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 […]
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 […]
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. […]
The Sandbox
Corrupt Distributors and Illegal Incentives “He walked in, pulled out a roll of hundreds, and flipped me two,” gnarled the no-nonsense owner of a boutique wine shop. He had been paid by the largest distributor in the state for bringing in ten cases of wine. This is illegal. In his case, a customer requested the cases for a […]
How to Lose a Sale
Step one: Pull the cork on your winery’s award-winning Pinot Noir. Step two: Fail to test the wine for flaws prior to pouring or test the wine and fail to notice flaws. Step three: Pour two-thirds of the bottle to other tasting room guests (title shift, “How to Lose a Silly Number of Sales”). Step four: Pour award-winning wine, […]
A Romantic Ideal Must Tumble
I recently read an excellent article on “White Label wines” by Madeline Puckette and Co. over at Wine Folly. Except for one glaring bullet-point: “Some wineries with tasting rooms will make a few own-vineyard wines, but will use bulk wine sources to make their cheaper, lower-end affordable bottlings. We’d ask what’s the point of selling something […]
The Tiers Produce Tears: Tear it Down
Big Box Economics I recently returned from a marketing trip with my employer, a small Willamette Valley producer of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. As we explored the Minnesota market, meeting with local wine shops, three separate owners asked pointedly, “Will you be in Total Wine? If so, we won’t carry you.” Early in 2014, Total Wine […]
Buying Wine
All of us share the experience of buying wine. Wine purchasing can feel anxiety laden, laborious, or blissful. Wine knowledge can thankfully increase comfort and help move a buyer from anxiety to giddy-with-delight. Coming soon, wine literature must reads to increase your understanding. Today, however, let’s focus on where to buy your wine. Who can you […]
Wine Economics Part III: Reputation
“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” The Bard strikes to the heart again. In many ways, the first two posts on Wine Economics (Part I and Part II) danced around the importance of reputation. Today, we will hit the nail squarely on the […]
Wine Economics Part II: Varietals
The New World has successfully managed to bring the names of specific grapes (a.k.a. varietals) to the forefront of our minds. Most Old World wines did not traditionally include varietal labeling, opting instead for location specific labeling–Pauillac, Rioja, or Barolo, for example. While much of the Old World continues this original labeling strategy, today I […]