So, You Want to Open a Winery?
Even among the most contented residents of the urban jungle, who has not fantasised about owning a picturesque little patch of land somewhere and dipping a toe in a more pastoral existence? Imagine hand-nurturing a wine from vineyard to bottle, or uncorking a fine vintage from your own winery while surveying friends’ expressions of delight and envy.
Well, dear reader, the hard truth is that many formerly successful professionals who have taken such a plunge now find themselves wondering how they went from making seven-figure salaries to emptying spit buckets for sullen 20-something sommeliers. Enter winemaking at your own risk—you might end up sitting on more than you can drink in 20 lifetimes after a year or two of disappointing sales, or just broke.
Still daydreaming? Fortunately, for those truly committed empire builders, there are several models for how to get your feet wet without necessarily drowning. For first-hand advice from someone with over a decade of experience, I turned to fund manager, painter and art collector Michael Nock, owner of Nockie’s Palette, a vineyard known for its
