|
A Luncheon Address from Jancis Robinson
Tuesday, 17th February, 2009
- Jennifer Graham
Jancis Robinson the London based wine writer says; "The wine industry is missing a huge opportunity to forge deeper relationships with consumers using new technologies such as PodCasts and wine blogs."
That was the blunt message delivered to 280 wine writers and industry executives in Sydney during a lunch on the 4th February. She suggested the delicate communications between wine writers and producers has been superseded. "You don't need any outside publisher or editor to get a decent platform for communicating about wine", she said. Today the domain of all former parasites (a reference to wine writers as "parasites on the wine trade", in the Oxford Companion to Wine) is online.
Robinson's assertion comes amidst revelations that she had just got the sack from a South African Wine magazine via email before leaving Britain, where the UK Sunday Times column is also shrinking, and wine has disappeared altogether from women's magazines. "There's just not that much wine advertising," she said, "at least 4-colour wine advertising that publishers like to bring in the revenue." Mainstream press in the US is dumping its regular wine columns and journalists, LA Times, SF Chronicle, NY Times, AMEX Food & Wine - all paring back to old wood, with remaining deans and doyens competing for shrinking column centimetres in the weekend food supplements.
Thus Robinson considers herself lucky writing for the Financial Times, since the late eighties. "Over recent years the fine wine market has certainly been alive and burning", being "allowed to write a lot about smart stuff every week because there is a healthy load of ads from people who sell class growths and top Burgundies."
Her Financial Times column communicates lesser known, hard-to-get information about smaller merchants, smaller quantities, because "it's nice to give those wines a bit of oxygen [to the domestic market]." But the global financial crisis has left a sagging Pound, creating a paradoxical situation where major business for UK fine wine traders at the moment is selling Bordeaux back to Bordeaux (because it's all so nice and cheap, and cool storage conditions in Britain are attractive to international wholesalers). Robinson notes Britain is "a horrible place to live but a lovely place to keep wine."
The combination of these major elements of change inform Robinson's rhetoric: Do you measure a wine writer's success by the area of the column, the number of ads or resulting sales? When an article is published in the San Francisco Chronicle her feedback is enormous. "Perhaps its because [that news source] is more online and people are more ready to push the button and send something through, and it's fun. Anyone who can get online can pontificate about wine, it's very very easy to set-up a website or become a participant poster on a wine forum and establish your identity in that way."
Robinson believes wine writers have lost that isolation from criticism because of the vast amount of forums and blogs around the Internet where people can write and criticise: "Oh you were so wrong about the 2005 such and such … we are finding consumers are increasing holding the whip hand as well as having a readership or audience."
Citing WineLibrary, a Springfield, New Jersey (US) wine store with a popular interactive Web site, Robinson describes Gary Vaynerchuk, a white Russian in his 30's as "way over the top", and if you want to see the future, have a look at WineLibrary.
"Wine on TV is shrivelling, wind gently rustling the vines - lovely photographs, lovely pans, a bit of banter and that's about it except for the occasional reality drama like Chateau Monti, or Oz Clarke and James May. Watching wine on TV the bottling line is by far the most captivating thing, and typically wine tasting is not a spectator sport. But this guy's got it, addressing wine to young people through his daily TV show, he does it 'utterly unlike me'.
The store's e-commerce Web site has expanded to include blogs, reader wine reviews, and something called WineLibrary TV, which features videos of Vaynerchuk talking in a highly personal, in-your-face style about a range of wine topics. Vaynerchuk has helped grow his family's small wine shop into a US$60 million enterprise by aggressively adopting the latest technologies.
"Ninety-nine percent of the people in the wine business are really blowing it," says Vaynerchuck, who launched the feature because he feels the industry has too long bowed to a handful of elite critics whose opinion means nothing to the average wine drinker.
Most people lend more credence to the opinions of other consumers, something wineries and other segments of the wine industry have been slow to recognise and face.
"Now everyone has got an opinion. Everyone's got their two cents. Every person you cross paths with in this industry you need to fear, and you need to embrace," Vaynerchuk said.
People are writing so much on the Internet today about products that their ramblings today surpass the words generated by all other traditional media.
The importance of "peer-to-peer" reviews to consumers' buying habits has grown significantly. In 1977, 67 percent of consumers cited worth-of-mouth recommendations as the single greatest factor they relied on in deciding whether to buy something. Today, that number is 92 percent.
The proof is everywhere. Seven of the top 10 references to Barossa's Torbreck wines on search engine Google are consumer-generated references.
About 73 percent of people who shop online leave comments behind to share their thoughts and experiences with other consumers. The implications of these trends for wineries and myriad other businesses is that consumers expect the company to respect and engage them about their opinions.
Criticism of companies and their products are now front and centre for everyone to see, and companies should welcome this online discussion instead of fearing it. Some wineries become so paralysed by the idea that someone will post something negative about their wines on their Web site that they don't add such functions to their site. But smart wineries that are making good products should realise that they have nothing to fear from an occasional jab from consumers.
Vaynerchuk agrees. Wineries that are complacent and unwilling to engage new consumers in their own language will soon find themselves left behind. "Get out of your comfort zone and embrace change," he said. "If you are scared, you are going to lose, and losing sucks."
|
2 0 1 2
2 0 1 1
2 0 1 0
2 0 0 9
2 0 0 8
2 0 0 7
2 0 0 6
2 0 0 5
|
While We Dream Of Exports Others Get Ready For Chinese ImportsSunday, 18th December, 2011
Some Advice For Wine Marketing ManagersSunday, 27th November, 2011
Wine investment Chinese StyleTuesday, 6th September, 2011
A Wide Gulf Divides the Wine TradeSunday, 24th July, 2011
Forget the Food Bit - Just Give Me a DrinkFriday, 1st July, 2011
Chinese Wine Market Developing NicelyWednesday, 12th January, 2011
Perhaps the Barossa Should Make OneMonday, 20th December, 2010
A Comic Way to International FameMonday, 6th December, 2010
Goodness Knows What They Drink It WithMonday, 29th November, 2010
The State of the Modern Wine IndustryTuesday, 16th November, 2010
Up Date on the Liquor WarsTuesday, Friday, 26th March 2010
French fight backTuesday, 9th March 2010
Dinner with Sandra Tavares - Portuguese WinemakerThursday, 19th February, 2010
Yearning For A Faulty WineFriday, 31st August, 2007
All Is Not What It Seems with Chinese WineFriday, 31st August, 2007
Grateful for the MistakeTuesday, 31st July, 2007
The Real Wine Boom in ChinaWednesday, 25th July, 2007
Remembering the SopranosTuesday, 17th July, 2007
A Rat of a WineFriday, 13th July, 2007
Mildew Threatens BordeauxFriday, 13th July, 2007
Wayne Gretzky and an Australian ConnectionTuesday, 3rd July, 2007
Will the Pressure Ever End?Sunday, 1st July, 2007
The Danes are PreparingSunday, 1st July, 2007
What Wine Do You Put In a Counterfeit Ch. Lafite?Tuesday, 12th June, 2007
New Zealand’s Fame Keeps SpreadingThursday, 19th April, 2007
The New Zealand Landscape, Wines and Amazing Export GrowthWednesday, 21st February, 2007
Artful Prince Astonishes Wine WorldSunday, 14th January, 2007
That Dreaded Global WarmingSunday, 14th January, 2007
World Wine Sales StagnantSunday, 29th October, 2006
Illegal for Italians but Paris Makes it Great for GermansSaturday, 28th October, 2006
New Zealand Wine Storms AheadTuesday, 12th September, 2006
Wishing Jefferson Had Drunk ItWednesday, 6th September, 2006
Not a Little CritterWednesday, 6th September, 2006
A Welcome Cease FireSaturday, 26th August, 2006
Sniffing a FraudThursday, 24th August, 2006
Producers and Drinkers DisagreeSaturday, 22nd July, 2006
Sherry - a Seven Century Epic of SalesTuesday, 18th July, 2006
A Rap Over the Knuckles for DuboeufFriday, 14th July, 2006
A Brave Promise from the Euro CommissionerWednesday, 14th June, 2006
Wine Down a Russian SinkSunday, 11th June, 2006
A Dangerous Thing Those Blind TastingsSunday, 11th June, 2006
Looking Back - Can It Help Us Look Forward?Thursday, 18th May, 2006
Russia's Wine WarSaturday, 29th April, 2006
A Portuguese TraitorFriday, 21st April, 2006
The Exchange Rates Works Their Magic: Argentine Exports IncreaseTuesday, 18th April, 2006
Duboeuf Trial BeginsSaturday, 8th April, 2006
And the Big Get BiggerWednesday, 5th April, 2006
Some Spanish AssistanceWednesday, 5th April, 2006
Russian Wine BanTuesday, 4th April, 2006
Big Box Liquor and the New Zealand MarketThursday, 23th February, 2006
A State Wine for CaliforniaThursday, 16th February, 2006
Critter Market Increasing Its ShareFriday, 27th January, 2006
Millenials Like Cute LabelsSaturday, 21st January, 2006
Label Design ImportantFriday, 30th December, 2005
Bitters for Marie BrizardThursday, 22nd December, 2005
Madonnalicious WineWednesday, 21 December, 2005
Duboeuf Fraud Charges ProceedTuesday, 20th December, 2005
Lanson Bidders RetreatWednesday, 14th December, 2005
Bid for Vincor WithdrawnMonday, 12th December, 2005
A Victory for Banal Industrial Process?Tuesday, 6th December, 2005
A Self Imposed Boycott in BordeauxMonday, 5th December, 2005
A Drought for Sauvignon Blanc?Tuesday, 29th November, 2005
The Bid Goes On and the Bidder's Price Goes LowerTuesday, 29th November, 2005
French Varietal Marketing ExpandsTuesday, 22nd November, 2005
A French Fight Back?Tuesday, 22 November 2005
Rapid Growth from Small BaseTuesday, 22nd November, 2005
Brewers Seek Inspiration from MilkMonday, 14th November, 2005
The Good Spirit to the RescueThursday, 10th November, 2005
Goering's Raccoons Threaten German VineyardsWednesday, 26th October, 2005
Add Meritage to Your VocabularyMonday, 24th October, 2005
Californian Crop Larger Than ExpectedThursday, 20th October, 2005
Diageo Says "No" to MontanaThursday, 20th October, 2005
Consternation for ConstellationTuesday, 18th October, 2005
The Pursuit Goes OnTuesday, 18th October, 2005
Has Constellation Wines Got too Big?Thursday, 13th October, 2005
An Update on New ZealandWednesday, 12th October, 2005
Growing on Wine's BackMonday, 10th October, 2005
Decentralisation the Constellation CornerstoneFriday, 30th September, 2005
Goundrey in Billion $ BidThursday, 29th September, 2005
Massachusetts Plan to Ban Wine DeliveriesMonday, 19th September, 2005
France's Declining Wine MarketMonday, 19th September, 2005
Wines on the Back of His HandTuesday, 13th September, 2005
A Spanish Sushi Wine?Wednesday, 7th September, 2005
Italians Revolting Too!Wednesday, 31st August, 2005
Outside the Chateau, the Peasants are RevoltingMonday, 29th August, 2005
Deceit on the Goods at Georges Duboeuf
Saturday, 27th August, 2005
Wine Passes Beer in UK SalesTuesday, 23rd August, 2005
Wine Investment Comes to JapanWednesday, 17th August, 2005
The French Still RevoltingWednesday, 2nd June, 2005
|
|