X Winery

Reed Renaudin, the CEO, winemaker and creator of the business plan while at Cal Poly University describes X Winery this way:

“The winery would utilize new technologies. These new technologies would lower production costs while creating fine wines at lower prices. The goal was to create wines that had an outstanding value proposition for wine consumers.”

Of course, it’s not as though Renaudin went to business school, got his MBA and decided he could—BOOM—become a winemaker. The owner of X Winery also has a degree in enology from U.C. Davis and spent time making wine and working in the cellars of Gallo of Sonoma, Heitz Cellars and Cuvaison, not to mention his time in Australia where he worked at Cape Clairault Wines. It’s this experience combined with business savvy that allowed him to put his plan in action.

Happily, Reed’s plan was sound. Upon finishing his MBA project in 2000 he instituted it the same year and X Winery was born. Today, X Winery is one of the leading providers of great wine under $25. One of the secrets of X Winery is their willingness to search outside of Napa Valley for grapes of outstanding character. Inside the X Winery line up, you’ll find wines representing the up and coming regions of Lake County and Paso Robles, two California winemaking districts that produce outstanding wine grapes but at a price far lower than those that are grown in Napa Valley and Sonoma.

But, of course, the real miracle is how X Winery can produce things like its amazing Carneros Chardonnay for $18 while sourcing Chardonnay grapes from the famed Truchard and Sangiacomo vineyards. No doubt it’s their cost saving technology that allows them to make one of the best bargains in the business.

The old joke in the wine business goes like this: “How do you make a small fortune in the wine business? Start with a large fortune.” It’s not so much a joke, even if you are using new technology to help keep costs down. The key is to keep your capital expenses as low as possible. That means renting a winemaking space, buying grapes rather than planting a vineyard and farming the grapes yourself and it means having a well-trained eye when it comes to identifying great vineyards to buy your grapes from. X Winery exploits both these tactics.

It seems to us that if the growing legion of wine drinkers in America are truly going to latch on to wine as an every day beverage at meals, there must be a source for and an expectation of finding high quality, interesting wines at a decent price. Reed and X Winery are doing a real service to both the wine industry and wine lovers with their well priced Cabernets, Chardonnays, Syrah and Red Blends. It’s a plan we’d like to see more wineries undertake.

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This vendor is located at 2545 Napa Valley Corporate Drive, Napa, CA, 94558.