Tongue River Vineyard & Winery

Phew!  We had a great end of year sales period, and have been steadily bottling the 2011 harvest.  We've just finished a big batch of apple wine.

Now we turn our thoughts to the 2012 season and what it might entail.  Several growers in neighboring states now have vines old enough for fruiting, and several have contacted us to see if we are interested in any or all of their harvest.  Are we?  The questions running through my mind are:

• How much wine are we likely to sell with existing retail partners?
• How many more retail outlets might we negotiate by year end?
• How many tons of grapes do people want to sell?
• How much do we think we can sell as wine?
• We processed about 5 tons of grapes in 2011.  What additional equipment would we need to do 10 tons?  15 tons?
• Do we have the labor for such an expansion?
• Do we have the working capital to buy more equipment and the fruit?

I find that there's a lot more office/paperwork stuff to do than I anticipated.  Relax...take a deep breath...drink another half-glass of that great dry red Tongue-Tied we made this winter...it'll be okay...

The 2011 wines turned our really well, and we've come to appreciate that hybrid grapes grown in SE Montana can produce some really fine wines.

So come see us!  Come taste our wines.  Then buy our wines and take some with you!  And share the joy!

Bob