Good Grape Wine Company

June 10 2009

The Business of the Wine Business

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

It’s happening slowly, but surely.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Let’s hope so.

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

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

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

I bought the books. I got the subscription.

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

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

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

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

Off press or soon to be printed book titles include:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

More Wine Business—Amazon.com Wine Update

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

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