All Forum Posts by: Jon Martin

yes, the wine industry is always chasing its proverbial tail or dragon so to speak. 

The large acreage definitely has an advantage in terms of planting and management costs, however they pigeonhole themselves into the $10-20 bottle market. Most of what you see on 101 is either owned by the major wineries or by private equity funds that sell the bulk wine on the open market. I live in SLO County btw.

Part of what makes premium wine premium is the perception that you are buying something limited and from a special vineyards(s) that is farmed with more care. Whether that’s always true or not is a debatable, and when it is a lot of consumers can’t really tell the difference anyways. Plus this space is highly saturated as well. 

@Tom Fidrychit really depends on where the vineyard is, what you bought it for and how the wholesale grape & wine market is doing. Not much different than residential real estate! 

If you grow a varietal that is in demand and it’s in a more prestigious area, then you will make more money. If you grow something over-planted in a less desirable area your grapes may go unsold some years. There a cyclical shortages to planting booms to surpluses and around and round it goes. 

Also, to be clear, you have to separate the vineyard from the winery. The vineyard is a farm, the winery makes the wine, and many do not own vineyards. Most wineries have trouble being profitable beyond just being a job for the owner. It’s beyond over saturated, so marketing is your real challenge. There are also many wineries who farm but also buy bulk grapes or already made wine from wholesale markets. This is often a smart move from a financial startup POV, especially in a glut market. In tight grape markets, your COGS is cheaper if you farm your own grapes.

 The challenge for the industry as a whole going forward is that the wine industry has not done a good job of courting younger generations into the entry level, let alone getting them to spend $25-100+ a bottle. 

This is probably the bettet choice but again, due your DD first. Ask for historical yields, past winery contracts (who bought them) and management costs. Be sure that the vineyard is actually profitable as it is with its current average yield and management cost. 

As for planting new, another thing I forgot to mention is that development and material costs will likely only get higher. 

A middle ground is to buy a producing vineyard and gradually replant, graft or retrofit the underperforming blocks gradually. 

In terms of economics you answered your own question- the producing vineyard will make you money sooner. However if the existing vineyard has disease, poor design, wrong planting material, old vines etc it won't produce as well as a properly planted modern vineyard. If you want to make the best wine possible, the vineyard soil and weather patterns specific to your site are the most important. Depending on where this is, the best land is often developed already. 

I would also look for a property with some buildings on it and turn those into STR(s) so you can diversify your income streams. It would be a unique category.

I was a viticulturist in my past life, and still am to an extent with my day job that is adjacent to it. Feel free to PM me if you want to nerd out or need more specific info that you don't want to air publicly. 

Intuitively, if it's downtown Fort Worth then I imagine there is other stuff nearby. 

Also, traveling nurses aren't the only market on the medical side. Medical students, Physicians Assistants on rotations, people who want to be close to family member undergoing long term treatment, etc would also be in need of flexible term furnished housing. 

Depends on what is nearby and the demographics. Aside from hospitals, do you have any universities? Big companies/corporate headquarters? Seasonal retirees? Lots of young people having babies? 

People have all kinds of reasons for wanting a mid term rental, it's just a matter of finding them. 

If you can't even get someone on the phone tells you what the rules are, then logic would tell me that they aren't exactly covering the enforcement side of things either. Someone with a complaint would have the same issue. 

Look at what the cost of the fine is, if caught, and weigh that against the gains you could realize by breaking the rules. 

The August does that. Seems to need a new battery every 4 months or so. 

 Plus the peace of mind of knowing all the exterior doors are locked. 

Crime Grade is crap. It displays what I know for a fact to be A+++ neighborhoods in towns that I've spent decades in with $1M+ homes, that I know are some of the safest and high end neighborhoods out there, as dark orange. It's nonsense. Seems they aggregate all crime and group them by some meaningless border less census tract or something. Plus they are trying to upsell you on other services.