Mar 23, 2015
“Boy, who knew about the arsenic in wine. I’m a beer drinker.” “Great, now there’s another way I can die…Just drink wine” These are two comments that were directed at me this weekend. Both were unsolicited and both in response to me being asked what I do for a living and responding that I work in the wine business. IF YOU DON’T THINK THE ARSENIC STORY IS A BIG DEAL, YOU BETTER THINK AGAIN. Here’s what I can guarantee: sales…
Dec 21, 2014
Direct to consumer shipping into the state of Illinois is about to get a lot more expensive for a number of wineries due to a guttersnipe of a lawyer and an attorney general who can’t see their way to putting a stop to this litigious tyrant they have publicly condemned. Hundreds of thousands of dollars are at state for wineries that will be ensnared in this ambulance chaser’s net. Illinois’ “False Claims Act” is a “whistle-blower” law that encourages people…
Dec 12, 2014
In examining the latest Wine Conditions Survey published by Silicon Valley Bank, WineBusiness.com noticed something interesting and asked, “What’s behind that?” What WineBusiness.com noticed was that wineries’ satisfaction level with their wholesalers has declined significantly from just two years ago. The percent of wineries reporting being satisfied with their wholesalers has dropped from 60% to 37% since 2012. Meanwhile, the percent of wineries reporting they are unsatisfied with their wholesalers has risen from 26% to 41% since 2012. What’s behind…
Oct 31, 2014
The most consequential battles and issues for small, quality-oriented alcohol beverage producers are those having to do with the distribution and sales of their products. Whether the issue is self distribution for craft distillers, franchise laws for craft beer producers or direct shipping for smaller wineries, these are the consequential and important issues that will directly impact sales success. However, the most fascinating battles to watch are the “Word Wars”. The battle over word use and semantics that are primarily…
Oct 28, 2014
Are beer enthusiasts more experimental with their alcohol consumption than wine enthusiasts? It may seem like an academic question but not for spirit producers or cider producers. For these two category of drinks the answer to the questions would dictate at which kind of drinker they would aim their marketing. One answer to this question—a definitive one—came from an article detailing the sharp rise in hard cider sales and the impressive growth by one Washington cidery, Tieton Cider Works. Consider……