Archive for the ‘Wine Business’ Category
An amazing thing happened recently in, of all places, Texas. Both the Texas Democratic Party and the Texas Republican Party, at their annual state platform conventions, called for the elimination or complete reform of the Three Tier System of Alcohol distribution in Texas in their individual party platforms. Credit for this rather remarkable political (and popular) victory goes to CraftPac, the political action committee of the Texas Craft Brewers Guild, whose members have been denied direct access to the consumer market….
The results of Napa Valley’s recent electoral battle to determine the future of farming here are officially in: Measure C failed and reason prevailed. But not by much. It’s absolutely clear, based on the Measure C campaign and the results, that a good percentage of Napa County residents believe that the wine industry here needs, in some way, to be reined in. The proponents of the failed measure, and surely a number of those who voted for the Measure C,…
As I’ve argued before, there simply is no way to argue that smoke taint in a wine brought on by fires during harvest is not a genuine reflection of terroir. That case will be made by more people once more North Coast wines from the 2017 vintage are released to the public. They will, after all, need to be sold. We have a good example of how this view plays out with the newly released Oregon wines, some of which…
Every state in America has some sort of Commission, Agency, Department or Board that oversees the state’s alcohol production, distribution and sales. What’s notable about this is that alcohol is the most highly regulated industry in America. As a result, the commissioners, agents, department heads and board members almost never garner an “attaboy” from either those they regulate or those that watch them regulate. The primary problem these regulators face is they are tasked with overseeing what is in most…
Many in the wine industry believe that Napa Valley’s price/quality ratio is out of whack; that Napa Valley wines are overpriced. It is possible that these folks are all wrong? Or at least partially wrong? Is it possible that Napa Valley wine is under priced or a value? This is the contention of John Conover, partner of the Plumpjack Group, which owns the Napa Valley estates Plumpjack, Cade and Odette. In an interview with Daniel Marsteller of Shanken News Daily…
