The cost of a DIY barrel of Bordeaux: US$14K and up. The experience? Priceless

That’s what Arlington, Virginia, resident Hank Werronen did. He recruited 14 friends, including some from Canada and the United Kingdom, to partake in a winemaking project at Viniv, a do-it-yourself winery in Bordeaux. They produced five barrels of wine - each holding about 25 cases, or 300 bottles - from the 2015 vintage. Each barrel was modelled after a leading chateau, with Palmer, Pichon Baron, Montrose, Figeac and Smith Haut Lafitte providing inspiration. The group has become Viniv’s largest project. Werronen recruited an artist friend to design the labels. The wines will be imported for the group by MacArthur Beverages.

Located in Pauillac, a famous cabernet sauvignon-centric appellation on Bordeaux’s Left Bank, Viniv is owned and operated by the Cazes family, which owns Chateau Lynch-Bages. The DIY aspect allows well-heeled Bordeaux lovers to create their own blends from grapes grown in vineyards throughout Bordeaux’s storied appellations. The sweat equity is done by professional vintners and winemakers. Viniv’s clients enjoy the more glamorous side of winemaking: barrel tastings in the cellar, blending sessions to find the best formula for the wine, and, of course, the experience of visiting wine country and creating their own wines. There’s an element of star quality as well: Each team works closely with Daniel Llose, Lynch-Bage’s chief winemaker, on their blends. The cost starts at about US$14,000 per barrel, depending on the vineyard sources of the grapes.

The DIY winery concept was pioneered by Crushpad in Northern California. Its attempt to expand into Bordeaux failed in 2012, but inspired Viniv. Virginia’s Vint Hill Winery offers local oenophiles the chance to make wines from grapes grown in Virginia, California or Washington.

Werronen, 74, a retired health care executive, discovered Viniv while touring Bordeaux on a trip he purchased in 2014 through Heart’s Delight, the annual Washington, D.C., wine auction sponsored by the American Heart Association. He blended one barrel from the 2014 vintage before recruiting his team to make five barrels from across Bordeaux from 2015 grapes.

The team made the initial blends during a week-long stay in Bordeaux last May. A few members tweaked the final blends, with help from Llose, in February at the Hotel Marquis de Riscal in the Spanish region of Rioja, where Viniv had assembled client teams to finish their 2015s. So no, winemaking isn’t always hard work. It’s now part of the new luxury culture that emphasises experiences over material possessions. Only in this case, you get the satisfaction of having wine you helped create.

At a recent tasting in Washington, Werronen invited some of his team and a few guests to taste barrel samples of their final 2015 wines, which will be bottled this summer. I was impressed with Barrel 3, a Margaux modeled after Chateau Palmer, which showed classic Bordeaux character of graphite and black currant fruit. Barrel 5, modeled after Smith Haut Lafitte in Graves, was my second favourite, minty with flavours of plums and blackberries.