One might think that a winemaker could be fairly insulated from most economic factors that impact the wine industry. As a rule, my budgets are set by the winery general managers and/or CFOs a year in advance. I tend to know how much money I can spend on grapes, yeast, barrels and other inputs. However, big-ticket items, like major winery equipment or tanks, are things that a non-owner winemaker like myself usually has to request funds for so far in advance making it difficult, if not impossible,...