Attention to detail and continued improvement are important to wine producers not just on the growing and winemaking side, but on the business side as well.
Maintaining control over the vineyard, winery and tasting room is something Seth and Laura Martin — owners of Perissos Vineyards and Winery in Burnet, Texas, said they’ve been sticklers about since evolving from backyard grape growers to a Central Texas winery with a loyal and growing following.
Managing the Vineyard
Attention to detail from ground to glass is part of the key to their success and that starts in the vineyard.
“We tend the vines and we use custom compost,” Laura said. “We compost them every year. We prune them. We train them. We take so many steps in the vineyards to make sure our fruit is exceptional.”
Evolving the Production Process
Keeping things clean, constant monitoring and improving their equipment have helped Perissos grow. They built a new tasting room in 2013 and added barrel storage in 2016, but that’s not where things stopped.
An eight-spout filler with vacuum filling nozzles that has many of the attributes that more expensive bottling lines has allowed the Martins to keep their wine clean and preserve its longevity.
“Sanitation is our number one motivation,” Seth said. “With wine, especially red wine, the product is designed to last 10-15 years, and if you have microbial spoilage at the time of bottling, it’s deteriorating every day. Bottling the wine ourselves is about being able to control our own destiny. When you use an outside contractor, there are a million points where wine comes in contact with the bottling line.
“Now, if there’s a mistake, we can only blame ourselves. Being 100% vertically integrated is cool.
Keeping the Customer Service Bar High
Having a great product doesn’t matter without great customer service, Laura noted.
Making sure visitors know they’re appreciated is something she said she takes very seriously.
“We feel like our vineyard is special, that the valley it is in is special, and the people coming into the tasting room are gifts to us just because they came in,” Laura said. “We want them to feel that back, so everything from staff training to who we bring on has to embrace that.”
As the winery has slowly evolved and seen its customer base grow, it’s been a balancing act to maintain the consistent product and the everyone-knows-your-name customer experience their regulars are used to.
Hiring and keeping good staff has been crucial to staying on brand.
“Our staff and crew are loved so much by our customers that they’re like family,” Laura said. “It’s the team that makes that happen.”
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