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The Tax Man, Carl Lewis, and the Paradox of South African Wine
It was an unlikely pairing. Thirty years ago the legendary Olympic champion Carl Lewis became the face of Pirelli, the Italian tire maker. “Power is nothing without control,” the advertisements...
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Wine Books Revisited: Lewis Perdue’s “The Wrath of Grapes”
A look back at The Wrath of Grapes by Lewis Perdue (Spike Books / Avon, 1999). Over long, hard decades, American winemakers have won the respect of connoisseurs everywhere. Many of the world’s most...
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Kind of Malbec: Mendoza Wine + Business Collaboration
“Kind of Blue” is one of my favorite jazz albums and, although we usually think of it as a Miles Davis work, it is really a collaboration of talented artists at the height of their powers. Recorded in...
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Roots to Resilience and Success for Ontario’s Wine Industry
There has been a lot of troubling wine business news recently and I am watching closely to see if, when, and how the industry can pull together to address the many problems. As I wrote a few weeks ago,...
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GD Vajra: Once Upon a Time in Barolo
Once upon a time … That’s how many of our most beloved stories begin, so that’s how we begin this report on the wines of G.D. Vajra. These wines might be best understood in the context of the stories...
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Starbucks, McDonald’s, and the Global Wine Glut
Two of the most-read Wine Economist columns of 2023 analyzed theories of the global wine glut. The first focused on demographic theories (generational differences and life-cycle patterns) and the...
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The Big and Hot Guide to Wine 2024
When you’re hot, you’re hot (and when you’re not, you’re not). That’s the way it is in the wine market today. One of the most interesting charts at the “State of the Industry” session at this year’s...
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A Tale of Two Wine Regions: Willamette Valley & Virginia
The best way to sell wine is also the best way to enjoy it: a personal experience with the winemaker, the wine, and the stories that connect the two and form a memorable bond. That’s why winery visits...
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Second Thoughts on Sustainability?
This is one of those annoying “devil’s advocate” columns. It seems like everyone I meet in the wine business is talking about sustainability and with good reason. Regional sustainability programs have...
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Cantina Tramin: Strength in (Small) Numbers in Alto Adige
Your first impression when you arrive at Cantina Tramin is that you’ve entered some sort of space portal. Here in the lush Alto Adige hills, you expect to see a sturdy old building housing Cantina...
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Book Review: Exploring China (and Chinese Wine) One Banquet at a Time
China in Seven Banquets: A Flavorful History by Thomas David DuBois (Reaktion Books, 2024). It doesn’t always work, but sometimes you can learn something about wine by busting out of the wine box and...
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Chilling Out: The Red & White of Austrian Wines
Austria’s colors are red and white. Those are the colors of the national flag and the uniforms of the country’s football team, too. You can see them clearly on the bottles of many Austrian wines...
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Leveraging Wine & Tourism in Collio DOC
[This is the second in a series of articles inspired by our recent visit to Collio DOC in north-east Italy. Click here to read last week’s introductory report.] When Sue and I first visited Collio in...
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Collio DOC: Wine, Brand, & Identity in Italy
[This is the third and final article in a series inspired by our recent visit to Collio DOC in north-east Italy. Click here to read the first report and click here to read the second.] What does it...
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Is Wine a Good Value?
These are challenging times for many (but not all) consumers. Rising housing and interest costs are squeezing budgets. Pandemic-era stimulus check bank balances are going or gone. Student loan...
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Wine Economics 101: the Three Vs of Wine
We often talk about trends and problems in the wine industry, but I think we all know that wine isn’t a single business about which it is easy to generalize. Different countries or regions have...
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Bordeaux Bloodbath? Grubbing Up Deja Vu
You’ve probably seen the news from Europe. The headline on Politico read, “Bordeaux bloodbath! France pays winemakers to dig up vines.” The French government has allocated €120 million to subsidize...
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Is October the Month You Finally Try Non-Alcoholic Wine?
Is October 2024 the month you finally try non-alcoholic (NA) wine? Maybe you’ve never sampled NA wine before or perhaps you have and were disappointed. In either case, this might be a good time to see...
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The Curse of Corporate Wine-Think Déjà Vu?
The global wine industry continues to adjust to the “new normal” market environment, with recent news stories focusing on strategies to support demand (Come Over October), grubbing-up programs to...
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Global Market Trends: Is White Wine the New Red?
The global wine market is in flux these days and much of the attention is focused on falling consumption in the post-pandemic era. Global wine consumption actually peaked a few years ago, as the graph...
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