic. Just yesterday we received our first order from a new distributor partner in VA and DC. They specialize in boutique wine brands and tell us that NY is gaining a reputation in their markets for being a hot, up-and-coming wine region. The sommeliers in their markets are seeking NY wines but don’t have access to many of them. Now our distributor can fill that demand. Pretty cool.

Since deciding to expand less than 2 years ago, we’ve gone from selling in 1 state to selling in 7 states. We’re multi-regional. I’m proud of that but can’t take credit for it. We secured partners in these news states through a combination of luck, persistence and in some cases, just knowing someone who knew someone. But, the real work in VA and DC begins now, and it continues in our other states. Getting distribution does not equal getting sales. It means getting the opportunity for sales. Now it’s up to us and our wholesale team to capitalize on these relationships and justify our expansion. I’m confident we can do that this year. We’re certainly going to bust our butts trying.

Hey hey Virginia! Here we come!

Next month, spring will really be here according to the calendar so let’s talk in more depth about rosé and what you can expect from our new vintage: how it was made, its style, its price, some marketing plans and where you can find it.

Cheers! Til next time!

Ami Opisso
General Manager & Certified Sommelier, Lieb Cellars