Archive for the ‘Wine Business’ Category
Yesterday the wine industry woke up to the news that one of its key shipping/compliance/inventory management service firms, New Vine, went under. The disruptions this is causing among its many winery and retail clients, as well as consumers who receive shipments of wine via this operation, are significant. It appears that New Vine's demise was caused by the same thing that causes most other companies to shut down: Financial Crisis. Though I suspect the details of that financial crisis in…
I sat and had lunch today in the middle of a region of Sonoma that MUST obtain its own AVA status. The Petaluma Gap is, I think, everything and more that the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) demands of an American Viticultural Area. For the record, the TTB demands that applicants for AVA status show that their region 1) locally known by the name specified, 2) that the boundaries of the proposed AVA have current or historical…
Recently at the eRobertparker forum, Mr. Parker himself suggested that he could have no impact in changing laws concerning consumer access to wine. He wrote: "I would have a better chance of raising the dead from their graves than changing a totally corrupt system where the beer and liquor distributors have their respective politicians right where they want them…in their pockets….and then factor in 50 separate states….yeah….totally disgusting and about as anti-wine consumer as it gets….but let's not ignore history….those…
Here is why Steve Heimoff is a good reporter and a compelling commentator. Today Steve wades into the issue of the theory of American Viticultural Areas and the process by which the TTB approaches the creation of these appellations. In this case, Steve ponders the implications of the TTB rejecting a petition to create a new sub-appellation of the Paso Robles AVA that would have designated the Westside of Highway as "Paso Robles Westside". This is a critical subject because…
Forgive me for being a deconstructionist so early in the day. But sometimes I can't help myself. At the recent Wine & Spirit Wholesalers Association Annual Convention that organization's leader told the gathering of wholesalers the following: “Within the industry it is no secret that we are the most vibrant, innovative and consumer friendly – yet responsible and accountable –system of distribution in the world. And now our voice is being heard." First things first. Wolf was referring to the…
