Issue link: http://winesandvines.uberflip.com/i/62507
CO VER S T OR Y The winery website, which does a small amount of direct-to- consumer business, uses Ship- Compliant software to monitor and enforce compliance on interstate sales. Roughly half of all sales are done at the winery itself, making for a significant income stream at full retail. Rock Wall has national distribution in more than a dozen key markets and an active program of on-premise sales in California. A wine club was established a year ago, and though still quite small, it is growing fast. Wine club and web or- der shipments are currently handled in-house by Rock Wall staff. Case goods are currently kept in the winery facility, but Rock TECHNICAL REVIEW an active series of open houses, release parties and other events, very much in the tradition that built up Rosenblum Cellars over the years. Rock Wall's slick new tasting room was constructed from modular units from Mod Space and built by Quality Affordable Building. The latest addition is a just- opened tasting room, kitchen and event center, done up with the polished wood and atmo- spheric lighting you'd expect of a Napa showroom—all looking out at that spectacular view. The tasting room offers several of the AP labels as well as Rock Wall's own wines. The kitchen Wall will soon be acquiring another 20,000 square feet of space in another part of the former base for that purpose. Shauna Rosenblum expects that total production will eventually grow to about 20,000 cases, but not likely beyond that. New event center One more advantage of the location at this abandoned military facility is that it has a drop-dead gorgeous view of San Francisco Bay and the city skyline rising above it (which also serves as the visual centerpiece of the winery's screen-printed labels). This is enough to make Rock Wall an attractive site for events, even without the customary wine country vineyards. Rock Wall hosts Cherokee_Nov05.qxt 9/19/05 10:52 AM Page 1 provides small plates for tasting room visitors but can also handle catering for much larger events. Next door is a geodesic dome, offering just enough seclusion for private parties. The new facilities were designed by Briana Williford and architect Daniel Hoy and built by Napa-based Quality Affordable Building using modular units from Mod Space. The contrast between the high-style tasting room and the war surplus winery building couldn't be greater, but that's just one more piece of the charm in this leading light of urban warehouse wineries. Tim Patterson is the author of the newly released "Home Winemak- ing for Dummies." He writes about wine and makes his own in Berkeley, Calif. Years of experience as a journalist, combined with a contrarian streak, make him interested in getting to the bottom of wine stories, casting a critical eye on conventional wisdom in the process. hauling precious cargo • 24 hour dispatch • Competitive rates • Personalized Service • Radio/Cell phone equipped • State-of-the-art equipment • Maximum payload capacity • Over 30 years in operation • References available • Fleet of over 200 trucks including Wine Tanks and Dry Freight Vans CHEROKEE FREIGHT LINES 5463 Cherokee Road • Stockton, CA 95215 Telephone: 209.931.3570 • or visit our website:www.gocfl.com 34 Wines & Vines OCTOBeR 2011