TRAVESSIA Winery Blog

On my way to Angola

I’m on my way to visit family in Angola… it’s been a few years since I’ve been in the place where I was born, so I’m really excited about this trip.  I will for sure also see some old friends and who knows make a few new ones.  My mom’s cooking will for sure derail my attempt to permanently loose a few pounds (-6 thus far this year), but weight control is not a priority when you visit your mom, right?  I’m actually bringing a request list which I will hand over to her immediately upon arrival... Muamba de galinha, Feijao de oleo de palma, etc.

I would love to share with all of you a bit about one of the places where I grew up before moving to the US and this is a perfect opportunity.  I’ll probably post on twitter and facebook, so be sure to friend me up if you haven’t yet.  Internet access might be difficult, but if I do get online I may post a few things as they happen.  Otherwise, I will just have to report when I get back in two weeks.

Is there anything specific that you would like to know or see about Angola?  Leave me a comment.

Here are a couple of interesting facts (that you might not read on Wikipedia or Google):

• About 5% of the oil that is consumed by the USA comes from Angola.  They are the second largest oil producer in Africa after Nigeria.  Oil is also the source of most of the countries troubles, but that’s no surprise to anyone.
• Soccer is Angola’s #1 sport and they just hosted the African Cup in January. But Angola is also a “powerhouse” in African basketball (though they always get beat by the Dream team in the Olympics).

P.S.  Yeah, it's hot there. Sorry friends from the East coast... I couldn't help it :-)

Trapeze - The name and the photograph

I want my wines which are not made with locally grown grapes to have completely different names and label designs.  This is because I want to preserve Travessia as a locally grown wine brand.  So I came up with Trapeze for the Pinot Noir which is my first wine made with non-local grapes.

Why “Trapeze” for the Pinot Noir?  It’s become a cliché in recent years but it’s indeed difficult to make good Pinot Noir.  The grape presents many challenges to a winemaker.  From color stability issues to balancing fruitiness with earthiness.  Sometimes Pinot is overly fruity, lacks body and structure; sometimes it's overly earthy and extremely "funky".  It’s a balancing act more than with other red wines.

Difficult, balancing act, gentle, elegant… Trapeze!

Once I had a name I went searching for a label image.  There’s a lot out on the web but most of it is crap.  I was lucky enough to find this image on flickr.  I contacted the owner of the image by the name of cereal-killer72.  I honestly didn’t have high hopes that I would get a response, but I did.  David Alquézar Ventura (pictured) is the cereal-killer72 and he’s from Girona, Catalonia – Spain.  He earns his living as an accountant but he’s also a photographer.  He's truly passionate about photography and I highly recommend that you check out his work.

I wanted to own the rights to the image for the US wine market and after several email exchanges David and I agreed on a price and terms of agreement.  I believe that it was the first time that David actually received some form of compensation for one of his photographs which I’m sure must be exciting for him.  We were fair to each other and I have a feeling that we aren't done doing business.

I’m thankful to have landed a kick-ass photo to use for my Pinot Noir label for years to come.  It absolutely reflects what I envisioned for the label.

I’ll finish with an interesting quote from one of David’s followers on flickr:

 

Many people do buy wine by the label, so I’m happy that we also got that covered.  But is the wine itself as good as its label?  I would love to hear from you.

Thank You for an amazing 2009

Fill the Kettle at Travessia this Thursday evening

The follow up blog post on the Trapeze label will have to wait until next time because something much more important came up.

I'm looking forward to the end of the year and the chance to sit down and reflect on some of the decisions I made in 2009.  One thing I'm certain I will do in 2010 is decrease the amount of donations Travessia made this year.  Not a week went by that we did not get a request for a wine gift basket, cases of wine and sometimes even cash.  Believe me when I say that requests came in every week... I am not making this up.  At some point we had to establish a procedure with a request form because we got confused with who had requested what.  I estimate that we said yes to about 90% of the requests, mostly for very good causes.  Regardless of the brand building and other benefits that a business gets from donating, it's just not financially possible for Travessia to continue to do this.

With that said, we would like to end 2009 with a bang.  Last week I read this story in the Standard Times.  For the most part, my family lives a good life.  For us, realizing a dream is a matter of taking risks and working hard.  Unfortunately for some of the people written about in the Standard Times this month, working hard hasn't been enough to sometimes even put food on the table.

So, I felt like doing something and without much thought called up the Standard Times and told them that I wanted to organize a "Fill the Kettle" event at Travessia to help raise funds for the Neediest Family Fund.  So, we are on...

This Thursday evening, December 17th, between 5PM and 8PM, Travessia will donate 20% of the proceeds from sales at the winery to the Neediest Family Fund.  Visitors will receive a Travessia logo glass and will be entered to win a $50 Travessia gift basket.  It's that simple.

Please join us this Thursday evening at the winery to help us make someone's life a little better this holiday season.

The S.T. promoted this event in a column this past Sunday... you can find it here.  More about the fund:  A collaboration between The Standard-Times, SouthCoastToday.com and The Salvation Army. Donations go to help families in need during the holidays, with a goal of raising $160,000. Monetary contributions can be dropped off at or mailed to The Standard-Times, 25 Elm St., New Bedford, MA 02740, or made online.

2008 Trapeze Pinot Noir

This Friday afternoon Travessia will release its first red wine.  It was risky from a business stand point to go almost one full year without having a red wine.  A week doesn't go by that we don't get the question... <<when are your reds going to be ready?>>

At the winery we try to educate people that not all grapes are suited to be grown in every region and that certainly Southeastern Massachusetts is not a region where red grapes can be grown with the needed quality for a red wine, for sure not consistently year after year.  For the most part, people get the message, they understand that our growing season is too short to ripen red grapes for a red wine.  But there are people who will not buy a white wine, regardless of how much they may enjoy Travessia's white wines and regardless of the fact that they are locally grown.  This is not a surprise, I knew it before Travessia even opened its doors to the public almost a year ago.  That's why I had invested a good amount of money on quality red grapes from California vineyards early in 2008.

Believe me, I would love to say, <<Screw it!  I'm making white wines only. That's what I believe we can do best here in Massachusetts.>>  Plenty of European producers do exactly that... wineries that make only Chardonnay in Burgundy, Riesling in Alsace, Alvarinho in the Minho, etc.  But most of those wineries sell their wines via traditional distribution channels, not directly to the consumer at their tasting rooms (most don't even have tasting/sales rooms).  These wineries also have decades if not centuries of tradition behind them.  As a very small and new winery, 90% of Travessia's wines are sold directly to the consumer who visits the winery.  Little is sold via wine stores and restaurants, and none via a wholesaler/distributor.

When someone comes into the winery looking for a red wine, either I have something to offer or they will go spend their money somewhere else.  Maybe one day I will be able to disregard this, but at this stage of Travessia's life, this is something that I cannot afford to have happen. I'm a proponent of "if it can't be grown here, why make it here?", but to get Travessia to where I want it to be one day, I have to think as a business person, not just as a winemaker.
 

I believe more than ever before that the right direction for Travessia is to continue to focus on making quality wines with 100% locally grown grapes, this being whites, roses and maybe sparkling.  For reds, we'll continue to source quality grapes from other regions so that we can offer 2 or 3 red wines to that certain "red wine only" person.  To preserve and continue to communicate Travessia as a locally grown wine brand, my approach is to label our red wines with a completely different label design, while giving each red wine a unique name.  I want to make sure that our customers understand that these red wines are not made with locally grown grapes.

So come on by the winery and taste our first red wine release, the 2008 Trapeze Pinot Noir.

Grape Origin:  Russian River Valley, California

Vintage: 2008

Alc.: 14% By Vol.

Barrel Aging: Multi-year 100% French Oak

Price:  $18, $16.20 to wine club members

Next post:  The origin of the Trapeze label and the adventure that was the TTB labeling permit process.