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Survey Says: Compliance is Both Key to Success and Main Challenge for Wineries.

I recently came across an article on Wine Business’ website which discussed a survey of 149 wine businesses recently compiled by the Wine Business Institute at Sonoma State University. The focus of the survey was to determine the common key success factors and the common challenges that wineries are encountering in todays very dynamic marketplace.

What Does Good Compliance Feel Like?

When you think about your winery compliance system either as a whole or just parts of it how do you feel? If some of your initial reactions include wincing, making a sour face or saying “Ughh!” I’d encourage you to consider that lack of organization may be a major cause for this, not the topic itself. I recently […]

Who Has The Power at Your Winery?

Who runs the show at your winery when it comes to TTB compliance? Contrary to what or who may have come to mind after reading the title here the direction I’m heading with this post is geared towards your winemaking records and reporting activities. Particularly those which are regulated by the TTB, which happens to be most […]

Wine Labels: The Big Picture of Appellations.

Appellations: The Location, location, location of Wine. Just like the phrase from the real estate world, wine is often all about location, location, location. In the case of wine the terminology used is appellation. A wine’s appellation is the details on its bloodlines or where the grapes used to make the wine were grown. We are […]

Tips From The TTB For Avoiding Audits

Wine Industry Members: The TTB is on your side! When I first began doing wine tracking work at a Sterling Vineyards back in 1997 I was not given any training about the details of it. It was essentially a matter of being in the right place at the right time for the opportunity to begin learning winery […]

Update on Issues with TTB Online Systems & Firefox

I have an update for all you Firefox users in relation to my post earlier this week. There is specific information related to which browser to use in the TTB’s COLAs online FAQ section. Their answer states that Explorer is the only browser they recommend and that Netscape & Firefox are not supported. They also […]

Warning: Firefox and The TTB’s Online Systems Do Not Mix Well

After a recent computer virus issue I made the switch to using Firefox as my web browser from a recommendation from my computer guy. This definetely made an improvement in some of the issues I was having at the time so I was satisfied with the switch. That is until I was attempting to change […]

A Wine Compliance System Makeover Story.

I have long been a big fan of makeovers. Makeovers of rooms, houses, yards, hairstyles, wardrobe, you name it I like seeing a dramatic transformation take place. With that concept in mind we had some fun recently putting together a video which tells a story of what a winery compliance makevover might look like. A […]

How an AVA is Born.

I just read a really good article on a new AVA that has been submitted for the Coombsville area in Napa. If approved it would become the 16th sub-AVA within Napa Valley.  http://www.winesandvines.com/template.cfm?section=news&content=88234&htitle=Will Coombsville Get an AVA%3F AVAs have grown in numbers rapidly in the last 5 years. The process that happens behind the scenes […]

Tips When Looking For a Compliance Job.

How do I find a winery compliance job? This is a question I am asked fairly often by students in my classes. Winery compliance is a very specialized niche of knowledge and skills but oddly enough the responsibility is given to just about any position at a winery.

Here’s the QC for using QR Codes on Your Wine Labels

Over the many years I've been doing winery compliance work I've learned to become comfortable with playing the role of party pooper. The compliance department gets to inform the owners, winemakers and other decision makers what is kosher and what is not. So with this newest trend of placing QR codes on wine labels I did […]

What’s All The Fuss Over Wine Alcohols?

Are wineries misleading their customers with the alcohols on their wine labels? Do you as a wine consumer base some of your purchases on what the displayed alcohol content is on the label? I have been reading many articles and blog posts recently around the discussion of wine label alcohols vs. what is their true alcohol […]

Are There Weeds Growing in Your Compliance System?

Winery compliance systems are very dynamic in their nature. Often the trouble is they are not looked at in this way by those responsible for maintaining them. What is the end result of this? Compliance "weeds" begin to take it over.

Multiple Options For Using Multiples on Wine Labels

At current count there are well over 6,000 wineries in the US and those numbers only continue to go up. Keep in mind that number is just the count of wineries, not the actual count of all of the wines that they each make. And they generall will each make several different wines. This means for the […]

Deciding on a Label Alcohol for Your Wine.

Wine labels are required to have a specific set of items. One of those is an alcohol content. This must appear on the front (or brand) label. When it comes time to design all of the details that go into a wine’s label there are two areas which wineries focus on in making their decision […]

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