Feb 12, 2007
What exactly does it mean when a group of talented folks can release a wine brand upon the world that at once delivers wine that is the clear equal in quality of wines priced at double and three times their wines, and yet they can make a good living selling this wine? It doesn’t quite mean that Fred Franzia is correct ("no wine is worth more than $10"…or something to that effect), but it might mean that many of us…
Feb 5, 2007
I had a very interesting wine this weekend that, happily, made me think. It was a "Sonoma County Merlot. Vintage 2003. Price: $32.00. It was a wine that stood out for one main reason: It had noticeable "herbal" qualities in the nose that was followed up by the same slightly "green" character on the palate. These days there seems to be very few rules in the winemaking business. But there is one steadfast rule: AVOID GREEN HINTS IN YOUR WINE…
Feb 1, 2007
I think it’s significant that some of the wine world’s most important movers and shakers sat through a presentation that argued Blogs are a phenomena that need to be heeded. That was exactly the message delivered by Marc Engal at the Wine Evolution conference in Paris this week. Wine Evolution looks at the industry from a global perspective. It attracts high level participants from around the wine world and attracts speakers who specialize in looking at the wine world from…
Jan 31, 2007
WineBusiness.com pointed me toward a very interesting article by Wines & Vines magazine that explored a survey that publication had conducted with wineries on the issue of direct-to-consumer shipping. Direct-to-consumer shipment of wine is by far the most exciting sales channel and the most quickly developing channel for sales in the wine business. The article in Wines & Vines indicates that in general wineries are happy with their efforts in this area and generally happy with the results. However, it…
Jan 25, 2007
I was trying to think of a good way to describe the power that the wine wholesalers have accumulated over the years; a good way to indicate the real heft of their influence; a way to demonstrate what happens when the number of middle men shrink in number while suppliers increase; a way to demonstrate the kind of entity that is created when the state mandates monopoly status on a small number of businesses. Then, the Dallas Morning News did…