Good morning! Today is the first “real” entry for our blog. Here we go!
This morning at MSix Wines, we continue brainstorming a couple staples: labels and marketing, as well as a little time on the production side of the venture. I don’t think I need to emphasize the importance of the label on a wine bottle. Quite frankly, in a shopping market while aisles upon aisles of wines, it is a daunting task to select something that is a two-fold winner: a good wine AND a good wine for the price point. To me, being a “world-gallavanting-still-trying-to-make-ends-meet” winemaker, having a great wine at a great price point is more important than just purely having a great wine. In today’s economy, I think everyone can agree on the importance of “getting our money’s worth” in every aspect of life. On top of creating a product with a high QPR (quality price ratio), creating a wine label to set us apart from the competition at a given price point is extremely important. I will be honest, I still label shop every once in a while. I think we all do when we want to try a wine from a new region or perhaps a new varietal. Through this, I understand the influence a label can have on a customer’s decision. So, while we are nowhere near a final product but below are a couple drafts of labels that have been bounced around. We will continue posting labels and getting everyone’s feedback. At the end on the process, we will allow you, our readers, to vote and help choose our label! Please leave comments! We would love to hear your feedback!
As for production, we have decided on a minimalist approach to our wine to the greatest degree possible. I promise this makes sense! We will be fermenting our wine natively, with the wild yeasts from the grapes as well as the surrounding flora of the winery, for primary (alcoholic) and secondary (malolactic) fermentations as opposed to inoculating the grapes and resulting wine with yeast and bacteria, respectively. While there are a few (emphasize on FEW) wild yeast red wines produced in California, there are almost no native malolactic fermentations conducted due to the increase risk for spoilage as well as due to the fact that the time required to complete such a fermentation is on the order of four times as long. But, it is the philosophy of MSix Wines that the added benefits of a cooler and longer fermentation, both in the bouquet and the palate, resulting from a native yeast fermentation far outweigh the time requirements and the increased risks of spoilage. Native yeast fermented wines are more of an “Old World” style than a “New World” style. The vision for this wine is to take great Napa Valley grapes and create a wine with a French style, creating our own MSix Wines style.
A poll! Please vote!
A little treat for the winos in the house: The Great Divide: Wine’s Hot-Button Issues | Drinking Out Loud | News & Features | Wine Spectator.
Finally, I would like to thank those who read and subscribed to the blog yesterday, as well as the overwhelming support on Facebook. We know this isn’t going to be a walk in the park but we committed to creating an award-winning wine to share with those special to us. Know, without your unwavering support, nothing we achieve would ever be possible.
-M. Iaconis
Drink wine, and you will sleep well. Sleep, and you will not sin. Avoid sin, and you will be saved. Ergo, drink wine and be saved.
Medieval German saying
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