With a goal of 46% carbon reduction by 2030 and 6,000 companies to wrangle, Marie-Catherine Dufour, Technical Director of the Bordeaux Wine Council, has a big job to undertake. With an action plan that covers five key climate change strategies, Bordeaux can become carbon neutral by 2050. Some of those strategies include promoting bats to combat grape moths, reducing the weight of bottles, and capturing CO2 from fermentation to make baking soda.  Detailed Show Notes: Marie-Catherine’s background - daughter of winegrowers in Bordeaux, studied agronomyMission as Technical Director of Bordeaux Wine Council - think of innovation needs for the sector to be more competitiveDefines sustainability as the linkage between environmental, social, and economic issuesClimate has a direct impact on the environment, but it also impacts the health and well-being of peopleBordeaux Climate Action2007 - 1st carbon assessment2019 - 3rd assessment - reduced GHG emissions by 39% from 2007Developed Carbon Strategy for Bordeaux w/ science-based targetsThe goal of 46% GHG reduction by 2030Five key strategiesGlass and packaging (28% of GHG emissions) - reduce bottle weight by 10%Winemaking practices (22% of GHG emissions) - do less in the vineyard to minimize oil and pesticide usage, balancing environmental goals and yieldFreight - fewer planes, more boats (30% of emissions from planes from only 4% of volume); fewer trucks, more trains (the primary port is now Le Havre in the north, and would like to ship from Bordeaux in the future)Energy efficiency - underground cellars, natural light, gravity flow Carbon sequestration - when they can’t reduce any more; increase area w/ covered grass (+32% of the area), plant trees and hedges (150 km hedges planted / year); can lead to carbon neutrality by 2050Action plan for each strategy developedA collective regional strategy helps when working with suppliers to have more influenceROI is difficult to defineEuropean impact of climate change is 1% of GDP w/ 2 heat waves in 2022, production reduced by 20% of normalCost of climate change in 2022 estimated at ~$24k/ha (~$10k/acre)E.g., electric tractors are 30% more expensive but use less fuel; one solution is to amortize the cost over a more extended periodHigh-end wineries can do moreReducing bottle weights - the idea of luxury will change and consumers will no longer accept heavy bottles as luxury due to climate impactE.g., Chateau Montrose produces baking soda from CO2 emitted during fermentation, a type of sequestration; need to develop uses (e.g., sales to food companies) for itChateau Brown uses cardboard w/ nice printing over wood now; NY merchants prefer itChateau Lagrange has solar panels on the cellar that cannot be seen by visitors and produces 50% of electric needsDriving actionRequires communication with members (6,000 companies)Hosts an annual event for environmental issuesDo webinars and offers collective tools to promote actionHas an annual budget of €2M (€1M for scientific studies - e.g., for bats eating grape moths and reducing larvae by 40%; €1M for collective action)Recommendation for wineries - start w/ carbon assessment, as every company is different, then develop a winery-specific plan and leverage tools available on the Bordeaux Wine Council website Get access to library episodes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Known for its world-class art collection and Pinot Noirs, Donum Estate is also serious about sustainability, investing heavily in integrated pest management and biodiversity. Dan Fishman, the winemaker, discusses the benefits and tradeoffs of moving to organic and regenerative farming with an IPM framework. From sheep, ducks, and chickens to mealybug destroyers, it’s creating a diverse ecosystem that is improving the soil, vines, and wines for Donum.  Detailed Show Notes: Dan’s background - Donum winemaker since 2012, took over farming in 2019DonumFounded in 2001 in Carneros to create the ultimate Pinot NoirAdded Russian River Valley and Sonoma Coast vineyardsCCOF (organic) and pursuing ROC regenerative certificationIntegrated pest management (“IPM”) is a critical 1st step for sustainability; it changes philosophy from exploiting resources to maximize cash crops (conventional) to looking at the system holistically and thinking about the entire ecosystem (IPM)Not about eliminating pests but managing them and creating resilience in the ecosystemExamples of IPMSheep for weeding in winter - less tractor passes & fuel use, brings compost back to the vineyard, uses contract grazer w/ 500 sheep/herd, need sheep out before bud break, or they will eat green shootsCompost teas (biologically active sprays) - when used on the canopy, introduce microbes that compete w/ others like mildewChickens & ducks eat ground insectsCommitted to organics in 2019Stopped using herbicides, which kill weeds but also other fungi in soil; stopping created living soils, insect life returned right awayWithout synthetic nitrogen, we need to get the nitrogen cycle back (e.g., sheep compost helps)Benefits of IPMReduced vigor reduced the need to crop thin and hedge, which was done before to get to target yields, therefore no reduction in overall crop yieldsImproved grape chemistry - 7-8 years ago harvested at 25+ Brix to get phenolic ripeness with 3.7-3.8 pH and 4-5 g/L TA; 2022 - 23-23.5 Brix, 3.5 pH, 5.6-6+ g/L TA -> less work needed in wineryCan ferment with native yeasts (not killed by sprays)Increased vineyard lifespan - vines can live 50-60 years vs. 25-30 typically in Sonoma for Pinot NoirReduced cost of synthetic fertilizersCosts of IPMSome upfront investment, e.g., Clemens weed knife for under-vine weed management instead of spraying RoundupMore monitoring of vineyard, e.g., people monitoring for mealy bugs, which are then treated with an organic essential oilEstimates ~5-7% more expensive vs. conventional farmingThe highest impact process was getting rid of herbicidesOther elements usedRoot Applied Sciences - monitoring stations that check for mildew spores reduce organic sprays by 20%, kill less yeast in the vineyardVineView aerial mapping to identify potential problemsWater probes to monitor vine stress to determine irrigation needsBiodiversityCover crops, every 6th row is a native wildflower encouraging native insectsIntroduce predators - e.g., wasps & mealybug destroyers to reduce mealy bugsEncourage raptors with owl boxes and raptor perches to help control moles & gophersNext for IPM and biodiversity at Donum - more chickens & ducks, may own a small flock of sheep, and set up a truffle grove Get access to library episodes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Building an entire ecosystem in the desert requires water at its core. With a 3,000-ha property that includes 2,000ha of vineyards, a winery, and a town to support it, Raimat, part of the Cordorniu Group, has been at the forefront of sustainability, particularly with water efficiency. Joan Esteve, General Manager, explains how >€5M of investment has substantially reduced water usage and made the property more sustainable, which in his mind, is leaving it a better place for future generations. Detailed Show Notes: Raimat overviewPurchased in 1914, it was a desert 150km west of BarcelonaContinental climate, no Mediterranean influenceClose to the Pyrenees, water from snow melt~3,000 ha (~7,400 acres) property~2,000 acres of vineyards, ~40% (Pinot Noir, Chardonnay) goes to Cordorniu, rest for Raimat’s still wines (~12M bottles/year)Had to build a town to support farmingWinery and town designed by a disciple of Gaudi100% organic, many sustainability certificationsTons of biodiversity - e.g., releasing Turons (i.e., wild ferrets) to control the rabbit populationSustainability definition - “leaving a better world than how we found it”Founder of Wineries for Climate Protection in Spain - requires 5% average annual water and energy savingsWater efficiency projects:Built ~€4M water pipe to replace the channel that supplies Raimat water1m diameter with natural pressureOriginally a > 50-year payback projectSaves 15% water (no evaporation, losses), ~2,700 MWh/year of energy / equivalent to ~1,400 tons CO2/yearIrrigation optimizationDeveloped by Cordorniu Research InstituteDynamically applies water based on differences in soil, grape variety, desired wine style, and vine ageSaves ~10% of waterSpun off company Agropixel to consult other wineries on precision viticulturePartial Root DryingIt uses two irrigation lines and rotates irrigation every 15-20 daysIt makes the vine believe it’s under water stress when it’s not~40% water savings, slightly lower yields, better qualityConducting on ~300ha~20-25% more expensive (mostly additional irrigation line)Total vineyard water savings of ~30%Cellar water optimizationMeasured water consumption in different parts of the wineryFixed leaksUse tools to reduce usage (e.g., hot water vs. cold for cleaning, nozzles for hoses, UV light to disinfect tanks)Total water efficiency investments ~€5.1M (~€4M pipe, ~€1M vineyards, ~€100k cellar)Future efficiency - believes Raimat may need to use more water to offset the impacts of global warmingWater from the Pyrenees is not at risk as the region primarily produces corn and alfalfa, which use significantly more water than grapes (~800mm water/year vs. ~150mm for grapes)ROI challenging for sustainability investmentsOwners (now majority owned by The Carlyle Group) usually require Water pipe investment made by the family as a legacy for future generationsQuality was the main rationale behind water efficiency investmentsAdvice for the industryIt’s good business to be efficientAgriculture is slow, needs longer payback hurdles, and can use quality improvements to justify the investmentThe quality impact is significant; small amounts of compounds can impact the entire production Get access to library episodes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Focused on the 20% of the wine market doing things differently, Byron Hoffman and Tyson Caly, co-CEOs of Offset, are focused on enabling “Brand Differentiated Commerce.” At the intersection of design and technology for wine, Offset has significant experience operating allocated offerings of wine. These unique event-based sales methods, which limit how much customers can buy, create new challenges and best practices, unlike other sales channels.  Detailed Show Notes: Byron & Tyson met while collaborating on Last Bottle, combining e-commerce and designOffset - the intersection of design and technology for wineFocused on the 20% of the industry doing things differentlyMost clients in Napa & Sonoma, major ones include Kosta Browne, Aubert, Larkmead, Raen, Bedrock, DuMOLDTC business models - open cart / online store, clubs, subscriptions, allocationsAllocated offerings (“allocations”) definition - the event-based, controlled release of wineGeared around exclusivityOffering types - first come, first serve; guaranteed; order requestAllocation types - individual, group-based, wish onlyUse wish requests to prevent undersellingDifferences in doing allocations vs. other modelsA significant effort to decide who gets what, limiting what people can buyTiming of sales important - need to consider things like shipping windowsCheckout experience language is importantBest practices“Brand Differentiated Commerce” - how the brand is integrated w/ commerce can be different for every winerySimplify and align customer experience w/ the brandFull allocation button - can simplify the purchaseThe design flow of customer experience (e.g., initial email, graphics at the beginning of offering) is importantInvest in website design - many wineries think a lot about packaging and forget about their website or don’t want to appear to be selling wine, but still need a clear call to actionToo much automation is not always betterExamples of the intersection of design and commerceKosta Browne re-designed how to explain wish requests on their website, reducing phone calls and emails coming inText messaging & magic links (auto-login) enable 20 seconds to purchase, ~98% of texts get read w/in 3 minutes, partners w/ Slick TextCosts of allocated modelsSimilar to e-commerce costs, Offset pricing is a transaction based w/ no monthly feeCan have cost efficiencies if wines sell out (e.g., team labor used for other things when not selling, shipping process condensed)Hybrid approachesE.g., Larkmead has a tasting room, club, & allocationsE.g., Kermit Lynch has clubs, open cart, and behind-the-scenes allocationsBenefit - providing choices for people w/ different sales models, e.g., clubs for people who want convenience, allocations for VIPs to enable access to special winesCons - a lot more setupPeople want to customize wine club shipments, which is similar technology to allocations and has now been enabledAllocated offering research w/ professors from Kellogg & Peter - creating the data to get more insight and reduce guesswork for the industry Get access to library episodes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With a California-like atmosphere, Texas wine country enjoys a strong local following. Eva Horton, the owner of Flat Creek Estate, shares how they are creating more than a Texas winery but a destination. With multiple venues, including a full-service restaurant and a disc golf course, Flat Creek is getting visitors to come back and enjoy the estate and wines. Detailed Show Notes: The goal is to be a destination, a real estate development play, not just a Texas wineryTexas wine country - west of AustinTX wine trail - 290 corridor, flatter, mostly European & Spanish varietalsExpanded to Hill Country, NW of Austin3 hrs from Dallas & Houston, 1 hr from San Antonio, 45 min from Austin#3 state in US for # of wineriesVisitors to TX wine countryThe majority from Texas come for a weekendAs Austin becomes more of a definition, it gets more visitorsLooks California likeFlat Creek overviewIn Hill Country, elevated, grows mostly Italian varietals80 acres, ~26 planted, ~18 producing currentlyProduced ~4,500-6,000 cases, capacity for ~10,000Three venues on the property - tasting room, restaurant, pavilionThe consulting winemaker from CA - Jean HolfingerWine pricing - ~$30 whites, ~$40-50 reds, premium to other TX wineriesEstate destinationsTasting room - outdoor areas, fire pits, barrel tastingsEllera - full-service restaurant, only Flat Creek wines and alcoholPavilion - live music, different food18-hole disc golf course, PGA qualifiedWalking trails - like a winery in a parkAverage spend$25 for a tasting of 5 winesCan range from ~$50-60 to hundreds for higher-end dinners at Ellera# of visitors - typical weekend - ~400-500/day, special events ~1,000Sales channels95% sold on site5% onlineNot in distribution yet, but a goal for 2023Hospitality sales & wine clubs~75% of visitors buy wineLoyalty club - get benefits when you buy 12 bottles each year“Being part of a destination/club”Developing unique members-only benefits to drive membership - e.g., food & wine pairings, creating a VIP room (like a cigar lounge) for higher tier members~40-50% of visitors join the loyalty club Capturing non-customer emails - using cards to capture emails, ~50% uptake~20-30% of customers repeat purchases, using personalized communications to target customers Get access to library episodes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In less than three years, Jen & Zach Pelka, the sister and brother co-founders of Une Femme, have taken what was supposed to be an in-house wine brand for their Champagne Bars The Riddler to the fastest-growing sparkling wine in the US. Leveraging data from The Riddler sales with a mission of promoting women and enabling the shattering of glass ceilings, Jen & Zach have taken a CPG approach to rocket Une Femme to become a national player.  Detailed Show Notes: Une Femme launchInitially designed as an in-house brand for The RiddlerData from The Riddler, from 2 bars, 150-200 wines sold by the glass, 70% women, difficult to find affordable, approachable sparkling rosés by the glass led to Une Femme designLaunched Feb 2020 - a bad time for on-premise, Covid closures forced more national distributionWine portfolioThe Betty - sparkling white, named after Betty White, no dosage, 80% PN / 20% CHThe Callie - sparkling rosé from California, 1st wine to take off$32 retail ProductWork directly w/ wineries and winemakers, capital-light modelMostly Central Coast, CAMade in 3 locations w/ a Type 2 winery licenseMade w/ Charmat method (tank) - faster, less expensive, more scalable, spends 1-3 months in tankMotto - “World-class women-made wines that give back to female-centered charities”Each wine partnered w/ charities, which gets a lot of pressThe Callie - Breast Cancer Research FundThe Betty - Dress for SuccessLimited Edition Wines (Piquettes) - Tree SistersBatonnage Forum (for more detail, see XChateau Ep 40)Assesses donations every quarter for contribution amount; can’t tie a specific $ amount to a bottle due to alcohol complianceFastest growing sparkling wine brand in the US2020 - 1,500 cases2021 - 5,400 cases2022E - ~100,000 cases2023E - >200,000 casesAspiration - 400-500k case brand to become a “call brand” for sparkling wine, where customers ask for it by nameDiversity at scale is mostly restricted by access to capital (Une Femme just able to raise $10M Series A)PackagingMultiple formats - 750ml, 187ml, 250ml cansSmall formats launched to take advantage of events, charities where small bottles (w/ straws) / cans will be photographed/seen vs. drinking from a glass250ml cans driven by Delta - lighter, more scalable, sustainablePrice - will be ~$24.99 from major retail partners as the product scalesTargeting premiumization categories ($20-40 range) and growing the sparkling categoryPromotionBrand partners - Marriott (by the glass in high-end hotels - Ritz Carlton, St Regis, JW Marriott), DeltaMost successful promotion - Hall of Femme awards program celebrated 365 women who have shattered a glass ceiling. Sent them a crate of wine with stunt glass and a hammer to shatter it. Based on the brand name “Une Femme,” meaning it only takes 1 woman to shatter a glass ceilingHas done social media, paid advertising, email marketing, & just started text marketingDoes a lot of events and donations to lots of charitiesWord of mouth from friends in the industry (e.g., wine shop owners, sommeliers) Branded credit card - to be part of customers' lives, introducing similar, women-focused, women-owned brands (e.g., Milk Bar), capitalizing on the movement of women supporting women, esp with their walletsBrand ambassador program - run through a 3rd party as a way to have affiliate marketing for influencersHighest ROI marketing - things that lead to partnerships w/ large national players, e.g., trade shows Get access to library episodes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Robert Vernick and Peter Yeung interview Tom Lutz, Founder & Creator of Repour Wine Savor, one of the leading new inventions in wine preservation technology. We discuss the technology, how people have learned about it, the differences between Coravin and Repour, and what the future holds.  Other topics covered in this episode include:Tom is a chemist by trade (he worked in biodiesel and aquarium products)Repour was invented when he had a newborn son and ended up pouring half bottles of wine down the drainTechnology: It uses food-grade oxygen absorbersBinds the oxygen, of which the atmosphere has 21%, does not replace itIt requires air to exchange and remove the oxygen, so the bottle needs to be stored verticallyThe capacity of the stopperBuilt for 5 pours of one bottle, glass by glass - this would expose the wine to 1,500 ml of airThe max amount a stopper has to handle is 2,000 ml of airUses recyclable materials. However, many municipal grids have 3”x3” grids that filter out small objects; for large customers, they do take back repours to recyclePricingConsumer: 4-pack ($8.99 / $2.25 each), 10-pack ($17.99 / $1.80 each), 72-pack ($120 / $1.67 each)There are often promotions via the email listA future target price point is $1/stopper or lowerTrade: 4x72-pack (288 stoppers) - starts at $0.83 / stopperCustomers Started with on-premise (restaurants)With COVID - moved more consumersWineries - have been using them for virtual tastings and wine club gifts, also several doing custom brandingCoravin vs. Repour - both work; Coravin is better for tasting and cellaring wine; Repour is for enjoying wine like you usually would and saving itMarketing Mostly word of mouthAfter 1 year of testing the science, started with a local somm group that did a blind tasting and Repour worked greatTEXSOM - gave out samples and many conversations have come back to that eventDuration of effectiveness - weeks or months; Repour has tested out to 6-7 monthsThe future - potentially replaceable inserts, sparkling wine, and the possibly showing how much oxygen absorbing capacity is leftIf you loved this episode, we would love for you to subscribe, rate, and review it on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts. Until next time, cheers! Get access to library episodes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Being the lead guitarist of the band, The Strokes, and with a celebrity roster of investors including Joaquin Phoenix, Owen Wilson, and Nick Hoult, one might believe that Albert Hammond Jr.’s new wine seltzer, Jetway, should have an easy path to take off. However, creating a product from ideation to quality in a can, starting a new business and raising money, and getting that wine seltzer into stores, restaurants, and people’s hands was more like launching a new band for Albert. It takes a lot of effort, and there are a lot of unknowns as to what might help it stick. Albert tells the story of the first year of Jetway and how celebrity has helped but is far from enough to make the product successful. Detailed Show NotesAlbert’s backgroundLead guitarist of The StrokesDad was into French Bordeaux, and Albert really liked the aromas of wineJetway’s founding - the idea came from drinking Aperol Spritzes in Italy and thinking it should be canned and modernizedJetway productUltra-premium wine seltzer, positioned as a new category w/in a category between wine and seltzerWine base with yerba mate and yuzu/ginger/lemon peel (white) or white peach/orange peel (rosé)Dry with no added sugarCan’s art is trying to be nostalgic and newPrice pointDTC - $131 / 24 cans (~$5.45/can, incl shipping)In-store - $14.99 / 4 packProduct launchSimilar to launching a new bandIn 200+ storesAvailable at Disneyland on draft and the San Diego Zoo, both did wellThe goal was to sell 10,000 cases in the first yearMost people buying are not friends and familyRaising moneyHe pitched to friends for feedback, and some wanted to investInvestors include Joaquin Phoenix and Rooney Mara, Nick Hoult, and Owen WilsonLeveraging celebrityIt helps to get in the door for restaurants and stores, but a good product is required to bring people backSocial media is a “double-edged sword” - it only hits fans of the band, which is not the entire market for the productHe had Jetway on the road when The Strokes opened for the Red Hot Chili Peppers and a broad audience enjoyed itMost of the investors don’t have social media, but mostly have helped provide feedback on product designCelebrity alcohol brands are growing, partially to diversify business interests and following the success of George Clooney’s tequila brand Get access to library episodes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Catching the wine bug from the nudge of a physical trainer, Elton Potts, Founder & Managing Partner of Vine Vault, has built a business focused on enhancing the enjoyment of wine and wine collecting. From full-service wine storage to refrigerated shipping to hosting wine events, Vine Vault has grown rapidly and serves six markets in the US.  Detailed Show Notes: Elton’s backgroundA 27-year career in finance & ops ran a global storage and logistics businessA physical trainer said beer would undo the impacts of training and to substitute it with red wineFrustrated with storage and delivery options that existed, he started Vine VaultVine Vault1st two facilities launched in Q4 of 201570% annual revenue growth, doubled in 2021Six markets (Napa, LA, Austin, Atlanta, Miami, Philadelphia), >50 team members (incl ~12 sommeliers)>75% of wine stored in a full-service storage programMission: to enhance the enjoyment of wine and wine collecting (beyond storage)Additional services Fully refrigerated, door-to-door delivery services Fulfillment service for high-end wineries, incl pick & pack, hand labeling, wax dippingMoving cellarsWine eventsSommelier servicesStorage basicsClimate control with low temp fluctuationHumidity - too dry dries corks; too humid creates moldSecurity - feel safe and have ease of accessAccess wine - want availability, but doesn’t risk securityClean facility - no chemical smells that can damage wine or rodents that might eat labels and packagingLocation access - ease of drop off / pick up (e.g., ramps)No vibrationLifestyle requirements - staff to receive shipments, inventory winesPricing varies by locationSelf storage - ~$3-4/case/monthConcierge / full service - ~$4.5-8/case/monthScale is not that important for only storageScale supports logistics and eventsPlans to expand into more markets Arranges pickup & delivery of wines bought from wineries for consumersSchedules delivery, refrigerated, no styrofoam Winery avoids breakage, returns, and damageWinery knows customers get the best experience of the wineInflation and supply chain impacts - price not keeping up with cost increasesAdded a fuel surchargeThe most significant issues are supply chain, e.g., a truck offline for 4 months waiting for a door latchDeveloped boxes for storage & shippingCardboard lays bottles flat, sturdy for stacking, and bottles don’t touch each other40-60% recycled material, no styrofoamWhite color to show confidence in the process, won’t get dirty or damagedTraveling road show for wineries - organize and plan eventsBusiness breakdown - all segments growingWine delivery 40%, storage 30%, wine moving 20%, events 10%The biggest opportunity is delivering wineTrendsMore women collecting winePost-baby boomers collecting wineThe storage business is still growing, and people are becoming aware of it Get access to library episodes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Library Release - Originally released as episode 26 on Nov 11th, 2020With a 25-year history, WineBid is the oldest and largest online wine auction site. The original re-commerce platform, Russ tells us about the auction process from the buyer and seller perspective and all the data they collect and display for the wines. This includes innovations such as a 360-degree bottle shot, price history charts, and new functionality like their customized shipping feature. He spills the beans on a few tips and tricks to get the best deals on WineBid! Detailed Show Notes: WineBid - 25 years old, based in Seattle with operations in Napa, the oldest and largest wine auction siteWeekly auctions - open at 7:15 pm PST on Sundays, close at 7 pm PST the next SundayAll items open at the same timePro’s get 1st 5-10 minutes to view and place bidsWhat doesn’t sell rolls into the following weekNow introducing some wines mid-week, with most wines going in one weekSet good reserves upfrontFor Sellers of wineConsignors are mostly private individualsMost sales are for $10,000-$1M+, ideally $100+ average bottle valueSellers send their list and get an estimateWineBid does the appraisal and after agreeing with the consignor, ships wine to the Napa warehouseWines are inspected, authenticated, and photographedOnce sold, sellers get a check or electronic wire transferAs part of an estimate, for larger cellars, WineBid will help catalog and pre-inspect on-siteReasons people sell winesAs in many businesses, the 3 D’s - divorce, debt, and deathPeople also have their tastes change and swap out what’s in their cellarsThey move and want to downsize their cellarSpouse/partners - may force sales before they can buy moreConsignment vs. cash buyout for wine sellers - generally make more money consigning and capture more upside, but takes more time and can get paid sooner, at a discount, with immediate cash buyoutBusiness modelSeller commissions - at most auction houses, 5-25%, the larger the consignment, the lower the premiumBuyer’s premiums - generally 15-25%, 17% at WineBid vs ~20-25% for live auctionsBuyer demographics - ~135-150,000 registered bidders70% US, 20% Asia, 10% Europe⅔ Male, ⅓ FemaleUpper middle-income with professionals in high-tech, finance, lawyers, doctors, etc.Demographics are getting younger, particularly in 2020 -> interested in a broader selection of wines with higher mobile usageMost learn about WineBid via word of mouth, recently doing more social and digital advertising and trying to make the experience more personalWineBid Innovations360-degree hi-res bottle shotsOne of the best for still photography in wine auctionsShipping functionality - can see everything you have and pick and choose what and when to shipSome of the most detailed condition notes on bottlesWine price chart for the history of the bottleProvenance premiumsDon’t see significant premiums on provenanceNo significant premiums for original wood cases (“OWC”) - buyers often don’t want to pay extra to ship the wood caseCertificates of authenticity not seeing significant premiumsLabel appearance is important to many buyersThe proliferation of wine critics and influencers has led to some influencers rivaling and outpacing traditional media Get access to library episodes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The wine storage landscape has never been as dynamic as it is today. Primarily due to Vino Vault and its goal of “making wine collecting more enjoyable.” With six facilities today and the goal of getting to 40-50, Jeff Anthony, President & CEO, and Jeff Smith, Chief Wine Officer, describe how scale allows them to offer more products and services to customers. From a soon-to-be-launched marketplace to auction advisory, Vino Vault is taking wine storage to another level.  Detailed Show Notes: Jeff Anthony (President & CEO) - wine enthusiast for 30 years, storage expert for 35 years (Iron Mountain)Jeff Smith (Chief Wine Officer) - helped father catalog his wine collection and turned it into a business - Carte du Vin Wine Cellar Management and wine storage business that sold to Vino VaultVino Vault offerings1st and foremost, a storage companyConsulting for in-home cellarsLogistics for wine movingSoon to launch a marketplace for storage customers to buy and sell wineAuction advisory (Jeff Smith’s role)7 locations - 3 in LA, Dallas, Houston, NYC, DenverStorage best practices - temp control, humidity control, security, rackingWine Owners - proprietary software for full-service customers, can manage collection and schedule delivery2 types of customers - private locker (~50%) and full service (~50%)NYC is all full service, trying to get more people on full serviceSupply chain and inflation have not impacted business as higher-end customers feel it lessVino Vault differentiation - national reach, in 6 markets today, will be in 10 by early 2023Scale benefits - can offer more products & services, can spread expertise and technology across a bigger businessM&A - goal is 40-50 locations, 80% North America, 20% Western Europe (UK), ~8-10 acquisitions / yearStorage market size - ~215-230 FacilitiesNA (US + Canada) - ~135-140 independent storage facilitiesW Europe - ~30-40Rest of the World - ~50Auction services - 20 years dealing with all auction housesHandle all the logisticsAdvisory services are free to customers with no obligationGet paid a finder’s fee from auction housesMarketplaceFocused on the ~80% of wine to sell that is up to ~$100-125/bottle (vs. ~20% that is rare and collectible and should go to auction)The benefit is speed to market, and transactions can happen immediately vs. ~4 months for auctionsCommissions are dramatically lower than auctionsData insights - anecdotally seeing a move away from high-end Napa Cabs and Sine Qua NonWine tastings and events - host some at some facilities, building event space in the flagship LA store (The Wine Hotel)Storage is a sticky business vs. online wine retail which is transient Get access to library episodes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What is the relevance of having 100s of gold medal wines and the competitions that hand them out? According to Doug Frost, MW, MS, it references back to the 19th century, when people were trying to describe what was happening in their wine regions. Doug describes the history, value, drawbacks, and key success factors of wine competitions. He delves into their changing influence in the era of the wine critic and the modern era of the sommelier. He contrasts this with the Wine Pinnacle Awards, now in its second incarnation in Singapore. Detailed Show Notes: Doug’s background Master of Wine and Master Sommelier for more than 25 yearsRestaurant background, has worked in retail, distribution, and now owns a winery (Echolands Winery)Wine competition historyStarted in the 19th century - attempts to describe what’s happening in a winegrowing region, e.g., 1855 Classification of BordeauxThe 1950s-1960s - started to grow, especially in regions outside of Bordeaux and Burgundy, which had classifications to prove wines were high qualityE.g., 1976 - “Judgment of Paris” tasting where CA wines beat French winesThe 1980s-1990s - competitions grew to find out the best of the areas w/o classifications, mainly “new world” such as the US and AustraliaCompetition examplesSonoma County Fair - focused on SonomaDecanter World Wine Awards - covers the world, dependent on wineries submitting wines, ranks the best of the wines submittedValue of competitions - tells you about wines you haven’t heard about yetDrawbacks of competitionsWineries w/ proven track records often don’t submit - more downside than upsideThey usually charge for submissionsKeys to a successful competitionThe quality of judges is keyKnow the purpose of the competition (e.g., examining a specific region, grape variety, etc.)Control the style of wines w/in categories, and make sure a particular style does not dominate every flight - e.g., Jefferson Cup controls the # of wines from a regionCompetitions vs. wine critics/magazinesCompetitions - no expectation that top brands submitTop magazines - top brands must show upCompetitions are still relevant in Australia; in the US, competitions gave way to individual critics, which may now be giving way to others (e.g., crowdsourced scores)Still in the era of the sommelierSomms talk to each other (vs. retailers)Somms influence each other (Pinnacle tries to embody the same idea)Somms actually sell wine (vs. critics)Wine Pinnacle AwardsCo-created by Jeannie Cho Lee MWInternational in scope - dozens of judges from all over the world, each region has equal weightingJudges mostly MSs, MWs, and senior wine writersEach judge was asked to nominate stand-out wines from a specific region and vintage that stood out in their tastings over the past few years (e.g., best Bordeaux from 2010)Target audience - collectors and more experienced consumersTrying to not bring up the same wineries every year by highlighting different vintages, including overlooked onesHosts an award ceremony each year where tickets are sold, does not charge for submissions Get access to library episodes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Wine is an emotional sale, not a rational one.” according to Katherine Cole, Communications Director of Vin Agency, making storytelling and the immersive nature of web design critical for DTC wine sales, according to Katherine and Jon Krauss, Creative Director of Vin Agency. They explain how website design can improve brand messaging and create more DTC sales by making websites discoverable, drawing the consumer in, and making it easy to purchase once the thirst is built.  Detailed Show Notes: Jon’s background - founded Vin in 2009Katherine’s background - “recovering wine journalist,” has written 5 books, was a wine journalist for the Oregonian Newspaper, hosts The Four Top podcastVin is a creative agency and brand consultancy for wineriesThe core focus is custom website designWinery focus gives Vin deep expertise in the spaceSearch Engine Optimization (“SEO”) - how people find a websiteHas technical elements - e.g., meta descriptions, site maps - Vin uses WordPress that has plug-ins to make this easierHas communication elements - using SEO keywords (e.g., Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir) and being strategic around where the terms appear (e.g., in headlines, the size of the words, where they appear on the page)E.g., Hibou - re-launched their website Sept 2021, pageviews went up >400%, new site visitors up >200% (shows SEO working), and average session duration up >140% (showing the storytelling is working)Wine is more of an emotional purchase, less rationale, so more immersive website experiences are powerfulE.g., Casino Mile Ranch - didn’t have solid website engagement and wasn’t getting their story across; after the website re-launch, customers have kept coming back to the siteE-commerce design is critical for wine websitesE.g., Seavey Vineyards - their e-commerce was awkward and difficult to navigate (they use WineDirect); Vin re-designed it using WordPress, and it now drills into products to see different formats (e.g., magnums, etc.) and vintages leading to +80% increase in large format salesThe ability to customize checkout flow depends on the e-comm vendor (Commerce 7 and Offset/Figure are Vin’s favorites for this, Offset particularly for allocated wineries)New technologies, e.g., chat boxes and texting, can improve performance but depends on the type of wineryE.g., Silt sales rocketed up when they launched a new website in conjunction with text messaging which linked to the siteVisitation/hospitality best practicesImmersing visitors to the feeling of being at the wineryHaving photography without people in it helps people imagine that they are in itWebsite costsIt can range from $5-100k depending on the size of the winery and the scope of the website, and the normal range is ~$12-30kSome sites can be built over timeBetter to start with a wine-focused developer, people who try non-wine template sites often come to Vin because their e-commerce doesn’t work properlyHighest ROI areasEliminate dead ends on the site for the path to purchaseCreate a call to action at the bottom of each pageWebsite trends for wineriesSome language cues being used with consumer psychology in mind, e.g., “discover” vs. “home page”Scroll animationDrone videos and videos in more creative ways“Photography will never go out of style” some luxury wineries use immersive art photography Get access to library episodes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From weddings to concerts to a golf course, Wente Vineyards has a whole portfolio of experiences to share the Wente brand with consumers. Aly Wente, VP of Marketing & Customer Experiences, shares how Wente thinks about managing the portfolio of experiences and how they embed wine and the Wente brand into everything they do. From becoming more of a data company to refactoring their tasting rooms and driving people to the wine club, driving deeper connections with their customers is core to the ROI of experiences at Wente. Detailed Show Notes: Wente Experiences overviewChampionship golf course designed by Greg NormanTasting room with food & wine experiencesConcerts, including a tribute band seriesRent space for weddings and corporate eventsExperiences are viewed as a connected portfolioEverything should feel cohesive and true to the brandHospitality team overseas golf grill, tasting room, and booking eventsEmbody wine in every experience - concerts -> wine & music events; 5-star restaurant -> tasting loungeLook at ROI across experiences to see which to invest more in with limited resourcesRefactored tasting rooms, had two with different feels (one older, traditional, one more modern and food driven where the wine was more lost), into a single “tasting lounge” focused on wine with wine & food experiencesRecently upgraded tech to become more of a data companyUse CRM to take notes on customersTrack demographics and target some events to specific groupsKey metrics used for ROICustomer surveysEvent ticket sales and difficulty in selling ticketsSocial media engagementContextual ROI when at eventsWine sales at events - Wente makes money on wine, not ticket salesBetter understanding customer journeys and how they impact: New vs. existing customersRepeat visitation Club membershipLTV of customersThe primary goal of the tasting room and events is to engage customers and create relationships vs. being the most significant profit driver for the brandThe team needs to be resourced to dig into the data and track itWeddings Get a rental fee for property (high margin)Require min # of cases of wine purchased, and most people buy morePre-2020 - did >60 weddings/year, full-service incl wedding planning and catering - was not the most profitable businessToday - leaner experience - rent out the property with resources for planningPrimary priority - Flow into the wine clubThe “pinnacle” of ROI for experiencesClub members often spend more than club shipmentsFood & wine experiences convert the highest to the club - the more attention people get, the more likely they will join the club~6-8% of visitors become club membersProvide incentives for staff for club signups (~$30-50/signup + club prizes for top performers)Now have a “club booth” at experiences with customer incentives (e.g., 30% off 1st shipment if they sign up at the event)Secondary priority - Getting everyone’s emails that attend eventsBelieves digital experiences will always be around nowDuring the pandemic, Wente was 1st to have Amazon Alexa and Google Home virtual wine tastings, buying wine at the grocery store Get access to library episodes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After spending two decades promoting the wines of Washington State, Allen Shoup founded Longshadows, a collective of partnerships leveraging internationally renowned winemaking talent to express the best of the Columbia Valley. Director of Winemaking, Gilles Nicault, describes how the partnerships work from both a business and winemaking perspective; what he’s learned from making wines with the likes of Michel Rolland to Randy Dunn; and how Washington State’s wine profile has been elevated from this concept.  Don’t forget to support the show on Patreon!Detailed Show Notes: Allen Shoup founded LongshadowsHe was CEO of Ste Michelle Wine Estates (“SMWE”) for 20 yearsHis mentor was Robert Mondavi, who founded Opus One, a collaboration between the old and new worldAt SMWE, Allen started collaborations with Eroica (Dr. Loosen) and Col Solari (Antinori)Wanted to build partnerships for Longshadows - showcase the Columbia Valley, which is east of the Cascade Mountains and has very dry terroir (~6 inches of rain/year), enabling great diversity of grapes to be grown (Bordeaux, Rhone, Italian, Spanish varieties)The name “Long Shadows” refers to renowned winemakers casting long shadows over the Columbia ValleyPartnershipsPoet’s Leap, a Riesling w/ Armin Diel (Schollsgut Diel in Nahe, Germany)Saggi, a Super Tuscan (Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah blend) w/ Ambrogio & Giovanni Folonari (Tuscany)Pedestal, a Merlot w/ Michel Rolland (Pomerol)Pirouette, a Bordeaux style blend w/ Agustin Huneeus, Sr and Phillipe Melka (Napa)Feather, a Cabernet Sauvignon w/ Randy Dunn (Napa)Sequel, a Syrah w/ John Duval (Barossa Valley, Australia)Gilles crafts his own Cab / Syrah blend with 30 months in French oakAll partnerships were established when Longshadows was founded in 2003 except Folonari, which came in 2004All are true partnerships - each partner owns 25% of their labels, which are separate companies. They are not consultants and are not paid any other feesLongshadows does the sales & marketing for the winesWorking relationships w/ partners varyJohn Duval can be there during harvest (Southern Hemisphere)Partners did not give any recipes for wines but pitched in and developed styles togetherFruit sourced from across Columbia Valley and its 15 sub-AVAs through acreage contractsSource both old vines and can work with growers to plant specific clones (e.g., German clones for Poet’s Leap Riesling vineyards)Volume of wines set by Allen Shoup and Dane Narbaitz (current President and Allen’s son-in-law), choose quality over quantityWines that don’t make the main wines go into 2nd label Nine HatsEach winemaker is so different. Gilles learned there are many ways to make winesE.g., Randy Dunn wants the jacks of the fruit in the wine, whereas Michel Rolland wants all of them outWinemakers are interested in what each other does but do not work togetherEach winemaker has their own allocation of vineyards and blocks for their winesSelling LongshadowsThe wine club “Key Club” is a big part of sales2 tasting rooms - at the winery (Walla Walla) and in Woodinville (near Seattle)Some distribution in the US and a few international marketsLongshadows was honored to be selected 4x to be served at the White HouseThe future - partners are getting older, and many are on the verge of retirement. Gilles to carry the flame forward with lessons he’s learned from them Get access to library episodes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Family-owned businesses are notoriously hard to keep family-owned over multiple generations. Wente Vineyards in Livermore Valley, California, has managed to keep it going for 5 generations. Partially through having fewer children, but also through structures put in place to keep the family connected and business family-owned, Aly Wente, VP of Marketing & Customer Experience, describes how they’ve focused on connection and fun to keep the family business together for generations to come. Detailed Show Notes:Wente Vineyards was founded in 1833 by Aly’s Great Great Grandfather, CH WenteGrandfather worked in Napa for Charles KrugLivermore was similar to Napa in grape growing back thenWente is ~800k cases in totalBrands include Wente Vineyards (~600-700k cases), Murrieta’s Well, Hayes Ranch, Angels Ink, and Ravel & StitchHas small lot wines only available in tasting roomsEach generation has left its legacy2nd generation - brought Chardonnay to California (1908, 1912) with the Wente Clone3rd generation - bought a property in Arroyo Seco and pioneered it as a region for grape growing4th generation - helped write the AVAs for Arroyo Seco, San Francisco Bay, and Livermore Valley; spearheaded experiences business, including concerts and golf course5th generation - still starting out but focused on sustainability, company culture, and innovationFamily ownership has been intact through 5 generationsPartially due to the limited number of childrenCH had 7 children, including 3 sons, only 2 interested in wineryOf 2 sons - Ernst & Herman (Gen 2), only 1 had children (1 - Carl)Carl (Gen 3) had 3 kids (Gen 4)Gen 4 has 6 kids (Gen 5)Gen 6 will have many more people in the familyBenefits of being family ownedNot subject to shareholders, the family has complete controlMulti-generational relationships w/ other family-owned businesses can be helpful (e.g., Southern Glazers is family owned)Large corporations may not have built the golf course or fine dining restaurantStructures to pass on ownership to future generationsAnnual “family council”Prepares next generations for ownership and if they want to work in the companyMeet once a yearTopics include business topics to align on, educational topics (e.g., tax law), and even individual’s visions for the businessAs more family works together, prioritizing more fun and bondingAttendance starts as children, though not babiesHave policies in place for members who want to leave the company or sell shares, but no one has used them to dateThe goal is to remain family ownedWente Vision changingOld - to be one of the most respected family wineries in the worldChanging to be more about employeesFamily vs. external managementThe current CEO is 2nd CEO to be non-familyExternal people can help balance family and business interests and inter-generational interestsWente doesn’t create roles for family membersIf a family member wants a role, they still interview others for it and choose the best candidate, though the family member has a slight advantage3 keys to maintaining and evolving a family-owned business1) transparency - bringing family members in at a young age2) respect - need to treat each other with respect3) fun - need to have fun while working in wine and with family Get access to library episodes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As designer and Executive Director of sustainability non-profit Napa Green, Anna Brittain is passionate about taking action on the 7 pillars of sustainability. Spreading the word about how pursuing sustainability can save money is critical. Anna describes how she defines the 7 pillars of sustainability, what makes Napa Green unique, gives concrete examples of how wineries save money with sustainability, and the launch of the symposium Napa Thrives to accelerate the pace of action.   Support the show on Patreon!Detailed Show Notes: Definition of sustainability for agriculture has 6 pillars, now expanding to 71. Water efficiency2. Energy efficiency3. Waste prevention and green purchasing4. Integrated pest management and biodiversity5. Social equity, diversity, and inclusion6. Climate action and regenerative agriculture7. Communications and engagementNapa Green1 of 4 programs nationwide that have sustainability certification for vineyards and wineriesAddresses all parts of sustainability vs. 1 issue (most programs are only environmental; e.g., organic only for vineyards and not using synthetic pesticides)~15 programs globally that address sustainability holisticallyBoots on the ground for direct support achieve more action90 wineries, 15k acres in the programPolicy vs. boots on the ground give very different perspectivesCertification requires >120 standards for wineries and >100 for vineyardsEconomics of sustainabilityMyth: sustainability will cost a lot of money -> it can actually help save moneyMoney-saving examples: Variable frequency drives for energy efficiency, 1-3 year paybackTurn down the water heater temp when you don’t need it super hot - save thousands on water and energy billsChateau Montelena - used Tooley Technologies for real-time data on water needs on an underperforming vineyard, saved $0.5-1M in improving the vineyard w/in a few years; phased out wooden boxes for wine to branded cardboard, reducing shipments from 5 to 2 (less space and weight), cut materials cost 50%, cut emissions, reduced wine breakage~50% of members have solar, but people don’t notice when inverters go down and don’t fix it until they see a high electric bill, it could save tens of thousands through monitoring and maintenanceCakebread - focused on reducing waste, bought Big Belly solar trash compactors reducing trash pickups, saved ~$30k in first 3 yearsAreas of opportunity: vineyards - develop a custom carbon farm plan (e.g., cover crop, compost, biodiversity, etc.), lays out how much carbon can be stored; compost is a big bang for the buck for carbon and water storage and nutrients; winery - water usage, including energy to transport, heat, and treat water, new regulations around wastewater also need consideration~30-50% of emissions from packaging and distributionBest practice: think systematically, from vineyards to winery to getting wine to consumers; members often think of one-off projects vs. looking at the entire landscapeMarketing sustainabilityHosts ambassador training to get people talking about itPotentially $1-3/bottle premium for organic/sustainable winesWineries are often willing to pay a premium to buy sustainably grown grapesNapa Thrives - symposium w/ Martin Reyes MW Goal is to accelerate the pace of sustainability and climate action Get access to library episodes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Revolutionized by eliminating taxes on wine in 2008, Hong Kong has become a significant wine investment and trading hub for China and Asia in general. Polly Aylwin-Foster and Ian Ford of Nimbility Asia go deep into all aspects of the Hong Kong ("HK") wine market. From the HK wine consumer, the retail landscape, cross border transactions with China, the large "hand carry" market, and the British influence on the wine culture, they provide lots of essential data and detail for HK wine. Detailed Show Notes: 2008 - all wine duties removed for anything Wine importers - 310 (2008) - 790 (2021)Speciality wine shops - 140 (2008) - 470 (2021)HK wine consumers - 7M peopleExpats - 500k - consumed wine at 5-star hotels, int’l restaurantsIndigenous people - wine consumption not part of daily culture"Tycoons" - wealthy people, drive fine wine consumption, high value of wine purchasedConsumption mostly at restaurants and bars, big eating out culturePre-pandemic - 5-star hotels, int’l on trade, & large restaurant groups sold most of the wineCulture of private kitchens, wine clubs, private room dining - for top winesHK's more mature wine marketBordeaux historically, massive Burgundy growth, some iconic American winesThe influence of British wine culture over many decades created HK wine culture (e.g., trading houses, merchants)Average fine wine consumer more advanced in HK than China (started in 60s vs 90s in China)HK retail landscapeSupermarkets drive bulk of sales (2 main players - Welcome, Park n Shop; Watsons wine owned by a supermarket) - sell big brands, sub-HK$ 100 (~$7-9/bottle)Independent wine shops - importers' retail / private client arms, a few independents, British wine merchants, Enoteca (Japan) -fine wineOnline very small, Auctions influential - attract attention for brands, provides halo effect for in mainland China, mainland buyers participatePandemic - local airline encouraged uses miles on products, including wine, 1 importer sold $1M in wine via airlineHK wine market4.3M 9L cases imported (2021), +10% from 2019, expected to grow 5-6%/year over the next few yearsHKTDC figures - 26% officially re-exported (to China, Asia), 74% conveyed out by individuals, in storage, and local consumptionThe "hand carry" marketPeople are allowed to take 2 bottles/person into China w/o paying taxes (~50%)At HK/Shenzen border - many people would take 2 bottles, drop them off on the other side and go back and take 2 more bottles repeatedlyImpossible to know the scale, but a significant amount of wine goes across the border this wayWines then put into commercial distribution in ChinaHK as a trading hub - initial idea of shipping to HK and re-exporting flawedAdd’l logistics costs make it more expensiveTaxes are paid on landed costs, including the add'l shipping costsNeed diff back labels for SE Asia and China (HK doesn't have requirements)Cross border e-comm into China (TMall, JD.com)Chinese consumers buy offshore at favorable tax ratesLimitations per year and per transactionsOpens up the availability of products to consumersHK has a more Western media landscapeDouyin illegal (Chinese TikTok)Does not have KOL (key opinion leader) industry like ChinaJames Suckling invested a lot in HK, has a wine club, eventsInt’l wine critics are critical - Jancis Robinson, Wine Spectator, Wine Advocate Get access to library episodes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Drinking wine since Roman times, the UK market for wine is both mature and competitive. Changes happen slowly, and old traditions remain as the market evolves. Katy Keating, Managing Director of Lay & Wheeler, one of the UK’s oldest wine merchants, gives a deep dive into the UK wine market. She explains the history of wine drinking, its impact on wine purchasing, the up-and-coming wine regions, and the fragmentation of the UK wine retail marketplace. Support the show on Patreon!Detailed Show Notes: Lay & Wheeler (“L&W”)Fine wine merchant, storage, and brokerFounded in 1854, after Berry Bros & Rudd (1698), Justerini & Brooks (1749), Corney & Barrow (1780)Owned by Wheeler Family until 2009, when sold to MajesticNever integrated into Majestic, it was a breakeven business doing ~£10-15M/yearHad access to the best wines in the world and a loyal, long-standing customer base2016 - started turnaround to put L&W back on the map2019 - L&W sold to a private family, expanded the team, and brought MWs to buying teamMission - “Connect the right people with the right wines.”UK Wine DrinkingVery competitive and mature market - drinking wine since Roman times, customers know a lot about wine, buying is very relationship-driven2nd largest wine importer (20% from France, Italy)70% of households buy wine regularlyBeer & spirits are also big - pub culture~50% on-premise, ~50% off-premiseCommercial wines - ~75% by volume, grocery stores mostlyFine wine - ~25% by volume, ~40% by value, UK is ~33% of £5B fine wine tradeUK drinker drinks wine more mature (the US drinking 2009s & 2010s, UK equivalent is 1990s, early 2000s)Wine storage is mostly in bonded warehousesPopular regions / varietiesOld world love - history with BordeauxFine Wine - L&W is 40% Bordeaux and BurgundyAppetite for Burgundy is “insatiable” - high pricing has driven renewed interest in Bordeaux and some intrigue with Oregon PNSouth Africa has been growing last 5-6 years (L&W has seen a 50% CAGR over the previous 5 years)Champagne growingFortified wines - Port is most relevant for traditional settings (including Christmas, which is significant in the UK); Sherry & Madeira are not as popularOrganic/biodynamic not asked about by fine wine consumersUK trendsWine for investmentUK wine production - growing overall pie for sparkling, not taking from Champagne (L&W is UK retail market - very fragmentedNo 3-tier system, merchants can buy direct from producers and sell to consumersConsumers need to go to 5-7 merchants to get everything b/c of exclusivity with producers (fine wine)Exclusive relationships often occur when a merchant sells to private clients and restaurantsUK wine trading is standard; L&W gets ~25% of revenue from tradingEn Primeur/Futures - a big part of L&W business for Bordeaux, Burgundy, & ItalyLow end - very competitive on price, grocery dominatesOnline is slow to be adopted, and many still don’t have online orderingDTC from EuropeHistorically, Brits drive to France and buy at the cellar doorIn the UK, buying direct online is not a thingBrexit impact - more paperwork, more delays, hosting tastings and bringing in samples more difficult Get access to library episodes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Navigating a very fragmented and dynamic Chinese wine market is challenging. Ian Ford, Founding Partner, and Nichole Mao, Partner of Nimbility Asia, help guide wineries to the right pathways for import partners and building demand in China. They also discuss how important domestic Chinese wine production is, the market for US wine in China, and the importance of wine education.  Support the show on Patreon!Detailed Show Notes: Wine buying is very fragmentedAn importer can sell direct, with no middlemenWith few regulations, one can buy wine everywhere, e.g., supermarkets, distributor friends, wine barsOnline ordering important, ~10-20%, WeChat, Alibaba, Jing Dong"Go to retailers"Sam's Club - known for wine sales to the mass marketLeading grocery stores - Jing Dong, HemaPromoting and selling in ChinaChinese social media platforms have integrated e-commerce (e.g., WeChat vs. Whatsapp, Douyin vs. TikTok), so people can immediately click and buyKOLs get commission or paid upfront to promote, lifestyle influencers are importantTraditional wine media stays w/in the wine trade and doesn't reach the mass marketNeed good importer(s) for availability, no longer need to be exclusiveView importers as partners, 1,000s of active importers, e.g., DTC importers (Vine Hu, Wiki Wines), big guys (ASC, Summergate, Torres) have extensive sales teams, operate omnichannelWine trials are necessary - tastings at festivals, grocery stores, etc.Word of mouth is increasing in importance - as large KOLs are now often paid, people relying on smaller KOLs in their network moreDomestic productionMajority consumed in China, exports growing off a small baseBoutique wineries (50-100k bottles) - looking at more exports, most in Ningxia, the premium winegrowing regionGuochao movement ("national wave") - Chinese supporting domestic brandsUS wine in China9th largest by volume, 6th by valuePunitive tariffs hit imports, tariffs are more than tariffs, but a signal by the gov't not to buy the wines becomes a stigmaUS wine doesn't have the legacy or prestige of Bordeaux, Burgundy, or Tuscany, but have the pricesPremium US producers are American centric not good at exports (Ridge being an exception)Import dutiesIncluding import, consumption, and VAT duties and taxesThree levels: Free Trade - ~26% - Chile, NZ, Australia (previously); wines ~1x US priceBaseline - ~48.5% - France, Italy; wines ~1.5x US pricePunitive - US, Australia (now); wines ~2x US priceAustralia went off a cliff since tariffs - France benefitted the most, then New Zealand and South AfricaWine Education important for growthChina's #2 largest student registration for WSETWSET had to stop in 2021 due to a corporate registration issue - almost back up and running Get access to library episodes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As one of the biggest alcohol markets in the world, China is slowly waking up to wine. Ian Ford, Founding Partner, and Nichole Mao, Partner of Nimbility Asia, walk through how the Chinese wine market has changed, what has led to success, and the current wine trends in the country. With significant growth potential, the Chinese market is a critical global wine market to grasp and understand. Support the show on Patreon!Detailed Show Notes: Nimbility AsiaIt doesn’t transact wines; not an importerActs like an export team for producersCreates GTM strategy and aligns w/ the right partnersCreates research reports for data-driven decision makingServes China (biggest market), S Korea (#2), Indonesia, India, AustraliaJapan & China ~75% of wine shipments into AsiaChinese wine consumerStill very early stages for wine, not a daily drink for most people2019 - 1.3 L wine/capita/year vs 51.9L for Portugal, 12.2L for US~0.2L wine/capita/year 10-20 years ago - wine was for gifting, banqueting, and hosting, not home consumptionCoastal cities (including Beijing & Shanghai) have young consumers that go to wine bars, bistros, drink at homeThe growing trend of home consumption, helped by e-commerce, gifting still existsChinese alcohol marketbig, dynamic alcohol market - strong food & drink culture, no religious objections, very social cultureThe largest beer market in the world, dominated by domestic productionBeer is a daily consumption itemCraft beer is stunted by regulations requiring a large minimum volumeSome craft beers (e.g., Boxing Cat, Great Leap) started as brewpubsChina wine market50-60M 9L cases imported, expected to double in next 10-15 years~100-120M 9L cases of domestic wine, hard to measureBig domestic producers - Great Wall, Changyu, DynastyEmerging quality producers - Silver Heights, Grace VineyardSuccess in ChinaConsumer awareness creates customer pull (e.g., Casillero del Diablo, Penfolds)Cluttered marketing environmentUnique digital landscape (no Instagram, Facebook, Twitter)Penfolds Example (pre-tariffs) - Grange provides halo, central to the story (good formula for success), profit driver is 300k cases of Bin 407 & 389 at ~$400-450/9L case, also sold ~800-1,000 cases of Rawson’s Retreat entry-level wineLafite Example - Los Vascos (Chile) has higher demand due to Lafite affiliationSommeliers and lifestyle KOLs (key opinion leaders) can helpSocial media amplification is massivePopular regions / wines stylesMass market - more price and style driven, like fruity, easy drinking style around ~100 RMB/bottle (~$15); Chile doing well; Cabernet and Shiraz are recognized varietiesFine Wine - Burgundy has been the “hot bun” the last two years - pricing rising dramatically, can’t get enough; also helping NZ Pinot NoirVery diverse market (e.g., natural wine bars in Chengdu)Premium sparkling rising (e.g., Champagne, aged Cava)More adventurous wine consumers (e.g., blind tasting clubs that compete with each other)Rosé is a very small, but growing categoryFortified, sweet wines are tinySustainable/organic help and are important for the future, but not big today Get access to library episodes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Celebrating its 100th year in 2022, Vinmonopolet, the retail wine monopoly of Norway, is tasked with reducing overconsumption of alcohol while enabling a growing food and beverage culture in Norway. With over 32,000 selections, covering 95% of the population, and educating customers with podcasts and other programs, Trond Erling Pettersen, category manager, describes how the monopoly serves all segments of its customers and operates in a fair, transparent manner.  Support the show on Patreon!Detailed Show Notes: Vinmonopolet = “wine monopoly”~95% of the population lives w/in 30 min drive of a retail store340 shops>32,000 different products, >20,000 winesBasic range - ~1,000 wines, always on display in storesOrdering range - importers can stock anything, can be ordered from monopoly website or app, and have wines delivered or available for pickupStores can select ~25% of shelf space from the ordering range2021 - 118M liters of alcohol sold, 96M liters of wine (10.6M 9L cases) worth KR27B (~$2.7B) - taxes and profits go back to the governmentMonopoly’s purposeEstablished due to overdrinking at the turn of the 20th century - it was a source of poverty, hunger, and social issuesFounded in 1922 - 100th birthday in Nov 20221919 - ban on spirits1922 - created monopoly to have the responsible sale of alcoholRestaurants and barsBuy directly from importers and producers, do not go through monopolySome trends start in restaurants, then customers go to the monopoly to buyRestaurants have higher-end wines and often cellar winesWine sourcing>600 importers supply monopoly, needs to go through a supplier, no direct purchasing allowedOrdering range - free access to market, suppliers that list whatever they wantSpecial selection - high-end, allocated wines purchased for monopolyBasic range: It starts by looking at sales figures, trends, customer demands, and holes in the rangeConduct research by meeting with producers and importersDevelop a tender plan (tenders 2x/year) to outline what to purchase for the next year with very detailed specifications (e.g., max price, packaging, region, etc.)Get samples and conduct a blind tasting panel which is scoredLaunched in stores with guaranteed placement for one yearWines then compete based on sales volumeAn extensive and fair processPricing - uses a standard formulaAverage wine - ~50% taxes, ~10-15% monopoly margin, ~35-40% supplier shareMonopoly provides calculators for suppliers to set pricingPricing transparency on the websiteSecondary marketStarted auctions ~10 years ago for people to trade winesMonopoly has people that value and inspect winesSet % fee for monopoly margin (lower than US auction houses)Partnered with an auction house Get access to library episodes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

While traditionally a beer and spirits market, wine has now risen to equal footing in Norway. As a category manager for Vinmonopolet, the retail wine monopoly of Norway, Trond Erling Pettersen describes the wine culture in Norway, the four categories of wine consumers, and the major trends for wine consumption.  Detailed Show Notes: Wine in NorwayWine is now equal to beer and spirits, traditionally was more beer & spiritsNorwegians into food and wine pairing, don’t have the traditions of Continental EuropeHigher taxes on alcohol reduce consumption, but it doesn’t impact wine; taxes are set by abv, so spirits are taxed higher than wine which is higher than beer - pushing consumers to lower alcohol drinksAlcohol advertising is bannedConsumption is lower than in other Scandinavian countries - Denmark (which does not have a monopoly) - 10L alcohol/person/year, Finland ~9L, Sweden ~7L, Norway ~6LBig seasonal impacts - more spirits and big reds in winter, whites and rose in summer, but changing with more sparkling and rose year roundNorwegians don’t have a strong restaurant culture, so most wine is bought from monopoly and consumed at homeThe monopoly sells 96M liters of wine (10.6M 9L cases) - 53M liters red, 27M liters white, 8M liters sparkling, 5M liters roseNo other retailers of wine, not allowed to buy wine at a restaurant and take it homeFour main customer groups“Open Minded” - the largest group has a price limit but is willing to spend (KR150-200, ~$15-20), likes to try something new - often recommended by monopoly staff or a journalist“Assured Customer” - know what they want, educated in wine, clear preferences“Price Focused” - ~20% of customers; lower priced wines, convenience is essential“Collectors” - ~10% of customers, very educated in wine and food, willing to pay for qualityHigher end segment is growingPandemic got more people into wineThe average price is rising for all segmentsOrganic, biodynamic, and fair trade are important to some customersLightweight bottles, bag-in-box preferred by customers for environmental impact and practical use for bringing to summer cabins and on boatsBag-in-box popular last 15-20 years, now top categories supply it (e.g. - Chablis, Sancerre, Piedmont Nebbiolo); up to KR500-600/ 3L box ($50-60) Journalists have a large impact on salesBodega Weinert (Argentina) said 30% of sales are to Norway, and wine reviews drive salesJournalists are important because of no advertisingCollectors may follow international wine journalists, but the majority follow national or local newspaper wine writersLocal journalists use dice as a rating scale (1-6) vs. 100 point systemMonopoly has >32k products to select from, so journalists help with recommendationsMonopoly’s podcast educates on drinks and food, regions and grapes, and answers consumers’ questions (e.g., glassware), but doesn’t mention specific producers or productsNorwegian wine trends -  7 main ones1) Known and Dear - the classics on the rise2) Expanding Wine World - emerging wine regions (e.g., UK, Canada, Scandinavia, cool climate regions, etc.)3) Alternative Packaging - bag-in-box (can be 50-60% of sales for some categories)4-6) Green and sustainable, authentic/handcrafted, organic/natural, vegan/no sugar/lower alcohol (the no-low alcohol wine trend is also in Norway)7) Young, Urban Consumer - into natural wines, skin contact whites, juicy red wines, more social eating and drinking, want genuine, handcrafted products (e.g., pet nats) Get access to library episodes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Operating your own winery is expensive. The custom crush business model enables small wineries to solve this. Robert Morris, the founder of Grand Cru Custom Crush in Sonoma County, explains the benefits of the custom crush model, how it works, and how Grand Cru has changed the custom crush game.  Support the show via Patreon!Detailed Show Notes: Robert’s backgroundA Mechanical engineer by training worked at HPBecame partner at Copain Custom Crush (renamed Punchdown Cellars)2016 - founded Grand Cru Custom Crush (“GCCC”)Custom crush (“cc”) definition(s):Grower w/ extra grapes that are crushed into a finished productPeople who source grapes and have a private labelOperate in a custom crush facility b/c operations are too small to have its own facility (where GCCC operates)Custom crush vs. own wineryHigh startup costs (location, permits, winery equipment)Winery equipment utilization is low - own facility ~10 days/year; cc - ~2.5 monthsHigh utilization requires a diverse client base (e.g., sparkling wines to big Napa Cabernets = spread out crush times)CC has expertise in maintaining winery equipmentCC can do aggregated sourcing for winery supplies (e.g., argon, acid) but does not do sourcing for packaging (a more personal choice)CC has more knowledge sharingGGCCCombines custom crush and hospitality space (differentiator)Has a strict set of procedures and protocols for operationsCC business models1) A la carte - separate pricing for each operation (e.g., pressing, punchdowns, racking, etc.,)2) Per ton fee, all-inclusive - covers everything from grape reception until bottlingCrush fees - Sonoma - ~$2,700-3,300/ton (~$38-45/case); Napa costs 2x SonomaGCCC fee ~$3,300/ton, including use of hospitality areaOvervintaging - ~$300-400/ton extraOther fees/costs - winemaking (if using GCCC’s), filtration, bottling (believes hard to justify bottling line investment until ~100,000 cases)VisitationConsistently busy Thursday-MondayUses Tock to manage reservations - integrated into clients and GCCC websitesClients can hold events at the facilityCC trendsCC market is still growing (e.g., Red Custom Crush keeps expanding), growth mainly on the larger production sideHas seen overvintaging (where wines are aged in barrel over 1 year) increase from ~25-30% 10-15 years ago to ~70% now = takes up more floor spaceSees wine conversion ~51-53 cases/ton for premium production vs. 60+ for lower quality (e.g., pressing harder) Get access to library episodes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Building a global brand takes a lot of effort and investment. Even with the network of >400 negociants on La Place de Bordeaux, wineries have to make significant investments in brand building and press. Rebekah Wineburg, Winemaker, and Diego Garay, Director of Exports for Quintessa in Napa Valley, discuss their journey towards selling in 50 countries in 3 years through the La Place system.  Detailed Show Notes: Rebekah’s backgroundShe wanted to be a winemaker at 16Worked in Italy, New Zealand, Australia, and mainly in CAAt Quintessa for 7 yearsDiego’s backgroundWorked on exports for Sena and Almaviva in Chile, who export ~98-99% of productionDirector of Export for all Huneeus winesQuintessaEstate winery in Rutherford, Napa160 acres of vineyards and make 1 red wine (Quintessa) - ~8-12k cases/yearUntil recently, it mostly sold domestically - ~50% DTC, ~50% US wholesaleLa Place de Bordeaux OverviewA marketplace where most Bordeaux wines are traded, often futures3-tier system - chateaux sell to negociants, who sell to international tradeCriteria to be on La Place - brand pedigree (e.g., high scores) and a well-known brandWineries need to build demand for negociants w/o the help of importers, as they are not brand buildersNew world wines have only been selling through La Place for the last 15-20 yearsCourtiers (brokers that find negociants) - some specialize in new world wines>400 negociants on La PlaceNon-exclusive systemExporting via La Place2022 - exports ~5-15% of production, primarily Asia, UK, Germany, SwitzerlandThe goal of exporting - build a world-recognized wine estateLong-term export goals - ~30-35% of productionPrior to La Place - exported ~1% to Canada, Japan, MexicoThey started selling on La Place in 2019Negociant reached out to Quintessa looking for new world winesQuintessa working w/ Demand growing - negociants asking for more wines, need to start allocating themNeed to do a lot of education for global trade on what makes Quintessa unique (e.g., terroir, place), need to show the history and age-ability of winesBenefits of La PlaceIt helps put wines in a global perspective (e.g., Rebekah had to start presentations with CA instead of Rutherford or Napa)Reach high-end distribution in a short period of time - Quintessa is now in 50 countries in 3 yearsTradeoffs of La PlaceNeed to invest in brand buildingMay see discounting due to the non-exclusive systemLogistics - send all wines to Bordeaux, which are then sent on to the rest of the world (more manageable for the winery but may have extra ship lengths)Loose control of distribution (try to get depletion reports but challenging as clientele list is the most valuable asset of negociants)Costs of La Place and pricingSimilar to 3-tier in the USNegociant margins are often lower than in the US due to non-exclusivityTry to keep pricing in-line w/ US pricingHas not seen any pushback on priceMarketing with La PlaceSet up training sessions through negociants with tradeA lot of media investment (local journalists, local PR firms)Focused on UK, Japan, S Korea for pressAdvice for wineries interested in La PlaceNeed to know the La Place systemNeed to build the brand yourself and make the investmentNeed the pedigree and brand for the wines to be successful Get access to library episodes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Co-operative wineries, popular throughout Europe, are generally associated with higher volume, lower quality wines. Not at Domäne Wachau, where Winery Director Roman Horvath MW has been leading the quality vision for its family growers to great success. Roman discusses how co-ops work, how they pay their growers to get to zero income, and how managing a co-op is different from other companies. Detailed Show Notes: Roman’s backgroundHe started in wine in his mid-20sWorked in restaurants, wine internships in Chile & France was a buyer/importer in AustriaBeen w/ Domäne Wachau for 17 yearsCo-op definitionProduces wine from grapes from grower-membersEvery member has a share in the companyEach grower manages its own vineyardCo-ops in Europe - Spain/France/Italy - >50% of production, Germany ~33%, Austria - ~15-20%Most co-ops are volume-driven with some exceptionsMost were established in the 1920-1930s to balance the power of small farmers with strong retailersSince the 1990s, the increase in wine quality worldwide has left many co-ops behind as they are too large and volume-drivenCrucial to separate grower function from management, which needs professional expertiseDomäne Wachau~400ha (~1,000 acres)~250 family growers (each family may have multiple owners)Avg family ~1-2 ha, largest 8-10ha, 3-4ha+ for full-time growersSmall vineyards led to a deep specialization in the siteGrowers must follow the co-op’s quality schemesPrecise picking plan for all growersUp to 70-80 different wines, ~3M bottles/year (~250k cases)Domäne Wachau vs. other co-opsGrowers can have some of their own production; most co-ops are “all in or all out”Push for quality - driven by a strong vision, community, and communication with growersThe goal is to increase the salary/income of growersCo-op managementVery democratic - each grower votes in the General Assembly for the board of directors (8-10)Each grower has one vote, not weighted by vineyard sizeManagement driven by the management teamNot profit-drivenPays growers technically in €/kg of grapes, but with a complex system (e.g., higher payments for terraces, hand work, Riesling vs. Gruner, sustainable/organic farming)Payment split over the year every other monthGoal: pay as much as possible for grapes to get to $0 profitOption to leave the co-op, generally on 3-5 year minimum contractsAnyone can join but have strict quality qualificationsTry to increase wine pricing every year (for quality positioning and inflation)In small harvests, have the balance sheet to balance payments between years Get access to library episodes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A lot can be learned through collaborating. Even how to stay calm during a pandemic when your Italian partner is in the thick of it. Calm with the perspective of 26 generations of winemaking and having survived two World Wars. Juan Munoz-Oca, Head Winemaker for Ste Michelle Wine Estates, Washington State's leading wine company, describes what he's learned and the process of collaborating with other luminaries of the wine world, including the Antinori Family, Dr Loosen, and Michel Gassier from the Rhone Valley.  Detailed Show Notes: Juan's backgroundIn WA with Ste Michelle Wine Estates ("SMWE") for 21 yearsHead of winemaking for the entire groupSte Michelle Wine EstatesBased in WA state - 6 wineries (Chateau Ste Michelle ("CSM"), Columbia Crest, 14 Hands, Spring Valley, Northstar, Col Solare)OR (Erath), CA (Stag's Leap Wine Cellars, Conn Creek, Patz & Hall)Built the WA wine region, produces ~⅔ of the wine in the stateThe largest producer of Riesling in the worldCollaborations - all w/ Chateau Ste MichelleCol Solare - Red Mountain, Cabernet, 50/50 JV w/ the Antinori Family (Italy), planted a vineyard in the early 2000s, built a winery in 2006, started in the mid-90sEroica - Riesling with Ernie Loosen (Mosel, Germany) started in the 1990sTenet - Columbia Valley; Syrah, Grenache, Mourvedre; w/ Michel Gassier & Philippe Cambie (deceased)What drove the collaborations? A personal touch and relationshipWA is a young grape-growing region that only started quality winemaking in the late 90s -> wanted to bring attention to the region and gain knowledgeEx-CEOs important to establishing collaborations - Allen Shoup (founded Longshadows Winery, which has 7 wines and 7 collaborations); Ted Baseler - was part of marketing team when Col Solare was launched and started Eroica with Ernie LoosenCollaboration processWinemaking - spring (taste previous vintage, blend, walk the vineyards), late summer (get a feel for the grapes, walk the vineyards), winter (taste wines - e.g., 250-300 lots of Riesling for Eroica)Renzo (Antinori's head winemaker) comes more often due to SMWE's partnership w/ Antinori on Stag's Leap Wine CellarsCSM winemaking team does day-to-day workSales & Marketing - up to the partners, SMWE salesforce sells the wine, SMWE marketing works with partners and does most of the workSMWE imports the entire Antinori portfolio, so they have a broader collaborationKey benefitsEnjoyment of making wine togetherGetting a global perspectiveWinemaking informs the rest of the portfolio's winemaking (e.g., extended lees aging for Riesling from Ernie Loosen, keeping more leaves in the canopy for Syrah from Michel Gassier)Collaboration business modelsCol Solare - 50/50 JV, including vineyards, winery, & inventory; work together closely on marketingEroica - 50/50 for inventory and brand, no other assets; up to 200k cases in a big year; most marketing done by SMWE, less from LoosenTenet - Michel Gassier gets a portion of earnings and an annual fee that covers his travel; as small as 300 casesHave business meetings 2x/year for sales and marketing strategyKeys to success for collaborationsHave a clearly articulated visionKeep an open mind to learn from the otherDesired new collaborationsSparkling wine w/ Nicolas Feuillatte (Champagne)Argentine wine / Malbec w/ Catena Family - loves their focus on terroir Get access to library episodes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Seeing the opportunity of bringing solutions in the financial markets to fine wine, James Miles, CEO and Co-Founder of Liv-ex, launched the London International Vintners Exchange (“Liv-ex”). Through standard contracts, guaranteed trades, and a plethora of data, Liv-ex is making the fine wine market more transparent, efficient, and safe. Though the Liv-ex 100 and 1000 indices are what it may be best known for, it is an end-to-end trading platform. Listen to James explain it all as well as market trends on this episode of XChateau! Detailed Show Notes: Liv-ex backgroundFounded in 2000Based on the similarities between wine and stocks, leverages financial solutions for wineMission - make the fine wine market more transparent, efficient, and safeAn exchange for wine - London International Vintners Exchange (Liv-ex is the acronym) - an end-to-end solution to buy and sell wine, including price discovery, trading, and logistics to ship wine globallyCustomers (merchants) in 42 countries, Liv-ex doesn’t compete and sell to restaurants, hotels, or represent producersTrading on Liv-exAn order matching system - customers place buy and sell orders on the platformBids are firm, cannot cancel orders - a new concept for wine, which is usually “subject to availability”Created standard contract for wine trading - includes condition, when to pay, and when it will be deliveredThe order book is a queuing system - 1st based on price, 2nd by the time of bid, the book is always openWine traded on the platform2010: £55M traded across 1,000 wines - 97% Bordeaux, top 10 Bordeauxs + DRC = 70%2022: £100M traded across 15,000 wines - Bordeaux ~35%, Burgundy, ~25-30%, Champagne / Italy ~10%, CA growing; France still ~70-75%Transactions are growing ~20% per year, but avg price is decliningMerchants>580 merchants on the platform2022 - UK ~35%, Europe ~40%, USA - ~15%, Asia ~10%Fastest growth - USA, Europe, slowest - AsiaProvenance/condition of winesJoining Liv-ex requires review by the membership committee - look at financials, where wines are bought, etc.Has data-sharing initiatives with customersHas special contract for older / rarer wines (takes into account more information)Liv-ex DataLiv-ex Fine Wine 100 index - tracks most traded wines, uses production and scarcity weighting vs. just price (multiplies price by # of cases and depreciates this over time; price is mid-point of bid-offer spread or last transaction price)Liv-ex 1000 - price-weighted, top 100 wines and last 10 physical vintages, breaks down to regional indicesIf no price from the platform takes price from customer listings or valuation committeeAn active market in ~15,000 wines but tracks ~350k winesCustomers have ~$1.5B of wine actively marketingMarket trendsBurgundy is the big winner; Champagne & Italy did well, especially w/ US tariffsTop increases: DRC, Roumier, Leflaive, Selosse, Salon, top Italian wines / BarolosEverything w/ a hint of Leroy doing well (e.g., Arnoux Lachaux has risen 4x having worked for Leroy in the past)Wine has been doing well so far against macro headwinds (e.g., Brexit, tariffs, Covid, war, inflation), and physical assets are an excellent place to beBusiness modelMembership fee - based on features used and amount of data consumedTrading fee - 2-3% commission on both sides, usually ~5% of total trade (low vs alternatives - wholesaler - 10-20%, auctions - 25-30%, importer/agent - 30%+)Settlement fee (per unit fee) for logistics Get access to library episodes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After two years and over 100 episodes of XChateau, Robert and Peter reflect on how the wine industry has changed, the major themes that have popped up in the show, and some of the lessons they have learned in the process. From the changes to social media, the spectrum of fine wine to everyday wines, and the importance of social issues, XChateau has covered a broad array of critical business topics for the wine industry. Supporters on Patreon get access to the entire library of content and episodes. Detailed Show Notes:Social media is changing rapidlyThe rise of TikTok (in the last 6 months - late 2021 and early 2022 - for wine)Platforms are overlapping (e.g., Instagram’s Reels and IGTV)YouTube is still the place for high production valueMore than pictures now, a lot more interactivity and video -> creates a higher barrier of entry for influencersWine video improving - more than the historic Gary V, Wine Library YouTube; e.g., WineKing, Andre Mack (Bon Appetit), Konstantin (MW in Germany)SommTV is paid streaming vs. advertising backed by social media (which can be tricky with alcohol), but SommTV doesn’t have the social element and interactionCellarTracker is now expanding after over a decade, building on the community, expanding what was one of the first freemium modelsXChateau covered a broad spectrum of the wine worldHigh end - ARENI research on fine wine consumers, wine auctions, wine investing, counterfeitsEveryday wines - 19 Crimes (A/R, celebrities), FitVine (clean, good for you wine trends), Hammeken Cellars (crafting everyday wines)Wine investment - was hot, unclear future with the macroeconomic environment changing (higher interest rates, inflation, war in Ukraine); Burgundy still doing well currently, primarily due to limited supplyGrocery wine has seen significant shifts - re-opening has moved wine back to restaurants from grocery, will a potential recession increase grocery wine from fine wine retail? Evolution of the wine critic was a popular series - guests (e.g., William Kelly, Jeb Dunnuck, Esther Mobley) were very candid and openSocial issues were an important topic - diversity, gender equality, climate changeDiversity and inclusion is a potential pathway to bridge the gap in the wine industry from a smaller Gen X cohortThings like Tablas Creek’s $95 bag-in-a-box wine as a solution for environmental impactTopics to tackle next: Global wine markets and trendsDifferent business models (e.g., co-ops, custom crush facilities)Understanding the wine buying journey of collectors and wine consumers Get access to library episodes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As the winemaker’s last choice before wines go in the bottle, cork has played an important role in wine ever since bottles could be made with consistent necks. The consistency of corks is another challenge that Diam is tackling. Francois Margot, Director of Sales, North America describes how Diam is creating corks with choices and consistency for aging, oxygen transfer, and initial oxygen release. Don’t forget to support the show on Patreon!Detailed Show Notes: Diam CorksCork was originally used for wine bottles when glass could be made with regular necks, chosen because it’s elastic to close the bottleElasticity goes down slowly over timeRegular corks are not consistent, Diam developed them to provide consistencyConsistency with structure and oxygen ingress - granulates corks (granulation spreads contamination everywhere) and then cleaned them (w/ supercritical CO2)Cleaned to be undetectable by gas chromatography (down to 0.3 nanograms/liter)Clean more than TCA, but all anisole molecules (150+ compounds)Can choose the aging potential and amount of O2 ingress for wine needsCost of closuresPunch corks - different prices based on looks of closures (no impact on consistency)Diam - 10-80 cents/corkValue proposition of Diam#1 - consistency – both in aging and oxygen transfer#2 - Not tainting wine – if ~3% of wines are tainted, recover the full value; can detect TCA as low as 1 nanogram/liter, not 1 case of TCA in 20 yearsOther producers sort corks#3 – winemaker choice – able to choose closures based on desired evolution of the wineBrand value – avoided destruction of brand value from tainted corksNo additional bottling line setup – e.g. – screwcaps require setting up a different bottling line with different componentsDiam is not as sensitive to humidity vs. regular corksBuilding the ROI – look at claims and returned bottles that will be avoidedRange of Diam productsRange based on aging capacity – 5-30 yearsRange of OTRs (oxygen transfer rates) and OIRs (oxygen initial release) – 3 options of OTR and OIROxygen ingress from corks in non-linear – initial oxygen enters wine from cork in the first 6 months (OIR), and then some oxygen passes through cork (OTR)Wines for long aging may desire higher initial oxygen ingress (OIR), but lower long-term oxygen levels (OTR)Began differentiating OTR and OIR 3 years ago2 main patentsCleaning process – removes 150+ compounds from corkRe-building process – ensures elasticity of cork, contains 3 ingredients – cork (~95%), binding agents, beeswax/plastic microspheres which fill in holes and prevent moisture in the corkCan use any thickness of cork, including thinner blocks, buys from the same producers as regular corksRemoves woody part of cork (lignin), which is up to 20-40% of bark, and uses it to burn for electricity; keeps suberin part, which is the elastic partBurgundy premox issues – Diam has helped but the issue is not just the closureDiam for sparkling wineRegular corks are 24mm in diameter, Champagne corks 30-31mm in diameter“Mytic” brand of Diam corks – same structure as regular Diam corks, but bigger diameterDiam has ~30% market share for sparkling wineCIVC doing research into O2 into wineComing out with cork for tirage next year to provide options vs crown caps, which give consistent OTR Get access to library episodes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Interview with Carlos de Jesus, Director of Marketing and Communications for Amorim Corks in Portugal, the largest cork company in the world, which celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2020. We discussed the various uses of cork, the differences between corks and other closures, and how the business of cork has evolved over the decades. This episode originally aired in September of 2020. To access the rest of our library and support the show via Patreon!Detailed Show Notes: Amorim - 150-year history, largest cork company in the world, produces 5.5 billion stoppers per year, over 18,000 winery clients globally, most smallSources cork from 1,000s of property owners, mainly in Portugal and SpainUses of cork: wine, footwear, fishing, aerospace, flooring, and sportsDifferences between cork and other closures: technical, sustainability, and additional value addTechnical differencesOxygen transfer rate (OTR) - plastic (lets in too much oxygen), screwcap (lets in too little), cork (“just right”)Average cork has 800 million cells in itTCA - “we have defeated TCA” - mitigated to the point where cork is now gaining market shareConsistency of corks - not an issue for technical stoppers (micro agglomerates, twin top), a technology used to help with natural corksSustainability - people, planet, profitsCO2 - a single cork can have up to 562 g CO2 sink per stopperCork harvesting one of the best paid agricultural jobs, ~€125-135 / day for three months/yearCork forests are 1 of 36 hot spots for biodiversity in the worldCork forests help prevent forest fires, regulate water cycles, and trees live 200-250 yearsCorks are both compostable and recyclable (e.g., ReCORK America)Additional value add = the happy sound of a cork poppingOf the 100 most sold brands in the US (data from Nielson), the average price of wine with cork is consistently higher than other closuresClosure market19.5B closures per year12.5B closed with cork (~70%)1.8-1.9B single-use plastic stoppersThe price of cork ranges from €0.04 - 3.00 per corkScrewcaps (the lowest price), plastic, corkCork can now sometimes undercut the price of plasticSupply and demand for cork2.2M hectares of cork forests in the Western Mediterranean - lots of trees to supply the current industryIt takes 43 years for a cork tree to supply cork for a wine closure -> new research with micro-irrigation is reducing the first harvest from 25 years to 10-12 years Get access to library episodes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As a 7th generation family-owned and run company, being sustainable means building towards the future for the next generations. That’s the philosophy that has led Champagne Louis Roederer to move towards organic farming with biodynamic and permaculture principles since 2000. With 100% of its historic estate (50% of total vineyard holdings) certified organic, this process has had a significant impact on the quality of the fruit and wines as well as the bottom line. Jean-Baptiste Lecaillon, EVP and Chef du Cave at Champagne Louis Roederer and Xavier Barlier, SVP of Marketing and Communications of Maison Marques & Domaines USA (Roederer’s import arm), tell us about this transition, strategy, and its market positioning. Don’t forget to support the show on Patreon!Detailed Show Notes: Beginning in 2000, started moving farming towards organic, including some biodynamic and permaculture philosophiesOrganic is just stopping the use of herbicides and pesticides, but that’s itBiodynamic practices for JBL are less about Rudolph Steiner’s philosophy but more about paying attention to the land and ecosystem, aligned more with the permaculture movementAbout adding life back into the soil and building fertility, which comes with decreased use of copper and sulfur that are used in organic farmingWe can do this at Roederer because it’s a family-owned business with 7 generations, building for the next generation and the futureRoederer does its own massale selection, own rootstocks, and compostImpact on growersImpacts more the future generation of growers, need to educate themRoederer single-vineyard ferments everything and tastes the growers on their own vineyardsAssigned a Roederer enologist dedicated to grower relationsOrganic trends in Champagne20 years ago - 10 years ago - 2.5%Last year (2021) - ~8-9%A result of the new generation coming into viticultureMore expensive to farm organically/biodynamicallyMore labor-intensive - need to be available 7 days/weekIncreased workforce by 15% due to more labor needsYield has decreased due to new farmingUp to 30% yield reduction in some yearsThe 10-year average is ~5-10% reduction in yieldMarketing organics - plays into desires to support the environmentRoederer began organics in 2000 with 6ha -> in 2020, 125ha (50% of estate)Organically certified vineyards are 100% of the historic estateOrganic vineyards are the Cristal and Vintage winesThe future of Champagne - maybe more of all 7 permitted varieties will play a role, with more of a focus on the genetic material of the vines Get access to library episodes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sparkling wine is trending at the moment and no brand best embodies the trend more than cult California sparkling wine producer Ultramarine. Michael Cruse, the founder of Ultramarine and Cruse Wine Co, explains how he developed a passion for sparkling wine that led to his accidental success. He covers how Ultramarine took off, techniques and production practices that have business implications he took from Champagne, pricing, and his view on sales channels. Detailed Show Notes: UltramarineStarted in 2008, 1st real vintage was 2010Sparkling wine in CA that focuses on coastal single vineyards, high acid, single vintagePrecise production style - not copying Champagne, but taking some techniques and applying them to CAHarvest ~1,000 cases/year, ~500-750 cases make the cut for releaseLimited ability to grow (due to lack of suitable fruit sources), target ~1,200-1,500 case rangeCruse Wine CoStarted in 2013, supposed to be a custom crush facilityInitially not for sparkling wine, an interest in ValdiguieLater realized his passion was in sparkling wine - does pet nats, more experimental, more oxidative stylesFocus on CA as a whole vs. coastal vineyards of Ultramarine~7,000 cases/year (2018 was peak ~8,500 cases)The capital intensity of producing sparklingCruse Tradition takes ~40 months to make which means 3 vintages must be paid for before selling any wine (e.g. - fruit, glass ($2+/bottle), etc…) - this limits growthUltramarine spends 38-48 months en tirage, found this to be its sweet spotSparkling wine equipmentBought own equipment vs. doing custom crush at Rack & Riddle - partially due to using a bottle that they would not takeFollows many Champagne producers - they may use co-op press, but do own elevage and disgorgementUses a gyropalette, which requires some bentonite (riddling aid)Long term relationship with growers is important -> growing sparkling is different than still wine grapesVarietal impact on winemakingChardonnay - less fruit, more minerality - be more reductive to preserve fruitPinot Noir - more fruit, less minerality - be more oxidative to get more mineralityPricingValue spaces (~$20-25/bottle), e.g. - Gloria Ferrer, Roederer Estate, Cruse doesn’t have the scale or capital to compete hereDoesn’t think he can sell 10,000 cases @ $70/bottleBelieves he can sell 5-10,000 cases @ $45-55/bottleUnclear how Champagne price inflation will impact market opportunity for domestic sparklingUltramarine secondary pricing - goes for 3x release price; believes it’s only ~30 bottles/year @ $200/bottle, could not sell entire production at that price pointSales channelsCruse - ⅓ DTC, ⅓ domestic wholesale, ⅓ export (Asia - Japan, Singapore strong)Ultramarine - 90-95% DTC - believes sweet spot is ~80% DTC to get more into restaurantsUltramarine mailing listBig supporters early on propelled the brand (e.g. - the NYC crew of Patrick Cappiello, Levi Dalton, and Pascaline Lepeltier)Instagram helped to fuel growthTook 3 releases (2012 release) to get a waiting listWine Berserkers also helpedCruse launch planNo real plan initially focused on friends & familyHardy Wallace helped get wines in front of distributorsRelationships with certain wine critics helpThe website is unintentionally sparse but does longer allocation emails Get access to library episodes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As the climate and resulting fruit quality change, winemakers must adapt to achieve the highest quality. That led the historic (246 years as of 2022) Champagne house of Louis Roederer to create Brut Premier in 1986 to overcome the challenges of underripe vintages, particularly in the 1970s. In 2022, another evolution has occurred, where the fruit is consistently ripe, and the main challenge is to preserve freshness. Thus, the launch of the Collection series, evolving the non-vintage Brut Premier into a multi-vintage wine that represents the best of the base vintage, the house style, and the push for freshness. Jean-Baptiste Lecaillon, EVP and Chef du Cave at Champagne Louis Roederer, and Xavier Barlier, SVP of Marketing and Communications of Maison Marques & Domaines USA (Roederer’s import arm), tell us about this transition, strategy, and its market positioning. Don’t forget to support the show on Patreon!Detailed Show Notes:Champagne Louis Roederer246 years oldOwns ~600 acres of vineyards70% of grapes from own vineyards - “grower first”70% of quality comes from grapes for ChampagneThe “New Champagne” trendDriven by climate change and a resultant change in farmingGrapes have more expression and flavors; picked earlier and healthierNeed to adapt winemaking and farming to these new grapesGrapes are picked earlier than 40 years ago, but similar to the late 1880sThe Grower Champagne movement - “a fantastic movement”The growers survived due to the sales prowess of the Houses and have always had a close relationship between themDue to climate change, it’s now possible to bottle wine themselves, whereas in the past, blending at scale was necessary due to the significant variation in qualityTerroir is now being revealed, of which both growers and Houses are moving towardsCollection series launchBrut Premier was created in 1986, after the ’70s which were challenging years, so the non-vintage was created to make consistent, even quality winesUsing non-vintage to correct unripe grapesWith climate change, the challenge is different with ripe grapes; need to give freshness to the winesCollection focuses on freshness, wants to reach the elite of the multi-vintage category, to be the best blend possible instead of consistency of house styleA modern evolution of Brut Premier, which is in the context of Champagne changing (100 years ago Champagne was sweet, 50 years ago it moved to a drier aperitif wine)Collection production methodsPerpetual reserve (“PR”) - a new tool to ensure freshness and minerality, as well as the complexity of agePR started in 2012 with 50% Pinot Noir, 50% Chardonnay, lots specifically selected for their freshnessPR has the new vintage added to it every year, and it becomes more and more complex over timePR is aged in large tanks (1,000hl) with no oxygen, kept at 12C (underground cellar temp) for prolonged agingCollection blend includes ~30-35% PR, ~10% reserve wines aged in oak, ~55-60% from the most recent harvestBrut Premier had 6-10% oak reserve wines, which were the house signature of Roederer; Collection increases this signatureBrut Premier no longer madeRemoved to have more consistency in the lineup, Collection is more “Roederer” than Brut PremierCollection pricingProduct is more expensive to make, so pricing is higher than Brut PremierCollection is multi-vintage (like Krug Grand Cuvee and Jacquesson), at a higher level than non-vintage Get access to library episodes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sharing a name causes confusion. Trademark and appellation laws are there to protect them. However, it can be harder to resolve when this confusion is within the same country. That’s the challenge Montepulciano (both the town and and the wine Vino Nobile di Montepulciano) faces against its bigger neighbor Montepulciano d’Abruzzo. Max de Zarobe of Avignonesi describes the history, challenges, and steps taken to clarify the names and the wines.If you’d like to support the show, please sign up on Patreon! Detailed Show Notes: Max’s background - in shipping, ended up in wine by mistakeAvignonesi backgroundOriginally a noble family from MontepulcianoBased in the SE part of Tuscany, close to UmbriaBest known for Vin SantoTop 5 producers in the region (~175ha planted; ~100/~1,300ha of Vino Nobile)Vino Nobile di Montepulciano (“VN”)From the town of Montepulciano, TuscanyHistorically controlled by FlorenceMin 70-80% Sangiovese, trend for all local varietalsThree years to produce~10M bottles annually~3x the price of MANamed “Nobile” due to nobility consuming the wine in history - only two places in Italy were known for noble wine vs. wine for food, Barolo and MontepulcianoOnce famed as the best wine in Tuscany - it was imported by Thomas Jefferson to the US (~$250/year)Montepulciano d’Abruzzo (“MA”)From the province of Umbria (East Italy)It uses the Montepulciano grape varietyOne year to produce~120M bottles annuallyOther naming confusions resolved by the EU: Champagne/Cava, Tokaji/Tocai, Prosecco/Glera. Internationall, cross border conflicts get good support from their governmentsNaming conflict a domestic dispute - VN did not get gov’t support as it is small (Montepulciano has ~18k people/~15k voters; Abruzzo is ~2.2M people/~2M voters)VN is challenged by the squeeze between Brunello (confusion w/ Montalcino, leads the American market due to investment of Banfi) and MA (shared name)VN promotion challenges & actionsNo one spoke English (even the President and GM of Consorzio do not speak English); Avignonesi has organized local English classes for childrenConsorzio tried to get support from politicians but unsuccessfulAs of last year, put “Vino di Toscana” on the label - limited impact as many don’t know Abruzzo is a provinceWant to highlight “Nobile” vs. full VN nameIssue: can’t use an adjective to name a wine (EU law), “Nobile” is both an adjective and a noun; thus the full VN name was adopted Alliance Vinum, a band of 6 producers, uses “Nobile” by printing it on the “back” label, which is functionally the front label Get access to library episodes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The low and no alcohol wine space is growing rapidly. Enough so that a company specializing in spinning cone technology to reduce alcohol, ConeTech, changed its name to BevZero. Debbie Novograd, CEO, and Kayla Winter, Director of Product Services & Winemaking, discuss the technology, the challenges of producing good no alcohol wine, and the market for low and no alcohol wines.  Don’t forget to support the show on Patreon and get access to our backlog of great episodes and show notes!Detailed Show Notes: Alcohol reduction technologiesReverse Osmosis - pass wine through filters, removes water and alcohol, can only bring down abv by a few % per pass, requires multiple passes to get to 0% (more taken out of the wine)Spinning Cones - creates thin film vacuum distillation with heat added (37C) to extract alcohol w/o cooking wine, only spends a few seconds in stillBevZero historyFounded in 1991 as ConeTech as a tool in the winemaker’s toolbelt to adjust alcohol to hit a “sweet spot”Before 2018, >14% abv wines had a higher excise tax, alcohol reduction used to bring wines below 14%Spinning Cone technologyCan pull off different substances with different molecular weights (more than alcohol if desired)Small units (1,000L/hour) start at $1.5MGoLo tech starts at $500-650kDefinitionsLow alcohol wine: 5.5-10% abvNo alcohol wine: 0-0.5% abvUses of technology by geographyEurope - 99% for 0% abv productsUSA - until 2 years ago - 90% for alc adjustment, 10% for low/no alcUSA - 2022 - 30% low/no alc -> 50% in 2023Very large players doing adjustmentNo alc - mostly startups, recently, big players interestedMarket SizingNon-alc space $2B in 2021 -> forecasts range from $3.5 - 6B over next 10 yearsIWSR projects no/low growing faster (7% CAGR) vs. alcohol (1% CAGR)Wine has been slower growth North America no alc wine market - $450M in 2021Low alc mainly US (bigger than no alc) and AustraliaNo alc beer - 75% of total spaceProducing no alc wine challengingNeed suitable grape varieties for base wine - fruit-forward and aromatic work bestAcid, color, tannin get concentratedSparkling does well; bubbles mask the lack of weight (bubbles through forced carbonation)No alc is an FDA product - can add more ingredients (e.g., natural flavors, mouthfeel agents), must have a nutritional panelInitial no alc wines used bad base wine and added lots of sugar to compensateMany sweeten with grape juice concentrate, but trend is towards less sweet (now ~high 20g/L sugar)Price pointsOriginal products were $5-6/bottle, now up to $30/bottleMajority are in the $10-15/bottle range, largest customer does still & sparkling wine in the $25-30/bottle rangeConsumer use casesMain segment (70%) - people who still drink alcohol, drink both low and no alc winesAbstainers a small %Gen Z pushing growthLow alc targets lower calorie, lower carb segmentMeets a ritualistic need that non-alc fillsBranding and salesNo alc startups sell DTC, leveraging social media marketingLow alc has some big players - 50/50 develop new brands, some use existing Specialty online retailers for low/no alc Higher quality products will drive future growth Get access to library episodes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With the rapidly changing social media landscape, TikTok has started (as of late 2021, early 2022) to arrive as a place for wine lovers. Wine influencer Amanda McCrossin (somm_vivant) has gained momentum in this “wild west” and now has over 100k followers. She shares her journey, best practices, and what makes TikTok special.  Detailed Show Notes: Former sommelier and wine director at Press Napa Valley, full background on Episode 12Featured in SF Chronicle article about TikTok and wine (March 2022)2 of Amanda’s videos converted well for wineries, 1st proof of ROIDuhig got 1,100 signups for their mailing list from a videoMassican got $3,000 in sales and 70 list signups from 1 videoRecent shifts that allowed Amanda to excel on TikTokUnderstanding TikTok is short form content vs dance videos (not social media)Time limit increases (15 sec -> 1min (summer 2021); 1 min -> 3 min (Fall 2021)) -> enabled ability to dig in deeper (can technically do 10 min videos)TikTok vs other platformsCan’t DM w/ people, need to be following themConversations happen in commentsAbility to go liveAbility to reply w/ video in comments (“Duets” - do side by side w/ another’s content, Amanda did one w/ port tongs that has 2M views)IG reels (only 30 sec - 1 min) don’t have as much educational content, trends usually 3 weeks later than TiktokIG feels older, more copycat, behind on trendsDemographics - female leadingAmanda’s - 75% female, 25% maleUS, Canada, Australia top regionsOver 21 years old, deep into 30s and beyond, Over 50% of platform is over 30 years oldAmanda’s TikTok journeyStarted July 2021 as an experimentDecanting video got 30k views, but stalled outDec 2021 - started posting 2-3x/day, 1 video hit and others started snowballingStill “wild west” on TikTok for wineIn 1 month went from 250 -> 30k followers (Jan 2022), now 110k followers (Mar 2022)TikTok best practicesThe “hook” is key - 1.5 seconds to catch people’s attention (e.g. - what you do, say, or put on the screen; Amanda puts topic of video on top)Spend 2 weeks - 1 month to watch and listenPost multiple times per day (Amanda now does 1/day)Need quickness in videoStay within a niche -> helps algorithm find the target audienceOptimal video length - 2 mins for Amanda (was 7-9 sec on TikTok for a while)Need to react quickly to trendsRestrictions on alcohol (a grey area)Similar to IG and FB, but enforced differentlyNo alcohol w/ minorsNo excessive consumptionNo solicitation of alcoholDoesn’t drink on videos b/c got a disclaimer flag on oneWineTok creators: winewithdavid, themillennialsomm, jaimeegriffwine, legallywined, lexiswinelistTikTok for wine brandsJoe Wagner - 30k followers - mostly production videosBrands should respond in commentsNeed a presence so people can find themEstablish relationships with creators firstSocial media tips for brandsDon’t recycle content across platformsTiktok - looks less polished vs YouTube Get access to library episodes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Constantly looking to improve its environmental impact, Jason Haas, Second Generation Proprietor of Tablas Creek Vineyard in Paso Robles, recently released a trial of 3L bag-in-box wines at $95/box. Though this is 15% lower than the normal bottle price, it still represented ~3x the highest boxed wine in the market. However, the potential to lower the total carbon footprint of the wine by 40% led to trialing and a terrific reaction to the 300 box trial, which sold out in 4 hours. Jason explains the rationale, strategy, and process of going bag-in-box and for other alternative packaging. If you love the show, please consider supporting us on Patreon.Detailed Show Notes: The rationale for trying bag-in-boxDid a self-assessment of the winery’s carbon footprint - on the Tablas Creek blogFor the average CA winery, >50% of the carbon footprint is from the glass bottle (including transportation), as glass requires high temperatures to mold and has a heavy impact on shipping and transportationTablas Creek moved to a lightweight bottle in ~2010, which saves ~10% of CO2 footprint; heavier bottles are ~10% more3L bag-in-box reduces packaging carbon footprint by ~84% and ~40% of the total carbon footprintA wine blogger commented on Jason’s Facebook that Tablas Creek is well-positioned to create change w/ bag-in-boxPreviously topped out at ~$35 for 3L, or ~$7.50/bottleTablas Creek bag-in-box trialBottled 100 cases of Patelin de Tablas Rose, ~300 3L boxesGot ~60k views on a blog post on boxes in 2 days, lots of positive commentsIn mid-Feb 2022, released the boxes to the member email list and sold out in 4 hoursWines are currently under screw cap, meaning they are similar and don’t need adjustments to be in a bag-in-boxFuture bag-in-box effortsMay extend to all 3 Patelin de Tablas bottlings (red, white, rose), which sell for $28/bottle retail, and other wines not meant for long agingLikely will not sell in distribution - an “uphill battle,” with the price point being too high vs. the existing marketBag-in-box ties to Tablas Creek’s mission - “to have a positive impact on the way grapes are grown, wine is made, and how wine is packaged and sold”Box pricing$28/bottle retail would be $112 for 4 bottles (1 box)Cost is less for packaging, which was passed along to customersPriced at $95/3L box, thought it was good to be under $100Bag-in-box bottling & storage processBottling boxes was the biggest challenge at a small scaleRented a semi-automated filler (would cost ~$10-12k to buy)Very labor-intensive, took 4 hours for 324 boxesThere’s now a mobile bottling (boxing) line with bag-in-box capabilities based in Sonoma, may rent this for future boxingsNot a lot of reliable data on how wine ages in boxes outside of 6-12 months, will be tasting and testingBags in the boxes have higher oxygen transfer rates (“OTR”) than glass bottlesOnce opened, the boxes stay fresh for at least several weeks Get access to library episodes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Combining a passion for wine with a background in marketing to Millennials from Proctor and Gamble, Ben Matthews launched Terratorium Wines. Building a brand for Millennials has led to creating target personas, packaging elements that lead to more transparency, and pricing to create a fine wine entry point. Hear about how Terratorium is creating brand alignment with its Millennial customers.  Support the show on Patreon. Detailed Show Notes: Millennial purchase driversWant straightforward, more “natural,” less manufactured products - concern for clean ingredients for products that are “in you,” “on you,” or “around you”Want alignment on brand values, it’s more than just economicsLike transparency for the manufacturing processNot as price-sensitive as people think they areWant to support brands you’re proud to tell your friends about, which increases the word of mouth velocity, e.g., Tom’s Shoe’s “Buy 1, Give 1” Need the right price point (there’s a ceiling for Millennials) - ~$25-low $40s for a single vineyard, craft wine; the market entry point for fine wineMillennials are now 50% of parents, which is influencing buying practices, sustainability becoming more importantDeveloped personas for their target consumers - “who is my who?”Came up with fictitious characters - “Jake” and “Meaghan”Average older millennial professionalsCreates a brand lens for wine style, packaging, varietal selection, etc...Terratorium varietals Try to bring in not quite mainstream varieties Millennials like learning about thingsPackaging - P&G says it’s “the 1st moment of truth” - need to capture the eyeFront label abstract graphic to visualize tasting notes, colors represent flavors that correlate to tasting icons on the backBack labelTasting icons on what the tastes of the wine areRegional / vineyard information (new) - more hooks to remember the region (e.g. - soil types, climate)QR code for the website - will be more targeted in the futureThe Instagram handle on the back label - try to drive more trafficIn the future - will have ingredients, nutritional information on the websiteWinemaking for Millennials They like lower abv, fresher wines vs. heavier, oaky, more savory beveragesWine Clubs likely to remain a viable system w/ Millennials, like regular shipments, discounts, and some form of communityBuilding awareness through marketingActive on social media - Instagram, Facebook, YouTube are the main channels for the older MillennialsPartnerships with adjacent categories (e.g., nutritionists, health-conscious proponents)More in-person events in core markets - create more word of mouth presence, can’t replicate the in-person tasting experiencePodcasts - saw some sales from the Inside Winemaking connection Get access to library episodes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Taking over from his father, 2nd generation proprietor of Tablas Creek Vineyard, Jason Haas left a career in technology to dig into the soils of Paso Robles. Spearheading the conversion to Biodynamic farming and now the certification of Regenerative Organic farming, Tablas Creek has pioneered not just the Rhone movement in California, but of Regenerative farming, which looks to take into account the farm’s impact on the soil, community, and region. Jason believes that Regenerative farming is the only truly sustainable way to farm. Listen in to Tablas Creek’s progression from organic to biodynamic to regenerative. Support XChateau via PatreonDetailed Show Notes: Tablas CreekPioneer of the California Rhone movementBased on Paso Robles - because of the calcareous soils, long growing season, and enough rainfall to dry farmFounded and run by two familiesRobert Haas, Founder of importer Vineyard BrandsPerrin Family, owners of Chateau Beaucastel in the RhoneAll Rhone varieties, including rarer varietal winesOwn 270 acres, 125 planted to vinesRegenerative farming - similar to biodynamics, but thinks more about the externalities of agricultureHas commitments to less use of shared resources (e.g. - water, power)Has an additional focus on the big picture (e.g. - climate change with a metric to increase the carbon content of the soil)Biodynamics is process-based whereas regenerative farming is results-basedRequires a series of audits - soil health audit, animal welfare certification (that they are treated humanely), farmworker audit (paying fair wages, increasing their skills -> led to weekly roundtable meetings)Focus on the positive impact on the soil, community, and regionDoes not have cow horns or the cycles of the moon like biodynamicsRegenerative is an alternative to biodynamics that is more focused on science vs mystical processesBenefits of the various farming practicesConventional - cheapest in the short termOrganic - in the long run, not more expensive than conventional. Organic certification in wine has been mostly for lower-end wines in the $10-15/bottleBiodynamics -Initially believed it would increase the lifetime of vines and gain in quality from older vines. Discovered that lots grown biodynamically were the best lots right away in blind tastings.Regenerative farming - Less about the grapes vs biodynamics, more in externalitiesRegenerative farming pilot program6 Regenerative Organic certified wineries at the momentGot invited to the pilot w/o knowing what “regenerative” was or meantCan use the “Regenerative Organic” seal on their wines (vs just for the grapes)Costs of farmingBiodynamic/regenerative - have more hands-on labor vs organic or conventional farmingLess chemical purchasesCost on a $/ton basis for farming has not increased significantly vs organic (~$3-5,000/ton)Has not experienced yield reductions, the yield has been more dependent on water (e.g. - 2-2.5 tons per acre in a dry / frost year vs up to 3.5 tons per acre for a wetter year)Has been able to avoid significant labor issues by maintaining its own vineyard crew (10 FTEs, started w/ own crew in 1996), paying a living wage and good labor conditions have led to good recruitment and retention of crew workers Get access to library episodes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Seemingly overnight, 19 Crimes, a division of Treasury Wine Estates, has become a Top 15 brand in the US and has a global impact. Re-imagining what a wine brand could be, 19 Crimes has had many innovations, but found lasting success with augmented reality and celebrity partnerships with Snoop Dogg and Martha Stewart. Ming Alterman, Brand Director for 19 Crimes, gives us the history, best practices, and keys to success for the brand and AR. If you love the show, please consider supporting us on Patreon.  Detailed Show Notes: 19 Crimes OverviewA Top 15 brand in the US according to Nielsen IRI, ~500k cases sold at $11.50/bottle averageA virtual brand, no winery, no visible winemaker - disrupts what a wine brand can be - “The non-wine drinkers' wine”Americans often pick up a bottle because of the look and feel - developed the packaging and story to engage the consumer1st black matte bottle, collectible corks with crimes on them, and augmented reality (ARStill need a wine that delivers for the price point and consumer first -> the wine quality creates repeat purchaseAverage consumer - 35-55 years old, wants to be a part of something and can relate to the story of the 19 CrimesSnoop Dogg's partnership has brought in 200k new consumers into wine from beer and spiritsAugmented RealityApp has over 5M downloadsStarted w/ both AR and virtual reality (VR) to tell the story of the brandIn 2017 - people didn’t want to put on the headset (VR) in-store but were okay downloading the app and AR took offCreated a 3d puppet of the person, animated it, and recorded linesAR came a few years after the brand launch, was supposed to be a sales tool, but morphed into a consumer thingConsumer awareness - QR code on bottle to download the app, invested in POS displays and in-store marketing, some screens in aislesPeople scanned and download the app while in the aisleSuccess factors - instant gratification, people shared it and it went viral, good shareability, great creativity, and simpleRequires ongoing investment in the app - e.g. - built ability to record in-appUsage goes up during holidays (people like to share it) or the launch of a new SKLaunching AREasier now w/ web AR - can just do through camera phone vs needing an appStill have the Living Wine appApple now recognizes QR codes with a camera, making it easierGetting cheaper, but still ~$80-200k to developOngoing costs - website updates, tech licenses (e.g. - AR engines), if there’s an app (easily 6 figures), creative updatesNeed a reason for people to come back and use it againMarketing 19 CrimesGot tons of earned mediaPaid for Google Playstore/Apple App Store to get app downloadsPR efforts and social mediaAds feature AR as the hookSuccess w/ celebritiesNeed them to be really passionate and involvedNeed marketing dollars to promote it, not just the celebrity dealROI - for 19 Crimes, looked at the impact on the entire brand, not just the dedicated SKUsCompensation models - equity, royalties, up-front fees, annual fees Get access to library episodes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Using her background in graphic design and inability to read large blocks of text, Madeline Puckette, Co-Founder and Content Director of Wine Folly, has transformed wine communication using infographics and other writing methods to enable wine discovery for more people. What started as a content marketing strategy for a planned wine club, Wine Folly has become one of the core landing sites for wine globally and an essential resource for wine beginners in their wine journey. Here about the journey, the business, and the future with Global Wine Database. If you love the show, please consider supporting us on Patreon. Detailed Show Notes:Madeline’s backgroundGrandfather got into wine through mail order and readingDad bought a wine subscription to K&L Wine Merchants when she was 21 (in 2004) at art school, which got her into wine and provided her “Aha!” wine moment - a Cotes du Rhone that didn’t taste like fruit but like black olivesShe was a musician and a graphic designerAfter she lost her job in 2009, she helped out at a wine bar which exposed her to more wineDid the Ruinart Challenge competition in San Francisco and got runner up on a Chardonnay blind tastingWent on to pass Certified with the Court of Master Sommeliers (“CMS”)While in the startup community in Seattle, she wanted to combine web with a wine concept and started Wine FollyWine Folly’s foundingIt didn’t want to have a blogThe initial concept was to have an online wine club with videos exploring the wine regions of the world12/25/2011 - 1st post on how to wrap a bottle of wine for ChristmasWine informational content started as a content marketing strategy to get high search engine optimization (“SEO”) but became what people wantedWine Folly todayAn online portal for the topic of wine1st infographic - “how to choose wine” - was a joke but went viral and the Facebook account grew by 7,000 in 1 dayPrinted and sold the infographic as posters - sold 52 in the 1st two daysUses an inverted pyramid writing style - articles start with the simple, straightforward answer and then grows with more details at the bottomWine Folly users - the focus is on wine beginners - there are always more people getting into wineMarketing Wine FollyViral things tend to peak and go downSEO “long tail” work - content marketing, posting 3 articles/week for years for free was what built the siteTried some paid marketing for productsSocial media - “like a billboard,” metrics are smaller than everything else (Key metrics - reach and revenue are primary metrics / OKRsDefining reach can be complex - can include duration of visits, looking at a 2nd page, etc.~20M unique visitors/year on the websiteLaunching online classes - including a French wine course in March, uses a self-challenge model to force people to learn and figure things outSeeing a declining interest in wine - the “wine” search ranking has been declining over the last 5 yearsYouTube channelHas been growing rapidly recently (~60k followers in Jan 2022)Need consistency of content to do well - 1 piece/week would be idealWine is challenging on YouTube to create a digestible format because wine is just in your glass. It’s all in your head -> success might be more about personalityOther successful wine channels - Wine King, Bon Appetit w/ Andre MackYouTube is a place to self-learnSocial media strategyNeed to have content that matches the purpose of the social media channelWine Folly does a lot of analysis on what does well or notConsistency is the core strategyBusiness modelLaunched a wine club in 2021 in partnership with Wine Access“Like a Food52 of wine” - wine accessories (e.g., tools, maps, wine flavor charts, visual learning tools)No advertising, but investigating it now, looking at partnership/sponsorship opportunitiesTools and book section are the most successful, courses coming up fastBooks1st was in 2015, 2nd in 2018More a marketing opportunity to get credibilitySales primarily field by people on Wine Folly’s email listNot great financially2nd book - wants to be the guide to use to pass CMS CertifiedSold on website packaged with a Wine 101 course to compete w/ Amazon, which sells the book cheaperMerger with Global Wine Database (2019)The quality of the information in the wine industry is badGWD is an initiative to get all wines and wineries to put their product information into the databaseThere are free and pro subscriptionsHave created region guides and trade guides to explore wine regions with the dataProducers can create tech sheets with the productFuture applications - API for retailers, recommendation engine by tasteSynergies with Wine Folly - to provide better data to create better products, Wine Folly adds content structure over the database Get access to library episodes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With an outsider's perspective, Jason Wise, director of the SOMM movies and founder of SOMM TV, has been able to find stories in the world of wine that interest a broad audience. In order to control more of the content pipeline and how the shows are distributed, Jason founded SOMM TV. Using "Somm" as more of a curator, SOMM TV has wine at its core and covers food, travel, and other alcohol, making it appealing to a broad (and younger) audience. Learn more about the business of wine films in this episode of XChateau! If you love the show, please consider supporting us on Patreon.Detailed Show Notes: Jason's backgroundFormer bartender, went to film school, started as a filmmakerHe got into wine because he loves history, there were lots of stories that he could make films about, and his (now) wife's father loves wine, and he wanted to impress himHe did a travel show and learned about wineSOMM movie (2012)The genesis of the movieMade when he was fresh out of film school (where he didn't focus on documentaries)Met Brian McClintic, who asked him to watch their tasting practiceFound the practice similar to a sporting eventMet Ian Cauble and found his determination to become a Master SommelierThe success of the filmThe obsessive personalities made the filmBuilds to an actual event (the MS exam)The wine industry was ready for something like the movieNot a "wine film," a different way of looking at wineIntroduced a new group of people who can tell you what to drink (vs. magazines)Documentaries became popular with NetflixNot made by wine people, the outsider perspective made it enjoyable to outsidersWine needs storytellingOther wine filmsSOMM 2 - a"  "wine fil"", SOMM 3 - the"  "bullshit facto"" of wine, SOMM 4 - more history drivenAuction 288 (to be released June 2022) - a movie about a bottle of 1874 Perrier-Jouët Champagne, more of a history, business storyMedia business modelMovies usually have a distributorTheaters are a big marketing arena for wineiTunes - make a % of revenueNetflixpays distributor a fixed fee, if put on the 1st page can reach millions of peopleOften pays based on what it costs to makeCan own rights outright or rent the filmAmazon - get paid 6+ months after it's up and receive a minimal cut of incremental revenueYouTube - doesn't make any money on Created SommTV to control more steps in the business model - more control of content pipeline, partnerships, place to premiere new films (e.g., SOMM 4)Before Covid - events were a big part of the businessMedia platformsHulu - Jason's favorite, takes the most significant swings in contentStars - has the best moviesNetflix - very careful, content is very similar to each other; often licenses something then makes their own version if it works (e.g., Uncorked is a similar series to Somm)Cost of making filmsBig range - SOMM 2 ~$100k vs. ~$850k for another wine film made by someone elseDocumentaries - can be millions, when there's real music, at least $500kDo not pay people usually to be in the filmSommTV business modelEmployees on salary, which is unusual in film90% original contentIt started with originals, now trying to license other contentFocused on wine, food, and alcohol; food is going to be a big partStarted the streaming service because it's an underserved audience and wanted to super-serve themContent pipeline - would ideally love to have new content every dayHundreds of thousands of subscribers (as of Jan 2022) - believes the potential audience is in the millions"  "Som" is defined by Jason as someone who curates - wine at the center, but food, travel, etc…surrounding itPricing - $6/month, $50/yearDid a series of testing to determine pricingCurrent entertainment content wars - other services are losing money to add subscribers (except for HBO Max)Lower cost doesn't necessarily mean more subscribersTechnology - a mix of own developed and 3rd party apps, goal is to bring technology in-houseSommTV subscribersYounger, usually 24-37 years old (~70%), middle classScreenings/events - more varied audience52% male, 48% female - women growing fastKey markets - US largest by far, UK, Brazil, Nordic countries (not allowed in Iran or China)Sparklers - new cooking and wine pairing showIt covers various sparkling wine regions with cooking challengesIt has a "perfect bite" - a meal on one spoonContestants have to judge each otherNo one would have predicted the ending - the final episode aired Feb 8, 2022Podcasts part of SommTV didn't have a marketing budget, so made podcasts which drawback to SommTVGuests feed into each other's showsNot expensive to makeFree, don't have to subscribe Get access to library episodes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Having studied what was important to wine consumers working at Oddbins, a British wine retailer, Nicholas Hammeken, Founder and Director of Innovation at Hammeken Cellars, founded a company focused on crafting Spanish wines that match consumer preferences. He develops concepts with unique selling propositions, plays to modern tastes, and tries to be an ambassador of affordable luxury. Nicholas tells us all about how he thinks through creating the concept, developing the product, and bringing the wines to market globally.  If you love the show, please consider supporting us on Patreon.Detailed Show Notes: Nicholas’ backgroundDanish-born, cellar master, worked at Taste of Wine in DenmarkWorked in the Mosel (Germany), Burgundy, Bordeaux, and Penedes (Cava, Spain)Worked at Oddbins in the UK - where he learned about consumer preferencesFell in love w/ Spain and moved there when his wife got a job thereHammeken Cellar OverviewSpanish wine in the 1990’s - a little rustic, but could taste the tremendous potentialMotto - “modern Spanish wines…developed through an understanding of consumers needs” -> want to respect the history of the region, but take data to match to consumer preferencesBased in ValenciaWinemakers live in different parts of SpainExports 1.5M cases to 30 countriesHistorically strong in ScandinaviaGermany and Holland are big markets, US and Canada are important, while  Asia has been consistent with Japan being strong for many yearsChina rising as wine consumption growing (vs. gifting of wine)In 2021 - 50% of production are organic wines, sustainability is an important trend for HammekenConsumer preferences by marketEurope - like a more lean styleUS - prefers riper, more bold styleOften the style preferences match with the profile of local cuisineWines have a base element and then have components to fine-tune the wines for specific marketsOrganic trendN Europe was the driving force, particularly the monopoly markets, which gave distribution preference for organic winesUS/Europe now more aligned with regulations on organic winesWhole Foods was a pioneer in the USBrand development processE.g., “I’m Your Organic” brandHad nice juice to make an approachable wine made the tannins softer to create a very juicy style of wineCould make it cost $10-12Need to communicate a message to consumers to create a competitive edge -> every bottle (or bag in a box) sold, they will plant a treeLeverages Global Datato mine macro and micro consumer trends (e.g., organic product trend)Used to support decision makingDoes other consumer research - “lots of reading” - real all magazines, including grocery store magazinesImportance of the story -> need to have a purpose of the product, more USPs (unique selling propositions) -> e.g., where does the product come from (i.e., sense of place, which gives traceability), winemaker, etc. -> something apart from a pretty labelWants to be an ambassador of affordable luxury, $9.99 or $11.99 wines that taste and feel like $14.99 winesPackaging - requires a lot of trial and error to testThe more exclusive products tend to look more straightforward and more elegantScale buying power allows for lower costs for high-end closures, packagingE.g. - Mirada Rose from La ManchaDefined specific fruit flavors - berry citrusWant a “Provence” like colorUses extended time on leesIt has a unique bottleUses repeat buying to measure success - Mirada is seeing steady increases year over year in salesWines mostly have a DO/DOC designation - they need to taste like the region, but in a modern wayFinding new names - “a major headache” - legal names for the US, Europe, and Asia has become a lot more complex than ten years agoCreating the wineThe company is asset-light, leverage other people’s facilitiesGo for a more modern, fresh style of wineOnce they have a clear idea of what they want to do, they search for vineyardsTry to source from a diverse set of vineyards to reduce nature risk (e.g., hail)Old vines are key -> gives a more unique expression, more balanced fruitHave their own winemakers, but rent facilitiesVineyard sourcing a mix of long-term rentals, short term agreements, and spot market purchases at harvestHave a contract agronomist to direct grape growingGo-to-market (“GTM”) StrategyLink up with partners, people who want to be first movers on the productOften have a dialogue in place before developing new conceptsTarget marketsFor new concepts - test in smaller marketsFor clear ideas - go for 3-5 markets to have volume from the beginningKeys for product placementsMonopoly markets - can lobby for 2-3 years to provoke a tender that you’ve helped define (therefore more likely to wine)3rd party endorsement is important (e.g., critic ratings)Critic ratings big in US / Canada initially, but rest of the world has followed -> important because some buyers are risk-averseAsia - likes to see success in other markets firstMarketing & PromotionSocial media is importantNeed to invest for products on the shelvesMore important channels - product placement (the right place at the right price point), then a mix of endorsement with points and price proposition (e.g., discounts) can drive more significant salesE.g., LCBO (largest buyer in the world) - showed them a gap in their portfolio (mix of packaging, style, and price point) and was willing to invest in promotions to be successfulWine critic influenceAmerican media (e.g., Wine Enthusiast, Robert Parker, Wine Spectator, James Suckling) strong in US / Canada, but also have a global influenceDecanter - more important outside the USJancis Robinson - w/ 20 point score, need $25+ bottles for consumers to understand what this meansBrand lifecycleMost brands are regional stars, a few work worldwideLifecycle is usually 3-5 yearsProduct segments get overcrowded and make the brand lose market shareSignal of downtrend - when the effectiveness of promotion fallsCorporate Social ResponsibilityTry to allow consumers to make an active choice, e.g., I’m Your Organic and planting a treeUses Goodwings to offset the carbon footprint of corporate travelWants to do a detailed mapping of CO2 footprint of product production and use this as a tool to educate wine buyers Get access to library episodes Hosted on Acast. 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An ongoing trend and a topic that crisscrossed many of our interviews on XChateau, the natural wine movement got a formal designation in March of 2020. It specifies a set of vineyard and winery practices to qualify for the designation. We discuss the potential challenges of implementing the designation and the potential impacts on producers, retailers, and consumers.  This episode originally aired in May of 2020. To access the rest of our library, become a Patreon supporter, as we’ll soon be making most back episodes only available to our Patreon supporters. Detailed Show Notes: New definition and denomination for natural Wine in France - Vin Methode Nature (March 2020)Requirements: organically farmed, hand-harvested, indigenous yeast, no inputs added, no manipulations to the wine (e.g., - thermovinification, reverse osmosis, flash pasteurization, cross-flow filtration)Two levels of designation based on SO2 additions - 1 with no SO2 added, 1 with up to 30 mg/L of SO2 addedBefore this, there was no formal definition for “natural wine” people often confused or used the term for organic and biodynamic farming or with using minimal interventionNatural wine trendRise of natural wine bars, restaurants lists focused on natural wines, and natural wine stores/sections of retail storesEntire natural wine fairs - e.g. - e.g. - RAW WINESpecific books - e.g., Natural Wine by Isabelle Legeron MWChallenges of the natural wine designationIt may be difficult to make adjustments in farming or in the winery when issues occur, which may be increasing with climate changeHand harvesting may be challenging and even lower quality in regions with labor shortages (e.g., Australia, New Zealand)Champagne - does not use native yeast for secondary fermentation in bottle and may not qualifyBurgundy - often doesn’t get organic certifications in vineyards due to weather challenges but strive for “lutte raisonnée” (the reasoned struggle)to reduce chemical inputs in the vineyardUS importers - to be labeled as “organic wine” in the US requires no added sulfur, which applies to only 1 of the 2 designations. Wines without sulfur additions may have stability issues when they  shipped to the USNatural wine retailers - consumers may find the designation confusing as some of their wines will be labeled “natural wine,” but others will not, requiring detailed knowledge of the winegrowing practices of all the wines on the shelfConsumer perceptionsProduct quality is critical, especially at the higher endStudies have shown people will be ~$3/bottle more for organic wine, which is a ~30% increase on ~$8/bottle average price pointConsumers assume fine wines are a natural product and may find the labeling confusingVegans - egg whites and isinglass (a type of fish bladder) are sometimes used as processing aids for wines (a process called fining) but are not ingredients - may find the designation usefulKosher WineWine - can not be labeled natural as flash pasteurization is not allowed Get access to library episodes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Wondering why there was only beer and spirits but no wine at Crossfit events and races, Mark Warren and Tom Beaton, Founders of FitVine, decided to start their own brand. With a goal of making wine more transparent and approachable, FitVine aims to “fit into your lifestyle.” At the $15-20/bottle price point, FitVine is bringing more Gen X and Millennials into the wine category with wine that tastes good and takes away the stuffy image of the wine industry.If you love the show, please consider supporting us on Patreon.  Detailed Show Notes: Mark and Tom’s backgroundMet ~20 years ago, both in the tech industry and entrepreneursThey have always been into wineBoth former athletes got into Crossfit 2 decades ago at events. They saw spirits and beer but no wine and asked, “why isn’t wine part of an active lifestyle?”FitVine’s foundingAt $15/bottle - many wines are overprocessedTarget a “healthy” lifestyle, and the word “fit” means how does wine fit into your lifestyle?Want to have a positive impact on people’s lives - relieve stressMarket segmentInitially thought they were targeting the athletes, but quickly learned it was the significant others at the races & events, the “aspirational group” that wanted to make better choices that were FitVine’s customersGen X “yoga mom/dad,” Millennials M/F both increasingDTC business has customers from early ’20s to late ’70sThe segment is ~85-100M AmericansFitVine vs. “Clean Wine” - try to be careful and not knock other winesFocused on 90% of the wine market and what people are drinking with an average ~$15/bottle price pointTrying to establish a “go-to” brand people can trust and remove confusion for people without wine knowledgeMarketingTargeting the average consumer who’s not wine knowledgeable and intimidated by wineTrying to be more transparent and make it easier for the consumerHave nutritional breakdown for all winesPublishes calories, carbohydrates, sugar, alcoholTTB stopped their ability to add more nutritional information (e.g., resveratrol, etc.) because it might show it as a healthy productDoes full lab tasting on all wines and have done competitor lab testing as well - sometimes show summary statistics (e.g., 90% less sugar than the Top 10 wines on the market)They took tasting notes away not to confuse the average consumerStart with the wine first, then discuss the positive attributes of the winesWine often marketed as too “stuffy,” makes it intimidatingWant to change the approach, a higher level of YellowTail - which was easy and popular in the $5-8/bottle categoryAt $15-20, more of an investment, wine needs to be goodPrimary differentiation is transparency - there are no more faces to the big brands/wine companies, the last one was Jess JacksonWant to be very approachable - no beige chateau or river on the labelProductsLow in sugar but “full” alcoholPeople want the alcohol in wineAlcohol also impacts the taste of wine - de-alc’d wine often tastes “thin”Low in tannins and histaminesTannins can be added, but none for FitVineHigh tannins are not suitable for non-seasoned wine drinkers looking for approachable wineNo flavor additives (e.g., Mega Purple) or other additives“Triple Filtering” of wine - uses crossflow filtration that passes through 3 times (standard crossflow process)Wines are not bulk wines, controlled from grape to bottleMostly Lodi fruit, sustainably raised with no pesticidesProduction2021 - ~425k cases2022 - ~600k casesGo-to-market strategyStarted DTC onlyStarted with social mediaWent anywhere, people would let them pour wine (e.g., yoga studios, gyms, etc.)Gave out samples and postcards to drive to the website2021 - still did >5,000 eventsWent consumer first vs. pushing through distributors - Whole Foods called in 2016 - brought into retail in 2017 (started w/ 4-5 stores, then spread across the US)2022 - will be in 25,000 locations in the US, ~35,000 in 2023Now focused on grocery stores and delivery (e.g., Instacart, Drizly, GoPuff)Strong repeat buyingDTC offers limited-run varietals, which allows the testing of new SKUs before distributionDTC has stayed level (now 2017 - had a contract with the Boston Red Sox, created single-serve 187ml glassDid well, but with a multi-layered business model, was not the best use of marketing investmentWine industry trends to watchThe Low or No alcohol wine category is challengingNeed a different approach to educate consumersGive people more transparency around what’s in the bottleGive people more information in small, easy to understand chunksGrowth of canned wine - believes due to being more approachable Get access to library episodes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ever been curious about the claims people make about “clean wines”? In the same camp as “natural wines” and “better for you wines,” clean wines have no definition and often deploy misleading marketing to get you to buy their wines. They take advantage of the trend, particularly with Millenials, around a healthy lifestyle and spread misinformation in their marketing, according to sommelier and wine educator Erik Segelbaum.  Explore the rationale behind the clean wine trend and how to read into their marketing messages on this episode of XChateau!Don’t forget - you can support the show on Patreon to help us keep bringing you excellent wine business content!Detailed Show Notes:Erik’s backgroundWas a chef in fine dining at the Park Hyatt PhiladelphiaAs he grew into wine, he stopped drinking for alcohol and more for flavorHe became a sommelier because it was more profitable than being a chefSOMLYAY (Erik’s company)Does private events, education (including with the Smithsonian), a wine writer, private cellar consulting, and hospitality/wine list consultingHas done >300 private events in the past year, primarily virtualWrote an article called “Snake Oil for Sale: The Dirty Business of Clean Wine” (pg16) for the Sept / Oct 2021 issue of The Tasting Panel magazineThe impetus for the article - Erik always gets the same questions during consumer events around sulfites, natural/clean/healthy/“better for you” winesHe gets lots of ads using manipulative advertising around the winesDefinition of Clean WineIt’s an invented word. There is no definition, no standards - it doesn’t actually mean anythingImplies other wines are “unclean”Drivers of the clean wine trendMillennials have taken over as the dominant wine buying cohort. They like “healthy,” and the trend is playing to their preferencesCelebrity endorsements backing trend (e.g., Cameron Diaz’s Avaline)Clean wine claims are not false but spreading misinformation and are “lying by omission”E.g., all wines are gluten-freeVegan - sometimes animal products (e.g., egg whites) are used in fining but not really put into wineOrganic - does not mean any chemicals, just no synthetic chemicals (e.g., sulfites are organic and a good thing - required to make wine otherwise, nature turns grape juice into vinegar)Additives - there can be bad ones (e.g., Velcorin, which is hazardous in large quantities, and Mega Purple, which adds color and sweetness)Need to distinguish between “industrially produced wines” and “commercially produced”Industrial wines are mainly on the bottom shelf of retail and are highly manipulated wines (e.g., use lots of additives)Commercially produced can be well-produced wines, even at a commercial scaleClean wine “obscures transparency”They often manipulate where the wines are produced (e.g., don’t mention where the grapes are grown, only that they are produced and bottled in a specific place)Targets naive consumersAn excellent example of transparency - Ridge Vineyards - has ingredient labeling and all relevant details on the label Get access to library episodes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Grocery stores are one of the biggest sales channels for wine. Curtis Mann, Group Vice President of Alcohol of the Albertson’s Companies, gives us the inside scoop on buying trends, how to sell into Albertson’s, and the rise of the use of digital. Learn about the dynamics of the grocery wine market and what makes Albertson’s “locally great, nationally strong.”Don’t forget - you can support the show on Patreon to help us keep bringing you great wine business content! Detailed Show Notes: Curtis’ backgroundMBA at UC Davis in Wine Marketing and AccountingMarketing at Trinchero Family EstatesWorked in wine retail at a small placeMoved to IRI in category management in wine and spirits insightsWas Raley’s wine buyer for 8 yearsGrocery as part of the wine marketMulti-outlet wine market ~$12-13B / yearTotal wine market ~$60-70B / year (multi-outlet ~20% of the total market)Albertson’s Companies’ wine overview~25 different grocery brands, ~2,000 storesWine is a key element of business - it drives sales and customer loyalty; some customers come to stores because of the wine selectionSome stores have up to 3,000 wine SKUsStores with more premium selections are correlated with location (high socio-economic demographics) vs. by grocery store brandFocus is more on the “premium” price segment ($9+ based on IRI)Top brands - Barefoot, Kendall Jackson, up-and-coming brands - Butter, Josh, but wine is very diversified. Big brands are still a small part of the marketPremiumization helping imports, including New Zealand Sauvignon BlancWine buying trendsConsumers are called to authenticity - they want to know what’s in their wine, the appellation, sustainability, and organicConvenience - cans, seltzer, ready to drink Premiumization - $10-20/bottle, $30-50/bottle, up to $100/bottle (e.g., high-end Bordeaux, Napa Cabernet) ranges all doing well, some categories accelerating with potential out-of-stocksCovid trends - return to cooking, consumers go to Albertson’s as a one-stop-shopWith restaurants reopening, a little bit of regression in sales, but still robust as cooking at home has been stickyCustomer demographics (for wine)Gen X / Baby Boomers - still buying a lot (more in bulk and volume), but less than beforeMillennials are the new customers - buying more, less loyal to wine vs. other drinks, and have less expendable income; their preferences are different from Gen X and Baby BoomersTo meet the changing demographics, Curtis looks forward 3-5 years to develop his shelf set/selections of wineConsiderable diversity of reasons people buy wine - occasion based purchasing (e.g., going to a party)Many people exploring and learning about wine (proof point - the massive increase in people taking WSET classes, including lots of consumers, not just professionals)Promotions / discountingLimited brand loyalty in wine, customers often default to priceGiven that, promotions are pretty importantWe need to work between price and product to optimize sales and not over-rely on priceWine selectionWhat does it mean to customers? Each wine must have a purpose vs. the other ~1,500 SKUs on the shelfThis could be style, story, or location/appellationWant to remove redundancy on the shelfTagline - ‘locally great, nationally strong’; try to give local stores more voice (e.g., Portland stores have more Willamette Valley Pinot Noirs)Flagship Stores (e.g., Andronico’s, Pavilions) - higher-end, eclectic offeringsSteps to sell into Alberston’s - have the 4 P’s put together - distribution network, pricing, product, and where you fit on the shelfGenerally need to place wine 4-6 months in advanceIt requires a UPC code on the bottlePrivate Label / “Own Brand” winesThe goal is to provide the best price to value for customersThe intent is to drive loyaltyNot a dominant part of the businessTrying to create wines that are a draw and get good scoresSelection is built around education, desire to learn about wine category through own brandsSuppliers have connections to maintain supply, which can help Own Brands overcome supply challenges (e.g., 2020 Napa, 2021 New Zealand)Digital AdoptionVirtual tastings - have done well, 1,000s of people sign up, people buy the wines beforehand or buy wines later and watch the tasting on YouTubeAppeals to groups of customers who don’t get to visit wine countryWill continue post-CovidDo education tastings 1x/monthKeys to engagement - consumers have lots of questionsThe team engages with customers via chatKeep it educational - need a balance of explaining concepts but keep it understandableConsumers using their phones more for education want to reduce the complexity of wineWine e-commerce - working on expanding this, challenging due to state regulationsExpanding drive up and go (“DOAG”)Delivery (e.g. - Instacart) growingStill a small portion of salesCore elements of success for the grocery channelThe selection keeps people in the storeRelating the wine to the food in the store (food - wine pairing)E-commerceConvenience (e.g., ready to drinks) Get access to library episodes Hosted on Acast. 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