Grow Your Own Winery Business

July 07, 2006

Two years ago when Bob White, now 52, and his wife Lisa vacationed to California, they came back with a few bottles of wine and an inspiration.

After stopping at a few wineries along their journey, White, a banker and consultant by trade, got an idea.

“I got this inspiration,” he recalled. Upon returning home to Whitewright, White decided he was ready to venture into a new line of business.

Bob White, 52, created Texoma Winery which opened recently in Whitewright, Texas.

“It was between starting chicken houses, and starting a winery,” he explained. He chose the winery and soon enrolled in Grayson County Community College where he would eventually earn his degree in viticulture and enology. The entire time, he was anxious for the day when he could open his winery.

“In my mind, I was going to try to do this in a year,” he said. With a slight paperwork stall, “it took me 13 months.” White named the winery, located in the Grayson County town of Whitewright, Texoma Winery. But before business could begin, White had some serious homework to do.

White had to file appropriate paperwork, an important part of starting a winery. Laws and regulations also require a great deal of attention.

White had to send paperwork to the Federal Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) in Ohio. During this time, White had to guarantee he would be able to pay the taxes on the winery.

In addition, he had to make trademark declarations, include maps of the area, written descriptions of the area, and fill out a lot of forms.

Also the TTB made sure that White (in the third tier of the wine business) would not cross into any other tiers of the industry such as distribution or retailing.

“You cannot cross between the tiers,” he said. People in the one business can only be active in one aspect of the industry. Once White had everything together he was ready to apply for his federal license. “I put it all on paper and faxed it to TTB.”

After the initial fax, the information is edited, marked, and questions are asked. Then the documents are faxed back for correction.

“Then you make your whole packet and send it,” said White. “I was lucky. I got mine done in a month.”

Once his federal application was approved, White had to get authorization from the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission.

“TABC, on the state side, that’s another story,” he recalled.

In fact, it was waiting on his approval from TABC that caused White to miss the goal of opening the winery in 12 months by an extra month.

Winery applications and regulations may be difficult for some, but White felt he handled it all well.

“I didn’t find it terribly difficult,” he recalled. According to Bob Cottle, past president of the Texas Wine and Grape Growers Association, “the change in the laws in the state of Texas” have encouraged growth in the industry in the last few years. One of those laws deals with the presence of a winery in a dry area. (Selling alcoholic beverages in prohibited in ‘dry’ areas.)

“Texas voters, two years ago, approved a bill that said you could have a winery in a dry area,” he said, as long as 75 percent of the wine was made from Texas fruits. “Mine are 100 percent (made from Texas fruits),” noted White. The fruit and it’s source play a key role in winemaking according to Cottle.

“The first thing is you grow good grapes and there’s a chance you can make good wine,” Cottle explained. Oddly enough, it is the fruit-source regulation that has added to the success of the Texas wine industry.

White visits each place in Texas he buys his fruits from and selects only the best to be used in his wines. Once the wine is made, he has an authentic Texas product to see at his winery, something he said many of his customers prefer.

“They want them made here,” he explained. “That’s just a Texas thing.” Since Texans have become such loyal customers of the industry in the Lone Star State, Cottle, owner of Pleasant Hill Winery in Brenham, said winemakers around the state have worked hard to please their customers.

“We’re learning what to make to please the Texas palate,” said Cottle. He added that most Texans prefer “fruity, consumer friendly wines.” White has developed his own trademark brand of wines called Texas Tasting™. They are marketed in a red wine, white wine, and merlot - a play on red, white, and blue. He has developed the wines with the Texas consumer in mind.

“I’m positioning my Texas Tasting wine as everyday Texas table wines.” In addition to selling his own wines at his Northeast Texas location, White also sells wines from other winemakers across the state.

“I sell 20 wines from seven other Texas wineries,” he said. “I’ve gone and selected the ones I wanted to offer here.”

Because Texas is not famous for its winemaking, White said selling wines from other wineries helps the industry and provides a one-stop-shop for wine-seekers in the area.

“It’s not a competition thing,” explained White. “More is better. Our ability is so miniscule compared to what our population drinks in wine.” Cottle said Texas grape and wine producers have traditionally worked together. “Generally, we’re all in the same boat,” he said. “We’re trying to build an industry.” White said his customers usually prefer his wines but he likes the chance to provide extended choices to them.

“I always wanted to sell boutique wines from around the state,” he said. “Every other month I’ll add another winery.”

Marketing his own wines, as well as the Texas wine industry, was a small problem for White. He said wine marketing and retailing is not taught in detail in most places throughout the state. However, he quickly learned he could apply much of what he had learned as a consultant to marketing in the wine industry.

“When we started off, we started off small,” he said of opening and promoting the winery. He advertised in a few small area newspapers and was able to get an agri-tourism sign approved near the location. Ultimately, it was word-of-mouth and interaction with customers that led to much of the wineries success. White said visiting with potential customers is an important part of marketing.

“That’s hard for some people to do,” he said. Lisa often visits with customers within the tasting room at the winery while her husband tends to other aspects of the winery like checking on the 180 vines of grapes, mixing and blending wines, and running lab tests on wine samples.

White only recently held his formal grand opening in April, and remembers clearly all the work that was, and still is, necessary to make the winery successful.

“One of the most difficult things for me was planting the vineyard because I’m not a plant person,” said White.

He said water (especially before installing drip irrigation) and winery maintenance is very time demanding.

“Unless you have a whole lot of money to hire people to do everything, you have to do it yourself,” he said. To cut down on some of the work, White installed a drip irrigation system that runs off a well. He no longer has to spend between four and four-and-a-half hours hand-watering grape vines each day.

He still devotes nearly 12 hours a day to the vineyard, but the time spent has consistently paid off.

As a new winemaker, White won three medals with two of his first wines in state, national, and international competitions.

“With my first two batches I won two silvers and three bronze medals,” he noted.

The winemaker was also asked to teach a class on starting a winery at a wine and grape convention. He also plans to start teaching a class that covers starting a commercial winery at Grayson County Community College in the fall. In addition, he has started hosting and teaching wine tasting classes at his winery and has seen an interest in the program.

“People love it,” he said. In fact, he is planning back to back Wine Tasting 101 and 102 classes in July. To top it off, White has found a new way to market his products.

“I’m getting ready to start a wine club,” he said. For eight months out of the year, members of the wine club will be shipped one wine from White’s list. “My first shipment will be in September.” And while White is glad he chose to start a winery, he pointed out that running a successful winery is not easy.

“It’s hard work, it’s not glamourous,” he said. “This is agriculture, this is agri-tourism, and this is hospitality.”

He said in addition to spending time tending to the vineyard and perfecting wine chemistry, he has to be available for customers to reach.

“You have to be always ‘on,’” he explained. Still, he enjoys his new line of work and looks forward to devoting the remainder of his career to his Grayson County winery.

“One reason I did this is it can be something my wife and I can do as we move towards retirement,” White said. “I think I was meant to do this or everything wouldn’t have fallen into place.”

For more information about Texoma Winery, visit www.TexomaWinery.com. Additional information about the Texas Tasting wines is available at www.TexasTasting.com and for information about the Texas Wine and Grape Growers Association, visit www.TxWines.org.