Archive for the ‘Wine Business’ Category
There is something exhilerating about standing up in front of a classroom filled with students and leading a discussion. I had forgotten about this thrill before having the opportunity to guest lecture at a UCLA Extension class on The Business of Wine Management. I was at the UCLA class led by Patrick Comiskey and Shelby Ledgerwood on Wednesday. The topic of my time in front of the class was the Three Tier System and Wine Politics. I provided a terribly…
It was reported today that the Wine & Spirit Wholesalers of America have contributed $3.7 Million to the effort to kill the an alcohol distribution reform initiative in Washington State. Initiative 1183, if passed, would get the state out of the business of distributing and selling liquor. The ballot initiative also would allow wine distributors and wineries to offer volume discounts and to sell directly to retail stores and restaurants if they choose. Finally, Initiative 1183 makes the commonsense reform…
Can we trust that the reviews and ratings on the various wine reviewing peer sites are authentic and not paid for? This question stuck with me over the past few days after reading the New York Times front page story, "In a Race to Out-Rave, 5-Star Web Reviews Go for $5". The expose of paid for good reviews on sites like Amazon.com, Yelp and TripAdvisor began with this: "In tens of millions of reviews on Web sites like Amazon.com, Citysearch,…
A recent analysis of the direct wine shipping market concludes that American wineries must prepare to increase their direct shipping capabilities in order to accommodate what will be an unanticipated yet staggering increase in the direct sales and shipments of wine. The coming increase in direct shipped wine will, according to the recent analysis, marginalize most if not all sales via the three tier system. The source of the new analysis of the direct shipping market is Joseph Cryan of…
In crafting the FERMENTATION Reader Survey, I gave those taking the survey the chance to say and write in anything respondents wanted to about this Blog. Many readers had something to say. I thought it only fair that I take the time to respond to a few of these comments. After all, readers took the time to to write the comments. AND BY THE WAY, THE READER SURVEY IS STILL UP AND RUNNING FOR ANOTHER DAY. PLEASE TAKE THIS 2…
