Fermentation: The Daily Wine Blog

A (wine) Star Is Born

This pretty much made my day!

I do believe a star is born.

A Very Unusual Wine Book

"The House of Mondavi", a new book by Julia Flynn Siler, is a very unusual wine book. As an indication of just how unusual take a look at what  the "Customers who bought this item also bought" at Amazon.com:

Richistan: A Journey Through the American Wealth Boom and the Lives of the New Rich

The Sushi Economy: Globalization and the Making of a Modern Delicacy

The Last Tycoons: The Secret History of the Lazard Freres & Company.

Not many books are ever released that focus on the business of wine. Most are "how to drink" and "how to know what you are drinking". But then Siler is taking on a very unusual wine business in "House of Mondavi". Despite the ubiquitousness of Mondavi-branded wines in America, it remains one of only a handful of wineries to ever be traded publicly and to ever reach the heights of general public recognition.

On the other hand, Julia Siler is a very unusual reporter. You can count the number of folks who cover wine as a business outside the trade publications on one hand. This unusual position puts Ms. Siler in the position of getting the middle finger on that hand since unlike most writers on wine she actually doesn't write about the "glamor" and tastiness of wine, but rather the character of its underbelly.

The book itself is part history, part wine book, part business expose with a dollop of gossip thrown in. That's about the right combination to attract a pretty wide audience. And all in all it seems to me the author has done a pretty good job of combining all those perspectives, delivering a page-turning event, and opening up the other side of wine to folks who probably only know that Napa Valley makes damn good wine and is a pretty cool place to visit. There's also intrigue in them thar vineyards.

Robert Mondavi, the focus of the book, comes off pretty as I see it. This man was a force of nature, a seer, and someone with a remarkably generous disposition. This all comes through in "House" despite the occasional implication that Mr. Mondavi could have known better at times, perhaps treated some folks close to him better or taken different directions that would have made for a happier outcome for many people. But I don't think the delivering the kindly and farseeing side of Mr. Mondavi was the author's intent. Why should it be? She wasn't writing, "Mondavi: Great Man of Wine". That story has been written over and over. But the fact that his greatness does come through loud and clear in a book that is a business expose is testament not only to him but those who know him and provide background and information to the author and despite the implications of the book that Mr. Mondavi's charitable inclinations had something to do with the course of the company's stock price and viability.

As I was reading the book, I started wondering just how man such stories could be written about the wine industry. How many compelling business-related books on the wine industry actually deserve to be written and would resonate with enough readers to justify their publication by a company in the business of making money through book publication?

I can think of two or three that have already been written, but those focused more on the business of wine or of Napa Valley, rather than a person or company. Those books will surely be written again as more and more folks become interested in wine and want a peak behind the curtain. Then of course there was the recent book on Robert Parker that was both personal profile and part business profile.

I'm not sure another "House of Mondavi" will be written anytime soon as something similar would take finding a character such as Robert Mondavi, someone nearly larger than life in the business who personally changed the business and became known most American households.

There are a number of folks around Napa Valley who are upset with the tone and substance of Julia Flynn Siler's book and by extension with her. Napa Valley and the wine business is a pretty small place and folks can be understandably protective of their home and friends. They'll probably get over it. In the end, Robert Mondavi is far more than what are between the pages of this book for these folks, for Napa and for the wine industry. However, "House of Mondavi" is a pretty darn interesting look into the wine industry, particularly for those not living here, not FOM and who enjoy a good read.

Good News...No Need to Read My Blog

Good News!!!

You no longer have to come to Fermentation: The Daily Wine Blog in order to read it. You can now read Fermentation: The Daily Wine Blog   HERE .

...And the best part...You don't even have to know what you are reading is from the Fermentation: The Daily Wine Blog.

...because they use my copy and don't attribute it to me. Isn't technology great!!

WineOnlineDirect.com  appears to be a wine blog with pretty good wine information, if don't say so myself. It imports posts from other blogs as its own copy. On the front page it has the first paragraph of its imported posts from other wine blogs. You can read the rest by clicking on the title of the post. No where on this page does it mention the blog from which the post was....taken.

When you load the page with the entire post you see down at the bottom of the page, in small, light grey type, "originally posted by Tom Wark"...with a link to Fermentation.

It appears that besides me, others in the wine blogosphere are getting this lovely bit of exposure including
The Seattle Wine Blog, Jamie Goode's Wine Blog, and WineCast.

WineOnlineDirect.com has one purpose in life: shove as many GoogleAds as possible on to one page and collect as much money as possible from click throughs.

Am I off my rocker thinking I should be getting a cut of this income??

How about you Jamie, Tim and Gene? Have you gotten a cut?

As I mentioned in another post a few days ago, I recently made the mistake in another forum of using someone else's copy without attributing it to them. Dumb!! However, in my defense, I did not set up a money making venture based on stealing their copy then trying to hide a fleeting reference to them. Color me proud? No. Color me honest.

Wineonlinedirect.com is run by a company called Eyeball Farm out of Sacramento. They are an online pay-per-click ad firm. The firm is run by a gentleman named Jim Bonfield. I was thinking about writing to Jim (jim@eyeballfarm.com) to ask why he was trying to pass off my work has his. Or at least to ask him to place a prominent link to FERMENTATION on the front of his website where my posts show up so prominently. Maybe someone else will do that.

Instead I thought I'd take this moment to merely reiterate how cool it is that folks like Tim at WineCast, Jamie at Jamie Goode's Wine Blog, Gene at Seattle Wine Blog and all the other bonafide bloggers work so hard to pump out good information and viewpoints on the world of wine. These are honest attempts to inform their readers and feed their own passions rather than being....well...being similar to the WineOnlineDirects of the world.

For those of you interested in a very good example of how to use other people's blogs to help people get info while making sure attribution is given to the blogger check out WineLifeToday and AlaWine .

Where's My Tin Foil Hat?

I have a couple of acquaintances who could legitimately be called Kooks of the Tin Foil hat variety. You probably know the type either from having come across one in a political forum on the Internet or in movies as the over-the-top conspiracy theorists who sees black helicopters flying through the night sky. My two acquaintances happen to be of the "a-powerful-cabal-of-one-worlders-are- conspiring-to-make-us-all-slaves" type.

There is no doubt there they would point to THIS STORY as evidence, then point to this quote from the story as proof:

"With the passage of Senate Bill 131, Ohioans can take opened bottles home in the car."

As I think about the implications of this particular story, I find myself reaching for a tin foil hat.

How is it that Ohioans, and probably citizens of nearly every other state in America, need to have their politicians pass a law in order to have the right to take home with them an unfinished bottle of wine?

You pay $50 for bottle of wine at your favorite restaurant but just can't finish it. It turns out that in some states you have to leave $25 worth of wine on the table rather than take it home with you the same way you would an unfinished heap of pasta.

I commend the state of Ohio for passing it's new law that allows one to take home an unfinished bottle of wine, but lament the fact that there actually must be a law to allow it.

The problem of course is that we can't be trusted with an open bottle of wine in the car with us. While this kind of nannyism isn't enough to make me pack up and move to the hills or to a country where the powerful cabal of slave drivers can not reach, it does, for me, make that tin foil hats look just a bit more like a sassy accessory than a sign of having gone over the edge.

Wine, Dope, Jesus and Free Speech

The extent of the State's ability to control speech doesn't often touch on the issue of wine or alcohol. Yet today I think it does. At least today's Supreme Court ruling in the "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" case reminds me of the ways by which substances such as wine and alcohol are treated by the state.

The 5-4 ruling today tells us that a school has the right to censor speech at school events that might be construed as advocating drug use against the schools stated policy.

At the school my children go to here in Sonoma Valley, they are prohibited from wearing any clothing that contains the image of alcohol or a pro-alcohol message. For example, if I get a T-Shirt from Ravenswood that says "No Wimpy Wines" and give it to my boy, he may not wear it to school because it promotes alcohol consumption. If found wearing it he will be given a large, bright orange T-shirt to wear over it for the day that reads, "Tomorrow I will dress for success".

There are other clothing prohibitions in place at the school, most of which have to do with gang apparel and scanty clothing.

My point is that wine and other types of alcohol are lumped with gangs, drugs and promiscuity at my children's school and likely at other schools across the nation. This will not come as news to most people. Nor do I think it's necessarily a situation that demands some sort of community uprising. (The fact is it would take a heck of a lot more than banning a wine t-shirt at school to get most wine communities to rise up.)

So while I don't know how Jesus would have felt about bong hits, I do wonder what the school's reaction would be to this t-shirt:

"JESUS LIKED WINE MORE THAN WATER!"

Maybe one day the Supreme Court will even tell us if this is a subversive message.

Loving the Fermentation Wine Blog

A Salute to Those Who Help Keep FERMENTATION going. Check them out. Please.

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HUMANITAS WINERY. Where givers go to drink charitably

 

RADCRU. One wine per day is all you need

INERTIA BEVERAGE GROUP. The winery-direct revolutionaries

 

WINE TASTING NETWORK. State of the art wine fulfillment

How To Successfully Bait Tom Wark

This is how you successfully bait Tom Wark:

YOU STUPID DIPSHIT WHINING SNIVILING MUST BE A DOPESMOKING, SHORT-DICK SYNDROME, PUD. IT IS ALL ABOUT A CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE, FIRST, AND THE SHEER CAPACITY SECOND. dO YOU GO TO THE LOWES STORE EXPECTING, NAY DEMANDING, THAT THEY CARRY EVERY FUCKING BRAND-SIZE-COLOR-MODEL-YEAR OF PAINT? DO YOU THINK THE GOV. OUGHT TO LET YOU(OR YOUR 14YR OLD) BUY YOUR ZANAX ON LINE OR AT WALMART? GO DIRECT IF YOU WANT, EVERY ONE ELSE THAT WANTS TO IS, JUST SHUT THE FUCK UP ON YOUR HIGH-HORSE-SMARTER THAN EVERY-ONE ELSE IN THE WORLD LIBERAL DROOL.

For the record, no I don't go into Lowes expecting them to stock everything. However, I dont' expect the government to mandate that I am only allowed to shop for home improvement goods at Lowes or at brick and mortar home improvement stores.

Communing with my Imagination

Anyone who isn't dreaming about a better life or at least a lifestyle more suited to their disposition probably isn't very imaginative.

So, count me among the imaginative.

Now and again I'll peruse the various wine/vineyard real estate listings, usually just to see who is selling what, to discover what the going prices is for vineyards and wineries, etc. Yesterday I came across this Anderson Valley/Mendocino Ridge property that looks pretty tempting. and gets the imagination going:

Anderson Valley/Mendocino Ridge appellation
80 acres
Remote
Access to the metropolis of Boonville and Philo
12 acres of Old Vine Zin, Chard and Pinot
A very good reputation for the grapes
More room to plant
Two homes
Room for another home
Ponds.
$2 Million

One of the most tempting parts of this property is, of course, the vineyard. DuPratt has yielded grapes that have been made into outstanding wines by Navarro and Steel. The Zin portion of the vineyard was planted about 90 years ago. The vineyard itself is at an elevation of 1,200 feet meaning the cooler weather produces grapes that lead to wines of "mountain" character. Read: Good backbone and structure. And it appears that there are folks more than willing to line up to buy the grapes if the new buyer isn't inclined to make their own wine. Were you to sell the grapes off the Dupratt vineyard its unlikely you'd get anywhere close to covering your mortgage. But the view of the vineyards from your house might make up for that.

The other tempting part of this property is the location. Anderson Valley and it's surrounding ridges is simply a stunning locale that is likely being discovered by buyers as we speak. I certainly see more and more Anderson Valley wines these days. My experience with the the folks that live there has been wonderful also. Good people.

I wonder if one could run a public relations firm from this location?

Anyone up for a commune?

Altruism, Community, Wine & SNOOTH

I've been thinking a lot about Snooth lately. The recently launched meta site that aggregates reviews from numerous sources, as well as those entered directly on the site, to come up with aesthetic and critical profiles of wines, is a good thing. A very good thing.

If the web is to become a reliable place to go for opinions on products then we'd better have a variety of opinions. That's what makes me particularly interested in Snooth.

When running on all cylinders Snooth has the potential to deliver an array of opinions on wines ranging from the consumers, the retailers, the critics and the wine competitions. They attempt to translate all this information into a five point rating scale (it delivers half points...that's good). This is ambitious. But it wouldn't be worth doing if ambition were not built into the project. Just look around the net at all the other websites that offer "community reviews" of wines. Seems to me if you are going to enter this space, enter it big and bold. And that appears to be what Snooth is doing.

Snooth is currently pulling reviews from around the web, including CellarTracker, which seems to be the most successful community review site. However, there are also scores from the Spectator, Tanzer and others. There are medals listed from competitions.

This brings up a big difference between Snooth and other review aggregate sites: A skepticism with altruism. Cellar Tracker was built on the idea that wine lovers would be kind enough to offer their reviews of wines. And they've stepped up and done so. But there is no guarantee that this model of relying on folks to deliver their views on a wine to your website will pan out. There is in fact a real and obvious possibility that many a wine will be missed or ignored.

Altruism can't be counted on. And the folks at Snooth, while they encourage the kindness of wine lovers by asking them to rate wines, have made a point of creating software that scours other sources of altruism, not to mention the professional points of view.

Snooth currently has over 1.5 million "reviews" or comments on various wines. How long would it take to generate that kind of useful content if you relied on altruism?

The other beauty of Snooth, and the reason you should use it and bet on it, is the way it allows one to search for wines or receive recommendations for wines based on wine-related words: heavy, big, cherry, oaky, low alcohol, etc. What this means is that both the review-obsessed as well as the ordinary wine lover who  simply knows what they want, can make good use of Snooth.

Snooth will eventually be monetized by allowing retailers to upload their inventory, which allows a "buy now" button to be associated with any wine in the system that is currently sold by any participating retailers. Eventually snooth will take a cut or percentage of each sale. I suspect if the community grows advertising will also be a revenue generating possibility. And why shouldn't it be a part of the site? A good ad for a good product isn't offensive in the least.

Everything depends on the user base Snooth can create.

Here's hoping it creates a base of millions of users.

Things I've Been Wanting to Say...

So much to impart, so little time. So, Here are some mini posts about things I've been wanting to say....

1. 100 POSTS: The Cork Board Blog, which just finished up its 100th post, is turning out to be one of the best new blogs in  the past couple of years. The Cork Board focuses on Napa Valley. I'm unaware of another blog, though it may exist, that constantly works the Napa Valley beat. That's hard to believe.

2. A BLOG FOR WA: There are other very good wine blogs focused on Washington State. A new one in the game is Write For Wine (nice title!) They just started up this month. Go give them some love and check out a new WA perspective.

3. I KNOW IT MEANS SOMETHING IMPORTANT:  Wine Opinions released a new survey that Steve Bachmann over at The Wine Collector has some interesting comments on. The survey looks at purchase influencers. Based on the survey, Steve, among other things, concludes the following:

-Initiatives to apply social networking to generating wine recommendations should have a receptive audience.

-Internet-based wine opinions contained in blogs or shared tasting notes are already a significant influence factor and growing stronger based on a steady flow of new initiatives.

Of course this last one interests me. The survey reports that "24% of consumers in the panel read wine blogs, about double the level which read the Wine Advocate or eRobertparker.com."

I'm not even sure what this means. But I think it is important.

4. DUMB, BUT INSTRUCTIVE: So, the other day I'm writing up a newsletter for Specialty Wine Retailers Association and I use a quote from Rich Cartiere's Wine Market Report. But, I didn't attribute it to him. Dumb. It was an oversight on my part. But it was dumb nonetheless. In the course of talking it over with Rich, who has been at the business of reporting on wine since before there was an Internet, he made a good point about attribution and the Internet: It's crucial and particularly crucial to those who have subscribers. We bloggers in particular sneakily use (steal?---look a the item above) things from others all the time. We give attribution and think we've done enough by doing so. One thing I try to do when I find myself inspired by another's writing is NOT to reprint the whole thing that inspired me. It's important to send people to the source, not only so they can get the whole story in context but so that these other sources have reason to keep publishing. Apologies to Rich and reminders to myself: always attribute and always link back and always give' em a reason to follow the link.

5. WHATTA PALATE!: How does Alder do it? I honestly have no idea how a one man show like Vinography can taste and post in such volume about so many wines as he does when he writes up those events. His Napa Auction and Rhone Ranger rundowns betray a man with a palate of amazing stamina. Wow.

6. OH, HOW I WISH: Anyone who wonders what the benefits are of being an accomplished and successful person in the wine business needs to read this post from John Kapon at Blogau Vin. OH MY GOD!

7. COMIC RELIEF FROM THE LOGIC-IMPAIRED: It's one of the silliest things I've ever read. Let me get this straight. If there is any risk at all that a minor will be able to obtain alcohol form a particular sales channel, we should prevent any wine from being sold through that channel. I do believe Craig Wolf, President of the Wine & Spirit Wholesalers Association, is angling to put his own membership out of business. After all, we really need to shut down all those brick and mortar retail outlets that sell wine. Minors might get alcohol through then. Wait...they DO get alcohol through them. Funny stuff, Craig!

America's New Wine Hero

There is a new Wine Hero.

And you should salute him. You should shout his name from the tallest grapevine.

Darrell Corti

Why?

Read Alan Goldfarb's story at Appellation America in which he reports that Corti will no longer sell any wines over 14.5% alcohol.

"They (high alcohol wines) make you very tired. My idea of a really good bottle of wine is that two people finish the bottle and wish there was just a little bit more. Some of these wines with high levels of alcohol -- you can’t finish the bottle. You don’t want to finish the bottle."

Amen, Brother!

Goldfarb is, as far as I know, the only person to interview Corti on this subject. And it's well worth a close reading. Corti is famous as being among the foremost authorities in CA on Italian wines. His family has owned Corti Brothers store in Sacramento for 50 years. The man is highly respected and deservedly so.

What could Corti's decision and articles like this about his decision lead to? Exposure. Exposure to the idea that great wine does NOT need to be 14, 15 and 16 percent alcohol...even if it comes from sunny California. There is a generation of serious wine drinkers in America that have been convinced that it must put you under the table to be any good.

They've been misinformed.

Wine Biz On The Radio

It's my monthly stint on local radio today. I'll be co hosting with "KAZ" Kasmier on KSVY's "Wine Biz" radio show.

Fun stuff, only partly serious, a good way to pass an hour while you are working.

Time: 1pm
Date: Today (June 18)
Station: KSVY (Listen Here)

I'm never sure what the topic of the day is going to be when I'm on Kaz's show. Kaz, of course, has a unique insight into the wine biz having been a winemaker and winery owner for many years. I often find myself talking about direct shipping or public relations or marketing or just commenting on the wine news of the day.

So, if you choose to listen and want to talk about something wine related or wine biz related, just call in.

What Wine Geeks Do

Ok. Get this!

A new website. Users buy "stock" in particular vintages of wine. Wines in your portfolio are valued based on various prices for the wine across the Internet. It's a game. Whoever has the highest current increase in cellar value wins.

A friend of mine related to me his encounter with a person who is apparently building this website.They are serious about it, probably because it's not too hard to program and it hasn't been done yet. This seems to be the criteria for "cool" in the world of websites these days.

Let me be the first to say that this would be mighty cool.

Imagine how much of a wine geek you'd have to be to actually win at this game. You'd have to be the conductor on the Wine Geek Express.   That bit of astonishment aside, what would you have in your portfolio? That is to say, which wines do you believe will go up in price the fastest?

I'm not sure anymore. When I worked with Winebid.com, the on-line auction house, I probably could have won the damn thing. Not so much now.

Would you load up on the new limited CA pinot maker or Napa Valley cab maker? Or would you look to the current hot vintage from a reliable old world appellation?

My New Puppy's Kibble: 75 Points

Blake Gray did a stellar job in today's SF Chronicle wine section profiling the 100 Point rating system. One part of the story really made me think. I've considered this before, but it deserves highlighting.

Certain varietals and wines simply don't appear to be in contention for a 100 point rating. They include Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc, Beaujolais, Rose. You know, those wines that simply can't, without a tremendous amount of magic applied, every be truly powerful and over-the-top.

This is not an indictment of the 100 point scale. It is rather an indictment of nearly every wine reviewer in the world as well as the simplicity of the American palate and mind.

I defy anyone to make a cogent argument for the propriety of the phenomena that is American Roses never attaining 100 points or, for that matter, as far as I know, any rose ever getting 100 points.

Please...somebody...please explain why it is proper that this has never occurred. Has there really never been a great Rose? Has there never been a rose with impeccable balance, well defined aromas and flavors, etc?

I don't see how it is possible to argue with the reviewers that give 95-100 points for the most powerful of wines that hit their palates. We are talking about subjective evaluatiion that includes a personal opinion as to what makes a wine great. However, that personal criteria for greatness is as objectively authoritative as my new puppy's apparent view that chopped steak is a greater meal than his kibble that stays untouched.

The Dictatorship of the Distributariat

Those who have studied social systems or those who are simply keenly aware of the way the world has worked over the past century or so understand that much evil and degradation of humanity has occurred when relatively small, elite groups are given power over the way a society will work. Under the Soviet “Marxist-Leninism” system for example, the “Dictatorship of the Proletariat” was the name given to Communist Party that dictated how the society would be organized and who would benefit most. In societies and groups where the individual simply strives to live the best life they can imagine, this small, elite dictatorship made achieving that goal pretty difficult.

Today, many are arguing that multi-national corporations are play the same role, just on a grander scale and with somewhat less of a stranglehold on the day to day lives of individuals.

What’s interesting to note is how the three-tier system of wine distribution is a very similar system to the old Soviet style social system, just applied to a subset of the broader society of the United States.

Think of the state-mandated three tier system of alcohol distribution (producers of wine selling to distributors who sell to retailers/restaurants who sell to the ultimate user) as the equivilent of the social system known as Soviet Communism. The absolute necessity of each tier relating to each other tier and to the consumer in a very specific way is the structure of the Wine Lover Society just as the common ownership of the means of production by all the people who then relate to the ruling dictatorship (the communist party/Dictatorship of the Proletariat) in very specific ways was the structure of the Soviet system.

Now, think of the distributor/wholesaler tier as the Communist Party. We’ll call their near absolute control of who may sell what and drink what the “Dictatorship of the Distributariat.” Just as the Communist Party in the USSR determined exactly who would prosper, who would not, how commercial and interpersonal relationships would develop and how the individual would be allowed to pursue the best life they can imagine, the distributor/wholesalers in each state dictate exactly how the wine lover will pursue their goal of enjoying wine.

It is heartening, and ultimately a good sign for wine lovers, that the Dictatorship of the Distributariat is being challenged and starting to crack. In fact, it’s looking a lot like wineries, retailers and consumers are just about ready to get out their sledgehammers and start pounding on the anti-consumer wall the distributors have erected.

Technology has been the instigator in the revolution that will eventually lead to wine lovers’ unfettered access to all wine and to the dismantling of the state-mandated three tier system. Once the individual could easily learn about and find the location of just about any wine in the world it was only a matter of time before they started demanding they be able to get their hands on it. Down the road the Internet will be able to claim responsibility for one more victim in its unrelenting destruction of various foundations for economic activity. Real Estate, travel, book selling, entertainment distribution, and, eventually, wine distribution will all have been reformed by the power of the Internet to fundamentally alter economic relationships between people.

What makes the wine industry so unique among this list is that unlike all the other industries mentioned, the wine industry has had the form of its distribution system mandated by the state. While I suspect the old distributors in the travel, book and entertainment industries got quite wealthy just like the wine distributors have, I don’t think they actually had their wealth generation capability protected by state mandate.

This makes the coming demise of the Dictatorship of the Distributariat all the more satisfying.

When you consider how you might set up a society, or a society within a society, experience tells us that one fundamental aspect of human behavior must not be violated if you want to achieve any degree of harmony: People want the opportunity to express themselves and their belief as to what make’s life worth living. Looking back at the variety of social systems it’s clear that this priority has all too often been stymied. Too often it is stymied by a corruption of the system.

Soviet Communism clearly discounted basic human motivations. Slave economies did the same, to say the least. Feudalism was found wanting in this area when compared to the benefits of mercantilism and capitalism. And perhaps capitalism will one day be found wanting even as it too is corrupted either by people or technology or some other phenomena.

But to the list of ideas and system that we can now say with some assurance that they are bankrupt in their ability to support human aspirations, we can add the Dictatorship of the Distributariat—the state-mandated three tier system for wine distribution.

This is not to say that the 3-tier system will EVER go away, just the STATE-MANDATED form. It is simply impractical to imagine all wineries selling and delivering themselves to retailers and restaurants in states across the country.

Wine Tech: Don't Fail Me Now!

Maybe it's just the proximity of the Wine 2.0 event and the annual Wine Industry Technology Symposium (WITS) that  takes place next month, but it seems "technology" is quite the buzzword in the wine industry these days. Or it could just be that I've been obsessed with technology over the past two weeks since it has failed me in numerous ways as one computer system and network system after another has gone down at Wark Communications. But I don't think it's the latter.

While Wine 2.0 might be the "cool" wine tech event, WITS is the industry's "this-is-very-serious-business" event. You can tell just how serious this event is just by looking at the impressively bulky URL it uses for it's website: http://www.wineindustrytechnologysymposium.com

In truth this event, held on July 17 at Napa's Meritage Hotel, is a comprehensive look at how technology affects and is used by nearly every element of the wine industry from the consumer to the producer and everything else in between. As an example, here are the seminars and panel discussions that will be held at WITS:

1: Advances in Sales Automation and Category Management
2: Cutting Edge Retailer Models
3: New Developments in Supply Chain Technologies, Strategies
4: The Five Habits of Successful Wineries
5: Consumer Direct Compliance, From A to Z
6: Understanding and Maximizing Web 2.0
7: Tips for Successful Technology Project Management
8: Systems that Drive Net Performance Incentives
9: Meeting Compliance Challenges Head-on
10: Advances in Wine Production Tools
11: Trends in Vineyard Management Systems
12: Streamlining Barrel Management

I hear that the "Streamlining Barrel Management" seminar is not to be missed. I'll be sitting on the "Understanding and Maximizing Web 2.0" panel where I'll have something to say about the potential for community development and building brand loyalty and the changes in the wine media that are all related to Web 2.0 and blogging.

WITS is one of the more affordable big wine industry trade events. Registration fees are $375 per person before June 30th; $425 per person starting July 1.

The Cost of Consumer Disregard

HB 429 is a bill moving through the Illinois legislature that will have disastrous effects not only for consumer but also for the state of Illinois.

The bill proposes to strip Illinois consumers of their long held right to purchase wine from out-of-state wine stores. While creating a permit that out-of-state wineries can obtain that allows them to ship to Illinois consumers, HB 429 will actually reduce choice and raise costs for Illinois wine lovers. Among the negative consequences of HB 429 are:

1. Illinois Consumer would no longer be allowed to legally purchase and have shipped to them wine from out-of-state wine stores, a right they’ve had for 15 years

2. Thousands of imported and California wines would no longer be accessible to Illinois consumers

3. The thousands of IL consumers that belong to wine store-based wine clubs will be forced to cancel their memberships

4. IL tax payers, just like those in other states where similar laws have been passed, will quite likely be saddled with a legal bill in the millions of dollars as the state is forced to defend the new law from legal challenges to its unconstitutional discrimination against out-of-state wine stores

5. Illinois consumers will no longer be able to access on-line wine stores to search for the best price on thousands of wines, leading to higher prices for the wines they want

6. Illinois consumers will no longer have access to the world’s greatest wines auctioned at out-of-state auction houses  as they have been able to for 15 years

7. Illinois residents will not benefit from the taxes that would have been paid to the state by out-of-state wine stores had they, like out-of-state wineries, been included in HB 429’s plan to tax those who sell wine to Illinoisans.

8. Illinois wineries and wine stores could lose access to out-of-state markets that will see HB 429 as an attack on their own wine retailers and retaliate by shutting off shipping of wine into their own states.

The Specialty Wine Retailers Association, for whom I work as executive director, has opposed this bill from the beginning. SWRA, which is an association of wine merchants nationwide, has become the primary advocate of wine consumers in Illinois. There is an irony in the fact that it takes mainly out-of-state wineries to stand up for Illinois wine lovers.

HB 429 is blatantly unconstitutional as it allows in-state Illinois wine stores to ship to Illinoisans yet prohibits out-of-state wine stores from doing the same. This view is borne out by the words written by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Kennedy in his 2005 Granholm v. Heald Supreme Court decision:

“This Court has long held that, in all but the narrowest circumstances, state laws violate the Commerce Clause if they mandate ‘differential treatment of in-state and out-of-state economic interests that benefits the former and burdens the latter’… States may not enact laws that burden out-of-state producers or shippers simply to give a competitive advantage to in-state businesses….The Twenty-first Amendment does not supersede other provisions of the Constitution and, in particular, does not displace the rule that States may not give a discriminatory preference to their own producers….If a State chooses to allow direct shipment of wine, it must do so on evenhanded terms…”

HB 429 passed through the Illinois House early this week. It is set to be acted on by the Illinois Senate.

A 100 Point Party Reveals Cultural Differences

You've got to give it to the Wine Spectator. These folks know how to throw a party.

Last night I went as Jeff Mayo's date to the now annual Wine Spectator Party at the Hotel Healdsburg. Marvin Shanken and crew used to only throw a Napa "big bottle" party in conjunction with the auction. A few years ago they started holding a Sonoma version of the event.

I've been to the Napa party also, but it has been a few years. What was interesting was listening to one of the writers for the Spectator explain to me the difference between the Napa and the Sonoma events:

"Here in Sonoma there will will be a slow and steady in guests arriving. Then there will be a 45 minute crescendo when it's hopping. Then, it will die down and the folks will go home to sleep. But in Napa, it reaches that crescendo and they just keep on going partying hard."

His description of the pace of the Sonoma party was dead on. After the peak of the party (which seemed to coincide with the passing of cigars and the band moving into a rendition of Sweet Home Alabama) the attendees started slow drift out, no doubt getting home to sleep because we all know that over here in Sonoma the vintners actually work for a living.......woops. That slipped out.

Nevertheless the food was spectacular (that ham that Charlie Palmer cooked up was outrageous!) and the many folks who contributed magnums to the party brought their best stuff, so there was ample opportunity to taste stuff I'd only read or heard about before. The Sonoma wine community came out in full force for Mr. Shanken's party. And this was another of the very cool things. I got to meet a number of vintners and wine types who I knew of and whose wines I've drunk but never met face to face.

But this morning I keep thinking about the distinction the Wine Spectator writer made for me about the difference between the Sonoma and Napa parties. It is a truth that there is a real difference between the Napa culture/experience and the Sonoma culture/experience. It's hard to sum up with a simple line. But a few things occur to me about the reality and perception between Napa and Sonoma:

Upper Class vs. Working Class
Developed vs. Developing
Cultured vs. Multicultural
World Class vs. Class

I'm hoping I can get my own invite to the Wine Spectator party next year or at least be Mayo's date again. It wasn't so bad. I didn't have to dance with him.

"You're Gonna Need A Corkscrew To Gargle"

"I swear to God Walter, if you mention one thing about 'tannin' or 'immature vines' I'm gonna stick the cork, and the bottle, so far up your ass that you're gonna need a corkscrew to gargle!"
DAVE from The Winery Channel's Rant & Roll channel commenting on "Walter the Wine Snob"

One day soon there will be an all wine, all day television cable channel probably located on your dial somewhere between 402 and 430. Until that day comes, however, we've got The Winery Channel at http://www.thewinerychannel.tv

The Winery Channel just launched on the web and is striving to deliver a regular bevy of video related to wine.  So far so good.

The Video content is divided up into a variety of different channels. Each presents wine in a different way. "The Source" offers profiles of wineries, Rant & Roll offers rants on wine, Got Wine offers wine from retailers' perspectives. They are offering 12 different channels of content. It looks quite promising to me.

It all looks quite promising to me. The episodes of the various shows are short enough to be consumed on the fly, the production quality looks just fine and the content is quite good. The only recommendation I'd give them is to include a feedback mechanism for each episode from their various channels. I'm thinking a comment section associated with each video.

Check it out!

Frack!!

It turns out some the real pleasures are those that really are simple. Like watching a good drama on a small screen with fine wines.

About 2 months ago I discovered Battlestar Galactica (the new one, not the old TV series). I rented the first episode on Netflix and immediately realized that great Sci Fi had returned to television. However. I was clearly late to the party. Upon discovering the series it was already into its third year.

So, I did what any modern man would do: I rented the first two season via NetFlix. Without my family knowing I was able to bump these DVDs up to the top of my Netflix Queue, pushing other less worthy choices down the queue. I took some flack for this from the wife and kids, but hey....I'm dad. I can occasionally do these sorts of things.

I consumed the first and second season as fast as the DVDs arrived at my home. GREAT stuff, Battlestar Galactica. Intelligent, good character development, fine exploration of modern day themes. The best Sci Fi on TV in years!

Then I come to Season Three. Not on DVD yet! Damn. But again, being a modern man the solution is clear. I downloaded season three from iTunes on to my trusty video iPod.

And so there I sat for one whole day. My video iPod in one hand, a couple bottles of wine (French Rose from Kermit and a Cameron Hughes Lot) and Season Three of BattleStar Galactica. Actually, it took two days but not by much.

Then, today, I hear this show will be canceled after season 4. What's up with this?? No one ever canceled Kermit Lynch. No one has canceled Cameron Hughes wines. No one canceled Netflix. No one canceled the iPod. Shouldn't those things that are the best in their class be prohibited from being canceled?

What the hell is going on??  Frack!!

Drinking In and trying to Define Wine 2.0

There sure are a lot of people using the "Wine 2.0" label to help position their products and services. Nary a caution was issued at the Wine 2.0 get together in San Francisco on  Friday. All the speakers, including me, were in the mood to embrace, rather than really critique, this buzzword that seems to mean....something...if not most things.

The event itself was terrific. Cornelius and Jeff from RadCru.com did a damn fine job of creating a nice venue where a hefty collection of wine folk gathered. The event was at Club Sportiva in San Francisco. As part of the event, OnTheFly.com, an online mens outlet that sells beautiful clothing and men's gear and schwag, opened a well appointed showroom where the wine was flowing. Through the doorway into the showroom of Club Sportiva, surrounded by Ferrari's, Jags and more Ferrari's, was the seminar room. Here two panels of speakers sounded off on their relationship with the wine 2.0 phenomenon and sounded somewhat sage in the process.

I think my only real  interesting contribution to the second panel, of which I was a part, was pointing out that the wine 2.0 phenomenon may be no more complex than a new set of technologies by which wineries communicate their story and product line to consumers, something they've been doing with some success with different technology long before the Internet. This would be the less reverent view of the wine 2.0 phenomenon. The most reverent view of this thing we celebrated on Friday would be the view that Online Social networking around wine will change the way all Americans understand the beverage and lead to a startling democratization of the beverage that will lead laggards to the partly in the dust.

The highlight of the panels was clearly Gary Vaynerchuk of Wine Library TV. Gary's a star now. It appears he knows this too and I think that knowledge has made him an even better advocate for the kind of full frontal wine enthusiasm he is spawning via WineLibrary TV. This is an excitable man who balances cynicism with pure love for wine. He pulls no punches, is a good performer, a good advocate for wine and one of the smartest young men in wine today. And he cracks me up too.

This Wine 2.0 community is a small one; that is to say, those behind the technology driving the new ventures seem to know or be aware of one another. About half way through the event I stopped counting the number of folks who I've had previous email or comment conversations with or spoken to on the phone  but finally met face-to-face for the first time that night. I got the impression this was the experience of many of the folks in the room. What's hard to tell is if I was in the middle of a gathering of the future brain trust of the American wine industry. It's entirely possible. But one can't be sure. Much will depend on the success of the various entrepreneurs that were in the room.

The next Wine 2.0 event, assuming the RadCru duo hold it again next year, will be bigger and better. Everyone I spoke to agreed this second gathering was much better and more useful than the first. I'm looking forward to it. These annual gatherings of wine's tech-happy folk will be a good gauge of just how fast new technology and ideas catch on or slide by the wayside.

Things that would HURT the Wine Industry

Things That Could HURT the Wine Industry

Yes, it's a macabre topic, particularly if you work in the wine industry. Yet, for some reason while enjoying a marinated skirt steak at Izzy's in Marin the other day the topic popped into my head. Actually it was drunk driving disaster that popped into my head. Probably because of all the police cars that were surrounding a 2006 BMW right before I pulled into Izzy's lot.

The guy was standing by the hood of his 740, hands behind his head and the cops didn't look too concerned. The guy was probably too drunk to be dangerous.

In any case. It got me thinking about drunk wine tasters and that led into, other considerations. That led to a general consideration of the myriad ways the wine industry could be hurt.

1. Tasting Room Related Drunk Driving
Any one who works a tasting room in Napa, Sonoma or other wine regions has at least once contemplated the issues that would be raised by a wine taster leaving a tasting room drunk then mowing down someone on the road. The fact that I can't remember an instance of this amazes me. However, this event could quite easily lead to far stricter tasting room regulations that would hamper the wine tasting experience and travel to wine country.

2. Restrictive Direct Shipping Regulations
Granholm V. Head didn't get consumers out of the woods when it comes to gaining access to more wines. There has been a move afoot by various states to at once liberalize their direct shipping regulations, yet at the same throw up road blocks that make the effort worth it only for certain wineries willing to make the effort. If more restrictions on the size of the winery that can ship, expensive permit fees, excessive taxation and the like are passed in various states the wine industry will see a severe limitation on the extent to which they can utilize the power of direct sales.

3. Tainted Wine
This would be a disaster. Imagine the fall out from a consumer falling terribly ill or God forbid, dying as a result of tainted wine. I've never heard of this happening in America, but were it to occur and be highly publicized and if the cause of the poisonous wine were not known, you'd see wine sales across the nation dive.

4. Wine Rating/Media Fraud
Were any of the major wine media or wine writers to  be caught red handed taking favors for scores or  good reviews it would severely damage a source of information that to this point has been a strong consumer energizer and an effective way to keep winemakers on their toes. This too, however, is something I've never been aware of in the past  17 years.

5. Auction Fraud
Were it discovered the numerous bottles of different top CA and French wines were not the actual wine they were represented as you could see major havoc wreck the auction market in America and England. Auctions depend first and foremost on their credibility and expertise. Compromise this and you compromise the entire business. There have been accusations in the past as well as isolated examples. But as yet there has been no extraordinary scandal. Were it to occur, the general market place would observe but not be hurt by the havoc. It would likely be isolated to the auction world and specific brands and related brands.

6. Massive Sharpshooter Infestation
The California wine industry went through a significant round of replanting in the 1990s due to the phylloxera infestation. The upshot of that episode is vast. Many have argued that the entire character of CA wine was changed as new clones and rootstock replaced what have been mainstays in the state's vineyards. In addition the replanting led to a re-alignment of the varietals planted in the State with Merlot getting a mighty bump in acreage under vine. Were there to be a massive infestation of Sharpshooters that killed off a large percentage of vines, the replanting would not have the same kind of impact on character. However, It would likely put many a vineyard and wineries out of business since they would not be able to afford the cost of replanting and the cost of being out of the market for a few vintages. Add to that the uncertainty if the infestation could not be guaranteed to miss the new plantings and the damage would be even worse.