Archive for the ‘Wine Business’ Category
It’s the quadrennial political convention time and my thoughts run to the political. The first presidential election that engrossed me from start to finish was 1984 (my guy got slaughtered). I couldn’t get enough of the debate, speeches, political strategy, platform development, etc. I’m watching it all now, again, and as always it is great theater. But what I’m wondering is this: What if the nation elected a Wine President every four years. What if this president represented the American…
Well, the gauntlet was certainly thrown down today. Is the "Napa Valley" Brand in decline? Is it faltering in the face of increased competition. Is it possible that the marketing powerhouse that is Napa Valley Cabernet hasn’t kept up with the competition? Bill Ryan, a columnist at the Napa Valley Register, essentially told his readers (those in the wine industry), either change your marketing ways or see the demise of Napa Valley as the premier wine region in the New…
Janice Fuhrman reports via Decanter that a proposal to create an appellation system for Mexico’s major wine production regions has not been embraced by the very folks the system would effect: the winemakers. What’s interesting about the story is that it suggests the proposal would actually create regulations for HOW wine can be made under the appellation system, an approach that takes its cues from European appellation system, rather than from the nearby American appellation system that merely attempts to…
The whole point of the implementation of the 3 tier system of alcohol that was put in place after Prohibition ended was to assure that no sector of the alcohol industry amassed so much power that it could control the other parts of the industry. The idea was to disperse power within the industry by separating the producer from the retailer/restaurant by putting the wholesalers in the middle. That plan has failed. Today’s news that Southern Wine & Spirits has…
Between 2005 and 2008, there has been a 20% drop in the number of people who say they most often drink wine over beer and spirits. Between 2005 and 2008 there has been a 27% drop in the number of 30 to 49 year olds that say they most often drink wine over beer and spirits. …All according to a recent Gallup poll. Why are fewer Americans, particularly those in the 30 to 50 year old group, finding reason to…
