For a number of years, a lot of wineries have sold wines based on scores and perceived exclusivity. The dilution of the value of high scores with the increasing number of them has been well trod territory here and on the OBTSNBN and I don’t care to discuss it further. I’d like to talk about the latter point for just a minute. As the economy roared and the wine market was bullish, the right to purchase a wine became a valuable commodity. The restricted ability to be on a list and get a wine for collection or consumption or, on the flip side, to get a wine so that one could flip it, enabled wineries to increase prices because they had created scarcity. As anyone who has spent any time perusing the auctions will tell you, any wine is available now, often at a price at or below release. That lack of scarcity undermines the natural pressure created by closed mailing lists, i.e., if I don’t purchase this wine now, it may be gone and I won’t get it in the future.
Now, not completely selling out a vintage isn’t all bad for a winery. It allows for new customers to come in and for the winery to reward certain customers in a way that they couldn’t if the wine is all gone. That brings me to my conclusion, which is that, until the economy recovers, the thing that will be paramount is customer service. Some places are naturally poised to take advantage of that, while others have spent the last few years acting like waiters at Peter Luger’s (for non-NYers, they aren’t pleasant). Wine lovers always respond to a personal connection to a wine and it is difficult to separate what you are drinking from your impressions of who made it (and where they made it). The other day at lunch at Solbar, my friend suggested that we order a particular wine. “No way,” I said, “that guy is a jerk.” I may have been more colorful in my language, but the point is this…the days of the jerks may be numbered and that is good news for wine consumers.
I think you make several good points. I have bailed out on some jerk wine myself.
Actually, I see this in the long term and view it like the pull back in the stock market last year. I was buying stock early in the year. Some of those stocks have doubled or are up significantly. When good opportunites come along, you must move decisively.
I have had the opportunity to buy wines I would never have found previously. Most importantly, I have made the lists of several wineries that it would have taken me years to make. I have bought full allocations, and been assured that I’m now permanently on THE list. There are people dropping off lists today that imho, in a couple of years they will be crying the blues about it. People like Sloan and Match do not make enough wine to meet demand. One has to decide if they like the wine or not. Actually need to see more people drop of Colgin. I’m not there yet, but waiting for the opportunity.
I don’t believe exclusivity is selling wine. I think great wine is selling wine.
Great point. Roumier, Leroy, Fourrier, Lafleur, Monfortino, Salon, etc are still extremely sought after wines, whereas $300 bottles of unproven Napa Cab are falling on the sword…
What you are referring to is what I call the “Napa Mentality”. I swear, some of these folks live in a bubble. Not only has the number of Napa Cabs exceeded their limits in pricing and production, but the competition coming from all over the globe has reached a fever pitch.
I tell people this all the time. Their are no brands in this business, only single SKUs. Kendall Jackson has 1 wine that powers the whole brand, same with Santa Margharita. Screaming Eagle is fortunate they only have 1 wine to sell, but how much Petite Bryant and Bryant Cab is out there and not sold???
I want to mention first that producing low-production wines of extreme quality should be rewarded. It’s not easy.
That being said, any winery that makes their customers feel privileged to drink their wines are walking on thin ice. Even if you make fantastic wine, there is always someone who is making the same quality or better.
The best way to lose customers is to think that your wine can’t be replaced by another.
The best way to keep customers is to appreciate their business, recognize their passion for your product and wine in general, and make them feel comfortable every time they visit.
Hopefully that comes naturally because it should. That’s what the wine business is all about.
Exclusivity will always sell wine - recessions don’t change human nature. The thrill of having something your neighbor wants and can’t have is probably a constant.
But it is certainly harder to create the necessary exclusivity! Can’t just put up a velvet rope anymore and expect people to form a line.
Exclusivity does always sell. That said, there is a large segment of the wine-buying population that pulls out the wallet much quicker in fat times, than they would in slow times. So, I think in general even exclusivity will take its lumps during the current unpleasantness - unless the price is right.
This is an interesting notion - depending upon how you define “customer service.” Give me some examples of what you’d expect, in order to maintain some allegiance to a producer.
I don’t think there is a set of criteria per se. There are lots of producers with whom I maintain a professional relationship of seller/consumer. They want to sell me wine and, as long as I like the price, I’ll continue to buy. We both win…as long as like the price. There are a number of people that I count as friends. For those people, I’m pretty much price insensitive when it comes to buying, but believe me that I’ll be free with my opinion. Some others have simply been generous with their time. Am I more likely to buy Haut Bailly after having dinner with Veronique Sanders? Yes. Does it help that I like the wine and it is well priced? Sure. Do I like it when a producer corresponds with me personally beyond the mass mailings? Absolutely. Does that translate into an automatic buy? I wish it could, but I’m unfortunately not that wealthy.
I’m not saying that I need some sort of hand holding to buy wine. It is simply that a winery that wants to maintain a simple producer/consumer relationship has more to do to convince me to buy. Certain wines are of phenomenal quality and of miniscule quantity and will always be able to charge what they want. As Keith correctly narrowed my point, it is not the exclusivity, but the illusion of exclusivity. When the same wines are available in bulk in the resale market, that illusion is shattered.
Yes. Small producers in California and to a lessor extent in Oregon, and Washington will sell directly to consumers and only to consumers. These wines attract a “cult” following and command high prices for the producers who do not need to deal with distributors and retailer shops. Getting on the list means you will be allowed to purchase an allocation which should be taken every year lest the devotee be dropped from future allocations.
I am only on a couple lists and am waiting for allocation of Aubert Chardonnays, but it might take sometime for that one.
There are still a good number of cult wines that managed to sell out this year and continue to maintain a waiting list (Screagle, Scarecrow, SQN, Schrader, etc.). The secondary prices for these wines are still strong and it is a no brainer to buy your allocation and resell if you don’t want to keep it. Whether this will continue will depend on how quickly and strongly the economy recovers. The economy continues to lose 300k-500k jobs/month although that should alleviate in the second half. However, many economists think that the recovery that follows will be tepid at best. These cult wineries are not out of the woods yet. Even luxury goods are not immune to a prolonged economic slump.
Very few wineries do not allow wine in retail, although there clearly are some. People like Aubert did allow it when their wine was first released, but then Mark got a stick up his butt, thanks to Parker, and it is no longer sold to retailers through the normal distribution system.
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