Land for Sale

I tagged several articles out to del.icio.us today that I wanted to consider later. One of them is the now oft appearing article on the Silicon Valley and wine. The article, in the San Jose Mercury News, made some good points, such as the use of technology in wine country now that the tech guys are moving in. I’m not surprised, however, that technology is adding to the age-old process of winemaking. The growing of the grapes though – that’s rooted in a strong historical foundation.

My husband mentioned tonight that he’d like to retire and own a winery. I laughed and read him the article.

Prices for Napa vineyards rose dramatically to $500,000 an acre in the tech boom. These days, you have to be in the $20 million club to acquire a winery and the accompanying vineyards.

The article also recounts the well-known tale of the division between the original and older winemakers and the “nouveau riche” of the tech boom. I wouldn’t worry about tht though. If the tech guys are “retiring ” to run a vineyard, they’ll put a lot of hard work into it. That’s how they succeeded the first time. I’d worry more about the various athletes and movie stars who are moving to Napa, taking advantage of a “hobby run amok.” If you’re going to run a winery, you have to have several of things – knowledge and money (to do the right things and hire the right people), patience (grapes don’t grow overnight), and passion.

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