I’d say sincerity & authenticity really matter to us. Holding everything else constant, we’ll pick a mediocre $30 chard that’s been made by people who really truly believe in what they’re doing over another mediocre $30 chard made by a cynical, faceless enterprise. Of course we’d like to believe in the romance of winemaking, which is that it rewards care and love, and we would hope the people who truly believe in what they’re doing will find a way to make a superior wine
Now because us WBers are so in the know we’d rather have PYCM Bourgogne Blanc or German Riesling or etc at the same price point, but that is actually beside the point of this article
I made it as far as “Blood on the Tracks” and then my spider senses started tingling.
I don’t quite follow this part: “Unlike some of their scruffy, thirtysomething winemaker peers, the Marianis’ devotion to difference — to nontraditional grape varieties and winemaking methods — is realized only partially. Yes, for the cult of obscurity, there is a nouveau-style Pinot Noir; nutty, copper-colored, skin-fermented Chardonnay, presented in a squat 500-ml bottle; and a wine made from the delicate, earth-toned Austrian grape St. Laurent.”
I’m not sure what the author intended for me to get from that paragraph.
Millenial marketing bullshit, read the smallprint.
The uncle of the 2 front boys put up the money and converted a poultry farm to a vineyard, concocted a story about its history and got a great website and worked social media really hard.
Your generation wouldnt know sincerity or authenticity if it bit you on your ass, now please get off my virtual lawn
That’s a little harsh. There’s nothing new about youthful idealism. It’s important to enjoy it while you can. After life beats up on you for a couple of decades you tend to see things with vastly different eyes.
The thing is there’s nothing “authentic” about two very wealthy trust fund boys and their uncle doing this … and millennials have no lock on appreciating and supporting actual authentic projects (though if I were to be a cynical boomer, I’d say millennials seem be more taken with displays of picturesque “authenticity” rather than the usually more gritty actually authentic farming and such experience.) I’m not sure that any of the winemakers who I support are so prettified but I do know they live, breathe and deliver wine made with heart and skill.
Along with all that, I really do find the whole millennial meme to describe predominantly very privileged young people, most commonly white privileged young people, rather than the actual full generation they claim to represent. (I also suspect that the intensive millennial v boomer battle was really a setup by those who needed to generate hostility towards boomers to encourage privatization of social security but that’s a different tale)
I don’t understand - what’s so wrong with a winery trying to distinguish itself? It’s hard enough to educate a consumer, and much of the DTC formula is about experience.