Mr. Shu and the Vines of Mendoza

In her guest appearance in class, Amanda mentioned how the Chinese businessman who bought the adjacent vineyard (unsure if I remembered his name correctly) was particularly interested in having a wine with his name and signature on it. To him, it is a mark of prestige - something that he could give as a gift to friends, family, and business associates.

Turns out, a couple of entrepreneurs realized that there are other high net worth individuals like Mr. Shu out there, and set out to create a business around them: the Vines of Mendoza. While on my GST in Argentina, we had a chance to meet with one of the cofounders, Pablo Riili.

The company began with the purchase of 250 acres of land in Mendoza's Uco Valley, and is built around the concept of private vineyards. Wealthy wine lovers have a chance to become wine makers of their own by purchasing anywhere from 1 to 10 acres of land, which Vines of Mendoza then professionally manages. Come harvest time, clients who choose can work directly with the company's winemaker (a GSB alum, Santiago Achaval) to make their own custom small batch wine. The model is as hands off or hands on as the client chooses. Some people make only a small number of cases a year for friends and family and sell the rest of the grapes on the bulk market, while others actually work with distributors to sell their wines commercially. Vines of Mendoza will work with you at each step of the process (farming, harvesting, fermenting, bottling, labeling, and even exporting/distributing), regardless of what you choose to do.

This business stands in pretty stark contrast to Ben's post about the guy who started his own winemaking business with no money, given that the smallest plot of land Vines will sell you (if I remember correctly) costs something around $150,000. Still, the business was interesting to me as a different model than a traditional vineyard or winery. It caters specifically towards people who want wine with their own label on it, and like the idea of being involved in the winemaking process (including many with families who see traveling to Argentina to help with winemaking as a fun family project).

One question I found myself asking is how much different my wine would actually be than the wine of the person in the next plot over from me, given that Vines of Mendoza is managing them all and sharing much of the equipment and resources. Would "Jennifer's Wine" really be all that unique? In the end, it probably doesn't matter. Its much more about the novelty factor of being involved in the winemaking process and having a bottle I can point to as my own. You know -- I bet I could even fool myself into thinking that I enjoyed my own wine more than a 1989 Chateau Lafite Rothschild. :)

Source:
http://www.vinesofmendoza.com/our-story