What do you buy when you are a foodie and take it to the next level – Vineyard, of course. Vineyards have become more popular by those with an urge to pour their own wines at dinner parties and cook with ingredients in their own garden to table atmosphere.
Owning a vineyard has been a status for centuries and since the food/drink revolution in North America Vineyards have become an interesting purchase.
Before indulging in a first-time vineyard purchase, there are some factors to consider. Vineyard ownership requires key financial and emotional components: money, patience, hard work and, perhaps most important, passion. The purchase of a vineyard estate is half emotion and half logic. There are two types of buyer – the big producers and those looking for the Lifestyle. For those looking for lifestyle the Vineyard you choose should cover its costs and make you a little money on the side for a nice lifestyle.
So what do you look for? Start with something you can handle, both financially and logically. Learn the ropes and then work your way up the wine industry ladder. As with all purchases do the market research.
For starters know the difference between a winery and a vineyard. Grapes are crushed, bottled, stored and sold at a winery. Wineries use grapes grown on premises or ones bought from other vineyards. A vineyard is essentially a farm. Grapes are cultivated, harvested and sold to wineries, oftentimes operated by an estate manager. Many vineyard owners sell the majority of their crop, which pays for the vineyard’s overhead. They may keep some fruit for wine to be made for themselves and their friends. A fine-wine vineyard may yield between 2 and 6 tons per acre (though some go lower), and each ton of grapes yields about 60 cases of wine. If you are purchasing an Ice winery – they yield the lowest tons per acre but produce the most expensive wines.
For the buyer purchasing purely for the lifestyle, Realtors and brokers would recommend a vineyard, particularly an already established one. Starting a new vineyard can take five to ten years for the grapes to grow and revenue to be returned.