Archive for the ‘Wine Consumers’ Category
Last week ShipCompliant and Wines & Vines released their annual report on Winery-to-Consumer shipments for 2013 and in it was a pretty remarkable comparison: • Winery Shipping increased 9.3% by volume over 2012• The traditional wine retail sector increased 1.3% by volume in 2013 (according to Nielsen). 9.3% increase vs 1.3% increase!! Some of this remarkable spread surely has to do with new states legalizing direct shipments in recent years. This leaves considerable room for increase that you don’t see…
I’ve never been the guy that used alcohol, let alone wine, to self medicate, to get my drunk on or to “come down” after a particularly stressful or tough day. Even in my youth when drinking was experimental and powered by weekend, peer-induced partying I was the guy that sipped my beer or my Seven and Seven slowly. Ive always had an aversion to the feeling of being drunk. But I do like the taste and the am fascinate by…
I’m a fairly close observer of what we have come to call “The Wine Media”. My 20+ years observing the writing and reporting of all things wine, and any expertise I’ve accumulated as a result, is part of what I offer my clients—who hire me and keep me around in part because I’m a fairly reliable analyst of the wine media. I make a living understanding the wine media, how it works, what it wants and who reads it. Me…
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…
The San Francisco Chronicle’s Food & Wine Section, following in the foot steps of its Wine Section, is being discontinued. It’s further evidence that anyone even considering starting a print publication that requires a large circulation to survive is a wild-eyed dreamer likely with more money than sense. The printed newspaper is dead. What we are watching is a slow burial ceremony. I am one of those people who for years looked forward to the arrival of the weekly SF…
