Archive for the ‘Wine Business’ Category
Every now and then, someone asks the right question. Yesterday, the right question was asked by Frank Cagle in the context of the political battle in Tennessee over whether or not to allow wine in grocery stores. Frank asked: “Why Won’t Legislators Listen to Constituents Instead of Liquor Lobbyists?” There is a good answer to that question: They don’t have a voice. It doesn’t matter what the question is. Winery Shipping. Wine Retailer Shipping. Wine in Grocery stores. Whenever these…
This time of year in Wine Country always makes me think of my Grandfather, Ed Burger. He was married 10 times. As I drive around Wine Country this time of year and start to see the crews in vineyards, pruning the dormant vines, I am not made to think of the “cycles” of the vineyard. My mind doesn’t give way to notions of “Hope” or “Renewal”, as perhaps they should. Rather, it’s this time of year in Wine Country that…
Decanter Magazine reports that a survey by the folks over at Wine Opinions has discovered that few wine buyers “differentiate between Sonoma County and Sonoma Valley and that using both on a label may even be a disadvantage.” A disadvantage to the folks making “Sonoma Valley” wine, that is. Of course it’s a disadvantage. And yet, after a “conjunctive labeling” law was pushed through the state legislature at the behest of the Sonoma County Vintners Association in 2010, it is…
There are a very small number of newspapers in America that still possess a combination of great prestige and serve as the information source for such a large number of people that it becomes important when these newspapers raise an issue or take a stand. I call this category of information sources “Big News”. Sitting atop this small group of newspapers are the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times. Like them or hate them, these two daily papers…
For a few days now I’ve been staring at this study of “Concentration in the U.S. Wine Industry”. It has a spiffy graphic that I like. And I learned that three large wine companies with multiple brands account for 50% of all wine sales in the U.S. The point of the study comes down to the question the authors pose and attempt to answer: “What impact does this industry concentration have on consumer choices?” The problem is the question is…
