It seems to discuss the actual process of the casting call

http://www.vipvr.com/the_winemakers.shtml

Jay

I’ve been a home winemaker for 4 years, with 40 grape vines in my back yard (I buy most of my grapes), and 85 gallons of 5 varietals waiting to bottle for my 2005 vintage. Although I’m small, I think I’m past the “Wine for Dummies” stage , but obviously still have a lot to learn.

The Doc City series apparently deals only with crush season (filming in September), and establishing a marketing plan. The producers are talking about more of an educational perspnective, so I don’t see it as a netword-style glitzy on-stage production (although the auditions ARE): I envision this as filmed a little in the vineyard, a lot in the winery, and the remainder in the conference room where contestants will discuss the business aspects: naming, labeling, and marketing channels.

It will be great if they then follow the wine maker over the next 2 years, to see how the wine and sales evolve.

Wish me luck!

Kevin Donnelly
Yorba Linda, California

Here are a couple of my thoughts on some challenges:
* The Brand – Have some local wineries donate some different finished wines and let the contestants choose bottles, closures, labels for whichever variety they decide on. Have them sell their wine at some event (festival, fair, or a “The Wine Makers” branded event) and see who generates the most money and who wins the best design. Local wineries could get some advertising by a small label on the back or something (and be on your show). It would add a nice twist to make these contestants have to “buy” the wine with some limited budget that you provide so it takes into account the reality of expensive vs. cheaper grapes.
* Wine Tasting/Selling – Contestants hold a tasting event that they have to put a marketing plan together and run the event. Charge a fee for entry and the most $ wins.
* Tasting Room Design – Have contestants design their tasting room and get people’s ratings of them and highest score wins.
* The Interview – Put contestants in front of tv/radio (ahem, Grape Radio) personalities and see how they handle being asked questions.
* The Blend – Let contestants make their own blends from otherwise finished wines and have wine critics review for the winner.

This is a tough task since you really don’t have a ton of time allow these people to really show what talent they have for making tasty wine. However, some of the above might give an indication of how they’d do selling the product they make and glimpses into their palate.

I’m looking forward to seeing it!

Ryan

Jay put it so well. I think there’s room for a show like “The Wine Makers” too. Let’s face it – the reality format, like it or not (and I don’t always) is here to stay. If it serves as the vehicle to create more intrigue, interest and understanding of the wine making process – isn’t that a good thing? I think so, and generally speaking, the wine industry has embraced us whole heartedly.

It would be great if our contestants could actually make wine – I would love that – but the money just isn’t in the budget to film for that length of time. On the other hand … if you’d like to make a small investment …

Seriously – on a more serious note for those who are into it — what challenges would YOU like to see the winemakers face?

JJ

jay

Jay

Sounds brilliant. Might even be better if it was from the cellar rat’s perspective…

heh heh.

see you guys at Pinot Daze, or whatever they are calling it.

ab

Cheers,
P

Jay – as far as your “Follow the Grape” series – I think that would be fantastic. Getting to know the winemaker, cellar rats, field workers, owners, etc would be a great insight into the industry. It sounds like it could be a video version of the book “A Very Good Year” which did something similar in following a vintage and explaining all of things going on during different points along the way.

I think I prefer to watch your video podcast series …!

Cheers,
Doug

I view the first season is more about picking someone that’s show the best potential to become a winemaker. The contestants will face some very real, tough problems/decisions that every new winemaker must address. I for one will watch. It is PBS. . Lastly, if after the first season the audience has been entertained, and learned a few things, then IMHO it will be a success.

On a related note, I want to do a series on GrapeRadio that I call “Follow the Grape”. I want to follow a vintage from bud break to bottling. We would do a podcast (video podcast) to cover the major milestones of the process that turns grapes into wine. What do you think?

Jay

These issues bring up many ideas that I would be very interesting in hearing about on a future show. These include interstate shipping laws and recent litigation that may or may not affect them. Also distribution and what tiering means for getting access to a wine would be an interesting subject. Finally, I would be very interested in hearing some strategies for acquiring some of the great wines that you guys have discussed, with the handicap of living in a state where both tiering and shipping laws work against me.

But the show they are going to produce — modeled after American Idol? — sounds awful. With a four-week production schedule they won’t be able to do any real winemaking at all. This sounds as if it was created by some marketing department somewhere, and will just be about personalities and the Reality TV “ratings game”.

Sad to see how far public TV has fallen …