Archive for the ‘Wine Business’ Category
The narrative surrounding Millennials and wine has changed. Where previously the focus was on Millennials’ apparent interest in non-traditional wine (read: Not your Baby Boomers’ noble varietals), now the focus appears to be on Millennials’ lack of sufficient interest (read: not buying at sufficient levels) in wine. This new narrative is more worrisome than the former narrative. It appears to presents an existential threat to the American wine industry’s profits. Remember these headlines: How Millennials Are Changing the Wine-Selling Game…
I’ve lived in Northern California for 55 years. I’ve lived in the North Coast Wine Country (Sonoma and Napa) for more than two decades. Nearly all of my very best friends are located here in Northern California. The heart of the Industry in which I’ve worked for 25 years is here in Northern California. At the end of January, I’m packing up my family and leaving for Oregon’s Willamette Valley. That we are leaving is largely an economic decision. In…
For a number of reasons, the very worst and most destructive elements of America’s now prominent Slash & Burn culture hasn’t, yet, impacted the wine industry or individuals in the wine industry. But this post is a warning that those reasons could easily melt away quickly and immediately under certain conditions. In an age where our chosen political tribes move further and further apart from one another, where debate becomes so polarized that any cross-talk between tribes can’t cross the…
Among the more notable things about this third of three Key Wine Trends For 2018 that I’ve identified is that, unlike the first two, it does not track with broader cultural themes we witnessed this year. The issues of Gender & Wine and Cannabis & Wine are both downstream impacts of important movements within the American culture. The issue of The Courts and Wine is, instead, a description of a movement indicative of the unique classification of alcohol in American…
How did the American wine industry evolve in 2018? It’s a “meta question” that directs us to examine those issues that coursed through all elements of the industry and in the long run have the potential to significantly impact how industry professionals work, how the industry is perceived and how consumers respond to the industry’s offerings. Three issues drove the evolution of the American wine industry in 2018. This is the second of three posts examining those issues. For more…
