Dec 6, 2006
Regular readers of Fermentation will know that I’ve enjoyed following the exploits of Amy and Matt, the proprietors of Domaine de la Grameire. I get to do this via their fine blog. Amy and Matt basically bought a vineyard in the town of Saint Quentin la Poterie in the Rhone Valley, set up shop, and went about making wine they like. A dream for many of us. They’ve been working hard and from the looks of things having a good…
Nov 29, 2006
Anyone who doubts the power of numerical wine ratings, particularly the 100 Point system, just isn’t living in the same world as me. Let me explain what I, a wine marketer, see when I look at numerical ratings: 1. The opportunity to become an overnight success with a single rating from the right reviewer 2. The opportunity to have my entire brand dismissed with a single wrathing from the wrong reviewer. 3. The chance to sell out 1000s of cases…
Nov 28, 2006
By my reckoning and perspective, both personal and from within the industry, the biggest issue facing the wine business is the emergence of high alcohol wines as the norm. This was why I included two questions about them this blogs recent "Tough Wine Questions" survey. I could, and probably should, have included more questions on the the topic. If it’s not clear, I should spell out my general objections to the trend that is higher and higher alcohol levels in…
Nov 27, 2006
The December 2006 issue of the Atlantic Monthly (a magazine any self-respecting intellectual-minded person should read) has a fascinating cover story on the 100 Most Influential People in American History. There are no wine-related people on this list. However, there is an interesting series of sidebar stories such as Most Influential Poets, Filmmakers and…Critics. Inside this sidebar story comes the following sentence: "No critic in history has ever wielded as much influence as Robert Parker." Clearly the author of his…
Nov 27, 2006
The recent Fermentation Survey on "Tough Wine Questions" was issued to to look at questions about wine that interest me as a marketer. In this post I want to deliver an overall look at what the 238 folks who answered the survey had to say. ON TERROIRFor the avid wine drinker and wine enthusiast the question of Terroir looms large. Without it there really is little meaning to our relationship with wine since if all wine is the same, no…