Contradictions in the Wine Business

I think the difference you are seeing is due to how wine is sold. People coming to the wine country are curious and have made an investment to get here and curious about how wine is made. In this environment, they are allowed to taste wine, meet winery staff, and sometimes pair the wine with food. All of these factors will breakdown the fear of trying something new. Alternatively, when they walk into a wineshop, they are faced with the "wall of wine". The choices are overwhelming. It is here that people fall-back on scores, labels, or familiar bottles, and price to make their decisions. Many are afraid to make a mistake so they take the easy way out. Distributors are likewise carrying too many labels. The people they sell to help feed into the "dumb down" approach to selling wine. Price, scores, animal labels,...anything to make the sale and turnover inventory.

Cheers,

Mark

I agree on all accounts Mark. Especially true is that distributors have far too many labels to sell, making it nearly impossible to have the time or knowledge to intimately know each and every wine they represent. As a result, they often sell what's easiest or what's "on deal", which isn't necessarily what consumers want or need. That is why wine clubs and tasting rooms are so valuable and fun for people to experience.

"The last thing they (the distributors) want is another obscure wine that needs a lot of explaining."

This sentence explains your problem. Using automobile advertising as an example, it is a know fact that mos people decide on a car before they walk into a showroom. They decide based on the appeal of the advertising to their demographics. It works. Just think about the people portrayed in certain ads and you will understand what the vehicle's market is.

It may be that you just have to sell one bottle at a time. Word of mouth, person to person, emphasize the name as well as the wine.

The alternative is to combine print advertising in the right publications with your discussions with distributors. Maybe flyers, handouts.

Oh well as a salesman once told me 'the world will not buy your better mousetrap if they don't know about it."

As a "regular consumer", I can tell you price and lable are what sell me on a wine. I'm willing to try everything once, but who wants to spend $20 on a bottle of wine to find out they don't like it? I make a point to try a different wine everytime I go to a restaurant, but I rarely buy an expensive bottle just to try. As a housewife in a lower middle class family, I have a hard time justifying a $15 bottle of wine, unless it's one I've tried before. That being said, I've tried your Chenin Blanc at PF Changs. I've purposely sought out your wines in different venues since I started reading your blog. I really enjoyed the chenin blanc and will be trying even harder to find your other wines because I know how good the first one was.

Thanks for the insightful comments everyone. I learn a lot from your feedback.

Mark,unfortunately advertising is way too expensive for most wineries. In fact, I can't think of a single family owned winery that does much advertising at all. Most ads you see are by the big companies with bigger budgets. So, it's word of mouth, personal introductions, and sampling that most of us rely on to get the word out. And, when we get a good piece of press, we quickly create hand-outs to send to our distributors.

Leslie, I love that you tried our Chenin Blanc as a result of reading my blog. By the way, did you happen to see the June 15 issue of Wine Spectator? Our Chenin is recommended as a top value in the "alternative white wine" category. Yahoo! I hope you'll try some of our other wines, as we make quite a few that are under $20. Thanks for taking time to comment. And, keep experimenting with wine; it makes life much more enjoyable!

I've looked in prolly 15 stores over the last few weeks and can't find your Chenin Blanc on a retail level :(

That's dreadful! If you let me know what state/town you live in, I'll call our distributor for a list of stores that carry it in your area. Or, you can ask your favorite store to bring it in, and I'll give you the name of our distrubtor for them to call.

Now you know how frustrating it is to sell wine!

Hi Wilma. I am astounded by your last answer--to Leslie. It IS frustrating to sell wine through wholesalers (I've worked for them and worked with them as a supplier for many years). Why didn't you simply point Leslie to your web site (http://www.drycreekvineyard.com/our_wines/2008_dry_chenin_blanc.html) so she could buy the wine direct from your cellars? There are so many benefits to both Leslie and to you. She gets the latest vintage of your Chenin in pristine, cellar door condition (some of us know the conditions wines are stored in by wholesalers...and retailers). You get a dedicated customer who you can merchandise to, add to your "friends and family list"...do all the things the retail trade isn't good add summed up as "coddling".
Your blog provided you with the best possible opportunity--to get a new direct customer.

You are absolutely right. I missed an excellent opportunity that was right under my nose. Unfortunately though, without knowing where Leslie lives, I can't suggest she buy directly from the winery as there are 14 states that are prohibitive to ship to--either due to state regulations or excessive permit fees. Hopefully Leslie is still reading and can let me know where she lives...if it's in a legal state, we'll gladly send her a couple of cases of our yummy Chenin Blanc to quench her summertime thirst!