Archive for the ‘Wine Business’ Category
H.R. 5034, a bill that will severely restrict your ability to access or ship fine wine, has been introduced into into the House of Representatives in Washington, DC. It must be opposed by those who enjoy fine wine, those who sell fine wine and those who support free and fair trade. It must be opposed by telling friends, family and colleagues what it will do if passed. Here is what you need to know about H.R. 5034: 1. If passed,…
House Resolution 5034 is by far the most audacious attempt ever by America's beer, wine and spirit wholesalers to takeover complete and total control of the country's alcohol beverage market and, in the process, create circumstances in all fifty states that assure consumers only have access to the slim number of wines to which wholesalers decide consumers ought to have access. But perhaps most sinister is the fact that if H.R. 5034 passes, it will put out of business an…
I've been accused of being a "Distributor Basher". My retort to that accusation is that while I have bashed distributors, it's not a chronic condition with me any more than bashing White Zinfandel is a chronic problem. I have had a nice White Zin, it's just that the bad ones seem so prevalent. That said, what strikes me is that in this age of social media, citizen reviewers, YELP-reviews and meta ratings, wine distributors and wholesalers seem to have been…
Recently in Washington State at TASTE Washington I gave a talk on ""THE TEN THINGS EVERY SMALL WINERY MUST KNOW TO MARKET IN TODAY'S WINE MARKETING UNIVERSE." That talk was summarized in an earlier blog post here at FERMENTATION. This is the second post in a series that expands on that earlier post. RULE # 2: LISTEN TO THE CONVERSATION The single biggest change in wine marketing that has occurred in the past 20 years is that consumers are talking…
Late last month I appeared at a seminar at TASTE Washington in which I outlined for those in attendance, "THE TEN THINGS EVERY SMALL WINERY MUST KNOW TO MARKET IN TODAY'S WINE MARKETING UNIVERSE." This talk led to a blog post in which I briefly outlined those ten items on the list. Today's, and subsequent posts here at Fermentation, will delve deeper into each of the TEN THINGS that are critical for small and medium sized wineries to consider as…
