How Wine Companies Can Influence Few and Accumulate Enemies

Explaining why wine companies taking positions on political issues is rarely smart

A couple of days ago I published a letter that admonished me for not using this newsletter to speak out on issues other than wine and to write about larger, political issues. My response explained why folks who write about wine turning instead to political issues is a very bad idea.

This installment of Fermentation is a corollary to that response and addressed not to writers, but to wine-related companies. I want to put my public relations hat on and explain why wineries, wine retailers, wine wholesalers, and other wine-related companies should almost always avoid weighing in on divisive social and political issues.

First, I understand the temptation, particularly at a moment like the present when an extremely polarizing presidential election is just two months away. Weighing in against or in favor of one candidate almost seems like a moral duty, or at least a civic duty. It’s not. It’s particularly not any kind of duty if you are contemplating weighing in as a company.

One thing consumers have made clear to us is that upon hearing that a company supports this or that candidate or political position, they are much more willing to avoid doing business with them. Equally important, surveys show that a significant majority of Americans don’t want companies to take stands on political issues. Admittedly, this is not true across the demographic board.

A Morning Consult survey shows that adult members of Gen Z largely do want to see companies take public stands on certain issues:

“Gen Z adults, specifically, are more likely than the public, by double digits, to want brands to take stances on issues of race and racism in America, LGBTQ+ rights, access to abortion/contraception, and gun control.”