No Shame in the Name: Your Winery and Other Wine Language

Yep, that’s right. Your Winery! Just like in every little step in winemaking, there will always be controversy.  But not here on Vintner’s Canvas.  We are open to all opinions … but in the end, just like a fine wine, we become better with age (without losing our own characteristics). 

According to Wikipedia, “A winery is a building or property that produces wine, or a business involved in the production of wine, such as a wine company.” Once you crush that first vintage and move it to your basement to age, your basement and your home become your winery.  Whether you decide to go the wine group route to be able to afford that first investment, or whether you are going to take the leap and make that investment yourself, you will want a name for your wine cellar or winery. 

I had an online conversation recently with someone that I sought out prior to starting this blog.   I gift a lot of wine but wanted to know how to sell wine (I have been asked by many people if they could buy some of my wine).  Also, in an effort to learn more about wine, I signed up for several online wine classes to help me achieve a sommelier (wine steward) certification. I make wine, why not be able to describe it, too?  

The person I reached out to is an educator in a sommelier class and a writer.  His picture showed a man with a suit jacket holding a glass of wine, sitting at a table with a white linen tablecloth and a backdrop of a sprawling vineyard. It was a nice picture. Intimidating, but nice just the same. His profile said he was a “winemaker”.  My profile said I was a “vintner”. 

I immediately felt red in the face. I was embarrassed. This man, with all his experience, calls himself a winemaker. Who am I to call myself a vintner? To top this off, the man did respond to me. He basically said online courses are not recognized in the trade and my wine making is like being a home cook and has “zero crossover” in doing it commercially. This ended our conversation and I changed my profile to say “winemaker”.

That feeling did not last long. I did more research and found that the two words are quite interchangeable, especially since you own the winery! So yes, there is controversy in winemaking, but it won’t affect us, or our end product. I am thankful for this and the many lessons I have learned over the years and look forward to sharing them with you here. 

From “The MRS Wine Cellar” at 5:45 PM on Friday.  Cheers!