Have you heard of Crushpad? It's a relatively new company whose product is akin to an adult version of one of those tamagotchi pets -- except that when you're done, instead of a weird digital monster, you have a bunch of your very own custom wine.
Crushpad operates out of a 34,000-square-foot facility in the Dogpatch--a facility that you can see on Saturday, as the company is holding an open house from 2 p.m.-6 p.m.
The idea behind the company -- bringing winemaking capabilities to more people -- seems very cool. Users participate in "roughly 30 decisions," that include things like choosing the type of wine you're trying to create, picking which grapes will get you there, tracking the progress through the harvest and fermentation, and designing packaging. The company helps you with all these steps, plus takes care of and advises users on all the little things you might not consider.
With a general price range listed at about $4,500-$9,900 per barrel, it's pretty cost-prohibitive, and is certainly not for everyone. We suppose you can't expect much less, since a barrel is equivalent of about 300 bottles of wine. Also, you can do it in a group rather than go it alone. Either way, Crushpad is bringing this process to far more people than would be able to create their own wines otherwise; it's still vastly more plausible than, say, buying your own vineyard and equipment (at least until our MegaMillions number pays off). They'll even help you turn this into a side business, or complement your existing business, which could defray costs.
In any case, if you're interested, Saturday's event seems like a great chance to learn more. We predict there'll be wine.