Photo TR: The Blessing of the Grapes Ceremony

[PhishyBrewer]

So this week, the grape harvest begins. And what better way to start off the harvest season then drinking some wine and having a BBQ. I would have been at Woodbridge today, but I had to work.

 

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Winery seeks to balance art with economy

 

By TIM MORAN

THE BEE

 

 

Last Updated: August 6, 2005, 05:00:42 AM PDT

 

 

LODI — Winemaking is about art, but a commercial winery is also about efficiency and making money.

The Woodbridge by Robert Mondavi winery near Lodi is trying to find the balance between those purposes, said Brad Alderson, vice president and general manager at Woodbridge.

 

The winery is in transition from its roots with the Mondavi family to the new owner, Constellation Brands.

 

"Robert Mondavi was always about the art of winemaking, and changing the world through wine," Alderson said at Friday's annual blessing of the grapes at Woodbridge. "He felt if he did all that, the money would come."

 

Constellation Brands, among the world's biggest wine companies, has been about business efficiency and productivity, Alderson said.

 

"Those are two big pluses on either side. We are trying to marry them," Alderson said. "How do we become worldclass in quality, style and productivity? We are trying to be both things. We want to do art, but in a very, very affordable way."

 

That's a challenge, Alderson said, but Constellation has been cooperative.

 

"They are listening to us about style and art," he said. The continuation of the blessing of the grapes ceremony, a 26-year tradition at Woodbridge, is an example, Alderson said.

 

The event brings Woodbridge staff, growers, friends and the media together to watch a gondola of grapes get an official blessing.

 

"This is very unusual for them. We told them we would do this even if it were only for the employees. It means something to us, connecting to each other, the production staff, the growers and consumers," Alderson said.

 

Mondavi himself, although no longer owner, wanted to be at the blessing, Alderson said. However, because of his age, 92, and the forecast temperature of 100-plus, his doctor nixed the idea.

 

But Constellation is willing to continue the tradition, even as it absorbs Woodbridge into its wine empire.

 

On the efficiency side, Woodbridge is making more contract wines for other Constellation brands to better utilize the winery, Alderson said.

 

The Woodbridge facility is working together with Constellation's Turner Road Vintners wineries seven miles away, sharing equipment and lab testing, he said.

 

As Woodbridge continues to merge with Constellation, there are changes and difficult decisions, he said.

 

"We have to change our way of thinking to make great wines. We have to hold on to what's really good and let go of other stuff," Alderson said. "We may have to change some things that no longer make sense."

 

Wine growers are frequently resistant to change, he noted. But Constellation Brands believes in the concept of growers making a decent return on their grapes, Alderson said.

 

"If we don't have grapes, we don't have wine. If we want to grow, we need more grapes," he said.

 

One initiative Alderson would like to see is moving the price of Lodi wines up to the $10 to $12 range.

 

Woodbridge by Robert Mondavi Classic Series wines, almost all of them leading sellers in their varietal categories, retail for about $6.

 

The higher price would allow Woodbridge to invest more in the quality of the wines to justify the increase, Alderson said.

 

"We can make great wine at that price point," he said.

 

It's all part of that balance between business and art, he said.

 

Can consumers afford a $10 bottle of wine on a regular basis? Just as easily as they can afford the luxury of a Starbucks latte, Alderson said.

 

"It makes life better," he said.

 

Wine Notes columnist Tim Moran can be reached at 578-2349 or tmoran@modbee.com.

Yummy! Tri-Tip and porn, I mean corn!

WOW! That's not beer in my hand. Actually... I drink more wine than beer. Need wine advice, ask me!

[What Now]

It's all about Delicato! :runs away:

[MalteseMom]

Shame we won't have time to sample the wine when I'm in town.

Maybe another time.