Wine business: The Bordeaux model, with a Napa twist

There are three ways to make wine in Bordeaux. The best way is to buy a first-growth vineyard. (This requires an extraordinary amount of money.) Or you can buy a winery and execute financially in the long-established business of wine in Bordeaux. (This requires an extraordinary amount of time and on-site presence.) Or you can work with a negoçiant to buy vinified wine, at which point “making wine” becomes mostly a marketing play, typically at the lower end of the scale.