Dec 22, 2013
Recent events within the wine industry remind us that fraud can impact its participants and patrons. The question is where does or can the fraud lie in the world of wine? At the very least, certain areas deserve watching. 1. Counterfeit Wine If you are in the market for the most coveted wines, the First Growths of Bordeaux, or the Grand Cru of Burgundy, the recent “Kurniawan Affair” should inform you that it is a Buyer Beware marketplace. Your best…
Nov 19, 2013
If you are reading this and you work in the wine industry, then you understand what I mean when I say that we know how lucky we are. If you are reading this and don’t work in the wine industry, I hope you know what I mean when I say it’s great to work in an industry that gives you an opportunity to be involved in intriguing others. The winemakers and their cellar crews get to raise up wine that…
Nov 4, 2013
Why do wine and beer wholesalers deliver up more campaign contributions than all wineries, distillers, brewers and retailers combined? Are the middlemen wholesalers more generous? Do they have money to burn? Do they have more to lose in the arena of politics? I think clearly the answer is, Yes. But most importantly is the issue of what they have to lose. Below is a list of total contributions to state (not federal) candidates and state ballot initiatives for the past…
Sep 20, 2013
One would have to admit to experiencing a spell of brute naïveté to imagine, even for brief moment, that the business and politics of wine might be organized around something other than a powerful, moneyed, manipulative class of interests. Reason, reality and history blunt that idea. So, let’s not think it. Instead, let’s imagine a business and politics of wine organized around a different powerful, moneyed, manipulative class of interests than currently dominates the wine marketplace. Let’s imagine the consumer,…
Sep 18, 2013
It’s not unknown for tasting rooms to pop up in places where no vineyard or winery resides. But it can be risky business, and rare. Pure tasting rooms unconnected to a winery location or vineyard location have shown up in San Francisco, New York and other cities that are not winemaking towns. But they don’t always make it. Yesterday, I read that the little town of Tiburon in Marin County has a new tasting room: Couloir Wines. Is it a…