Riesling - the struggle is real.

I’m hoping we can have an open-minded discussion about the future of Riesling sales vis-a-vis styles. I know it gets protective at times.

First, a few microcosm market observations:

  1. My local market store carries 4 of my wines. Affluent area, lots of disposable income. Prob elevated wine knowledge. When I check back how sales have gone; the rosé keeps selling out, the Mission almost as much, the Alicante had not sold very well and the Riesling almost nothing at all. One explanation could be that had it been a Keller with pedigree it would have sold much better in this area, but I think we all know that’s not the real reason. It’s Riesling itself. They will actually chose a grape they’ve never even heard of before, like Mission, before they get burned by Riesling again. [wow.gif]

  2. Another wine bar vendor that sells my Riesling by the glass (at a pretty competitive price of $12), says it’s almost impossible to get a sale unless you really explain, hold their hand, sell and assure them it’s not sweet. Huge resistance.

So, you see where I’m going with this, right? [wink.gif]

Here are some numbers from the Australian wine market, more known for their bone dry style of the variety: - Riesling is the 6th largest selling or sampled grape amongst domestic white wine drinkers. Without even looking at the US statistics, I know for sure there’s no way Riesling is in 6th place here. Is it even in the top 10? Casual research suggest it’s not, but varietal figures are not published. So it seems to be clear to me, that if you commit to a standard of dry Riesling, and keep pushing and educating, sales will increase like they have in Australia. I doubt Riesling was in 6th place 20-30 years ago there.

As lovers of the grape, we always want it to get a broader audience. I’m perhaps myopic in my camp and would love to hear your thoughts on why and how its market could be grown in general? What are the sales figures in Germany? Austria? Increasing? Decreasing?


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You have a problem.

Almost everyone I know that’s had Riesling enjoys Riesling (although maybe some like sweeter and some like drier). However, I think that you’re right that a lot of people (Americans at least) aren’t actually familiar with what Riesling is or could be. I think a lot of it comes down to consumer education and marketing.

Also, even with respect to more educated consumers, I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s harder for most domestic Rieslings to compete next to their German counterparts based on general reputation and the fact that the German Rieslings are often priced quite reasonably.

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Apparently in 2019 it was 4th in white varieties, after Chardonnay, Pinot Gris and Sauvignon Blanc.

[shrug.gif]

I think the problem is that it’s domestic Riesling, not German/Austrian/Alsatian. I’m a big Riesling drinker, but I would never order a domestic Riesling by the glass. I’d much rather try the Mission (whatever that is…) if I’m feeling adventurous…

Comparing it to data from Australia is probably not a good idea, domestic Riesling is a relatively big thing there.

People think it’s like the dreck “Zeller Schwarze Katz” they drank in college. Even though they’re not Riesling.

What shops in/around LA carry your Riesling? While I’m too cheap to pay for shipping a single bottle, I’ll be happy to try it out if it’s at a shop near me or one I regularly order from.

Sub Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc, Semillon or even Pinot Gris for Riesling. While Rieslings are probably my favorite whites, they are not a varietal to make money on in the US market. Good luck!!!

There is a lot to unpack here. First off, as far as consumption in Germany, most of what anyone could ever wish to know can be found in the German Wine Institute’s annual report: https://www.deutscheweine.de/fileadmin/user_upload/Statistik_2020.pdf (it’s bilingual). One thing they don’t do (as far as I see) is break down consumption by varietal, but Table 27 shows that 45% of all wine consumed by Germans is from their own country, a number that has been steady since at least 2015 (since that is the oldest the table goes back to) Since other tables show that Riesling is the most-planted variety in Germany, a whole lot of that German wine will be Riesling.

Of course, Riesling suffers in its marketability because of its perceived sweetness, though we all know it can be vinified bone-dry or lusciously sweet or anywhere in between. It is certainly the case that German drink drier Rieslings than they did 20 twenty years ago, partially because winemaking plus climate change has made dry riesling more attractive in many parts of Germany. But I cannot emphasize enough that what Germans mean by dry is not what Adam means by dry, as many of you already know!

Agreed with KN there is a lot going on here. Riesling in general has a real perception problem in the US. Long term (IMHO) the only way to broadly combat that is with steady marketing from industry associations, or perhaps by the dumb luck of some famous person deciding to promote it (e.g. Kim Crawford and NZ Sauvignon Blanc). Likely the only group to try this is from Germany, not sure that helps domestic Riesling much.

For domestic producers who cannot possibly produce enough branding $$ to move the market, it really seems like the only way to really drive sales is by building direct relationships with customers. Placing bottles in random stores or restaurants is going to be rough as you still have to overcome all the barriers blocking sales of wines made from out-of-fashion or unknown varietals. Maybe if you price super low you could get some sales but how viable is that? Mass scale producers can always undercut you.

Not that building direct relationships with customers is easy, but is there another way? I’d love to see someone from the biz who sells unusual varietal wines chime in here on what has worked for them.

I wouldn’t be surprised if Riesling is in the top 6 in the US. probably about the same order as Australia even. which grape below riesling in Australia do you think is above it in the US? Chenin has got to be the only real contender, but there are a lot of people out there who like sweet wine as well and will drink Riesling.

but I think its also possible that Riesling is actually #5 here and semillon/sauv blanc blends are lower. my guess is there’s not as many people making Bordeaux blanc blends here as in Australia, and the pinot Grigio crowd is probably not also a Graves crowd.

I live in LA as well, and agree it’s not a common “like” in places we go. My wife loves it, even on the sweeter side, and when we order a glass of it out, the server is always surprised and usually wants to see it on the list to make sure they (and we) understand what we’re asking for. So we show, and point, they nod, and life goes on. It makes me worry that the bottle has been sitting open for 2-3 months… But it’s always fine in the glass.

And for an aperitif - a light, “ease in” taste of goodness early evening, it works so well…

There are a few exception spots that seem to get that it belongs - like an Asian restaurant called Lukshon that would have Tatomer on their “tap” by the glass. But it’s not common, and I have no doubts it doesn’t move in so many places.

Maybe if Post Malone had a label… Adam - maybe that’s a joint venture for you - I’m pretty sure Post doesn’t know much about fermentation techniques or barrel selection, but I’m pretty sure he can sell the end product.

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I’d like to see a campaign like “That moscato you’re drinking is shit, drink Riesling instead.”

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Hey, I started on that!

Late bloomer?

Charles Smith seemed to do pretty well with Kung Fu Girl once upon a time. No clue how it sells since he sold.

Extremely well. And I think Chateau Ste. Michelle is still the largest single producer of Riesling in the world, with huge domestic sales of sweet Riesling.

According to an article from when he sold they did 198,000 cases in 2014 at $12 MSRP. It was the biggest seller in the portfolio he sold to Constellation.

Does anyone really think this thread is about Riesling sales volume? And not idiosyncratic tastes re: Riesling?

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Hey my friend , it could be worse - I make a dry domestic Gewurztraminer . . .

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