So a buddy of mine decided to round up a bunch of friends and family to pool together enough money to create a barrel of wine. And how does one make a barrel of wine? Well for those of us who don't own a vineyard or winery a company called Crushpad in San Francisco is the answer.
Since Crushpad does a minimum order of 1 barrel and there are appx 25 cases of wine to a barrel, all you need is 25 friends willing to buy in for a case of wine and you are good to go. The experts at Crushpad will help you thru every stage of the process, from learning about what style of wine you're trying to create to the finishing label and corks, they have the staff on hand to take care of your every need.
I recently got the opportunity to tour the Crushpad facility with their Stuart Ake and had a terrific time learning all about about the winemaking process. The details that Crushpad manages with every stage of the process, from the supervision of blocks of grapes on various vineyards to the blending of the final wines, is incredibly meticulous. From the decision to hand-split grapes to the decision as to whether malolactic fermentation is a good thing, the staff at Crushpad are there to guide you and educate you through the entire process so you can make the best decisions with regards to your own wine.
Stuart mentioned that their IT staff is the biggest part of their operation and I believe it. Their website has fantastic up to the minute information about any wine you are creating at their facility- the timelines, the milestones, and even the step by step history of what your wine has undergone throughout the process.
What you will find if you become a client of Crushpad is that everyone you deal with is truly a wine geek that cares about what you are trying to produce. In fact, they wish that you would drag your ass down to Crushpad yourself so that they can share their knowledge and enthusiasm with you, with the ultimate goal of creating brand new wines driven by your own taste and your own visions. This is a first class operation through and through and I heartily recommend it!
