Wine Trade Survey Data Released

I participated in a trade survey recently for which the results were just released at the Wine Industry Financial Symposium in CA. There were some interesting conclusions, none of which were new or surprising, but it is nice to have the stats to evolve opinion to fact. They’re publishing data from a consumer study next week.

Here are my summary comments on what the trade opinion survey data show:

-Category growth is in under $20 wines, over $20 is getting hammered and $10-$15 is the sweet spot
-In the under $20 category, Chile, Argentina and Spain in that order are the most rapidly growing import countries
-In the over $20 group, most respondents reported volume is “same or less” with out a few countries cited as showing any growth at all. And it’s the same countries and order
-On premise, significant growth in BTG under $8 and BTB under $30, with corresponding decreases at the higher end
-Australia continues to show the biggest declines at both the low and high end
-Regions selling value wines now, will prosper in the recovery (meaning Argentina, Chile and Spain)
-Consumers are more price-driven than ever
-Distributors' top priority is reducing inventory
-Social media is avery important tool to communicate with the trade (that’s interesting…we’ve known that to be the case with consumers for a while, but this is significant in that it’s the trade.
-Top wine bloggers are Eric Asimov, Eric Orange, Jancis Robinson, Stephen Tanzer, Tyler Colman, Alder Yarrow Sphere: Related Content

TOTC Day 3 the importance of vodka

I attended the "Rediscovering the Traditions of vodka" led by Steve Olsen and learned a great lesson on how to engage an audience. Throughout the whole TOTC event, Vodka was criticized, belittled, vilified, marginalized and ultimately disrespected. It's like the old Yogi Berra line..."nobody goes there anymore, it's too crowded."

But with 28% share of the total US spirits market, Steve eloquently made his points that it warrants respect and consideration and can't and shouldn't be ignored. He went on to walk us through a product tasting that was more about sensing the vodka as opposed to tasting it. Darcy O'Neil made the point in the sensory perception session that if you analyze vodka chemically, there aren't any flavor compounds in there... no citrus, no wheat, no potato and certainly no tobacco, peanuts or any other contrived descriptors. What there are however are components that might trigger a flavor memory or association. And that's what we're really sensing, e.g. not citrus per se, but a compound similar to citric acid that sparks an association in your mind.

Steve demonstrated a tasting protocol where you can separate the liquid flavor components from the aromatics. By coating the oral cavity with the vodka, then closing your mouth and breathing out your nose, you can segment the feel of the alcohol from the smell of the volatile compounds. Then breathe in only through your mouth to gauge the quality of the alcohol...it should feel cool like menthol or eucalyptus, not harsh or burning. He went on to demonstrate the difference between a number of brands and show how they not only differed, but had specific characteristics that would make a given vodka the preferable spirit for a given cocktail.

At the end of the session, he had turned a roomful of skeptics into advocates. Sphere: Related Content