The Club that Bill Harlan Built
Written By: Kasey Carpenter on Tue, Oct 30th 2007
Okay, I understand that Bill Harlan, or should I say H. William Harlan (haven't all these types of guys been doing this kind of thing for years, H. Ross Perot, T. Boone Pickens – maybe to be taken seriously I need to go with K. Allen Carpenter), is the man when it comes to Napa Cabernet. We know who the women are, but he is the man.
And I know that as some ink-stained wretch hacking away from the sidelines, my place in the world of wine is not only limited, but oftentimes ridiculed as an outsider throwing stones at something he really doesn't understand (hey, I just finished working a harvest in Pinot country, so I am trying to change all of that) but I have to address this. Wow.
I was thumbing through a print magazine last month, one of those that someone bought on the previous flight and happened to have left in the seat pocket in front of me. It had a great article about cycling in Elba, so I was hooked right there, but as I am flipping through the rest of it, I find that Harlan has another venture, wine related, but oh so much more profitable. As soon as I got to a wi-fi spot, I went about searching this incredible thing.
It has been written about before by the likes of Food and Wine, Forbes, Outside magazine, etc... But I guess due to the financial requirements, it has flown under my radar. Way under it.
The Napa Valley Reserve, as it is called, has been called the first country club of wine. Here's the deal, for a mere $165,000.00 you get the chance to be as involved or as removed as you choose. If you want to get out there in the morning fog with your pruning shears in hand, go for it. If you want to pick out dead leaves, green leaves and earwigs from the sorting table, step up to the plate. The nice thing about this kind of luxury is that should you decide to give up after a furious twenty minutes of manual labor, you can relax knowing that a team of real workers awaits your spot on the production line.
And get this, you get, of course six cases of your own lots/barrels for whatever bragging rights you can have from such a thing. And those six cases will cost you an additional $65 per bottle. So add up another $4680 to the price, and you get an idea of the cost of your bottles.
That makes Harlan bottles look like a steal. But here's the kicker. He has over 300 paying active members right now. You do the math. If his bottles hadn't paid for the winery by now, these 300 surely did.
Don't get me wrong - I'm not knocking the guy, it's a genius move, and if your coattails are that long and sturdy, ride 'em. But as I am the one in charge here of telling you about the financial matter concerning wine, let me be the first to tell you, if you want to enjoy a similar experience, you can do it without having to give up on the Maserati you had your eyes on.
If you have a pet winery that you love, and they love you, all you have to do is ask. Chances are they will jump at the opportunity for free labor, if you really want to work. And if you don't, then really all you are doing is touring a winery and walking the vineyards. But I am talking about those among us who really want to see what happens on the ground floor as it were. If you want to play winemaker, you can, without the tariff, granted, you will not have your own bottles to take home, nor will be part of an uber-exclusive club that weeds out the riff raff, but you will have the time of your life, and you may also come up with a few alternatives to retirement...
Drink up.
