Ideally the wash wine commission would be focusing on this. I believe this ties closely to your previous column on AVA's and their identity and how they are marketed. this is even a bigger battle. is there a national version of our state commission? I'm showing my age by flashing back to the california dancing raisins and what a great marketing program that what. maybe wine needs something similar?
The dancing raisins - Heard It Through The Grapevine! One of the greatest ad campaigns of all time. Yes there are national organizations but they mostly focus on lobbying for changes in alcohol laws, shipping laws, interstate commerce laws etc. The state and local organizations do the AVA specific marketing, not always all that well I'm afraid.
Wine America is our national advocacy group, granted it is focused on legal and political work not consumer marketing. The Wa Wine Commission gets $ from tiny taxes on # of grape tons harvested each vintage in WA. They do no political work and only marketing work by contrast. So far US wine producers (read CA, WA, OR, NY) haven’t sat down to agree on a way to fund a US wine marketing institution- though I like your idea kenbo…
I’ve only recently come upon your writings. I was introduced to wine nearly 50 years ago by the wine buyer for a prestigious New Orleans restaurant. Later I had the good fortune to work with an owner of a Napa winery. I slowly educated myself about wine. It was also a geographical experience. This culminated with volunteering at a boutique wine shop owned by a Frenchman whose family was in the Bordeaux wine trade. In the mid-1990’s I participated in the Bordeaux barrel tasting. As a comment to your recent article relating to increasing wine awareness and enjoyment, I believe the primary barrier is price. Just as opera began as an experience designed for the masses and is now thought to be in the elitist realm, so has wine gone. Restaurants make wine too expensive for the average person with obscene markups. The wines you reviewed from EIEIO, a winery I visited years ago and respect and enjoy, whose prices out of reach for the average buyer, is a good example. These smaller wineries are able to market to a niche clientele are able to survive. But, as an industry, I agree it’s having image and pricing problems. Thanks for your efforts.
Thank you Chuck for your insights. For many years I wrote a weekly wine column for the Seattle Times and its affiliated newspapers. I went out of my way to feature affordable wines that were widely available. That was what that larger newspaper readership wanted. For this Substack my focus is on small, artisanal, family-owned wineries. I don't think any of them are having an easy time making a go of it, nor are they getting rich. So yes, I agree, prices are high and out of reach for every day drinking. But that's not greed - it's a combination of vastly higher costs of doing business compared with say 20 years ago. When I find an under $20 bottle that is truly exceptional I will always give it a shout-out.
Ideally the wash wine commission would be focusing on this. I believe this ties closely to your previous column on AVA's and their identity and how they are marketed. this is even a bigger battle. is there a national version of our state commission? I'm showing my age by flashing back to the california dancing raisins and what a great marketing program that what. maybe wine needs something similar?
The dancing raisins - Heard It Through The Grapevine! One of the greatest ad campaigns of all time. Yes there are national organizations but they mostly focus on lobbying for changes in alcohol laws, shipping laws, interstate commerce laws etc. The state and local organizations do the AVA specific marketing, not always all that well I'm afraid.
Wine America is our national advocacy group, granted it is focused on legal and political work not consumer marketing. The Wa Wine Commission gets $ from tiny taxes on # of grape tons harvested each vintage in WA. They do no political work and only marketing work by contrast. So far US wine producers (read CA, WA, OR, NY) haven’t sat down to agree on a way to fund a US wine marketing institution- though I like your idea kenbo…
and I have so say that I was a big fan of your buty wines back in the day!
I’ve only recently come upon your writings. I was introduced to wine nearly 50 years ago by the wine buyer for a prestigious New Orleans restaurant. Later I had the good fortune to work with an owner of a Napa winery. I slowly educated myself about wine. It was also a geographical experience. This culminated with volunteering at a boutique wine shop owned by a Frenchman whose family was in the Bordeaux wine trade. In the mid-1990’s I participated in the Bordeaux barrel tasting. As a comment to your recent article relating to increasing wine awareness and enjoyment, I believe the primary barrier is price. Just as opera began as an experience designed for the masses and is now thought to be in the elitist realm, so has wine gone. Restaurants make wine too expensive for the average person with obscene markups. The wines you reviewed from EIEIO, a winery I visited years ago and respect and enjoy, whose prices out of reach for the average buyer, is a good example. These smaller wineries are able to market to a niche clientele are able to survive. But, as an industry, I agree it’s having image and pricing problems. Thanks for your efforts.
Thank you Chuck for your insights. For many years I wrote a weekly wine column for the Seattle Times and its affiliated newspapers. I went out of my way to feature affordable wines that were widely available. That was what that larger newspaper readership wanted. For this Substack my focus is on small, artisanal, family-owned wineries. I don't think any of them are having an easy time making a go of it, nor are they getting rich. So yes, I agree, prices are high and out of reach for every day drinking. But that's not greed - it's a combination of vastly higher costs of doing business compared with say 20 years ago. When I find an under $20 bottle that is truly exceptional I will always give it a shout-out.