Winemakers often are creative people who are happiest when they can experiment to see if they can improve on tradition. Such activities, as noble and as fascinating as they are, often lead to projects that are simply not commercial. This is where wine marketing people come into play. They are typically ultra-conservative types, so-called bean counters who keep wine companies afloat by making sure that crucial funds are spent wisely. They most often put profitability ahead of artistic expression and can kill the best plans of the adventuresome. That’s the usual scenario: A creative urge frequently is squelched by financial restraints that look realistically at how commerce must be part of every business plan. Wineries thus often make decisions that winemakers disagree with. And frequently that can lead to the loss of some interesting wines. Decades ago, for instance, Simi Winery in Healdsburg, California, made a splendid chenin blanc. It …