a

1999 frédéric esmonin griottes-chambertin

a

beaune 1er les cents vignes for sale

a

a life uncorked, hugh johnson (2005)

a

a vinexpo punch-up plus exclusive lighting

a

frédéric esmonin 99 ruchottes-chambertin

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frédéric esmonin 99 mazy-chambertin

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a corking corton

a

a few foreign whites

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2005 fourrier gevrey 1er les goulots

a

‘wine magazine seeks discerning palates’

Sports pundits, newspaper columnists, talk radio jocks and the entire ESPN organization LOVE controversy in their realm of coverage – it virtually ensures that there is something interesting to write and/or talk about on a regular basis. 

“Kobe is the greatest player in the game.” 

“No, Lebron is the best, and the more complete player.” 

“Blessedly, Brett Favre should stay retired.”

“Are you crazy, the chance to watch a Hall of Famer like Brett one more time is the blessing.”

The two drama-inducing sides of the sports coin and the ensuing pop analysis fuel more than a few news cycles; in fact they save sports from being the equivalent of the church newsletter, all events and benign fecund fun, drama not included.

Wine is no different. Though we may not have the personalities that define the conversation, we have the issues that re-occur time after time, acting as a lightning rod for as much controversy as wine folks can muster up.

With that in mind, here are the first five of the 10 issues, in no certain order, that, without passionate side-taking, would render the wine world the equivalent of the church picnic, all mustard potato salad, that one weird dish nobody eats, bad volleyball, polite small talk and zero interest.

Go ahead, and pick your side.

Wine Competitions

Wine competition interest by wineries is a product of the inability to get coverage (i.e. points) in the wine magazines. Say what you will, but medals in competition validate quality for consumers.  Having blind reviews by a panel of judges is as good of a measurement tool as any.  They’re good for wineries and good for consumers. 

Or

Wine competitions are ridiculous – have you seen some of the winners?  Besides the inherent flaw of judging with judges who have no standard experience baseline, its big wines that tend to show well, and, besides, it’s judging without food.  These competitions are completely bogus. 

Wine Magazines

Today’s wine magazines and content are a reflection of the interest that consumers and advertisers have in wine: lifestyle, luxury, aspiration and wine reviews.  They serve an audience and do it well.

Or

Today’s wine magazines suck.  They speak to a mythical audience segment that doesn’t exist, and if it does exist it’s a doctor that has a cellar and more money than wine sense.  Give me a magazine that actually is appealing to somebody that has wine chops, but a household income lower than $250K.

Restaurant wine prices

Restaurant wine prices are a reflection of the costs that go into running a dining establishment.  Without the built-in margin your entrée would be $45 instead of $30 and you’d use paper napkins instead of fresh linen. Forget about that fresh daisy on your table …

Or

When are these restaurants going to learn – if wine prices didn’t gouge you more people would be more inclined to buy a bottle regularly therefore increasing overall sales. Nowadays, I refuse to buy a bottle of wine, I’d rather hand over my ATM card to the owner so he can take out $40 bucks and put it in his pocket.  Restaurants would easily make up the margin based on volume of sales with reasonable pricing.

Parker’s Palate

It’s a fact.  I know winemakers that tailor their wines for Parker – and they’re big, rich, extracted, high in alcohol and completely undrinkable with a meal.  Kool-aid for adult kids.

Or

This whole Parker’s palate thing has gotten blown way out of proportion.  Do an analysis of his scores and they have been consistent with normal statistical variance over the years.  It’s mostly wineries that haven’t been reviewed him that are creating wines that THEY THINK he’ll like, and, for the most part, those folks continue to be on the outside looking in, perpetuating a myth.

Corporate vs. Artisanal Wine

Big wine companies are the death knell of the U.S. wine industry.  Before long, we’ll be swimming in oceans of unremarkable, cheap wine similar to the crap the Aussies have been exporting to us over the course of the last 10 years, if we aren’t already.

Not only that, but with many family-owned wineries on the verge of selling off over the next 15 years, we stand a chance of losing all that is remarkable about passionate winemaking where cases are counted by the pallet and not the truckload.

Or

This whole corporate wine thing is a big whine.  The top 30 wine companies in the country already represent over 90 percent of the domestic market by volume.  Am I supposed to worry about that percentage increasing from 90 to 93 percent in the next couple of years?

It doesn’t seem to daunt new wineries from starting – there are over 6000 of them now, and most of them are going after the same 2% of the wine buying public that buys wine over $25.  Corporate wine isn’t to blame here, the market share already exists.  What hasn’t happened yet is business Darwinism because these new wineries are launching without a clear articulation of how they are going to be successful.

Add a comment, based on which side of the issue you fall.  The balance of the Top 10 items that keep wine enthusiasts interested include, “100 point ratings,” “direct shipping” and more.

In the realm of the online world where the level of sympathy ranges from disconnectedly concerned to, “Glad it’s not me,” I find myself feeling genuinely sad after reading that wine writer Alice Feiring is on the cusp of discontinuing her blog, Veritas in Vino.

Usually a blog’s death is slow and painful as it slides into a catatonic state of neglect before dying of loneliness, with a commensurate amount of final mourners. 

Rare is the occasion when the plug is pulled, Kevorkian liberation regardless of circumstance.

Yet, Alice intimates just that – imminent blog death by her own hand.

In a blog post on the 10th of June, Alice recounts an exchange she had with another professional writer who bemoans the devaluation of the writing craft.  Alice, herself a lover of the long form, where research and cultivation of the art of telling a story is respected and valued with a monetary return for the author, is beginning to chafe at the chutzpah of Editors offering little more than exposure and nothing that comes close to affording a baguette and a glass of vin de pays, le Americain style.

As she notes on her site (excerpted):

Think of it before you jump all over us. The popularity of the blog has reduced writing to a 500-word postage stamp norm, and usually given away for free. For free. While a digest of words can be a fun exercise in craft, the indulgence the 2000- to 5000 word article was nirvana. Yes, the fee was great, but the process was the thrill and one that we exercised our chops for. And often took a pledge of borderline poverty before, because it was worth it. But now borderline is the real thing. Words and writers are no longer valued. Is it because of the blog? Oh no. For sure. But now the expectation is words are free.

But yes, I will clean up business, I’ll spill you about Austria, and there are a few words about Muscadet and a few more points to hammer before shutting the store. And then? Who knows.

It’s not hard to understand Feiring’s perspective.  A writer who has spent her professional life cultivating a body of work and a point of view is suddenly and swiftly asked to give the milk away for free from Editors who sit on high using the rubric of “traffic” and “exposure.”  This, coupled with thoughtful wine writing assignments, which are becoming as scarce as “value” wine articles are becoming plentiful, makes it hard to justify why a writer would continue to do their craft without separating from the morass of hobbyists.

Surely, a coroner who dispenses free counsel nights and weekends would excise that task if his practice suffered as a result, particularly under the weight of CSI TV show enthusiasts.

These are easy dots to connect, a writer largely does give it away for free in the digital media, particularly when blogging, so the translation is, “if you do it there, why not do it here.”

However, Feiring isn’t just another no name writer seeking a check for lifeless words that are fed into the daily maw of information consumption.

No, she is a singular voice that represents a singular point of view in American wine.

And, as she well knows, every cause needs a champion.  She might be just the champion to herald in a paying complement to the larger pay-to-play wine outlets, Advocate, Spectator and Robinson.

The answers are available, too.  Her web site could use a refresh with something akin to a navigational structure, and she could, indeed, charge for her content, adding the things that readers want to see – categories, topics and the longer pieces that fit into the paid work and the blogging that is akin to giving the milk away for free. 

Simply, I’m not ready to bid adieu to this writer online, relegated to searching for the random byline in Saveur or The New York Times magazine. 

No, this is a writer I’d be willing to pay for.

So, I humbly ask of Alice to reconsider and implore her to make an investment in her online writing.  Redesign the web site, double down your efforts and tackle the challenges that face wine writers and, yes, charge for it.

I’ll be your first subscriber.

In doing so, not only might she save the world from Parkerization, but she might save wine writers, too.

*Update*
Comments are not currently working for the site.  I’m working on the fix. 

My wife has a saying, something along the lines of, “Don’t Boo my Wow.” She likes to convey the equivalency of “Don’t Rain on My Parade” particularly when my sunshiny and warming brand of pragmatic idealism dances the fine line of disdain.

Depending on the perspective, it happens either very seldom (my perspective) or all the time (her perspective).

Understanding that, I hate to be a party pooper, but “wow” am I experiencing Murphy-Goode fatigue.

This program has officially turned into the boorish, loud-talker at the cocktail party that goes on for an hour talking about their boy-genius 1st grader, but fails to ask you your name.

Is this Murphy-Goode thing a promotional earned media opportunity or a genuine social media engagement program?

I honestly can’t tell which it is.

Murphy-Goode has gotten so much ongoing, persistent press out of this deal it almost obscures the fact that some really good, really talented people genuinely want the opportunity to work for them.

It’s almost like the Super Bowl when you realize on that early February Sunday that, yes, besides the hype and the commercials, there is actually a game to play.

And, in playing this game, the Murphy-Goode winner has to relocate, effectively leave their existing life and earn good money (not great money) for a six month temporary gig.

At the end of the day, it’s presented as a temp. job.

I dunno.  Maybe I just don’t have enough vision for how that six month gig might parlay itself into something better.  Maybe I’m not in tune enough with the zeitgeist that makes this so newsworthy.

And now VinTank layers on by offering $100K worth of pro bono consulting.  To be fair, I like Paul Mabray from VinTank, I used to work with him, and I think he is a classic entrepreneur – he has a vision for things that are still 250 miles away and very, very hazy for people until much closer to the destination.

That said, Paul is also a born marketer who knows when to catch a wave and when to beg-off on snaking a wave.

He also doesn’t shrink from a dissenting viewpoint which is why I don’t have a problem calling “bullshit” on the consulting offer, his catching a wave, so to speak.

I’d rather see him offer $10K of pro bono consulting to 10 wineries then to pile on this Murphy-Goode media reach-around.  It shouldn’t be hard – Paul can check out his Twitter followers for wineries that don’t also have a blog and/or a Facebook fan page, those that are toe-dipping and not fully engaged, and really help them grow a focused presence based on some actionable planning and in doing so measure their mindshare and sales increase. 

That would be genuinely helpful to the wine industry, spreading the seeds of positive progress.  It also helps build measurable case studies which the wine industry desperately needs, with many wineries adopting Missouri’s unofficial state motto for most things.

So, as I’m “Booing the Wow” here it was with interest that I saw a job listing for Italian Wine Merchants in the current issue of the Sommelier Journal.

To me, this gig, a Sales Portfolio Manager position, is a really good job (pun intended).

Maybe it’s appealing to me because I love Barolo but only get to drink it every full moon during a leap year.  Maybe it’s because the opportunity to penetrate the secret society of high-end collectors while acting as the equivalent of a trusted financial advisor is fascinating to me.  Regardless, Italian Wine Merchants (who didn’t respond to several inquiries for comment on the job posting) seems to have a good opportunity, natch, a great opportunity for the right candidate.

To boot, it’s a permanent position with openings in New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Chicago, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Connecticut, Seattle, Dallas, Houston, Washington DC, Hong Kong, Mexico City and London.  So, it’s in a neighborhood near you.

They are looking for (according to the job posting):

Ambitious, self-motivated and industrious sales professionals. The successful candidate will have a proven record of success in fine wine, luxury goods, wealth management, financial trading or exclusive real estate sales. The candidate will be responsible for developing and maintaining relationships with high net worth individuals, while simultaneously managing a portfolio of fine wines and other luxury products and bringing them successfully to market.

With the following attributes (edited):

• Highly motivated individual; thrives in a competitive environment
• Active learner with initiative, drive and salesmanship
• Demonstrated professional demeanor
• Refined communication skills, both over-the-phone and face-to-face
• Strong knowledge of, or interest in the fine wine industry
• Experience making phone/face-to-face sales calls (cold calls included)
• Capacity to work with a client base of high net worth individuals and to grow that client base
• Ability to identify high-level clients from large lists of leads
• Strong presentation skills to both small and large groups (20 — 100 people)
• Ability to formulate, present and implement selling plans and work within a CRM system

You can tell from the job posting that this is a serious job, for serious candidates, with the opportunity to make serious money, while being immersed in the wine business.  The previous job history they are looking for in a candidate virtually ensures a six-figure income opportunity.

Call me crazy, call me Shirley, call me whatever you want, but the longer this Murphy-Goode thing goes on with the stroking of the press, and the candidates inducing themselves into a Darwinian game of social media chess, the more my skepticism (and my empathy for the participants) increases.

They won’t be a social media consultant, they’ll be a monkey in a Twitter zoo.

If the 500 or so Murphy-Goode candidates are serious about a career in wine, the opportunities exist for a really goode permanent job, no gimmicks attached.

A part of the mainstreaming of wine in American culture is the broadening of the types of wine information we consume.

It’s happening slowly, but surely.

Every other industry in the country reports business information intermingled with enthusiast information.

Unfortunately, our popular print wine media, in their focus on lifestyle, have really hampered public awareness in terms of communicating an understanding of the ways and means in which grapes get into the bottle and how that bottle is subsequently delivered to our table.

It’s too bad, too.  If a glossy took the time to consistently report on wine in the same manner that any other industry reports on itself, we’d probably be a lot further ahead on key fronts – consumer shipping comes to mind as do distribution issues, amongst many others.

By analogy, if you’re a car buff, do you think the car rags talk about the business of the business?  You betcha.

If you’re a coffee buff, you think that the coffee community talks about fair trade and other economic issues?  You betcha.

If you’re a locavore-type kitchen foodie, you probably know more about Monsanto and Cargill then you want to.

Is this the case for wine?  Generally speaking, no its not.

And, it’s exactly this information morass that impedes knowledge and understanding on issues – issues like what the heck is “Biodynamic” anyways and how is that different from “sustainability” or even “organic.”

Or, “help me understand why exactly my friend in Ohio can get wine shipments, but I cannot?”

Go ahead, ask any random person in your supermarket wine aisle if they understand the three-tier system, wine shipping, or the myriad of other business issues that are bandied about in the industry or on blogs and you’ll get a blank stare.

Based on this lack of awareness, there are precious few wine consumer barbarians at the gate so issues remain fallow in the field.

Not only that, but since issues of transparency seem to be prevalent in all walks of life, it’s not just inevitable, but perhaps manifest destiny that this happens in the wine world, as well.

Let’s hope so.

I’ve chosen to talk about wine business and marketing on this blog because I find it personally interesting, but also because you can see wine slowly but surely catching up with the way other industries are covered.

It’s a natural evolution and plays into a phrase I’ve used at least a half dozen times on this site – I want to know what time it is AND I want to know how the watch is made.

When I first started learning about wine, I wanted to know about the business side, as well.  My choices were expensive wine business books used in college enology programs and a subscription to Wine Business Monthly.

I bought the books. I got the subscription.

Flash forward 10 years later and Tyler Colman writes a book called Wine Politics: How Governments, Environmentalists, Mobsters, and Critics Influence the Wines We Drink, published in the summer of 2008, it seems like something of a lark on behalf of his publisher, even if the book is really interesting and well-written.

In fact, in my Amazon.com review, I noted much of what I am reiterating today:

Starting this book and reading it cover to cover would get a wine novice up to speed and conversant across subject matter that is frequently difficult to penetrate … (this is) a book that every wine lover should read … If you are interested in learning the dynamics and back-story of how and why wine gets to our table in the manner that it does, in a way that is understandable and concisely explained, I cannot think of a better book to help guide you down the path to greater understanding.

Well, it seems that trending is finally happening to the extent that even if our glossies don’t cover these issues, publishers will.

Off press or soon to be printed book titles include:

From Demon to Darling: A Legal History of Wine in America by Richard Mendelson (publishing June 15th)

The Business of Wine: A Global Perspective by Per V. Jenster (published May 28th)

The Little Red Book of Wine Law: A Case of Legal Issues by Carol Robertson (published January 25, 2009)

The Business of Wine: An Encyclopedia by John and Geralyn Brostrom (Published December 30, 2008)

For each of these books, I offer my good wishes for profitable sales and an increasingly growing awareness amongst wine lovers for the myriad of issues that go into the glass.

Everybody would be better served by an increased and ongoing review of the business issues in wine, just like virtually every other industry.

Or, put simply in marketing terms – let’s give people less sizzle, and more steak.

More Wine Business—Amazon.com Wine Update

According to an article published at TechFlash, a site that extensively covers Amazon.com, Amazon has been inviting select wine industry members for a beta preview of the site the week of June 15th.

Catavino has traveled more this year than ever before, and just when life has settled to a peaceful calm, we’re off again. This past weekend we visited Benidorm, Spain, a place that you should see at least once in your life; not for the wine, mind you, but for the odd combination of location, tourism and the sheer mass of humanity.

We attended the inaugural conference of Road Web TV, and having very little concept of what we were walking into, we were especially impressed by the results of the event. The idea was simple: get everyone related to webtv in Spain in one location and see what happens! What happened was a considerable amount of conversation, brainstorming and networking. It was exciting to see so much fervent energy and creativity around video blogging in Spain, while truly promoting it as a valid and an incredibly affective tool in new media. Thanks to everyone who took the time and energy to make the conference such a success, and if you want to see some videos about the importance of wineries embracing video on the web, make sure to check out our blog at: http://catavino.net/services/blog/

Chardonnay in Rioja

In other news, Chardonnay is now an official variety in Rioja. I personally file this one in the “do I care” category. Rioja, as of late, is still riding the wave on the success of its own name. No innovation, no change, just a move to allow varietals that many wineries have already planted long ago in anticipation that this change would occur. And now that the regulation has passed, all Chardonnay vines that currently exist will make wines for the current vintage, rather than waiting the normal 5 years it takes for a new vine to contribute. This quote is a gem though:

Ricardo Aguiriano San Vincente, director of marketing for Rioja’s Consejo Regulador, told decanter.com: ‘With these new varieties we are trying to make Viura more fruity and fresh as that is what consumers want.’

Have you ever had a Lopez de Heredia white wine? We still have a few bottles of 1989 vintage laying around, and if you try one, you will see that Rioja doesn’t have a problem with its white wines. This wine is amazing, but it takes a long time to make and few people have the patience. Hence, the quote above should read: “With these new varieties, we are trying to avoid having to do any real work to make great wines from the grapes we already produce.” In other words, quality whites from Rioja take effort. Adding Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Verdejo, as well as the native Maturana Blanca, Tempranillo Blanco, and Turruntés just makes it easier to make commercial wines faster. Then again, bodegas like Tobia and Dinastia Vivianco in recent years have proven that you can make great whites if you have a little patience. Their recent releases have been crowd pleasers and still adhere to tradition.

Catavino Spanish Wine Education Scholarship

Please let us know if you want to enter! Classes start next week in Denver, and throughout the rest of the US following this schedule. We would love to see bloggers, not just wine bloggers, attend this certification, as it is a great opportunity to learn about the wines we adore! To make the deal even sweeter, we’re going to offer a free DeLong Iberian Wine Map to the first person to send in a post for the contest! So make sure to leave a comment and link here to enter! All it takes is a post  answering the following: why do you want to learn more about Spanish wine? You can write an article, make a video, take a descriptive picture, or record a podcast. If you can’t find a date that works, please pass on the information to people who you think can! Don’t let this opportunity slip by!

Bodegas Mendoza Tasting

Finally, at the Road Web Tv Conference, we had the chance to participate in a small casual tasting. Bodegas Enrique Mendoza contributed the wines, and we tasted the 2005 Shiraz and the 2004 Santa Rosa. Gabriella and I both found that the Shiraz was either not showing well or had a fault. Our first glass was bitter and acrid, and the second while better, still did not do anything for either of us. That said, the Santa Rosa was very nice, rich and complex, though sadly, we were drinking out of cheap bar glass, so the wines did not have time to breathe. Interestingly, earlier in the day, we also tasted their Chardonnay and a 2008 off-dry Moscatel. The Chardonnay was nice, though a bit austere, and lacking the weight I was I looking for. That said, the Moscatel was a brilliant balance of sweetness and acidity, which combined beautifully with a light perfumey nose. This is a highly recommended treat!

That’s all for now!

Cheers,

Ryan Opaz

Follow us on Twitter: @catavino, @ryanopaz, @gabriellaopaz

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