Jun 5, 2006
My economics professor in college lectured the class that near all pricing could be explained by one simple rule: Supply and demand. On its face this is a pretty simple rule. Count up the supply. Measure the demand and voila. We all knew and so did he that it’s a tad simpler than that. Another thing he taught us was to be careful to accurately identify what the object or item under consideration is. That brings us to this last…
May 22, 2006
DON’T FORGET TO TAKE THE FERMENTATION READER SURVEY ============================================================ Working at and for Winebid.com in the late 1990s was exciting on a number of different levels. It was the DotCom boom so you felt like you were changing the way the wine world worked buy creating an online market for rare wine. And it worked. Thousands of people bought and sold rare and not-so-rare wines at Winebid. The other part of the excitement had not so much to do with…
May 2, 2006
You see a lot of events in Wine Country that seem utterly the same. The reason they seem that way is because they probably are. But, before we get our panties in a bunch about sameness, it’s important to realize that some formats for celebrations and events just work. And they work well. The Charitable Wine Auction is a perfect example. It works like this: 1. There is an organization that needs to raise funds to operate2. One or two…
Mar 23, 2006
Yes, it’s true. Napa Valley’s Screaming Eagle winery has been sold. It is, perhaps the most iconic of California’s Cult Wineries and likely the inspiration for a number of new Napa Winery owners who both wanted the kind of prestige that this operation brought its owner and who also eyed the kind of cash it generated. Think about it: 500 cases of wine annually. $300 per bottle. That’s $1.8 Million. That’s some inspiration. There was a time, however, when Screaming…
Feb 27, 2006
The reason you want to get into the wine business is not to enjoy the sun on your back as you walk through your vineyard, not to help educate people about wine from a well-stocked shop and not to produce wine in your own vision. The reason you want to be in the wine business is to be able to attend the "Premier Napa Valley Tasting and Auction".Held last Saturday at the Culinary Institute of America Greystone in St. Helena,…