| | Concepts | Winegrower comments on business motivations, challenges, and decisions |
| | Opportunity to diversify business | Open a market not available yet, other channels in the market by having verjuice, alternative product to the main business, curiosity “to have a go,” adding value to the business, verjuice production results as managing vines to make wine, add to the business but wine is the focus, important to have a nonalcoholic beverage option for a Muslim country, a nonalcoholic drink alternative to the portfolio | | Avoid overcropping or waste | Pick green grapes to avoid overcropping, to decrease amount of grapes in the vine, to keep vine strength for next season because of a big frost, balance out the removal of grapes to have verjuice but in the benefit of wine, to use every bit of the vineyard (e.g., also use grape leaves for cooking), thinned grapes are by-product of viticulture, do not want to waste grapes, use spare grapes but no thinning | | Product classification | Not specific classification or regulation, it has been produced at home traditionally, classified as a juice product probably, not sure about classification, grape juice or food product, verjuice is tax free in [country] so maybe is considered a food product, as a food product (an % of tax rate), follow the food standard/wine standard management plan, food regulation as there is a nutritional table, classified as essential food product, inspected by [country] agency as a food product (not a wine product), nonwine product but if produced in a winery get audit annually (ticked in the audit for verjuice), <12 degree Brix for verjuice | | Export | Export wines not verjuice, it could be a plan for the future, not needed at the moment, a % go for export in Europe, cost of bureaucracy for export is high, with tariffs stopped selling overseas, big effort for little return | | Picking time | Harvest time is based on what is happening in the winery, driven by vineyard in terms of a fruit block that needs crop reduction, pick before veraison, harvest early when there is no sugar to avoid fermentation (“at the perfect stage of unripeness”), when grapes just turned veraison, when there is enough size/volume to press so beginning of veraison, harvesting at the best window between getting a balance between good yield and good acidity level, pick grapes at veraison time when acidity is high before sugar level increases, combine yield so pick at veraison time and after 4–8 weeks, varies 50–60% yield | | Cost and price | Cost recover method, no extra cost as fruit is already there so pay the vineyard itself, verjuice price depends on the grape price, cost is absorbed by the wine production, price is based on cost to run the vineyard, looked at gross margin of wine and the prices of other verjuice on the market, compared prices with competitors, price should be less than a wine bottle as the winemaking process that costs, lower price than entry level wine, prices vary according to selling channel and packaging (bottled or bulk) | | Market demand | Decreased demand with COVID-19, online sells reduced after pandemic, increased demand in a very small base, when bottles are running low decision is made if making verjuice or not, pick own green grapes and buy green harvest from other wineries because of increased market demand, increased demand in the past 2-3 years as verjuice is becoming an additive in nonalcoholic beverages, sells are doubling each year so demand is increasing, a big demand, increased nonalcoholic beverages market | | Advertisement and promotion | No marketing as verjuice is not make every year, just word of mouth as small production and not main focus, not much advertisement, no promotion as verjuice is not in the main business, no advertise because cannot cope with demand if that starts increasing too much, distributer catalogue portfolio with price list, see the customer and share recipes in the cellar door, local market, pin board, domestic food fairs and shows to get exposure, not that much on social media, on Facebook and Instagram, occasionally on Instagram, company website, newsletter online, online and airlines magazine, donation to top restaurants to cook with, donation to gastronomy courses, book recommending their product by a famous chef, inviting chefs and restaurant owners to taste verjuice in the cellar door, cooking shows in the TV increased sales | | Type of consumer | People opened to experiment new things, epicurean curiosity, “gourmet” people, enjoy food, wine, drinks, eating out, local products and eating organic, vegetarian and vegan, active/sport people, like sour products, mid-old consumers (50–65 years), exposed to their wines, woman mainly, travellers, people who has disposable income |
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