I spent all weekend on this project. Shipping rates, shopping carts, issues with selling wine online…and, well, the “add to cart” buttons almost killed me. And all those little features, like what page do you return to after a purchase, or a cancellation, or…what if the product is sold out?…my eyes are blurred and I’m not seeing straight (well, I did watch some of the Yankees/Angels game and saw that well enough).
But Lo! and Behold! Just made my first online sale! It worked! So, it was my parents, but that counts…doesn’t it?
Beta testers are still welcome, and bug-reporters, too. I’ve already been informed about a typo. Check it out at Buy Wines
So I’ve been busy, sorry about the lack of posting. We’ve been learning about things like Facebook, and about ppaperwork for “exporting” wine from California to other foreign states, like New York, Wisconsin, Texas, North Carolina, Washington and a few more. And then trying to bottle the Pinot noir, the sparkling wine-champagnes, and the vinegars before harvest. So, in the next day or two we should have our Facebook page up and running, have the next Pinot noir released, and our next newsletter out!
I spend too much time on the computer. Writing, researching, analyzing data, and even surfing...and as one gets older it gets more difficult to counteract all those hours of sitting. I was definitely losing the battle. So, thanks to a suggestion from Mia quite some time ago, I finally put all the pieces together and made the leap. Or is it step? I've had it just about a week and have already "walked" over 45 miles. And wrote two articles, a report, researched a quote, prepared two presentations, edited 98 proposals, and discovered more bizarre family history.
TreadDesk brand Treadmill: ~$760 + shipping
Wire bookcase with wheels: ~$130
2 x melamine lumber with 1" holes drilled to place on shelves:~$22
Walking while I work: Priceless
The ever-opinionated Alejandro says that this is ridiculous even by pH standards. I have to tell you, I love it already. We'll see if it does any good. What do you think?
Well, turns out those ETS links in the post below attracted the attention of none other than Mr Burns of ETS labs in St Helena. I've served on numerous winery lab quality committees with Gordon in the past, and as full disclosure I will state that he is one of my Three Winery Quality Heroes (the other two being Art Caputi currently of Art of Winemaking (but once of Gallo winery) and MaryAnn Graff, one of the cofounders of Vinquiry). These three folks always had time to patiently help me when, as a young (and not so young) member of the wine industry I would call for help. And they always had answers...or better questions.
Gordon gave me a call and expressed some dismay with regard to the sense conveyed by many Gold Standard members that ISO certification was too much of a burden for a production winery lab. He was quick to point out that someone would surely assume that he was somehow protecting his business, but also claimed that he would not be sad if all of his export-paperwork related business evaporated. He gave me the contact information of someone who can put me in touch with some small 1 person, 2 persons, and 3 persons laboratories that had ISO 17025 accreditation. Months ago, when I had told Gordon I was getting my TTB certification, he had encouraged me to additionally pursue the ISO standard. I didn't even consider it seriously, because of what I believed to be high associated costs. On this point, too, Gordon encouraged me to call A2LA and get some facts on costs etc.
He also supplied a couple of interesting links for those so inclined to try to figure out exactly which analysis is required by which country with respect to paperwork:
The TTB has a site which is a good start, but doesn't give much in the way of analytical details. ETS itself has a page that lists of their "best-guesses" from their network of sources. And finally, there is FIVS, an international body trying to coordinate the whole darned thing (they picked up where WineScience left off). Mr Burns says you can call them and get a temporary password to explore the site.
So, Gordon... in exchange for all these nice comments, you need to order at least one bottle of 16019 Carneros Pinot noir. I promise it will never be exported. And I will happily deliver to St Helena. And its a darned delicious wine.
Buy some before we drink it all ourselves.
Time to go....Antiques Road Show is probably starting.