FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

I don't have any winemaking experience. How can I make great wine?

Over 90% of our clients have never made wine previously, so education is a key part of what we do. Our wine making team is here to make sure that things don't go astray and that your wine is the best it can be.

How much of my time is this going to take?

As much or as little as you want. We have clients who are physically involved in every step of the wine making process and those that just say 'make me the best barrel of cab you can and call me when it's ready.' But there are 4-6 really important and fun events that you can participate in, even if you're doing it all remotely over the Internet.

It takes great grapes to make great wine. Where will my grapes come from?

There is no reason to go through all this unless you can make great wine from great vineyards. We source our grapes from over 50 of the most coveted vineyards in California, Oregon and Washington and have had a tremendous response from the growers because we're connecting them directly to wine enthusiasts. We're also ensuring that terrific wines are consistently being made. You can select from 14 different varietals. Everything from popular varietals like Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay to varietals grown in lesser amounts domestically like Sangiovese, Grenache and Viognier.

How many bottles of wine will I get when everything is finished?

Each barrel of custom wine produces 300 bottles (25 cases). For some clients, it goes in a blink of the eye. But most of our clients form or join a group to get smaller amounts of wine but still share in the experience. Sharing a barrel is easy. You can create your own group yourself or go to crushnet.com and find like-minded wine enthusiasts.

How much is this going to cost?

Our simple barrel pricing covers everything including: grapes, barrel, wine making, label design and packaging. Pricing ranges from $5,700 to $10,900 per barrel ($19 to $36 per bottle) based on the vineyard and packaging options you select.

You can pay in installments - 1/3 at reservation to start your wine making plan, 1/3 in October when you begin making wine and 1/3 next February.

When do things get started?

Harvest — when the fruit is picked — is in September and October, although you should get started with planning ahead of time. The earlier you start, the more choices you have in selecting the vineyard you want.

If you miss harvest or want to accelerate things, you can always look into our Adopt a Barrel program, where you can choose a barrel whose initial fermentation work is complete. You still get in on a major piece of the experience: aging, tasting, blending, label design and bottling. You'll also get your wine a year earlier than waiting until the next harvest.

How long does it take until I get my wine?

White wines are generally bottled the spring or summer after harvest (although more oaked wines can age longer). Pinot Noir is usually good to go around August, after around 10 months in barrel. But more extracted versions can take longer to soften up tannins. Cabernet takes the longest and is typically bottled after 20+ months in barrel. Syrah and Zinfandel are somewhere in between.

Can I sell my wine?

In order to sell wine legally, you must be licensed to do so. While licensing can be a complex process, Crushpad offers a service called Crushpad Commerce which effectively allows you to launch your own wine brand. We take care of the licensing and regulatory reporting work (and much more) for you.

When are you opening up a Crushpad in my city?

We make no secret that we believe that winemaking in the US will be available in many urban areas and it's our intent to lead that. There are millions of people like us, with a passion for wine, a desire to learn more and to express themselves through creating. But it's harder than it looks to do this at scale so we have been focusing on building our infrastructure (we have over 10 people developing software). Stay tuned.