Depending on your situation, there are multiple instances where hiring a Consultant Winemaker may be the right choice for you:

• If you are just starting out or planning to start, a consultant can help you navigate some of the highly specific terrain, avoid some common pitfalls, and develop your business identity. It can be very business-savvy to have a consultant helping you part-time in the beginning to then assist you with finding and hiring the right winemaker when the time comes.

• If you are making your wine in a custom crush or other communal space, you may need someone to make difficult winemaking and stylistic decisions for you. I work for an established Custom Crush Operation where some people act as their own winemaker, some employ their own winemaker, and some hire me as their consultant to guide their wines.

• If you are an established winery, a consultant can help to elevate your brand and your program. You may need help hiring and training staff, and a consultant can step in if you are without a winemaker or can help train an ascending young winemaker in your program.

My favorite wine is what goes best with the moment, the company, and most importantly the food. My favorite wine to make is Pinot noir; its delicacy and nuance make it a beautiful challenge. I have traveled the world making diverse and delicious wines, but I knew I wanted to settle down and make Pinot in the Willamette Valley.

Custom Crush is a term we use when a brand pays rent to have their wine made in a facility. This is a great way for a brand to develop without the immense overhead required to build a winery. There are many styles of custom crush out there and most of them also offer additional consulting or access to a Consultant Winemaker. This is because the facility is not responsible for making critical and stylistic choices for the individual brands. Some facilities include production labor while others do not.

There is also something called Alternating Proprietor where the brand just rents space and is responsible for their own labor, equipment, and Bonded legal status.

As a professional craftsman, I am adept at making many styles of wine and can figure out what works best for a given situation. Your wine style and brand identity are important to develop early on. The most important factor is always the quality of the grapes and where they are grown. Once you have good grapes, I prefer a gentle hand in guiding it into wine.

While I am familiar with many of the tricks and tools available, I prefer to only do what is necessary for each wine, a low-intervention style. So called “natural” winemaking is no-intervention and is risky but can be rewarding. Whereas, “conventional” winemaking is safe and secure but may lose nuance.