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More Millennial Madness
"Bravo for…the chance to hear the voice of the next generation."
Editor:
As usual, Chris Sawyer (Opinion/Analysis, January 2007) provides a great take on the wine world--and in this case, an important part of our feeding chain--and how wine, whether highly anointed by critics and competition scores or not, makes it to the tables and into the glasses of the public. Bravo for giving us insight and the chance to hear the voice of the next generation of wine lovers.
s/ Ron Rawlinson,
VP marketing & sales
Domaine Alfred
San Luis Obispo, Calif.
via e-mail
"Wineries we once loved are now seen merely as 'tiers' on a revenue report."
Editor:
Christopher Sawyer wrote an outstanding rebuttal to an idiotic article. In this era of globalization and consolidation, what is the purpose of brand loyalty? The wines that we discovered from Napa 10 years ago have long since sold out to larger production quotas, and those that have followed in their artisanal footsteps are mimics at best and hacks at worse.
Brand loyalty? Out of touch? The larger marketing entities are the ones that want the uneducated consumer to stay as out of touch as possible. They dictate flavor profiles to the winemakers based on what consumer research tells them that they want, terroir be damned!
Wine professionals have been beguiled by the corporate entities that pay us, which have sold out to the masses. We are the ones who have the obligation to walk into a restaurant or retailer and show them wines that make them a "better" wine account, not just "another" wine list.
I work for a boutique wine distributor in Michigan that is struggling to retain its identity. On the one hand, we carry such prestigious portfolios as Martine's, Terry Thiese, Neal Rosenthal, Rare Wine and Vin Divino. On the other hand, our managers want to grow our relationships with Bronco and Wente.
In a business where harvest quality varies from year to year, and the wineries we once loved are now seen merely as "tiers" on a revenue report, how is our 'lack' of brand loyalty a bad thing?
s/ Tim Freehan
Michigan
via e-mail
"Bravo for…the chance to hear the voice of the next generation."
Editor:
As usual, Chris Sawyer (Opinion/Analysis, January 2007) provides a great take on the wine world--and in this case, an important part of our feeding chain--and how wine, whether highly anointed by critics and competition scores or not, makes it to the tables and into the glasses of the public. Bravo for giving us insight and the chance to hear the voice of the next generation of wine lovers.
s/ Ron Rawlinson,
VP marketing & sales
Domaine Alfred
San Luis Obispo, Calif.
via e-mail
"Wineries we once loved are now seen merely as 'tiers' on a revenue report."
Editor:
Christopher Sawyer wrote an outstanding rebuttal to an idiotic article. In this era of globalization and consolidation, what is the purpose of brand loyalty? The wines that we discovered from Napa 10 years ago have long since sold out to larger production quotas, and those that have followed in their artisanal footsteps are mimics at best and hacks at worse.
Brand loyalty? Out of touch? The larger marketing entities are the ones that want the uneducated consumer to stay as out of touch as possible. They dictate flavor profiles to the winemakers based on what consumer research tells them that they want, terroir be damned!
Wine professionals have been beguiled by the corporate entities that pay us, which have sold out to the masses. We are the ones who have the obligation to walk into a restaurant or retailer and show them wines that make them a "better" wine account, not just "another" wine list.
I work for a boutique wine distributor in Michigan that is struggling to retain its identity. On the one hand, we carry such prestigious portfolios as Martine's, Terry Thiese, Neal Rosenthal, Rare Wine and Vin Divino. On the other hand, our managers want to grow our relationships with Bronco and Wente.
In a business where harvest quality varies from year to year, and the wineries we once loved are now seen merely as "tiers" on a revenue report, how is our 'lack' of brand loyalty a bad thing?
s/ Tim Freehan
Michigan
via e-mail
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