Buying wine online has emerged as a go-to option for both casual drinkers and connoisseurs alike. Though many retailers are just a click away, the sheer volume of choices can be overwhelming. In this post, I share my personal strategy for buying online, born out of my years as a Pacific Northwest wine lover and […]
Tasting Terroir for a Tiddlywink? Value Bordeaux Excels
Wine drinkers and non-drinkers alike know the term “Bordeaux.” Images of stuffy cigar lounges filled with haughty white folk come to mind, or perhaps an expansive and expensive cellar full of out-of-reach wines for us, everyday people. An honest look at the whole of Bordeaux, however, reveals a large winegrowing region filled primarily with modest […]
First-Rate Second Wines
Caymus, Grgich Hills, Haut-Brion. These wineries, and others of their ilk, have worked tirelessly to build brand awareness. They start by crafting memorable and compelling wines, as all great wineries must. Then they travel, in the flesh and digitally, telling their story from hilltops and dales. With this work they build recognition, and garner top-tier […]
People’s Wine
Real wine is hard to find. The charade that populates most store shelves is a group of elixirs, created to poke and tickle the right taste buds. Made in the vein of Pepsi or Fritos, these commodity wines typically showcase excessive fruit, residual sugar, and serious chugability. These are circus wines with circus labels, and […]
A Note on Jancis Robinson’s Craft Wine Concerns
Jancis Robinson recently wrote an article defending winemaking as an innately “craft” process*, and displayed deep concern over beer and spirits capturing the hearts and taste buds of the younger generations of craft beverage consumers. Robinson clearly feels threatened by the upswing in craft beer and spirits. The threat may be real, but the source […]
Is Vivino a Dependable Source?
I have recently witnessed an industry wine buyer for a Minnesota retail account and a multitude of wine consumers using Vivino to make wine buying decisions. For full disclosure, I am a “Featured User,” a designation given by Vivino to highlight a user worthy of extra attention. Most Featured Users are wine writers or influencers. […]
Between the Lines: “It’s ‘Best of Times’ To Be in the Industry Says WSWA Chief”
Distributor Consolidation Harms Producers A few months back, Leslie Gevirtz of Wine Enthusiast interviewed Craig Wolf, president of the Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America.¹ Wolf strikes an upbeat tone, and Wine Enthusiast largely maintains that confident tenor. A closer reading, however, provides evidence that Wolf has reason to celebrate . . . at the expense […]
No Fun Getting Old: Age and Wine
“How you doing, Grandpa?” “Well, it’s no fun getting old,” wheezed my great-grandfather Wes. Then, a deep breath. It was meant as a direct response to a rote question. It frequently left me grinning uncomfortably. For many, aged wine contains an aura of near mythical power. Hold a 30 year old wine in your hands, […]
Repackaged, Repriced: Trickster Branding in the 21st Century
In the February edition of Wine Business Monthly, Kevin O’Brien penned a noteworthy article filled with curious nooks and crannies. Good news! Wine sales continue to grow, especially in the $10-$25 category. Sales of $6-$10 wines have meanwhile declined. This has resulted in the “premiumization” of the wine business. Even better, wine drinkers are lusting for honest wines. […]
Tar, Barnyard, White Pepper, Compost
What makes expensive wine so expensive? I get this question more than almost any other. And it is a great question. Many layers weave together to create a wine’s price tag (Wine Economics Part I, Part II, and Part III only scratch the surface). However, a remarkable reality persists—the large majority of wine drinkers don’t particularly enjoy drinking […]