Your Invitation to 2023 and Beyond

Where I came from, where I am and where I hope to be going with you.

Today marks the end of my 18th year writing about the nexus of wine and culture, the business of wine, and the politics of wine. Some of you have been around for that entire journey and you know who you are. But nearly all of you reading this have helped me make the most significant transition in all those 18 years with your support of the establishment of this Substack Newsletter. I want to explain what you’ve helped me do and provide some reflections on this past year and the coming year.

For 17 years I consistently published FERMENTATION, a blog that was among the original wine blogs and that I began writing in 2004. My audience has always been smaller than those diligent scribes who wrote for consumers. I focused on the industry, its minutia, its media, and the politics and business of wine and alcohol. While I did not attract those wanting a recommendation for a New Year’s Champagne or the right Rosé, I did draw the interest of those working in the industry and those who wanted to learn about the industry. That’s what I wanted to do.

By the end of 2021, it became clear to me that this new Substack newsletter format was a more appropriate means of communicating with the audience I’d built. It also became clear that after 17 years of providing complimentary access to my work, I may have arrived at the point where that work justified a paying readership.

After nearly 12 months of publishing this newsletter, I now have as many subscribers as I had accumulated on my previous blog format. Moreover, 13% of my Substack followers are paying subscribers, exceeding my initial goal of 10%. For those of you who have found enough value in my work to become a paying subscriber, please know I recognize how you honor me. Thank you. You have my word I will continue to work to justify your continued support.

For those of you who have taken a free subscription, I recognize this as important support also and am grateful you are willing to follow my work. Please rest assured that I will continue to make every effort to convince you the work I do here at FERMENTATION justifies a paid subscription in the future. That’s my promise.

It occurs to me that some of you may not know what I do outside of writing this newsletter. You ought to know.

Since 1990 I have worked in the field of public and media relations and have focused my efforts on serving the alcohol industry with a particular focus on the wine industry. What this means is that I serve as a consultant to clients who largely come to me from word-of-mouth and exposure to me via my writing. Most of my services focus on communications. That is, I help my clients reach a wider audience by putting their stories in front of the media, the trade, and consumers. It’s press releases, pitching stories to the media, acting as a spokesperson, helping flesh out their most compelling stories, managing sample programs, copywriting, and being involved in developing and deploying marketing strategies.

In the past 30 years, I’ve worked with numerous clients from wineries and wine trade associations to retailers, media companies, tech companies, and importers. This work remains today my primary source of income.

Additionally, since 2007 I have been proud to act as the Executive Director for the National Association of Wine Retailers (NAWR), a trade association of wine retailers, auction houses, and wine-of-the-month clubs. NAWR is focused on reforming the wine industry to provide a level playing field for retailers and consumers. NAWR works to change state laws via lobbying and involves itself in federal lawsuits while also working with state and federal alcohol regulators and other members of the alcohol trade with the goal of removing barriers to free trade.

I occasionally wonder what kind of legacy I will leave behind when I end my career. I have no doubt that my work with NAWR will be at the heart of anything I may be remembered for when that time comes. The work and goals of NAWR are so vital to the future of the wine trade and to wine consumers. Working with the members of NAWR to change laws and level out the retailer/consumer landscape is gratifying to a degree I can’t fully express.

Then there is this effort; this writing about and analysis of my industry. From the moment I began this Substack newsletter in January, I decided it would be treated as one of my clients, deserving every bit as much attention as the wineries, retailers and others that pay me for my consulting services. Only by taking this approach could I assure that those of you who chose to support me would be provided with the kind of value that justifies your support.

Looking forward, I’m excited to see what 2023 will bring to the wine industry. What I know is that 2023 will witness more members of the industry expressing their belief that the industry must change its structure and by this I mean alternations to the way products are distributed to the ultimate consumer. I think this process will be given momentum by the precarious economy that is being impacted by historic inflation, a significantly increased cost of debt, and consumers who have already begun to pull back on their wine purchases. All of this will cause the kind of frustrations that motivate more voices to challenge the status quo.

And what will the Biden Administration’s current focus on increasing competition and focusing on anti-trust issues bring to the wine and alcohol industries? It seems like that by the end of 2023, we will see several significant changes at the federal level impacting how distributors, producers, retailers, and importers interact with one another. Additionally, there will undoubtedly be heightened federal scrutiny paid to merger attempts.

What also interests me is how wine will interact with an American culture that appears to me to be experiencing a moment of extreme evolution the likes of which we have not seen since the 1960s. Where does wine fit in American culture? Will partisan politics and questions of social justice impact the place of wine in the economy and society? Will the economic status of Millennials and GenZ have as much impact on wine as the era of Boomer control over the culture and economy had when this generation lifted wine from a sideshow to the main show?

This year I will also be keeping an even closer eye on the impact of Social Media on wine. My current view is that the legacy media continues to suffer and, with a few exceptions, is likely to have a smaller impact on everyone’s life. At the same time, I expect Social Media (and new, rogue media like this newsletter) to have an increasing impact on our view of the world and the wine industry in general. I have no view as to whether or not this is good or bad. I only know it's an important, ongoing development and I intend to flesh out its meaning in this newsletter.

Regardless of how things pan out in 2023, I want to assure you that what you’ll get from your FERMENTATION Newsletter is honesty. That doesn’t mean you won’t be getting opinions. Anyone who has followed along this journey knows I have opinions and that I express them…regularly. I still will. But I will tell you the truth. I will show you my sources. I will tell you why I believe what I believe. And I will give those who might receive a bit of my ire a fair shake.

Finally, for those of you who are paying for a subscription, I want to ask you to continue to renew that subscription. I want to ask you to show others what you are paying for. I want to request that you recommend this newsletter to others. That’s how the audience for my work will grow.

For those of you who read without a paying subscription, I’m asking you to subscribe in 2023. I’m confident that the perspective and experience and relevance of the information you get from Fermentation are unique in the world of alcohol and wine. So I’m asking you to support this effort I am making to bring clarity and perspective to the industry we orbit. Know that if you choose to move to a paid subscription in 2023, you will have every bit as much support from me in your desire to think creatively as you are giving me from your subscription.

Happy New Year to all of you and thank you for your support. Now let’s go see what happens in 2023.