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| First Person |
Vintner with a Mission
Ted W. Hall
06/01/2004
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By producing both grapes and olives, we can use the same picking
equipment (bins, trailers and tractors) for two crops instead of one, creating
capital efficiency. Similarly, the combined wine and olive oil processing
facility shares a boiler and various tanks, hoses and clamps. That’s another
layer of resourcefulness.
 | | “WE ARE not engaged in philanthropy for foodies. We are proving
that our techniques are an economically viable approach with
high-quality results.” |
We also enjoy marketing efficiencies. We fervently
believe that wine is food, not something to be sniffed, spit and evaluated.
Because we produce outstanding organic olive oil, beef, eggs and vegetables, we
can approach the market place as a purveyor of fine food—not as a wine
salesperson. So we enjoy marketing synergies unavailable to a mere winery. I’m
the only guy in America who can walk into a fine restaurant such as Gotham Bar
and Grill in New York City and sell both wine and olive oil. When closer to
home, I can offer vegetables, beef and eggs, too.
Fertile Synergy
Our approach creates many other opportunities. Wineries
create waste (for example, pomace and stems), which they usually pay to have
removed. Then they have to buy fertilizer. We skip both steps. Because we create
a by-product of olive oil that is very high in nitrogen (an essential ingredient
for composting), we were able to produce 300 tons of our own compost last year.
We used it to fertilize our vineyards, orchards and vegetable fields. Over and
over again we enjoy capital efficiency, labor efficiency and marketing synergy,
all of which lead to lower costs.
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