The wine industry's problem has nothing to do with what is written in this article. Read Tim Carl's reports which illustrate the problem - Baby Boomers are the generation that loves and supports the wine industry. There are fewer young drinkers to replace the boomers who have passed or those who drink less due to age. Wine is not the drink of choice of younger generations and that's the problem. On top of this comes the fact that the hotel industry in Napa Valley is doing the wine industry no favors. Requiring minimum 2-3 night stays and charging $300+ per room is too much for the younger drinking age consumers. Couple this with the fact that getting to each winery and back to your hotel without getting a DUI is a major concern. Lastly, Carl points out that there are 3,000 tasting rooms in the Valley. Over saturation and still most charge ridiculous tasting fees.
Carl is an astute observer. However, we can observe more than one threat at a time. Moreover, the issue I’m writing about here affects wineries in Willamette, retailers in Reno and distributors in Denver. It’s not all about Napa.
The threat(s) Carl outlines in multiple articles are the most dangerous threats. I'm not stating it's all about Napa but what is coming out of Napa Valley, Carl's subject in his research, is very alarming news for Napa Valley and the wine industry as a whole. When people think of wine in America the first region they think of is Napa Valley as you already know. Perception, even if the perception is incorrect, is persuasive. Most Americans don't know or follow health guidelines for drinking. I would be interested to see you dive into Willamette using the same type of research Carl uses. Is Willamette seeing the same things? Are hotels in Willamette that service wine travelers pulling the same 2-3 night minimum stays? Are DUI concerns as high in Willamette as they are in California wine drinking regions.
Dean, I'm not discounting the threats that Carl identifies. I'm simply asserting that the threat of anti-wine attitudes that are being spread by WHO and that have come to Canada and that I think will come to the U.S. are something we, as an industry, need to be aware of and be prepared for since they will not result in positive developments. As for the DUI threat I've always thought the Napa wine industry dodged one of the biggest bullets their is...a prominent person or their child being run over by a drunk driver who just left a tasting room. I don't hear a ton of talk about that up here. A big difference, I think, is that in Napa the wineries are literally right next to each other. Here they are more spread out.
Tom, I see your point and understand that some people might be swayed by WHO. Sadly, the days of no tasting fees are gone. $30-$45 tasting fees are the norm in Napa and to a lesser degree in Dry Creek Valley and Sonoma County. 10 years ago I would attend industry events in Napa designed to get industry vendors, hotel concierge personnel and others on board with what facilities had to offer. The events were often during the week at night. I remember on multiple occasions the CHP putting up DUI checkpoints to catch the tasting room employees and industry folks after our events. Never seen one during a mid day Cab release weekend. The hypocrisy is deafening! I agree with you that health concerns, especially Canada's ridiculous overreach, could make their way into mainstream thinking as "fact." If you review the AA guidelines we are all essentially alcoholics according to their standards. My grandfather made his own wine, drank it from a half gallon glass jug (with ring) and he lived a long life as a farmer and grape grower. Sadly, the Italian heritage of introducing wine to family, friends and the kids growing up (water and a touch of wine in a water glass) are over. People are being inundated by commercials for beer but very little for wine. Beer is connected to American sports like no other beverage; wine doesn't have that advantage. It's all perplexing to me. Keep up the good work!
that's the issue, the lack of American wine culture, not a few wineries in Napa being expensive. We must make wine an essential part of a meal, like bread or rice, to show wine as the agricultural product it is. it isn't an alternative to vodka for drinking to get hammered.
That's not the issue lack of American wine culture. The issue is the American wine industry took off in the mid-70's while the European wine culture has been growing for centuries. The additional challenge is the old generation of grandfathers and grandmothers that would begin showing wine to their grandchildren are now all gone. There is no wine at the dinner table with a little water in it introduction to kids. Added to this problem is the Baby Boomers, who were introduced to wine by their elders, are passing away or they are drinking less wine as they age. The last piece to the decline is the younger generations who prefer craft beers and cocktails. I began buying wine seriously when I was 33 yrs old but before that it was all beer and cocktails. This is NOT about education it's about taste preferences and wine is not favored by the 21-40 crowd the way it is by the 55+ crowd.
Tom - We've lost the message that if you choose to drink, wine is the better choice. Now, wine is one of several choices for today's consumers, and we replace the older consumer who held wine as their first choice, to a new generation that holds wine as one of several options. The problem is multi-faceted, but this is one component of the issue and something the US industry does almost nothing about. The EU is slightly ahead of the US, but starting in about 2000, we should have done more. Now the question becomes, what will be done to change the message to something more balanced?
This is exactly correct. I think what needs to be done is something multifaceted. Push back against the extreme claims as well as delivering the message of wine's unique place in culture, history and society. We'll see what happens
The battle extends through the entire alc-bev category. We'd have something if there were a way to pull that entire community together. But I don't see that happening. There is too much disagreement and a focus on things like standard pours, fair taxation between categories, and the belief that 'drink responsibly' as a message is enough of a counter. We’d rather fight in isolation, across categories, rather than recognize the battle is over the hill.
Four of us wine analysts tried to pull the wine industry together with WineRAMP, and while we had near unanimity with a steering committee of a solid cross-section of the industry, in the end, the initiative fell apart due to a minority but influential voice. I don't hold much hope after that experience that collaboration will be the solution. There might be some regional solutions, but I suspect it's every person for themselves.
I've never seen a better pro wine statement than Robert Mondavi's. How about putting it up on billboards? Forget tv advertising. Nobody pays any attention. You can't mute or skip past a billboard!
Consumers are not idiots. They know, and have always known that booze, while great fun, is not a harmless diversion. Lovers of drink have ALWAYS internalized the "Mondavi defense", and drink for fun, not fitness. This isn't new. We need only remind people of the joy of wine, not convince them. And as a lover of alcohol (wine, beer, spirits), and also of rational thought, I don't dulude myself into thinking it's something other than this: poison. I will continue to drink, and enjoy it, and will wilfully ignore my liver when it tries to tell me the truth. The body does not need wine, or candy, but it does crave them. Attempt to divert or ignore health truths when faced directly with it only makes us seem ignorant at best, and disingenuous at worst. Luckily, we don't really have to. Delicious, high quality wine will always speak for itself in the same way a delicious, high quality meal will. Be authentic and honest, an success will follow. Hopefully the industry can internalize this instead of trying to push back a health narrative with some marketing speak. And if you don't prize quality and substance in your wine, I'll shed no tears when you go under during a natural market retraction (due to changing consumer sentiment and demands)
a fantastic (and scary) analysis of the biggest issue facing the wine industry. A must-read for all of us who love wine and work in the wine business.
The wine industry's problem has nothing to do with what is written in this article. Read Tim Carl's reports which illustrate the problem - Baby Boomers are the generation that loves and supports the wine industry. There are fewer young drinkers to replace the boomers who have passed or those who drink less due to age. Wine is not the drink of choice of younger generations and that's the problem. On top of this comes the fact that the hotel industry in Napa Valley is doing the wine industry no favors. Requiring minimum 2-3 night stays and charging $300+ per room is too much for the younger drinking age consumers. Couple this with the fact that getting to each winery and back to your hotel without getting a DUI is a major concern. Lastly, Carl points out that there are 3,000 tasting rooms in the Valley. Over saturation and still most charge ridiculous tasting fees.
Carl is an astute observer. However, we can observe more than one threat at a time. Moreover, the issue I’m writing about here affects wineries in Willamette, retailers in Reno and distributors in Denver. It’s not all about Napa.
The threat(s) Carl outlines in multiple articles are the most dangerous threats. I'm not stating it's all about Napa but what is coming out of Napa Valley, Carl's subject in his research, is very alarming news for Napa Valley and the wine industry as a whole. When people think of wine in America the first region they think of is Napa Valley as you already know. Perception, even if the perception is incorrect, is persuasive. Most Americans don't know or follow health guidelines for drinking. I would be interested to see you dive into Willamette using the same type of research Carl uses. Is Willamette seeing the same things? Are hotels in Willamette that service wine travelers pulling the same 2-3 night minimum stays? Are DUI concerns as high in Willamette as they are in California wine drinking regions.
Dean, I'm not discounting the threats that Carl identifies. I'm simply asserting that the threat of anti-wine attitudes that are being spread by WHO and that have come to Canada and that I think will come to the U.S. are something we, as an industry, need to be aware of and be prepared for since they will not result in positive developments. As for the DUI threat I've always thought the Napa wine industry dodged one of the biggest bullets their is...a prominent person or their child being run over by a drunk driver who just left a tasting room. I don't hear a ton of talk about that up here. A big difference, I think, is that in Napa the wineries are literally right next to each other. Here they are more spread out.
Tom, I see your point and understand that some people might be swayed by WHO. Sadly, the days of no tasting fees are gone. $30-$45 tasting fees are the norm in Napa and to a lesser degree in Dry Creek Valley and Sonoma County. 10 years ago I would attend industry events in Napa designed to get industry vendors, hotel concierge personnel and others on board with what facilities had to offer. The events were often during the week at night. I remember on multiple occasions the CHP putting up DUI checkpoints to catch the tasting room employees and industry folks after our events. Never seen one during a mid day Cab release weekend. The hypocrisy is deafening! I agree with you that health concerns, especially Canada's ridiculous overreach, could make their way into mainstream thinking as "fact." If you review the AA guidelines we are all essentially alcoholics according to their standards. My grandfather made his own wine, drank it from a half gallon glass jug (with ring) and he lived a long life as a farmer and grape grower. Sadly, the Italian heritage of introducing wine to family, friends and the kids growing up (water and a touch of wine in a water glass) are over. People are being inundated by commercials for beer but very little for wine. Beer is connected to American sports like no other beverage; wine doesn't have that advantage. It's all perplexing to me. Keep up the good work!
that's the issue, the lack of American wine culture, not a few wineries in Napa being expensive. We must make wine an essential part of a meal, like bread or rice, to show wine as the agricultural product it is. it isn't an alternative to vodka for drinking to get hammered.
That's not the issue lack of American wine culture. The issue is the American wine industry took off in the mid-70's while the European wine culture has been growing for centuries. The additional challenge is the old generation of grandfathers and grandmothers that would begin showing wine to their grandchildren are now all gone. There is no wine at the dinner table with a little water in it introduction to kids. Added to this problem is the Baby Boomers, who were introduced to wine by their elders, are passing away or they are drinking less wine as they age. The last piece to the decline is the younger generations who prefer craft beers and cocktails. I began buying wine seriously when I was 33 yrs old but before that it was all beer and cocktails. This is NOT about education it's about taste preferences and wine is not favored by the 21-40 crowd the way it is by the 55+ crowd.
Tom - We've lost the message that if you choose to drink, wine is the better choice. Now, wine is one of several choices for today's consumers, and we replace the older consumer who held wine as their first choice, to a new generation that holds wine as one of several options. The problem is multi-faceted, but this is one component of the issue and something the US industry does almost nothing about. The EU is slightly ahead of the US, but starting in about 2000, we should have done more. Now the question becomes, what will be done to change the message to something more balanced?
This is exactly correct. I think what needs to be done is something multifaceted. Push back against the extreme claims as well as delivering the message of wine's unique place in culture, history and society. We'll see what happens
The battle extends through the entire alc-bev category. We'd have something if there were a way to pull that entire community together. But I don't see that happening. There is too much disagreement and a focus on things like standard pours, fair taxation between categories, and the belief that 'drink responsibly' as a message is enough of a counter. We’d rather fight in isolation, across categories, rather than recognize the battle is over the hill.
Four of us wine analysts tried to pull the wine industry together with WineRAMP, and while we had near unanimity with a steering committee of a solid cross-section of the industry, in the end, the initiative fell apart due to a minority but influential voice. I don't hold much hope after that experience that collaboration will be the solution. There might be some regional solutions, but I suspect it's every person for themselves.
I've never seen a better pro wine statement than Robert Mondavi's. How about putting it up on billboards? Forget tv advertising. Nobody pays any attention. You can't mute or skip past a billboard!
Love the Mondavi quote but hate signage for now it interrupts the natural landscape. Hmmm what else might work?
Consumers are not idiots. They know, and have always known that booze, while great fun, is not a harmless diversion. Lovers of drink have ALWAYS internalized the "Mondavi defense", and drink for fun, not fitness. This isn't new. We need only remind people of the joy of wine, not convince them. And as a lover of alcohol (wine, beer, spirits), and also of rational thought, I don't dulude myself into thinking it's something other than this: poison. I will continue to drink, and enjoy it, and will wilfully ignore my liver when it tries to tell me the truth. The body does not need wine, or candy, but it does crave them. Attempt to divert or ignore health truths when faced directly with it only makes us seem ignorant at best, and disingenuous at worst. Luckily, we don't really have to. Delicious, high quality wine will always speak for itself in the same way a delicious, high quality meal will. Be authentic and honest, an success will follow. Hopefully the industry can internalize this instead of trying to push back a health narrative with some marketing speak. And if you don't prize quality and substance in your wine, I'll shed no tears when you go under during a natural market retraction (due to changing consumer sentiment and demands)