“Everybody thought this was going to go on forever, and I'm going, no, it's not. I was under some pressure to expand my production. I said no, I don't want to do that. We've got a great spot here and we're doing very well.”
Where Wine Takes You - A Paso Wine Podcast · Food & Beverage · October 2026
Context
Asked about the wine industry's overproduction after COVID, the winemaker says he resisted pressure to expand at the time, and that the industry is still working its way out of the glut.
Transcript
…drinking. I mean, people are drinking less wine, but there's more people. We're not seeing anything, you know, a downturn that way. I know the industry has had some problems because we overproduced right after COVID. And that has caused some problems. But we're working our way out of that now.
Were they problems that, like, if we had to do it again that way, we would still do it the same way? Or was there, were we just too fat and happy on those numbers after COVID that we're just like, plant more, let's go. Yeah,
everybody thought, everyone was saying, hey, this is going to go on forever. And I'm going, no, no, it's not. And I was under some pressure to expand my production. I said, no, don't want to do that. We've got a great spot here and we're doing very well. And, you know, I sit out front literally every day. Or if it's really ugly weather, I sit in front of the fireplace in the tasting room. But I like to sit and greet people. And I talk to as many people as I can. We make spectacular wine and I think we have spectacular hospitality.
You certainly do.
My people are first class. Something I learned from Mr. Mandavi, one of my mentors. Well,
that's why you can come here on a Wednesday or, I mean, I'm here early. I'm recording this early on a Friday and your parking lot's full. You know, I mean, it's pretty cool. And you can see that on a Wednesday at 1 p.m. or Saturday at 4 p.m. It's just, I mean, come Saturday at 4 p.m. It's going to…
More from Where Wine Takes You - A Paso Wine Podcast
