New French consumers

Wine consumption was part of a very large debate in France in the last months. Some anti-alcohol lobbies were able to stigmatize wine and spirits consumers. It went so far as to drive the French wine writers association to organize a convention on the real numbers of wine consumers in France. They showed that in the official statistics the consumption of the 70 million of tourists is included and of course drives the figures very high. It would seem French people drink about 47 l per year instead of the 55l officially advertised.

Whatever the figures, I'm more interested in what and how wine consumers buy their favorite drink. The national spending average is of 516 euros a year. This figure is an average between the 1,070 euros a year spent by the 34% of afficionados who drink mostly red wine and the 64% of occasional drinkers who spend 542 euros. Not surprisingly, French people buy mostly French wines: 68% from Bordeaux, 53% from Burgundy, 46% from Champagne and Rhone Vallye, 38% from Alsace and Provence. They buy mostly red wines (83%), but also indulge in white wines (55%) and keep a little fondness for Champagne, followed by rosé and sparkling wines.

The most important part of the study shows that people buy wine to share a good time and enjoy themselves. There is only a very tiny minority buying wine for speculation. Wine is still the best way to link people together! Cheers!

Why do we write about wine?

Did you ever ask yourself this question? Or did anybody ask you this question? To tell you the truth, I'm a little in trouble to answer it. Since our tomorrow's podcast is on this very subject, I might as well try to start thinking about it today!

As far as I remember - even as a young child - I always loved and enjoyed writing. If I tell you I wrote very long letters to friends and family during my school vacation when a child, I'm afraid you'll easily figure out how old I am! Then growing up as a teenager and a young woman, I kept writing - for pleasure and for work. I became one of those academics publishing articles and books on various subjects. Let's explain the situation: I already had several careers - the first one as a visiting Professor at UCLA and then as a teacher in France, the second one as a writer, an editorial consultant and a publisher; an other one as an academic and researcher and the current one as an international wine consultant, writer and educator. Writing is the only activity I never quit.

Why do I write? Because I love sharing my passion for whatever is my topic of the moment: wine, lifestyle, food, travel, cross-cultures, history. Because I'm an educator at heart: nothing makes me happier than facing a young (or older) crowd of people sharing my passion, agreeing or disagreeing with what I just said and exchanging ideas and tips. Because I'm lucky to have two languages to express myself and several cultures to share and explore.

What do I write about? I don't enjoy writing tasting notes, for example: tasting is a personal experience, happening at a certain time and for a certain occasion. Taste the same wine with different people, at a different place and for a different occasion: you won't have the same feeling. I like writing about wine and food cultures in the world, about people I met and what they brought me as human beings, about history of wine and food all around the world. I enjoy sharing addresses of places I discovered while traveling and talk with people I don't know.

I feel a little self conscious talking so much about myself! I look forward to hearing what others have to say on why, what and how they write about wine.

Wine consumers in the US

After a warm and relaxing 3-day weekend in Paris (Labor Day weekend), I'm back to work and thinking about wine consumers. While France was resting, American wine professionals gathered in Napa Valley to attend the Direct to Consumer Symposium. As reported in winesandwines.com article, several interesting points came up as far as consumers buying direct are concerned.

Who are the wine consumers?

- Wine consumers are not all readers of Wine and Food or the Wine Enthusiast: they are also readers of Wired and Game Pro. Why? Because they are tech-savvy and buy on line as well as in tasting rooms and by wine clubs. There are more Hispanics and Asian-Americans than a few years ago and they have a higher income than the average buyer.

What channels do they use to buy direct?

- Direct-to-consumer sales increased by 30% from 2005 to 2006. In 2007, consumer direct sales grew only 7.4%.
- Wineries' tasting rooms saw a rapid 21.2% increase in sales in the second half of 2007, while a third channel, winery wine clubs, fell 10.3%, due to the economical uncertainties and the obligation of paying every 2 or 3 months $35 to 100, depending on the club.

This drop of interest for wine clubs is a very important one as, when I interviewed several wine clubs owners in the last semester of 2007 for Wine Brands, they were very optimistic and very positive on their business model. Indeed, on the consumer side, there is no shopping, no delivery problem, full refund guarantee in case of corked or damaged bottles, access to wines difficult to find or not available on the shelf, no distributor, no middleman and the best choice of wine at the lowest possible price, savings on normal retail price and very often a beautiful catalog full of fun information and tips. Extra bonus: “the research and work have been done for the consumer”, explains Gerri-Lynn Becker, Marketing Director of the California Wine Club. “The task of selecting a good wine is daunting and confusing. With the right wine club, the member can be guaranteed of quality, great taste and convenience. And may be even introduced to a wine or a winery that’s little known.”

On the winery side, being selected by a good wine club like California Wine Club is a major asset. “We only feature wines from small, real working wineries”, explains Gerri-Lynn. “Most of the wineries we feature don’t produce enough to reach mass distribution. There is a real-live family behind each wine and we introduce their story and passion to our members.”

This brings a totally different dimension to the relationship between the Club, the winery and the member, creating an emotional link between them and benefiting the club as the provider of a very enjoyable experience. “We bring the romance of wine country to the members”, confirms Gerri-Lynn. “By getting to know the who/what/where of each wine, it makes the experience more personal and wine even better.”

Wine clubs like the California Wine Club are highly popular in the USA and have a wide range of customers – from neophytes to connoisseurs. For Gerri-Lynn, “they all seem to have something in common: they like the adventure of trying something new and trust us.” Their behavorial patterns are subject to change but they are still “typical of the industry. For example 10 years ago, no one was drinking Bordeaux blends... yet now they’re quite popular! And this past year we’re seeing a big push towards Rhone-style wines. Also we’ve noticed over the years that more customers are sending gifts of wine. Even corporate gift givers are breaking away from fruit and chocolate and looking to send something more unique and exciting.”

Drink wine and save the planet!

Isn't it a dream? It can become partially true if you're Norwegian. On May 3rd, the bag-in-box of Chateau Le Cluzeau 2006 will hit the Norwegian market and for every one of them sold, the importer Bevco will buy carbon credits compensating for 18 kilograms of carbon dioxide - almost six times the estimated amount of CO2 emitted in the production and transport of one bag-in-box. The money will be given to a Norwegian non-governmental organization "Framtiden i vaare hender" (The Future is in Our Hands), which will in turn finance clean energy projects in developing countries.

Cause-related marketing is a very important issue in the wine business: we see in every country wineries taking interest in helping the research on breast cancer, very often with their pink wines, preserving the environment by creating natural reserves around the winery and other themes. It is rarer than a distributor takes a stand on such an issue and that's why this effort worth worth commenting on.