Advice for aspiring vintners

At the end of 2011, Jim Verhey left Silverado Grapegrowers, ending his 25-year partnership with the firm. This left him with only a few activities — his Premiere Viticultural Services; his work as CFO of Kaiser Ventures, as treasurer and board member of the Oak Knoll District of Napa Valley,as a trustee of Land Trust of Napa County and as a member of Napa County Groundwater Resource Advisory Committee.
“To fill in all the extra time I have,” Verhey quipped, “I’ve started a new business.”
He launched Verhey Advisors to use his experience and relationships to help others successfully build their businesses in these increasing challenging times, he said. “I don’t have to work but I don’t want to retire.”
Verhey said he’s drawing on his own experiences as a grower of winegrapes in Napa Valley as well a business background that has led to the acquisition, financing and development of nearly 1,000 acres of ultra-premium vineyards in Napa and Sonoma counties.
“It’s nothing more than taking 25 years of experience and making it available,” Verhey said. “There are a lot of people trying to get into the valley and it’s getting tougher and tougher.”
The road to Napa
Verhey, a native of St. Paul, Minn., did his undergraduate work at Stanford and went on to earn an MBA at UCLA after serving in the Army. He began his business career as an accountant for Price Waterhouse in Los Angeles. He also served as executive vice president and CFO of Kaiser Ventures, a company that develops and manages the assets retained by Kaiser Steel from his 1988 bankruptcy.
His interest in wine, dating to his Stanford years, brought him to the Napa Valley in the 1980s. For the past 25 years, he has farmed his own 21 acres of grapes in the Oak Knoll district, where he lives with his family. He grows semillion and sauvignon blanc grapes, which he sells to Honig, Duckhorn and Teucer wineries, as well as several independent “up and coming” winemakers.
He became a managing director of Silverado WineGrowers,which owned and operated 14 premium vineyards — more than 1,800 acres altogether — in Napa, Sonoma, Lodi and Monterey counties. In 2001, he founded Viticultural Services, a consulting firm with clients through out Napa Valley.
Now, Verhey said, “I want to focus on what I enjoy — growing premium grapes.”
“I have my little team,” he added, “and they can basically advise clients on financing, due diligence, and entitlements” — the myriad questions that come up for newcomers to the valley trying to find their way into the wine business.
“Basically it’s helping people sort through all sorts of rules and regulations,” Verhey said, noting that he works exclusively with clients in the Napa Valley. “I’m a great believer that you have to focus on your own backyard,” he said.
Having successfully negotiated grape contracts and completed land entitlement projects “that have created significant additional real estate value for the property owner,” Verhey said, “I want to see if I can help people do things right,” he said. “To do the right thing at the right time is the hardest thing in ag.”
On wine today
Reflecting on the challenges facing a newcomer who wants to start growing grapes or making wine in the Napa Valley, Verhey cited “critical, fundamental principles that I have learned from a number of friends who are both great winemakers and great growers.
“Great wines are grown in the vineyard, not made in the winery,” he said. “In Napa Valley we are winegrowers, not farmers. The difference is huge.”
Another key to success he said, is to “make the right decisions every step of the way because when you mitigate, you compromise. Communication is 50 percent of quality, so ‘touch the table’ often and well.
“The most important thing that I/we have learned over the past 25 years is to ‘respect the past,’” Verhey said. “By that I mean that we are returning to a lot of the ideas and philosophies that helped make Napa Valley wines so great 40-50 years ago.”
Among these he noted, “The vertical trellis (VSP) craze of the 1980s and 1990s is giving way to split canopy systems and updated versions of the ‘California Sprawl’ because while the VSP trellis system works well in France, it doesn’t work as well in Napa Valley with the greater frequency of extreme weather events (eg, heat spikes). And we still have a lot to learn.”
More growers and wineries are reducing their water use and moving back toward more dry farming techniques, Verhey noted. “As Phil Freese (former vice president for operations at Robert Mondavi Winery) said to me, ‘We irrigate because we can, not because we should.’ My vineyard now produces great quality at a good yield with a full, permanent cover crop and minimal water use. What this really means is that there is still great potential in Napa Valley for increasing the quality and quantity of the wines we produce.”
Another development he noted is that “although the general Napa Valley wine style is still very ‘fruit-forward,’ more and more wineries are harvesting their fruit at lower Brix (sugar) levels and producing more interesting and unique wine styles at lower alcohol levels — like Napa Valley did in the 1970s when it won the Paris Tasting.”
Reflecting on changes in the industry since he entered it, Verhey said, “I won’t ‘touch’ on the change in land prices over the past 25 years other than to wonder how anyone can make money in the wine industry these days with the prices at where they are.
“Everyone forgets that Napa cabernet is only a recent phenomenon. As a matter of fact, I remember that in 1977 Sterling was selling a “Cabernet Blanc” — which was pink and terrible — solely because they could not sell Napa cabernet.”
“Today, you can’t be successful just producing great wine or great grapes, Verhey said. “You also need a great story. Your customers (wineries or wine buyers) don’t care about your soil profile or your wine chemistry or what kind of fermenting tanks you have, but they do want to know the name of your dog. As Ted Hall once said at a Napa Valley Grapegrower event, ‘the last thing a wine distributor wants to see is another rich white guy from Napa Valley with a $65 cab he just made.
What’s the question he’s most often asked? “Why don’t you produce wine from your vineyard?” Verhey said. “(It’s) because I am a lousy winemaker and because everyone who buys grapes from me can make much better wine than I can — so I am much better off drinking their wines.
He’s also asked how he makes money just growing grapes, Verhey said. Here, he joked, the answer is “by not making my own wine! Actually, the real answer is that I spend 130 percent of my time focusing on my vineyard and growing grapes while most winery owners spend less than 25 percent of their time focusing on their vineyards and growing grapes. I do that one thing (grow high-quality grapes) very well and profitably.
“I’ve never done anything that doesn’t make money,” he said cheerfully.
Ag and open space
Verhey, who was also director of Napa Valley Grapegrowers from 2006 to 2011, said he also decided to let new blood guide that organizations and became a trustee of the Land Trust of Napa County, an organization that preserves open space. Verhey said he’s on a mission to include agriculture lands as well as undeveloped wild land, vineyards as well as vistas of oak trees, in the Land Trust mission. “We have to answer the question ‘What is the character of Napa County?’” he said.. “It’s ag.
“We need to protect the ag land and encourage responsible agriculture — to find the right balance. I believe in protecting open space and promoting ag, which is our economy.”
Buy wine in Cebu, Philippines at good wine shops and boutique wine stores that offer good selection of good vintage wines at all price points. Wine lovers in Philippines can find good red wines in wine shops in Manila and Pampanga. Among the good selections of French red wines from Bordeaux are Chateau Gloria, Chateau Lafite, Chateau Margaux, Chateau Petrus, Chateau Lynch Bages, Chateau Latour, Chateau Mouton Rothschild, Chateau Cheval Blanc, Chateau Ausone, Chateau le Pin, Chateau Palmer, Chateau Pontet Canet, Chateau Carruades de Lafite, Chateau les Forts de Latour, Chateau Pichon Lalande. This makes it easy and convenient for wine lovers to buy wine in Manila. Manila wine and food lovers looking for things to do in Pampanga and Manila can consider attending one of these wine events. The best way to learn more about wine in the Philippines is to attend public wine tasting events that have no sponsors.
http://napavalleyregister.com/lifestyles/food-and-cooking/wine/advice-for-aspiring-vintners/article_79f06240-dd05-11e1-b492-0019bb2963f4.html

Clark Wine Center was built in 2003 by Hong Kong-based Yats International Leisure Philippines to become the largest wine shop in Philippines supplying Asia’s wine lovers with fine vintage wines at attractive prices. Today, this wine shop in Clark Philippines offers over 2000 selections of fine wines from all major wine regions in the world. As a leading wine supplier in Philippines, Pampanga’s Clark Wine Center offers an incomparable breadth of vintages, wines from back vintages spanning over 50 years. Clark Wine Center is located in Pampanga Clark Freeport Zone adjacent to Angeles City, just 25 minutes from Subic and 45 minutes from Manila.

Things to do in Clark Philippines and Pampanga: do a little wine shopping at the famous wine shop outside of Manila called Clark Wine Center. One of the favorite places to visit in Pampanga Clark Freeport is the white building along M A Roxas highway of Clark which houses over 2000 selections of fine vintage wines. The Clark Wine Center is one of the places to visit, a tourist spot and a good shopping place for those staying in Angeles City, Subic or Clark Pampanga. It is lauded by food and wine lovers in Manila, Subic and Pampanga as the best wine shop outside Manila as well as a good place to buy wine in Pampanga.

Residents of Pampanga Angeles City, Subic, Tarlac and Clark Philippines know of this wine shop as one of the best places in Clark, a good night out place and simply the best place to hang out, enjoy some good wine with cheese on the roof deck with good atmosphere, or just relax and unwind with friends and family in a cool place. This wine shop in Clark Pampanga is recognized by many to be one of the best places to buy fine vintage wine in the Philippines. Located near Mimosa Leisure Estate surrounded by golf courses, resorts and a casino, this well known wine shop is frequently visited for its good selection of wine not available in Manila or Subic. Clark Wine Center is open 7 days a week from 10am to 8pm. Private dinners, wine tastings and group gatherings can be organized by advanced reservation.

Foodies and wine lovers travel north from Manila to wine and dine at Philippines’ best fine dining restaurant in Pampanga Clark Freeport worth the 60-minutes drive for a memorable evening of good food with vintage wine at Yats Restaurant & Wine Bar. Most guests would stop by this famous wine shop called Clark Wine Center to bring home a few good bottles of fine vintage wine also. Other visitors may find the wine selections in some of the restaurants in Angeles City Pampanga to be less than interesting, so they stop by this wine shop near Angeles City Pampanga Clark Philippines, buy some good wines and bring these bottles of good vintage wines to the restaurants so they can enjoy the dinner.

Wines from Burgundy, Bordeaux, Rhone, Loire, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Austria, Alsace, USA, Australia, New Zealand, Italy, South Africa, Chile and Argentina etc. are well represented in this Clark Wine Shop which is lauded by wine and food lovers from Manila and tourists from abroad as the best place to buy wine in Pampanga.

This is one of the frequently visited places for wine lovers from Manila and Angeles City to buy wines in Pampanga.

http://www.ClarkWineCenter.com

Getting to this wine shop in Pampanga Angeles City Clark Freeport Zone Philippines from Manila
Getting to the Clark Wine Center wine shop from Manila is quite simple: after entering Clark Freeport from Dau and Angeles City, proceed straight along the main highway M A Roxas. Clark Wine Center is the stand-along white building on the right, at the corner A Bonifacio Ave. From the Clark International Airport DMIA, ask the taxi to drive towards the entrance of Clark going to Angeles City. From Mimosa, just proceed towards the exit of Clark and this wine shop is on the opposite side of the main road M A Roxas.

Best place to buy wine in Clark Pampanga outside Manila near Subic and Angeles City Philippines is Clark Wine Center.

Click here to contact Clark Wine Center in Clark Pampanga for inquiries and orders.

Yats Leisure Philippines

Clark Wine Center
Bldg 6460 Clark Observatory Building
Manuel A. Roxas Highway corner A Bonifacio Ave,
Angeles Clark Freeport Zone, Pampanga 2023

Tel: 0922-870-5173 0917-826-8790 (ask for Ana Fe)

Wine@Yats-International.com

YATS Wine Cellars
Manila Sales Office
3003C East Tower, Phil Stock Exchange Center,
Exchange Road, Ortigas Centger,
Metro Manila, Philippines 1605

Tel: (632) 637-5019 0917-540-3626 ask for Rea or Chay

Log on to this web site for more information about Yats Wine Cellars as the leading wine importer and wine supplier in the Philippines:

ats Wine Cellars Leading Wine Supplier in Philippines

Wedding couples looking for wedding reception venues and beach wedding venues can log on to this Philippines Wedding Venue web site for free information and assistance:

http://www.PhilippinesWeddingVenue.com

While in Clark, it might be a good idea to enjoy an evening of wine-and-dine in the fine dining Yats Restaurant and Wine Bar that features an award winning 2700-line wine list. Highly recommended fine dining restaurant in Manila for special occasion is Yats Restaurant & Wine Lounge located in the famous Mimosa Leisure Estate in Clark Pampanga. Situated near this popular restaurant in Clark is the Mimosa Golf Course as well as the Mimosa Clark Casino. This top rated restaurant near Angeles City Pampanga in Clark Philippines is frequently used for private parties and corporate functions such as board meetings and other gatherings. It is located in Mimosa Leisure Estate of Clark Freeport Zone. For more information, visit http://www.YatsRestaurant.com

YATS Leisure Philippines is a developer and operator of clubs, resorts and high-class restaurants and wine shops in Clark Angeles Philippines http://www.YatsLeisure.com

Looking for famous tourists spots, places to visit and see, relax and unwind in Clark, Pampanga, Philippines? You may want to check out these sites also:

http://www.LondonPubClark.com

Besides good restaurants to wine and dine near Manila, Subic or in Angeles City Pampanga, Clark Philippines, those requiring assistance for hotel and resort bookings in Clark, Pampanga, Philippines may log on to http://www.HotelClarkPhilippines.com for more information and reservations.

The lifestyle in Clark Pampanga is quite unique. For more information about shopping, sports, golf, leisure, hotel accommodation, where to see and visit, what to do, where to wine and dine and good places to hang out, relax, have a drink with friends, child-friendly establishments, log on to
http://www.ClarkPhilippines.com

Wine lovers looking for a special bottle or something that is of great value and special discounts might log on to this web site to shop for fine vintage wines
http://www.YatsWineCellars.com

Those visitors who plan to relax and unwind in Angeles City, Subic, Pampanga, Clark Philippines might make an effort to book a room at the famous beach and lake resort Clearwater Resort & Country Club. This famous hotel in Clark Pampanga is frequently visited by families with children looking for a good place in Clark to see, a good holiday destination for the family to relax and unwind in the beautiful outdoor facilities. For more information, log on to
www.ClearwaterPhilippines.com

TRAILER TWO

Tourists and residents of Manila travel out of town to the north on a short getaway look for the best place in Clark to buy some fine vintage wine to bring home after their holidays and vacations. Many find a top rated wine shop called Clark Wine Center to be an exciting place to do some shopping in Clark Pampanga. This famous wine shop is highly recommended for visitors going to Clark Pampanga to drink good wine, relax and unwind with friends and families. Clark Wine Center is also lauded by wine and food lovers from Manila and tourists from abroad as the best place to buy wine in Pampanga.

This frequently visited wine shop outside Manila is known by tourist and visitors to Pampanga, Angeles city, Subic and Clark Philippines as a cool place to hang out in Clark. Many attend the regular wine tasting held either outdoor on the roof deck or in indoor on the second floor above the wine shop. The place has good atmosphere for a private wine tasting party or a small night out gatherings for business or social event. Clark Wine Center is lauded by food and wine lovers in Manila, Subic and Pampanga as the best wine shop outside Manila as well as a good place to buy wine in Pampanga.

Tourists and visitors staying in Angeles City, Tarlac, Baguio, Subic and Pampanga sometimes wonder what are the things to do in Clark Philippines and Pampanga? Frequent visitors to Pampanga discover that it is fun to do a little wine shopping at the famous wine shop outside of Manila called Clark Wine Center. One of the favorite places to visit in Pampanga Clark Freeport is the white building along M A Roxas highway of Clark which houses over 2000 selections of fine vintage wines. The Clark Wine Center is one of the places to visit, a tourist spot and a good shopping place for those staying in Angeles City, Subic or Clark Pampanga.

Leading Philippines Wine Supplier Yats Wine Cellars, leading supplier of fine wines in Philippines with outlets in Angeles City, Subic Freeport and Manila Philippines has been not only a wine shop for fine wines covering all major wine regions but also a source of reliable and useful information about wine, wine appreciation, wine accessories, wine and health, food and wine pairing and all other matters relating to wine and its appreciation. This Philippines Clark Freeport based Wine Supplier and Wine Shop frequently holds public wine tasting events in Pampanga Clark Freeport Zone, Angeles City, Subic Bay area, Makati, Fort Bonifacio and other areas in Philippines capital city Manila. Private Wine events such as private wine tasting and private wine dinners are also designed and organized for private clientele for their wine loving guests.

Log on to this web site for more information about Yats Wine Cellars as the leading wine importer and wine supplier in the Philippines:

ats Wine Cellars Leading Wine Supplier in Philippines

Wine Catering is a unique product of Yats Wine Cellars, created back in 2005 in response to a growing demand for private wine parties in Manila, Cebu, Subic, Angeles Clark Philippines.

Chateau Lafite-Rothschild is the most revered wine in China and many other parts of Asia. The best wine shop in Asia to buy older vintages of Chateau Lafite is Yats Wine Cellars located in Clark Philippines. Aside from Lafite, visitors can buy other fine wines at this wine shop in Clark Pampanga such as Latour, Mouton-Rothschild, Haut-Brion and Margaux. Excellent Burgundy wines like Chambertin, Vougeot, Musigny, Bonnes Mares, Pommard, Meursault, Chambertin, Vosne Romanee, Romanee Conti, La Tache and Romanee St. Vivant can be found here.

Yats Wine Cellars can be reached at their Clark Wine Center Philippines wine shop located on the main highway M A Roxas of Pampanga Clark Freeport Zone or their sales office in Ortigas Centre, Metro Manila. Here is the contact information:

http://www.ClarkWineCenter.com

Best place to buy wine in Clark Pampanga outside Manila near Subic and Angeles City Philippines is Clark Wine Center.

Click here to contact Clark Wine Center in Clark Pampanga for inquiries and orders.

Clark Wine Center

Yats Leisure Philippines

Bldg 6460 Clark Observatory Building
Manuel A. Roxas Highway corner A Bonifacio Ave,
Angeles Clark Freeport Zone, Pampanga 2023
0922-870-5173 0917-826-8790 (ask for Ana Fe)

Wine@Yats-International.com

YATS Wine Cellars
Manila Sales Office
3003C East Tower, Phil Stock Exchange Center,
Exchange Rd Ortigas Metro Manila, Philippines 1605
(632) 637-5019 0917-520-4393 ask for Rea or Chay

Log on to this web site for more information about Yats Wine Cellars as the leading wine importer and wine supplier in the Philippines:

ats Wine Cellars Leading Wine Supplier in Philippines

Wedding couples looking for wedding reception venues and beach wedding venues can log on to this Philippines Wedding Venue web site for free information and assistance:

http://www.PhilippinesWeddingVenue.com

YATS Leisure Philippines is a developer and operator of clubs, resorts and high-class restaurants and wine shops in Clark Angeles Philippines http://www.YatsLeisure.com

Looking for famous tourists spots, places to visit and see, relax and unwind in Clark, Pampanga, Philippines? You may want to check out these sites also:

http://www.LondonPubClark.com

Wine lovers looking for a special bottle or something that is of great value and special discounts might log on to this web site to shop for fine vintage wines
http://www.YatsWineCellars.com

Buy wine in Tagaytay, Cavite, Philippines at good wine shops and boutique wine stores that offer good selection of good vintage wines at all price points.
Wine lovers in Philippines can find good red wines in wine shops in Manila and Pampanga. Among the good selections of French red wines from Bordeaux are Chateau Gloria, Chateau Lafite, Chateau Margaux, Chateau Petrus, Chateau Lynch Bages, Chateau Latour, Chateau Mouton Rothschild, Chateau Cheval Blanc, Chateau Ausone, Chateau le Pin, Chateau Palmer, Chateau Pontet Canet, Chateau Carruades de Lafite, Chateau les Forts de Latour, Chateau Pichon Lalande. This makes it easy and convenient for wine lovers to buy wine in Manila. They are also great wines to include in wine gift baskets for delivery in the Philippines. If you are thinking of buying wines to give as gift in the Philippines, then contact Yats Wine Cellars now because they offer special vintage wines suitable as gift at all price points. Since most of these wines are not available in Manila, these wine gifts are excellent choices for corporate gifts as well as wine gifts for personal and social purposes. These can be wines or wine baskets.

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