Fermentation: The Daily Wine Blog

Fixing Stupid Laws

The somewhat recent revelation that it is technically illegal for home winemakers in California to hold public tastings and even competitions of their wines is one of those instances where a truly out-dated law of little or no value, previously unnoticed, comes to light and makes folks chuckle, shake their heads and get on with getting rid of it for the sake bringing laws and rules into line with reality and good sense.

The move to change the law licketty split is under way. Family Winemakers of California and State Senator Pat Wiggins have joined forces to introduce SB 607, a law that would allow winemaking competition among amateur winemakers.

It's an easy fix to a pretty stupid law and both FWC and Senator Wiggins should be commended for moving it forward.

Changing stupid laws like this is not always so easy, however, Take for example the CA law that makes it a crime for a an out-of-state retailer to ship wine to a CA resident. This one went into effect in 2005 and was supported by Family Winemakers of California, The California Wine Institute, The California Association of Wine Grapegrowers, Napa Valley Vintners and a number of wineries. The bill was opposed by a number of CA retailers who realized that not only was the law unconstitutional as it discriminated against out-of-state retailers, but that it would encourage other states to lock out CA retailers from shipping to their state residents.

There has been no enthusiasm by California's winery organizations, Free the Grapes, or any politicians to change this other example of a stupid law, though they all are well aware of the law. One wonders if it will be "discovered" in a few decades and quickly reversed by legislation because it no longer has any value, rhyme or reason.

It turns out this law is actually on hold because retailers sued the state of CA and were able to get an agreement from the state not to enforce it until the end of 2008. However, that time is quickly approaching. One hopes that consumers, wine organizations and politicians will feel an equal urgency to fix one more stupid law when it comes to light.

The Future of Online Wine Sales

"He said: "I think the market has just tipped. All of a sudden, rather than being driven by 20-year-olds who were the early adopters [of the net], I'm starting to get emails from people saying 'as a pensioner ... The silver surfers have arrived."

This comes from a news story put out by Off License News. Just how significant is this finding that older drinkers are coming to the on-line wine sales channel?

I think it must be significant. Despite the talk about young folks being the one's helping to drive wine's sales accent, it is somewhat older folks that do the real buying of wine. There appearance in any significant number in the on-line world would in fact represent a notable turning point in the on-line wine sales world.

Now get this quote, from the same article:

"Vinitrac research from Wine Intelligence in March 2007 found that 16% of regular wine drinkers in the UK had bought wine online in the previous six months. Internet shopping was marginally more popular among those aged over 55, the survey found, with those under 34 the least likely to buy wine online."

These kind of findings remind me that we are still very much in a transitional phase when it comes to the world of on-line sales and wine. While on-line purchasing has overtaken some industries such as travel and books, this same kind of transition WILL come to the world of wine and completely transform how this beverage is sold. And for those companies that are making full court presses to be at the center of this transformation and who have the funds to keep going and breaking even during the transition, AND who have the ability to either develop or implement "ease-of-use" technology to the sector will find themselves sitting pretty in the years to come.

It also suggests that as this transformation to on-line sales continues, the political pressure to make these virtual transactions easier will become more intense. This is bad new for those who still want to argue that restricting consumer choice in wine is a needed trade off in preventing all those teens from purchasing Paso Robles Syrah and the Austrian Rieslings they are known to crave.

Totalitarianism and Gigantism in Napa Valley?

James Conaway is wrong about Napa Valley:

While at the California Preservation Foundation Conference in Napa Valley, Conaway said about Napa Valley (Quoting from the Napa Valley Register):

"Conaway said the undoing of the Napa Valley may be the sprawl of boutique wineries by rich newcomers who would sacrifice our natural and architectural heritage in the name of “showing off.”

First, would it be different if the sprawl of boutique wineries were being built by middle class, old-timers? Second, the implication in the idea that our "architectural heritage" in Napa is being sacrificed, suggests there is a style of architecture for wineries that is "better". Really? Better? How? This strikes me as a form of Nimbyism/Elitism/Good-Old-Daysism.

"He cited the architecture of Dominus Estate — a winery covered with stone-filled gabion enclosures — as an example of “totalitarian” design, an “unapproachable” building that serves the “vineyard elite” that now rule the Napa Valley."

Wow..."Totalitarian"?  It "serves the Napa Valley elite"? How is Dominus "totalitarian"? I need to remember this rhetorical tool. Think up all the words that have ugly connotations and use them when I want to criticize someone, regardless of whether or not these words have any relationship to the topic at hand. Maybe something like this: "In a Nazi-like yelp filled with fascist-implications, the author let loose with a sneaky blitzkrieg of commie-inspired accusations!"

"In the same vein, Conaway disparaged the Frank Gehry-design for what will be Hall Winery in St. Helena, a clear case of a building dictated by “fashion, not function.”

Since when is function the only thing to be considered when constructing a building? One suspects that the Palace at Versaille could have been far more functional were it built as a simple rectangle with only straight lines.

"Tourists play into this trend, Conaway said. “They’re attracted by the spectacular.” Be wary of catering to tourists, he said. “Tourism can devour the thing it loves.”"

Indeed, tourism has just killed the wine industry. I mean, imagine a winery actually including direct contact with the customer as part of their marketing plan. What are they thinking?? That's just crazy!!

"Conaway, who is an editor at large for Preservation magazine, said George Yount, the valley’s first white settler, would hardly recognize the place today. The Napa of his day was marked by abundant wildlife, clear-running streams and dense forests on the western hills, Conaway said. If conference attendees were to venture into the hills today, they would find forest “scrapped raw” by vineyard development, he said."

I have to assume this quote is taken out of context or at least the context of this quote just isn't included in the article but that it exists somewhere. George Yount? The implication is that Napa Valley would be better off the way George Yount found it in the middle to late 19th century with its Grizzly Bears running around in mass numbers and not a human being to be found outside of a band of Native Americans. I wish I knew what Conaway was trying to get at here.

"Perversely, the very success of the Napa Valley wine industry — wine grapes are “one of the most valuable legal crops in the country” — has created the conditions that threaten it, he said. The valley is attracting the mega-wealthy who want a piece of the action, he said. Vineyards have been planted on questionable terrain. The homes of the rich are infected by “gigantism.”"

What's the threat? Someone please show me the threat that are vineyards? And someone else has to point me to a time when wealthy folks DID NOT build larger homes for themselves?  "Infected"??? "Infected by gigantism"?  And finally, which vineyards have been planted on "questionable terrain"?

I wish I was at this talk, damn it! The message delivered by these quotes just can't be real. Can they? If these are the real thoughts of Mr. Conaway, then they must lead to his concluding of one of two things: It's just too darn bad what's happened to Napa Valley and we should mourn the loss of pristine wilderness or we should create laws that regulate how wealthy one can be to own a winery or vineyard as well as the style of architecture that is allowed on private property.

Bring On the Swim-Up Wine Bar

Ok...so Francis Ford Coppola got shot down on his desire to erect two lovely lighted pyramids on his Rosso & Bianco Winery (formerly Chateau Souverain) in Sonoma County. (Personally, I think the demise of this particular aesthetic element of his new Sonoma winery is a shame...Who doesn't like a lighted pyramid?) However, it's not as though the director of the greatest American movie ever made, winery owner, restaurateur and father of the woman that ruined Godfather III doesn't retain big plans for this new facility north of Healdsburg. Behold the plans:

-Coppola's Rosso & Bianco Winery on four parcels covering 76 acres

-It include a 900-foot bandshell and stage that would host live music, theater and other events

-It will have a 2,000-square-foot dance floor for 128 people

-It will provide a 257-square-foot refreshment bar

-There will be a split-level swimming pool with a capacity of 175 people and 33 cabanas

-The Project includes a 1,430-square-foot outdoor restaurant with 44 seats near the pool

-Allowed are 18 special outdoor events a year, one of which would be for up to 3,000 guests.

I'm sort of hoping that this pool project at the winery will include a swim-up wine bar. One of my favorite past times on Mexican vacations is taking a slow swim up to the bar, saddling up on a submerged stool, requesting a couple shots of tequilla with a nice beer chaser, slowly waddle back through the water to my cabana by the pool, all in preparation for my next visit to the swim up bar about an hour later.

To think that I could do this all in Sonoma County gets me kind of thirsty!

Bring it on, Francis!

The Best New Wine Writing Talent Is Found On Blogs

Those of us who are regularly looking for evidence that the online world of wine is able to reach into the physical or non digitized world of wine need examples to that effect. We have a new one.

Gary Vaynerchuk of Wine Library TV has been published...ON PAPER.

The publisher is Rodale and the book, "Gary Vaynerchuk's 101 Wines: Guaranteed to Inspire, Delight, and Bring Thunder to Your World", I schedule for release on May 13. This is good news for the online wine publishers such as bloggers because it helps legitimize this medium and it gives other publishers a little more confidence in looking into our world for other voice that might deserve a wider audience.

Gary is not the first blogger to see his work published. Tyler Colman (AKA Dr. Vino) will see published later this year, "Wine Politics: How Governments, Environmentalists, Mobsters, and Critics Influence the Wines We Drink" and "A Year of Wine: Perfect Pairings, Great Buys and What to Sip for Each Season."

I can't stress how important this kind of move from the blogging world to the world of print is for the rest of us who blog and who believe that being settled in the blogosphere means living with the appearance that our work is less credible. Despite the explosion of blogs and their impact on consumers, politics and our information intake, ink on paper still represents something more credible...even more important.

I can almost guarantee that there will be more such moves. But it will come slowly. Nonetheless it will happen that writers once tied to their wine blogs will find themselves published on paper.

The best new talent in the wine writing genre today exists in the blogosphere.

New Wine Magazine Arrives

I'm constantly watching for the emergence of new wine-related media. In particular I'm partial to publications that don't cater to the average wine drinker, but rather try to fill that smaller niche of sophisticated wine folks. Basically I'm greedy.

Such a publication has emerged and based on the first issue I recommend it highly.

The Sommelier Journal is new and focuses most of its attention of publishing for sommeliers and wine professionals. Yet, any one with a higher level of wine knowledge will appreciate the magazine. The editor of Sommelier Journal is David Vogels, and experienced publisher in other markets but who for years has had a very keen interest in wine. As he describes below in this interview, David came to the conclusion that  restaurant wine professionals in particular were a group that might benefit most from a niche publication aimed at them. The Sommelier Journal was born.

Below is an interview I conducted with David via e-mail.

TOM: Sommelier Journal seems to be aimed directly at wine professionals in restaurants and other members of the wine industry. Given this focus, how is the content of SJ different than what might be found in the Wine Spectator, Wine & Spirits Magazine or another consumer oriented wine publications

DAVID: You're correct that we consider Sommelier Journal's primary audience to be industry professionals. With that in mind, we assume a higher level of wine knowledge among our readers than would be assumed by a consumer magazine. I tell our writers to imagine that they're addressing a sommelier who might be working toward the Advanced level exam of the Court of Master Sommeliers. We try not to be didactic, but we don't want to underestimate the sophistication of our readers. On the other hand, I also hear from wine connoisseurs who are not working in the industry that they have found a good deal of valuable information in our pages.

TOM: In your first Tasting Panel Report on the status of the 1994 California Cabernets, you created a panel of palates made up primarily of Sommeliers and restaurant buyers. Would you expect a panel of this kind of composition to come to different general conclusions about wines than a panel made up of all retail buyers or a panel made up of professional critics? And if so, why?

Since that first panel, I've conducted three more of similar composition in different parts of the country. I do find that these restaurant professionals have a different approach from that of wine critics. Both groups certainly appreciate good wines, but I believe our panelists are more focused on structure and balance than on power and weight. They're always thinking about how the wines will pair with food, and that subject comes up frequently in our discussions.

TOM: Explain the philosophy behind the presentation of your wine evaluations, which use not only the 20 point scale, but also focuses on statistical norms and deviations among the panelist. And while you are at it, what are you thoughts on the 100 point wine rating scale and why not use this much more familiar and influential system to rate wines.

DAVID: The whole subject of wine ratings is going to be addressed in our June issue. I don't want to denigrate the 100-point scale--it definitely has its place, especially among consumers and collectors. But we have found in our research and conversations that sommeliers simply aren't that interested in ratings. They'll take suggestions, but then they want to taste for themselves and trust their own palates. So most of our wine reviews take the form of recommendations from a wide variety of qualified tasters, with detailed notes that will help the reader decide whether to try the wines.

We also want our tasting panels to represent a broad range of experts from all over the United States. I thought about not publishing any scores at all, but we decided we needed some basis of comparison if we were going to discuss a flight of wines from a certain vintage or appellation. So we chose a 20-point scale because it's more precise than four or five stars, but more flexible than the 100-point scale. On a 100-point scale, people are reluctant to award anything less than 75 or 80; I find that with the 20-point scale, panelists will often go below 10 if they are really disappointed in a wine.

Then we had to decide how to present the scores. If we just gave the averages, a producer might say, for instance, "Our wine was rated 18.1 out of 20 by Sommelier Journal," and I didn't want people to be able to separate the score from the discussion. So with the help of a statistician, we came up with this "boxplot," which is a statistical analysis designed to show a consensus of a small group where they may be a wide range of opinion. It's almost intentionally obscure, but it does provide what we call a "Snapshot" of the group's evaluation. If anyone wants a really detailed explanation of how this "box and whiskers" analysis works, there's one on our website with graphic examples.

TOM: What is your overall impression of the state of wine information publishing in America? Do you see robust competition for readers and solid reporting, or are you more sanguine about the state of this industry?

DAVID: The industry as a whole--both wine and restaurants--is growing exponentially, despite the current economy and exchange rates. Obviously, there are quite a few wine publications out there already, covering everything from winemaking to wine collecting. With Sommelier Journal, we believe we have found a niche that was previously almost empty, so we don't feel that we're directly competing with anyone. I think there's a wealth of information on wine available from many sources. There are also many fine wine writers, some of whom appear in our magazine. I don't believe there's as much good editing, and I think that's something we can provide to our audience.

TOM: Tell me about how the idea for the Sommelier Journal arose and what persuaded you to go forward with it.

DAVID: My family company has published a professional journal for more than 40 years. It happens to be for orthodontists, but we do think we've learned something over the years about putting out a monthly magazine for a professional audience. I got into wine as a consumer and collector, then started reading more about it, traveling to wine regions, and trying to learn everything I could. I decided to take classes for a few weeks in the wine program at the Culinary Institute of America at St. Helena, really just to improve my own knowledge, and passed the foundation level of the Certified Wine Professional exam. As a publisher, just talking to my classmates and seeing how many people were serious about wine education, I started to wonder whether these people had their own publication. We started looking around and doing some market research, and we found there really wasn't a magazine that fit the profile we had in mind. Through our research and interviews, we confirmed that restaurant wine professionals saw a need for something like Sommelier Journal. Then it was a matter of putting together the staff, editorial material, and advertisers you need to publish a magazine.

TOM: Do you have an opinion about the world of Wine Blogs?

DAVID: I'm not into blogs as much as my son Phil, who's our business manager. He keeps constant tabs on Fermentation and several others. From what I've seen, though, the blogs are a valuable source of good writing and informed opinion on wine. Some of the best tasters I know are bloggers. The other service that blogs provide is a mechanism for almost instantaneous feedback, with each blog attracting its own little universe of contributors. We're going to try to emulate that networking capability to some extent on our own website, although we don't have any immediate plans to produce blogs.

TOM: It seems that more than any other group in the wine industry, sommeliers would be among the most concerned with the issue of how the proliferation of high alcohol wines might affect the diners experience, if it does at all. What can you tell us about any concern you hear from sommeliers on this issue and how do you view the issue of high alcohol wine and food.

DAVID: As I mentioned earlier, I think our tasting panelists are primarily concerned with how the structure and balance of a wine will affect its performance with certain kinds of cuisine. I hear a lot of discussion about things like acidity, residual sugar, oak, and tannins. If the alcohol level seems to get in the way, sommeliers are sure to mention that. On the other hand, I don't hear widespread condemnation of alcohol levels in general. The pendulum seems to be swinging the other way to some extent, at least in California.


TOM: Among the general wine buying public the job of the Sommelier seems to be least understood and maybe even least appreciated. Do you agree? And, can you comment on the current state of the relationship between the diner and the sommelier?

DAVID: To the sommelier, that relationship is almost a sacred trust. I think more and more diners are becoming aware of that, although obviously there are many who don't know or care what a sommelier is. I find that the younger generation of drinkers, people in their 20s, are becoming increasingly sophisticated about wine, and that includes how to order it in a restaurant. So I think the position of sommelier is actually gaining credibility and exposure. In many restaurants, of course, there may not be a person who holds the title of sommelier, but someone--the owner, the manager, the bar supervisor--has the responsibility to communicate with the guests about wine. We're here to help those people do their jobs better.

You can find PDF downloads of various articles in the first issue of the Sommelier Journal by CLICKING HERE. I recommend you do this if you want something a little beyond the ordinary.

You can subscribe to the Sommelier Journal BY CLICKING HERE. One year of 12 Issues is only $59. 

Everything Served To Arouse

Winebid.com remains one of the surviving early dotcom wine ventures. It survived for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that it presents a business model that is so perfectly suited to the Internet.

Their most recent achievement is pretty cool. They just finished having Apex Wine Cellar install a 100,000 bottle Malaysian Mahogany racking system in their temperature controlled warehouse in Napa. 100,000 bottles.

As you can see from the photos, that's a pretty cool thing.

What's interesting about Winebid.com is that it operates differently than the traditional wine auction house insofar as it sells a tremendous number of individual bottles rather than many lots of multiple bottles or full cases of a single wine. This is what necessitates it having so many single bottle openings in its new racking system.

The warehouse they work out of in Napa looks a great deal different than when I was with the company. For a long time the wines sat in cases along the floor with tags around their necks. Then we got large shelves in the warehouse that came with a pretty simple categorization system. And even though I was inside the offices in the marketing department, I loved heading out to the warehouse...just to stroll among the bottles.

It was a little like walking through a sex shop. Everything in it served to arouse...if you were a wine lover. Over there was the mag of 1961 Margaux, in that corner was the 20 year vertical of Mondavi Reserve, the 3 liter of d'Yquem was over on that side of the warehouse, in the middle there was the vertical of Stony Hill Chard. It got me off.

I'm still pretty proud to say I worked with Winebid.com at the time of its first auction and helped open it's first CA warehouse. It's great to see them do well. According to their CEO Jerry Zech, "This custom wine racking system was the final step in completing an inventory and shipping system to handle the thousands of bottles of wine we auction every week.  Our new bar coding system and wine inventory database are all integrated into the final process of shipping and fulfillment."

That's good news too. Winebid now has upwards of 50,000 registered bidders. I fully recall the excitement when the number of bidders hit 5,000. back in the late 90s. It's nice to be able to point to a pure Internet wine play and not say, "what were they thinking!!".

Who To Trust?

Can you trust a wine retailer's recommendation? They are, after all, in the business of selling wine and one presumes that a wine they have on their shelves can't be ignored, let alone dissed by them.

This is the question at the heart of a very interesting story in the LA Times by Jerry Hirsch that focuses on Wilfred Wong, Beverage & More's Online Cellarmaster and the person who reviews wines exclusively for BevMo and who's reviews and ratings show up on shelf talkers at BevMo.

I've worked with Mr. Wong. I know him. I've judged with him at competitions. Let me say up front that this man has a killer palate. It's perceptive, educated, experienced and nuanced.

Nevertheless, the question remains, can a retailer review of a wine it is carrying be trusted? And this is the underlying issue inside the LA Times article. It should be noted that this is not the first time Wilfred and his job as BevMo's wine rater in chief has been covered in the media. Last year the SF Chronicle did a story focusing on Wilfred that touched on the issue

The answer to the question is Yes, a retailer's rating can be trusted.

If one is going to discount the objectivity of Wilfred's notes and ratings, then one is obliged to discount any and all ratings and reviews any retailer, anywhere in the world provides for a wine they carry in their store. If this is the perspective one is going to take, then the skeptic would at least ask the the retailer's rating be written and determined by someone who is not focused on wine buying at the store.

That's exactly the situation with Wilfred Wong. He does not report to BevMo's buyers.

This had to be a touchy PR situation for the folks at BevMo and I think they acquitted themselves well. Calling into question the objectivity of a rating system, be it a retailers or publishers, is just about the worst thing that can happen. Every publisher of wine scores knows this. This is also why I've always viewed those who claim the Wine Spectator skews its scores toward advertisers as simply not looking at the big picture. Do the mental exercise. Imagine the Wine Spectator or Wine & Spirits being caught red handed manipulating scores to give bigger numbers to advertisers. How would you react?...OK....Now, how would others react...OK....Now, what happens when a wine publication's reviews no longer have any credibility? Is there anything a publisher could do that would be dumber than skew scores for advertisers?

If one chose not to trust BevMo's Wilfred Wong-rated wines, I'd want to know specifically why? I want to know upon what basis they believed them compromised. Without such a detailed explanation then I'd prefer to stick with what I know: BevMo made a very smart moving hiring one of the best palates in California.

The Implosion Begins!

Let me see if I have this right...

On the one hand, wine retailers across the United States are telling alcohol regulators in every state that they'd like to enhance their operating budgets by paying an annual fee to ship wine to consumers in those states. They'd like to help fill their state's coffers with funds resulting from the remittance of taxes on the wine they sell and ship to consumers in their state. These retailers would like to voluntarily submit themselves to the legal jurisdiction of a remote state as well as allow their books to be audited at the notice of the regulators.

On the other hand, the Wine & Spirit Wholesalers of America want alcohol regulators to commit a significant amount of their valuable time looking for an alleged band of adult wine lovers who are claimed to be committing the sin of buying wines they can't find in their own state, from a retailer in another state. Further, the WSWA wants these alcohol regulators to spend their valuable budgets looking for these supposed scofflaws in their own states as well as tracking down the alleged sellers in other states. Of course, wholesalers aren't mentioning that this would take significant time and resources away from actually carrying out the core mission of these alcohol regulators: making sure licensees in their state are following the law and attempting to assure licensees don't over-serve their drinking patrons.

Get More Money for their states and their budgets...VS...waste time protecting wholesaler profits???

Hmmmm? Tough one, isn't it.

Yet this is the silly suggestion that the head of the American wholesaler cartel actually made in the form of a press release today as well as in letters to Attorneys General, governors and alcohol regulators in 50 states.

In case anyone reading this has missed the point of the American Wholesaler Cartel, allow me to remind you: PREVENT AS MANY AMERICANS FROM ACCESSING ANY WINE UNLESS WHOLESALERS FIRST MAKE A PROFIT ON IT.

Damn the regulators and the efforts they make to maintain an orderly and safe market for wine and spirits. Damn the states and their need to raise revenue. Damn the consumers who only want to obtain the wines the wholesalers feel these folks don't need to have. JUST PROTECT OUR PROFITS.

I wonder if WSWA and the wholesalers ever tire of being ridiculed?

I don't think so. The American wholesaler cartel appears to never tire of having their face rubbed in it. They lose lawsuit after lawsuit. They get slapped down by the Supreme Court of the United States. They get caught in their misogynistic ways. Their arguments against direct shipping are put to bed with efficiency and ease by person after person. But none of this is enough for them it appears. Now, they whine like a little girl who just soiled their Sunday dress and run off crying to daddy asking him to put down his tools and stop doing his job, so he can clean the mess the little girl made all by herself.

If anyone is wondering, it's only going to get worse for the wholesaler cartel as they continue to spin out of all control.

But what I'm really wondering is who in their right mind at WSWA gave the approval to issue a press release that actually criticizes the the most powerful newspaper in the land merely for an offhand quip a wine writer made in its pages? Is there no one at the helm at WSWA? All they have to do is call me and I can recommend a number of fine PR professionals who will tell them the utter depth of stupidity that move represented. But allow me to recreate this act of stupidity...just as an object lesson in how not to run a communications program.

To quote from yesterday's WSWA press release that whines about the alleged "Illegal alcohol trafficking and open disregard for state liquor  laws":

"Wolf even cites a prominent New York Times wine writer openly sympathetic to the unregulated-shipping cause, who recently opened one column: “I have a confession to make.  I am a lawbreaker.”

Wrote Wolf in response to the remark: “That a newspaper of record would publish such comments in the clear light of day, we believe, ought to trouble any regulator, lawmaker or law enforcement official.”

Tell you what, if I ever recommend to one of Wark Communications' clients that they criticize the New York Times in a press release, please have someone come to my home, drag me out of bed and beat me senseless.

Finally, I fear I'm forced, out of the knowledge that my good readers love a bit of humor, to quote from the letter that WSWA's CEO Craig Wolf wrote and sent to alcohol regulators, the top law enforcement officials and the Governors (yes, the following quote actually ended up in a letter to GOVERNORS) in all fifty states:

"As you are well aware, the sidestepping of state-controlled alcohol distribution channels causes a host of negative effects—the inability to collect taxes, the absence of a face-to-face transaction that addresses myriad regulatory aims, and the very real possibility of introducing tainted or counterfeit product into your marketplace, to name but a few.”

Tainted Products? Now the American wholesalers are protecting us from tainted wine? I've got news for them. This is not 1926. No one is making tainted wine in a bathtub with grain alcohol and red food coloring, slapping a stopper in it and running it across the river to avoid Elliot Ness. And just when was the last time a wholesaler broke open a case of Opus or Dom Perignon or Russian River Valley Chardonnay to make sure it wasn't "Tainted"?

I think we may be witnessing the end of a long sad saga as the implosion begins.

$50,000,000

Some of the most important work I've done over the past year has been with the Specialty Wine Retailers Association where I began acting as executive director in January 2007. In that year I've had the chance to testify in a number of states on the issue of direct shipping, work with some amazingly talented folks and even bear the brunt of some of the wholesalers' more nasty and snide remarks.

However, a good deal of that time was spent staring at numbers. Everyone knew that America's wine wholesalers gained influence via their campaign contributions at the state level. But we never knew the extent of that largess. So I started looking...and looking...and looking.

All that looking resulted in the SWRA Report issued today called "Wholesale Protection" that breaks down the $50 Million dollars that American wholesalers and their associations have delivered to state politicians between 2000 and 2006.

The number is remarkable not only for its size but for the way in which it exceeds the amounts of money given to political campaigns by any other sector of the alcohol industry. In fact, in that time wholesalers have given more to politicians than all wineries, beer producers, spirit producers, restaurants and retailers—combined.

Many have suggested that these are amazing numbers but that there is no smoking gun. I suppose a "smoking gun" would be evidence of legislation in exchange for dollars. Of course, this has not been found and this sort of research could not find it.

However, consider that nearly every state has laws on the books that either protect wholesalers directly from competition or limit the access that consumers have to wine in a way that aids wholesalers bottom line. Better yet, consider these circumstances:

•Between 2000 and 2006 Illinois alcohol wholesalers contributed $5,731,776 to political campaigns. In 2007 the Illinois Legislature passed a law that protected in-state alcohol wholesalers by prohibiting Illinois consumers from continuing to buy wine from out-of-state retailers. Wholesalers also convinced the Illinois legislature to force large Illinois wineries to sell only to state wholesalers, rather than direct to retailers has they had been able to do.

•Between 2000 and 2006 Texas alcohol wholesalers contributed $6,976,104 to state political campaigns. The Texas Legislature has passed prohibitions on out-of-state retailers shipping to Texans and limitations on in-state retailers shipping to Texans, both moves protective of and supported by state alcohol wholesalers.

•Between 2000 and 2006 California alcohol wholesalers contributed $4,296,304 to state political campaigns. In 2005 California passed legislation protecting wholesalers from competition by prohibiting Californians from purchasing wine from out-of-state retailers, policy California wholesalers pushed for.

•Between 2000 and 2006 Michigan wine wholesalers contributed $2,099,319 to state political campaigns. In 2005 the Michigan legislature passed a wholesaler-supported law that protected in-state wholesalers from competition by prohibiting Michigan consumers from purchasing wine from out-of-state retailers.

•Between 2000 and 2006 Virginia alcohol wholesalers contributed $2,580,161 to state political campaigns. The Virginia General Assembly passed a wholesaler-supported law prohibiting Virginia wineries from continuing to sell wine directly to retailers and forcing them to sell their wine to wholesalers.

One wonders if all this is simply a coincidence.

Here's what I know. This kind of largess buys access and influence. The lobbyists for the the wholesalers have open doors into legislators' offices where the lawmakers are told that consumers don't care about direct shipping, that retailers are bootleggers, and that minors are going to get their hands on alcohol via direct shipping.

These kinds of conversations lead to states like Illinois passing boldly unconstitutional laws even in the face of consumers begging it not be passed in the form of conversations, e-mails, letters and with the media writing over and over that the legislation stinks.

Now while I know this kind of legislation hurts the members of Specialty Wine Retailers Association, I know that it hurts consumers even more. In fact, I'm a bit surprised that there has not been the creation of a national organization that represents consumers on these issues because that's really where the leather meets the road; when consumers are told that "no, we can't ship you that wine."

The "Wholesale Protection" report is the first in a serious of steps that will expose the wholesalers, that will demonstrate conclusively that their rhetoric is not just rhetoric but actually damaging to the American wine industry and the American wine consumer. What they've yet to understand is that things will get a lot worse for them when consumers begin to get involved. They accuse me and the Specialty Wine Retailers Association of wanting "nothing less than the total deregulation of alcohol regulation in America."

What they don't understand is that I and SWRA would never advocate such a thing. However, American consumers will not just advocate it eventually, but they'll demand it.

Most Interesting Wine Stories of 2007

The 2007 calendar year is coming to an end an that prompts me to think harder about the past two months, to make assessments and to try to learn some lessons before we move on the perfectly lovely arbitrary notion of a "new year".

The wine new of 2007 when looked at retrospectively turns out to be truly educational as well as a signal of what to anticipate in the coming year and years. Here are my most interesting news stories of 2007

Ernest Gallo Dies
You don't see a death like this every year. The man was 97 years old, the patriarch of the most important wine organization in the world and had led a company that literally spanned the entirety of the modern history and development of the modern American wine industry. I can get kind of morbid when these types of passings occur and start thinking who among us has the potential to illicit the kind of full on pause when they pass and the kind of jaw dropping awe when we are forced to consider the meaning of their lives to our industry. I can think of only one living person in the American wine industry who possessed similar industry personification potential.

The Case of Wine & Family and Books
The reception that Julia Flynn Siler's "House of Mondavi" received did not totally surprise me. W hat surprised me was that it was published to begin with and received such wide distribution. Though probably  a case of my being blinded by being inside the forest rather than in the clearing, I'm still stunned at how well this book on the travails and successes of the Robert Mondavi Winery did. Most books sell few copies. This book sold MANY copies. It's a testament to Flynn Siler and her publisher. But it should also be message: the goings on in the wine business ARE interesting to those outside it. I see the success of "The House of Mondavi" similar to the success of Sideways: There is ample room to exploit the goings on of the wine business that will be of great interest to the general, beer and coke drinking society.

$162 Billion and Counting
That was the amount that MKF Research determined the American Wine Industry contributes to the economy. This is a big Frigg'n number and was not lost on policy makers in Washington when it was unveiled there in January. It's hard not to take seriously an industry that generates this kind of contribution to the economy. When you combine this revelation with the related revelation that America will soon become the largest wine drinking country in the world and all sorts of ideas start swirling in your head from the change that has overcome our culture to the willingness of non-traditional wine producing states to support their developing industries to the potential to use the American wine market to explore new ways to promote and market wine.

Gary Vaynerchuk
It's very difficult to predict the course any public personality will take in the future, particularly Gary's. But it's important to note things about Gary's success with and and as a result of WineLibraryTV: 1) It has been a very long time since a true "personality" has emerged from the American Wine Industry that has the potential to transcend the cynical gaze of the industry itself and appeal to an audience of "regular people". Gary is doing that. 2) Gary emerged from an online presence. I think he'll eventually shed his association with the world of wine online. But the fact that he burst on to the scene in the form of ones and zeros is significant to a lot of people and should be significant to a lot more people.

"Screw'em"
That was the message that emerged from the Illinois Legislature during the middle of the year as lawmakers their bent to the will of wholesalers and striped Illinois consumers of the right to purchase wine from out-of-state wine merchants. The push to keep wine from being shipped from out-of-state retailers to Illinois consumers was a truly cynical effort on the part of nearly every organization involved. The same effort was made in Oregon, where it failed. And it was the same effort that succeeded earlier in places like California, New York, Michigan and Texas, all states where lawsuits are in place opposing this kind of anti-consumer and unconstitutional lawmaking. The successful effort in Illinois to screw consumers raises a very fundamental question: What will it take to demonstrate conclusively that state-mandated monopolies that deliver unchecked power to wholesalers are not just wrong, but almost always result in immoral results?

No More Wine X
I'm not sure how many people remember the brief impact the story of Wine X Magazine closing d own made. But I do. I think I remember more vividly because I know the publisher pretty well, I understood his vision for the magazine, I recall the rancid reaction from the wine industry when it first emerged with its truncated and off the cuff reviews. Wine X never became a big name publication. It never competed with the Wine Spectator, Robert Parker, etc. But it did change the way many people think AND write about wine. Darryl Robert's short, sometimes hilarious wine reviews that often used pop culture references or compared wines with body parts, music and celebrities is something you see in lots of places now. It doesn't matter if you like this practice. It only matters that you recall what magazine opened the door to allow it to become popular.

Turmoil Caused By Costco
When Costco convinced a Federal Judge in Washington State that it was unconstitutional for a state to allow its own wineries to sell direct to retailers and restaurants but force out-of-state wineries to use wholesalers to get their wines to market all hell broke loose. In 2007 we began to see the results of this. Naturally, America's wholesalers hate this development. It opens doors behind which they know lies the the shredded remains of their faux necessity. Nevertheless, the ruling changed a lot of things for a lot of people. In Virginia, a serious winemaking state, wholesalers convinced legislators to take away their wineries right to sell direct to retailers. In Illinois the legislature curtailed local wineries' ability to use "self distribution" to their hearts content and even stripped the larger wineries of their right to do any self distribution. It's important to note that these negative reactions to the ruling were all taken for the specific reason of protecting wine wholesalers from protection. But it's more important to note that the ruling will and is leading to some of the most interesting innovations that will have a huge impact on the American wine industry.

There were other important stories in 2007. There may be more to come. But these are the ones that really made me stop, sit up and think.

The Cycles of Change

Eric Asimov at the NY Times has an interesting story in print that speculates on the coming increase in price of imported wines, due in large part to the weak dollar. What struck me about the article is how it is a perfect example of how to find a silver lining in what might be an unfortunate situation.

Eric points out, "Meanwhile, those who don’t want to pay higher prices might consider building up a supply now, or looking for values elsewhere." This in turn leads one of the folks Eric interviewed for the story, Josh Wesson, to make this statement:

“This is a sommelier’s dream. They won’t have to try so hard to convince anybody to try picpoul. I would be going long on picpoul.”

A perfect example that in nearly every situation that might look bad from one angle, from another perspective opportunity exists. In this case it is a matter of new opportunities no only for producers from lesser known areas in both the Old World and New World that don't demand higher prices, but also for consumers, who will be introduced to wines that they may otherwise have ignored.

Of course, with imported wine prices on the rise, domestic wines should be able to make a run at somewhat higher market share. More opportunity.

This is of course how good money is made; by first looking at the opportunity any particular circumstance provides. In the wine industry one of the main focuses of opportunity seems to be related to technology. This makes the wine industry no different than most others. Working out exactly how wine lovers will use technology is the key to riches, isn't it. I suspect they'll do this mainly in the traditional way: by giving money to folks who provide access to wine and access to good prices on wine.

But then there are those who will provide the technology for others to satisfy wine lovers' desires to get their hands on wine and wine at a good price. They seem to be the one's in like to cash in.

With the exception of the constant advance of individual rights, I don't think I've ever come across anything that is not cyclical in nature. If a slowdown in sales of imported wines occur or if a slow down in sales of all wines occur, it will not be permanent.

Is it...a Woman (and man) Thing?

Louisa Hufstader, writing for the Napa Valley Register, gets the prize for Best Line of the Week:

"Men are from Parker, women are from Robinson?"

Hufstader is writing in the context of a story on women in the wine business, which was the topic as a recent event at Copia. In the course of writing her story on this topic, Hufstader brings us around to a salient point made by Elizabeth Thach, Ph.D., a professor of wine business and management at Sonoma State University and Keynote Speaker at the event:

"Genetic differences between the sexes include extra taste buds for most females, Thach told the group — and that could explain why reviews by the wine world’s two top critics are often at odds with each other."

The point is that because women have more taste buds, they in turn have more discriminating palates. I've seen this claim before and I don't doubt it for a second. What I'm not sure of is if the extra taste buds allow women to taste more of what's in the wine of if they just experience an amplified version of what men taste.

From a marketers perspective I rather hope it's the latter. It just makes things simpler. But as a fan of discriminating palates, I'd rather it be the former, thereby allowing women critics to offer up a fuller description of a wine.

But even in determining this difference, it doesn't get me exactly where I wean to to be when it comes to reviews of wines, be they from men or women. The state of my taste buds has me much more interested in a wine's texture than in its flavors. Frankly, the flavor of a wine is much less important to me than either its texture or it aroma.

I wonder if women FEEL the wine more fully than men do? And I don't mean in an emotional kind of way.

However, on that point, I'll never forget Milla Handley, the great winemaker at Handley Cellars, explaining passionately to me why women are better winemakers. It comes down to their innate ability to nurture...an ability that men seem to have in far less degree according to Milla. In my experience this is a truism.

Milla argues that great wine is made great through a nurturing approach to its production, just like children must be nurtured as well as guided as they develop and mature into adults. This analogy appeals to me in a number of ways.

But if we must compare the abilities and talents and tendencies of men and women and wine, then I propose we really do it right. I propose a WineOff between Men and Women Winemakers. Five women winemakers and five men winemakers. Each get a ton of grapes from the same vineyard and vintage. Each makes a wine from it. Then the same winemakers taste the wines and rank them.

Good lord, this would keep us writing, blogging and debating for days if not weeks.

When is Wine Info Reliable?

What is "reliable" information?

This question might take on more significance when discussing matters of life or death, the value of your home or information upon which you are going to base business decisions. With regard to wine and our passion for the beverage I'm not sure it's nearly as important. After all, if someone tells you, "This is the best wine in the universe" and it turns out not to be...big deal.

But it still remains something we should all keep in mind as we peruse blogs like this one, the various wine magazines, as we listen to wine experts and as we take in the various wine-related political riffs that folks like myself and other bloggers and writers indulge in from time to time.

How then does one determine if the information we suck up is reliable? There are some basic rules that deserve repeating.

Is a source cited?
When you read or hear that X did or said Y, can you get to that source? The fact that blogs and increasingly non-blog but Internet-housed information does this quite well generally is an overlooked asset to the blog format. We tend to link. The other day I ranted a bit about what appeared to be a web site that stereotyped gays. And I linked to the site. That allowed a number of folks to look at the site and offer their opposite impressions. Look for citations.

Know who is Doing the Talking
These days if I can't know the name and the affiliation or background of the person making the claims or doing the commenting I simply won't spend time at that website. It's a matter of putting one's name behind something. Increasingly, I won't give much time to a blog or website that doesn't give me a way to contact the person doing the writing outside the comment section. If they feel the need to be detached from their reader, I don't feel the need to be their reader.

Objectivity
It seems a diminishing commodity these days, but given the amount of biased (celebratory bias?) one is exposed to these days, a source that self consciously tries to be a genuinely unbiased source is a real treasure. In the wine world there are a few of those sources: Wine Business Monthly, Wine Market Report, Wines & Vines, Practical Winery & Vineyard, Vineyard & Winery Management. What all these have in common is they serve the trade...business. They attempt to be sources of information that others can use to run a business. Those behind these publications surely have biases. But they rarely come out in the news and research they report.

The entertainment an lifestyle publications are biased. In fact you want them to be if you are looking for a good, provocative, interesting read. The reviews of wines are by definition the source of bias. What else could they be. And, the editors and writers bring to the table a solid idea of what they believe is a compelling story. There is no way to do this without using one's bias. If a reader knows this, they can get a great deal more out of the wine publications.

Experience
I'm looking for experts. I'm looking for folks that have been around the wine business long enough that they've seen and heard a lot. I expect them have a bias, but I also have a great deal more respect for these folks. They've tasted widely, talked to more folks, including others like themselves and, importantly, they've seen trends come and go. These folks may not give us unbiased information, but that is different than unreliable information. My experience is that the information I get from those that have been around this business for 20 years or more is going to be of a higher caliber, better filtered, more contextual.

More and more I'm thinking about what's reliable information and what's not. I've not been burned of late by relying on bad information. But of late I've seen more opportunity to be burned.

"For Immediate Release"

We send out press releases at Wark Communications. Of late, many of them and for various clients. I don't like press releases very much mainly because they are 1) impersonal and 2) even when the list of those folks you are sending them too is well vetted and well developed over time, it still feels like using a shotgun to blast a whole in the door when a simple knock will do.

But to this feeling I have to add that I really do enjoy writing them if only for the challenge of having to accomplish so much with them. For example, I need to satisfy the client who themselves often must see that various people and entities are included in a press release if only to cover their political bases.

In writing the release I have to be conscious of the fact that no matter how compelling the or interesting the content, many folks will never get past the first paragraph. That puts a lot of pressure on that first paragraph and the headline.

The press release, as an information piece and stylistically, lies somewhere between the used care salesman shouting in your ear over the TV and the sober "just the facts" reporting of the daily paper's business section. That's not an easy balance to achieve. So I do enjoy that challenge too.

Then of course there is the challenge of writing a press release that needs, to the extent it can, to draw the eye of a variety of reporters, writers, and bloggers who while they all clearly have some interest in the wine media also have a different audience of general approach to writing about wine. If you can't do this with a single press release, then you need to write two, possibly three release on the same subject that will appeal to different types of wine journalists. Or, in lieu of that, you need to find a nifty justification that you can use to convince yourself that this single press release will appeal to everyone.

After more than 17 years of writing, reading and editing and receiving press releases I have a decent idea of what kind of subject matter will really get attention. But in all honestly, it's only "a decent idea".  For example, a couple days ago I helped write and released a press release about a lawsuit that a winery had won here in California. It was an obscure lawsuit that in effect staved off the creation of a defacto "franchise law" here in California. I used BusinessWire to distribute the press release electronically as well as sent it to a small, but specific set of wine writers that tend to be interested in industry news.

Later in day, after it was released, I get a call from my account manager at BusinessWire who tells me that this release was the third most most read and most accessed and read release sent that day. That's a pretty impressive accomplishment. Hundreds of releases are sent over the wires by BusinessWire daily and only two were accessed and read more often than this one about an obscure California lawsuit. This just goes to show that even when I do my job well, I'm not always clear why it was done well. Just writing the previous sentence and looking at it gives me the willies. But it also indicates that the art  craft of the press release just might be an example of abstract art, rather than realism.

I worry too about the reputation of the press release. In fact, I worry about writers having this feeling about press releases:

"Inherent in the press releases is an assumption that a writer can be enticed not only into tasting the wines, maybe also into visiting the winery, and possibly into blithely believing in what the release says. The intent is to get the writer to write about the winery, favorably of course. I know that press releases are supposed to perform the function of promotion and to impart information—I know it because in the past I’ve gotten paid to write them. But that did not stop me from feeling insulted by the press releases coming my way.

I’ve even had unsolicited wine sent to me. I cannot imagine how to explain having written a tasting note that agrees with a press release concerning a free bottle that I had received, even if I knew that I hadn’t cheated—to me, the perception of a conflict of interest is damning enough."

These are Thomas Pellechia's words, a write, teacher and blogger at Vino Fictions who I read religiously because he thinks so well and communicates his thoughts even better. Thomas has very, very little respect for the press release. Though I think Thomas' view of function and usefulness of the press releases is tied of too closely to his own concern for his integrity, I do think his general view on what the press release is and can be, I also think his view of the press release is not too uncommon.

So, I thought I'd lay out exactly what I think the press release is and what I think it can do, at least from the perspective of a wine publicist.

1. The press release is a way of saying the same thing to many people at once.

2. It can be influential, informational or simply promotional. (most are the latter)

3. The press release needs to be intrusive in order to be effective. People need to see it.

4. The press release should give the recipient pause and force them to reflect...if only momentarily,

5. A press release MUST further a larger goal of the issuer of the release.

6. A press release should have a point of view, otherwise it's a probably a bad news story.

7. At its most tactical, a press release can counter the developing conventional wisdom.

8. Usually, the most you can hope for with a press release is to keep the the issuer on the media's radar.

9. Often times, a press release is used only to satisfy an organization's internal political needs.

10. The best press release inspire the reader to do something.

The Winemaker/Artist Rejoices

So it was French and Italian researchers who have assembled the first complete genome of the grapevine. That seems apropos to me.

It also seems to me that this kind of research will eventually lead to a variety of things. Not least among them is that in time grapes will be grown in more places than they are now as varieties are created to produce usable wine grapes. That means more books being published. More seminars on wine regions. More sections in the wine stores.

But most importantly, what this new breakthrough means is that the winemaker will in time become even more the "artist" as more tools will be at their disposal for the creation of the wine they have in their imagination. I can't think of a reason why this is anything other than good. The notion of the winemaker as the person who "is just a caretaker for what the land gives me" always struck me as modest, to say the least. While they can be this, they can certainly be more.

One wonders, however, if, down the line when so many new and human created varieties are in the market and proliferating, if there will be wineries that still use the old "heirloom" varieties that, they explain "once proliferated in California's vineyards way back in the 00s when winemaking was in its first heyday"?

Behold: The Golden Age of Artisan Winemaking

Today, on the front page of the SF Chronicle, above the fold, was a huge story about the sale of venerable Stag's Leap Winery for $185 Million. This story, along with the news that William Hill and Canyon Road went to a consortium of St. Michelle and Antinori and Duckhorn sold most of it's value to an equity firm, led to the state of Napa Valley being a BIG concern not just in the media but in the industry.

I was trying to muster some sort of concern or even interest in these developments but just couldn't. There is a suggestion swirling around all the media reports that Napa Valley is "evolving" or becoming more corporate or that the California wine industry is changing:

"The transaction is a big step down the corporate path for the renowned valley, where wineries once were strictly family enterprises."

I simply don't see how the sale of Stag's Leap is a "big step" down the corporate path.

The fact is, today in America and in California we are in a GOLDEN AGE of small, artisan winemaking.

The vast majority of wineries in CA are privately owned. You can't travel on foot in this state without tripping over a new winery or brand "dedicated to exposing the unique terroir of (name the region)". It's an embarrassment of riches for wine lovers who value a diversity of experience.

Why I'd bet that at least four or five new privately owned wineries were founded in just the past two days here in California. New custom crush facilities that winemakers rent to make there wine are popping up all over the state to deal with the demand for winemaking space. I read about more and more co-op tasting rooms emerging...in urban areas.

Hell, there's a god damned Renaissance of private winery ownership in America today.

Someone go talk to Jim Laube of the Wine Spectator or Robert Parker or the San Francisco Chronicle Tasting panel.  Ask them about the wines that are crossing their desks these days. My bet is that on a weekly basis they are confronted with a brand of wine they've never heard of before. My bet is that they are receiving more wines as samples than ever before.

Here's the real question: How is it that corporate American and the big investment funds haven't yet found Napa Valley, let alone Sonoma, Santa Barbara or Mendocino. Corporate America hasn't even begun to dabble in wine. Corporate and Investment Fund purchases of wineries are infrequent, few and far between. Now, that might change as more and more Americans drink wine or as India and China mature as markets. 

But rest assured, the small, privately owned, artisan-oriented family wineries has never been stronger in America.

It's a great time to be a wine consumer who likes variety and loves discovering new winemakers.

25 Years of Substance Over Style

Wine & Spirits Magazine announced that with its Fall 2007 edition arriving on newsstands at the end of this month it will celebrate 25 years of publishing.

Of all the consumer wine magazines out there, Wine & Spirits is the least flashy. However, it's also among the best. Next to most of the other tabloid sized wine magazines, W&S with its regular size almost looks outclassed next to its competitors. Yet, what you've always gotten with W&S is great editorial! These are the folks who scoop of James Bear Awards for their writing.

The magazine has also gained an outstanding reputation among folks in and around the wine industry for a number of things they've done.

Their annual wine restaurant poll is always very closely looked over by wineries to see who is selling the most to restaurants. I once worked with a winery who every year partly evaluated their success by seeing how far up the rankings their Merlot, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc placed in the W& Spirits Restaurant Poll.

Each year W&S releases their "Wineries of the Year" awards that are always very thoughtful, never obvious and are a coveted reward for wineries.

At roughly 75,000 in circulation W&S is not a huge publication. But I'd hazard to guess that its readership is among the best informed and savvy of the wine drinking population. The publisher, Josh Greene, prides himself on putting out issues that "focus more on the substance of wine than on style." That's not talk. It is the case.

Wine publishing is not an easy business. It's a real niche market that will never produce a hugely circulated magazine. Advertising is always a bit of a struggle to come by, regardless of the quality demographics of the wine magazine readers. And there is always a good deal of education that must be stuck into stories along with reportage in order to assure that the casual reader, who is important, isn't turned off by the language and minutia of wine. You've got to figure that if you've stayed around for 25 years then you are doing something right to overcome these hurdles.

Congrats to W&S Magazine.

Wines & Vines Delivers New Website

The venerable wine industry trade publication Wines & Vines has announced its redesign of its website. And they did very nice job.

For quite some time the W&V website was a bit chaotic. And that's too bad because the publication does a great job of producing useful, insightful articles on everything wine.

The new site features sections containing headlines, news briefs, columns, features and a calendar. Most of the information is generated by staff, rather than taken off the newswires or other sites.

One of the best features of Wines & Vines has always been their educational pieces; articles that really teach folks in the wine business how to do things better. A perfect example is Tina Caputo's run down of how writers and editors prefer to be pitched story ideas: "Top Editors on What Makes a Great Wine Story".

If you are working at a winery and have been given the PR duties, this is an article that is of tremendous value.

Congrats to Wines & Vines. Great new site.

The Battle To Define Down the Meaning of Abuse

A new study shows that at some time in their lives "30.3 percent of adults have abused alcohol or suffered from alcoholism at some point in their lives."

That's all? Just 3 in 10 have abused alcohol? I find that hard to believe. But wait, what does "abuse" mean?

According to those who wrote up the study over at the  "National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism", the term "abuse" is defined as "those whose excessive drinking leads to personal and professional problems." Bridget Grant, the lead researcher on the study, also defined abuse thusly:

"The hallmarks of alcohol abuse are interpersonal problems, financial problems and problems in daily living due to excessive drinking."

There's nothing I like more than a crisp, clean, obvious, unambiguous definition of a word or phrase. They keep you out of trouble and they make communicating much easier and more efficient.

In my world, a "personal problem" related to "excessive drinking" would be having a harder time getting out of bed after an evening of sampling through one too many new French Rose imported by Kermit Lynch. I would also consider it a "problem in daily living" that I had to choose to stay the night at a friends house because  after sampling more than 15 wines with a seven course meal I just didn't feel like it was safe to drive home.  These are definitely problems of a personal nature to me.

Despite my somewhat dubious perspective on this survey, I do find this statistic an interesting one:

"alcohol abuse and alcoholism rates were more prevalent at higher income levels. Of those making less than $20,000 a year, rates of alcohol disorders were 23.9 percent. For earners of $70,000 and above, the rate was 41.4 percent."

Does this mean that low income folks simply can't afford to buy alcohol? Does it mean they that low income affects negatively one's appreciation of alcohol?

In any case, I'm not concerned with folks like me who sometimes drink enough to find themselves impaired. I'm really not. And to lump folks like me or others, who very occasionally drink enough dry rose at a 4th of July picnic to find themselves impaired enough to ask someone else to drive, into the harshly and judgmentally negative category of "abusers", is really not very useful. 

Now, if we are talking about chronic over indulgence, then we have an issue. Then we have something that if it isn't treated or reversed you can really have some problems.

Now...where's that bottle of Rose! Damn it. I can't find it. I can't find my glass either.

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.

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