I just finished reading The Wine Trials 2010 by Robin Goldstein and Alexis Herschkowitsch. I must confess I’m very perplexed by this book. The authors blame the “lifestyle marketing” for overpriced wines. They also condemn the fact that a group like LVMH invest more money on marketing than to produce the goods, without mentioning that this marketing strategy covers all products manufactured by LVMH and not only their wine and spirits business. Because they reject marketing (they call it the “enemy” of the wine drinker) and the “taste of money”, they promote wines widely available in supermarkets and under $15. But, among the 150 selected wines, there are Two Buck Chuck, Norton, Almaden, Barefoot wines, to mention just a few. Do the authors sincerely think those wines are so widely available without heavy marketing and a lot of money? This selection by two main criteria – under $15 and widely available in supermarkets – is counterproductive for the wine industry. Wine drinkers and consumers need wines under $15 but original and well crafted. There are so many of them all over the world. It’s true it requires a little effort on the part of the consumers but it is well worth it. The Web 2.0 provides tools to look for, find and now locate affordable and not so easy-to-find wines.

All the selection of wines is based on blind tasting. I won’t make any comment on this choice: I’m not an enologist or a wine critic and have no opinion on the subject worth of mention. When they say blind tasting gets the truth out of a wine, I’m a little skeptical: why is it right to prefer a $15 cava over a $150 Dom Perignon and wrong to like a Dom Perignon? It’s just a matter of taste and education. I’m the last one to condemn somebody who likes a $3 Two Buck Chuck. As I already wrote, a wine is like a book: some people like reading detective stories or chick lit and others poetry or essays. There’s nothing wrong with it. But don’t tell me it is “un-American” to drink expensive wines because of their marketing strategy!

The Wine Trials 2010 is also very critic of wine critics and established magazines, such as The Wine Spectator. Critics of critics have been going on for many years. One of the answers provided by the Web 2.0 is the peer-to-peer recommendation system. Consumers have now a huge array of information through social media, forums, blogs, Facebook pages and Twitter. They can access this information instantly on their phone or through Internet.

Did I dislike this book? Not really. While reading it, I went from smiling to raising a perplexed eyebrow or being mildly offended. This said, I respect the effort behind the work: it is certainly very hard to carry such a tasting, even if I have a lot of reservations about the result. I also respect the thinking behind the work. Goldstein’s introductory chapters are worth reading thoroughly. As he says all along his book, the reader has to make up his/her own mind on the ideas and principles behind the book as well as on wine. Maybe the authors and I have to agree we disagree!

But what web site, what for and what use? My last post on “Does a winery need a web site?” generated interesting and well thought out comments from wine educators, winery owners and other readers.

First of all, it seems everybody thought a winery needed a web site. Some said a web site was the “brick and mortar” piece of their communication. I would call it a “click and mortar” but let’s not digress on semantics! The web site is usually seen as the place to send wine consumers, wine critics, educators and web users from Facebook, Twitter or any other social media to get information. I agree 100% on that point. But a web site can’t be “static” or it looses all its strength and usability. A “static” web site will lose visibility on any search engine if it is not regularly updated. If a once a year update is considered the norm, let’s forget about having a site. The site needs to be energized by news, tweets, videos and/or blog posts linked to social media.

Second, I didn’t get any comment on what kind of web site is needed. As for content, we usually see on most web sites a short presentation of the winery, the wines, a contact form and a news page (sometimes rather dated). It’s all good and well but what’s the point for the consumer? If a consumer knows and likes the wines, or if he heard about the wines from a friend or a forum/blog post, he’d like to be able to find and buy them. No information on the web site of the winery is no help. He’ll have to rely on the new search tools, like snooth.com, wine-searcher.com, cellar-tracker.com or cruvee.com. What about if he/she is not located in the country of the winery? What about if he/she is not familiar with those tools? All those questions are raised by the way most wineries’ web site are designed. They’re not consumer friendly. Most wineries design the site they want, not the site they need.

What I meant when I asked: “Does a winery need a web site?” was: if a winery has a web site, it has to be designed to help the consumer, not to look pretty or carry only information. A web site has to create a link between the winery and the consumer – through history, presentation of the team and description of the wines, of course – but also and mainly by helping the consumer to be a part of the life of the winery. Not only by giving him/her the way to buy the wine, but also to keep in touch with the winery and its team through the web site, the blog and all social media available. A web site has to address the consumers’ needs in order to fulfill its purpose. If it doesn’t, why invest in a web site?

A few months ago, I wrote about the clever initiative of a Rhone Valley producer, Laurent Habrard, in Crozes-Hermitage, who created little bottles to send samples to his potential customers. The wines were then presented by videos on the web site by a sommelier and the samples could be purchased on line. The customers could request the samples for a few euros then deductible from the price of the purchased bottles.

This clever initiative is now relayed in California by Crushpad. As you well know, I keep following since the beginning the progress and evolution of this innovative company. Crushpad just launched “Tiny Bottles” which is very similar to Laurent Habrard‘s process, but the American way.

What’s the story behind “Tiny Bottles”? According to their new web site, most of today’s consumers refer to “influencers” to buy wine, either a wine critic, a friend or a site. Those influencers are giving advice on a wine they enjoyed or disliked, and are influencing our choices. Crushpad is now offering a new level of services: the possibility to watch videos about wines recommended by influencers and before buying, tasting some wines for sale in “Tiny Bottles”. As of today, there are two packs of Tiny Bottles, one of four Pinot Noir and one of four Cabernet Sauvignon available for $19 or $29.

It’s always good news to see new services offered to consumers and this is one of great value. I just wished that the tasting of the wines included in the Tiny Bottles was made clearer among the many videos available on the site. I had to look around for little while but besides that “tiny” detail, the idea is fun and well implemented.

Go green! More and more print media are going digital to complement their paper edition but it is rare to see a 100% digital wine magazine. That’s why the recent launching of The Palate Press by David Honig is a most welcome move.

David is no newbie in the wine business. He initiated the now famous 89 Project to promote those unfortunate wines rated below the lethal 90 points limit established by some prominent critic or magazine. By doing so he allowed us to drink nice wines at very nice prices.

Some very good wine writers joined the team: Rick Bakas, Andrew Barrow, Amy Corron Powers, Catie McIntyre Walker, Gabriella Opaz and many others (sorry for those whose names are not mentioned: they’re as talented!). Some of those people know very well the digital world and wine writing for such a format.

The various sections have funny names, like “Hot Potato” – where some controversial or unusual topics are debated (Brett in Whites?) or “Soap Box” with some “slippery” subjects like the role of wine critics! There are more in-depth article. I read a great history of the Walla Walla region, not to be called the “next Napa”, where the next American Wine Bloggers Conference will take place!

You guessed by now I enjoyed the tone of The Palate Press, its format and the various topics. There is a little of everything for everybody whether you are a wine professional, a wine consumer or just an avid reader about wine and its wide world. Enjoy as much as I did!

The French blogging scene is a rather unknown phenomenon at the international level. That’s why I didn’t miss the opportunity to meet some French bloggers in Paris at the initiative of the store chain Monoprix. Monoprix is the equivalent of Ralph’s in the US – a middle upscale grocery store with a nice wine selection.

Monoprix just opened a new store, Monop’ Store, in the trendy Saint-Emilion shopping center located in the old “chais” of the now defunct wine quarter in Paris. Wine bars, trendy restaurants, nice stores thrive in this elegant center. Monoprix stores offer a selection of wines in their stores for the traditional September wine fairs. The selection itself was done in a rather original way: Monoprix selected a few of their customers to be part of a jury to select some of their wines. The jury knew also the origin of the wine (Bordeaux, Burgundy, etc.) and the price point. Question: would YOU buy this wine at this price on our shelves? The wines selected by the customers will then submitted to the final approval of two French famous wine critics, Thierry Desseauve and Michel Bettane. The selected wines were then singled out on the shelves with a special aknowledgement in the “Gourmet” brand of Monoprix. The “Gourmet” series of wines represents about 10 to 15% of the wine brands sold in Monoprix stores.

To promote this new selection process and the “Gourmet” brand, the Monoprix Internet Manager (with the help of the Sowine Agency) imagined to ask several wine bloggers to taste their selection of wines being promoted during the September wine fairs all over France. About 10 bloggers met at the Monop’Store in the Saint-Emilion quarter. Most of them were… men, French speaking and only interested in tasting the wines. From what I heard, the wines were very eclectic and represented in fact a rather wide array of tastes and styles. Which means that French wine drinkers, mostly Monoprix customers, are certainly different from what we imagine: they have diverse tastes, don’t hesitate to select more “difficult” wines and enjoy easy to drink wines at the same time. We’re far away from the image of the traditional French wine drinker – either “amateur” of great Bordeaux or Burgundy wines or drinker of mediocre table wines. I just wished I could have a better description of the wine consumers on the MOnoiprix panel.

It is significant that this first experience was launched by a middle size distributor. It is a good way to associate consumers, producers and bloggers to promote wine in a country that seems to be losing its interest in one of its best accomplishment – a pleasant lifestyle associating wine and food.

Is France a drama Queen? Certainly, if you consider what happened about this so called law on public health. Let’s see the milestones of the drama: two days before the law on public health was supposed to be voted by our MP, the Health Institute published a report saying that one glass a day of wine was driving the drinker to cancer. Vintners, cancer specialists, wine consumers rose to the challenge and immediately went to battle. Result: the law ruled that selling alcohol to young people under 18 was forbidden and allowed wine advertising on the Net, except on sites targeting young people.

There is now an other outcry: some people accused the vintners and their representatives to have “lobbied” in favor of wine and by doing so to endanger the health of the French population. Who is right? Who is wrong? I don’t know. I just feel very sad to see our wine culture denigrated and criticized by people who might not have discovered its beauty. It reminds me very sadly of those judges of the 19th century who censored the beautiful poetry of Baudelaire or the work of Zola on moral grounds (like our wine censors). The future will let us know who was right: the vintners whose bottles will be enjoyed by the next generation or the censors!

In Wine Brands, I devoted a long section on the marketing strategy of the Cahors Vintners association and their black wine. Over a year has passed since this writing and it’s time to update the information. Let’s see what happened when my interest in Cahors wines started in 2006. Though well-perceived as a high quality wine, Cahors was losing ground on the international markets. It needed a new marketing strategy. In 2006, the professional association of Cahors winegrowers (Union Interprofessionnelle des vins de Cahors – UIVC) launched a new marketing campaign around two major concepts:

- Cahors is Malbec.
- Cahors is black.

The goal: to be different in order to be more effective in international markets, and to counter the competition of the red wines. “Cahors is black” refers to the history of the wine. The Malbec grape growing on the Cahors terroir produces a very dark wine: Cahors is not red, it is dark. That is why, since the Middle Ages, it has been known as the “black wine”.

But is black a trend in the wine business? To answer this question, on the initiative of their new Marketing Director, Jeremy Arnaud, the UIVC organized a convention there in February 2007 on the theme of the “Black Paradox”, and invited a college Professor, Michel Maffesoli, some wine professionals and a writer whose work studies colors and their meanings. Black also connotes the night, dreams, and mystery. When associated with wine it generates an emotional link with the product, which is often linked to younger consumers.

The second strong point of the Cahors wine is its grape, the Malbec. For many centuries in France it was called “Auxerrois”, but the Cahors grape is, in fact, the trendy Malbec. Malbec is one of the most sought-after grapes in Argentina and in many countries. It is popular in the United States and in the United Kingdom. Cahors has the privilege of being one of the most ancient and one of the best terroirs for Malbec. Marketing the wine as a varietal wine with a special twist has great promise in the international market. Especially since, historically, the Argentinian winemakers cannot describe their wines as black.

Creating attention through a convention, and generating studies in French, does not carry any weight in the international market. That is why the UIVC created two blogs, frenchblackwine.com and frenchmalbec.com, open to contributions from wine consumers, winegrowers and anybody else wishing to comment. Thus far the result of the campaign has been fairly successful. The February 2007 convention drew the attention of many journalists and professionals and also resulted in an agreement among the winegrowers on the two major axes of the marketing strategy.

In April 2008, Jeremy Arnaud organized the First International Malbec Days in Cahors. Argentina was the guest of honor. The manifestation drew a lot of attention to Cahors as the birth place of Malbec. After this international success, Cahors launched a three-year campaign to market its Malbec wines on the US market. The tagline of the campaign is: Cahors, the original Malbec!

Why such a campaign when the US are in one of their worst financial crisis? Americans are familiar and fond of the Argentinian Malbec, fruity and easy to drink. They are becoming aware of an other Malbec region, Cahors where Malbec originated centuries ago and were reborn in the second half of the 20th Century. Many journalists recognized the qualities and the originality of French Malbec: The Wine Spectator and The Wine Enthusiast selected two Cahors Malbecs in their 2008 Top Wines of the Year. The Boston Examiner wine critic Julia Timakhovich resumed brightly what makes the specific quality of French Malbec: she liked the wine for “its unusual coarse texture, leathery feel on the mouth, and very subtle red fruit reminiscent of blackberries—very unlike the fruitier, juicier Malbecs from Argentina” as well as its good pairing with red meat.

Considering the growing success of the Cahors French Malbec and its potential on the US market, the professional Vintners Association of Cahors is launching a 3-year plan to reach the US market and increase their market shares. The Cahors wines are the only French wines that increased their exports in 2008, which is a great accomplishment in those difficult financial times: their exports grew by 3,7% in volume and 6,4% in value, according to the latest Ubifrance figures.

A lot of actions are going to take place in the US from 2009 to 2011: tastings, events, on line events. Many surprises are in store for French Malbec lovers and drinkers. Let’s Julia have the last word on that subject: “They fly under the radar of wine connoisseurs, don’t occupy a lot of shelf space, and don’t adorn the front pages of wine journals. Hence they are usually not expensive. But they provide a good return on investment.That is, after all, Malbec’s native land. It’s like drinking history…”

Wendy Narby is one of the best representatives of the links between Britain and Bordeaux. She moved to Bordeaux about 20 years ago and is now one of the best specialists of the Bordeaux wines, acting as a consultant, a teacher and a guide. She came to France in the ’80s to study wine marketing and got her master from a school of the ESSEC Group in Paris. Her dissertation was on “Marketing Bordeaux wine” – what a surprise! In 1989, she married Hamilton Narby, an English speaking Canadian from Montreal and a negotiant in Bordeaux. Hamilton convinced her to move to Bordeaux – “not a hard sell”, said Wendy with a smile.

I met Wendy a few months ago and I liked her warm and outgoing personality as much as her passion for Bordeaux, wine, food and everything good in life. I discovered her professional talent when she presented to a group of Napa Valley winemakers invited to Bordeaux the industry of the region. She mentioned the “innovative” aspect of the Bordeaux wine industry – to the surprise of her American listeners who pictured Bordeaux as the epitome of conservatism. She very nicely agreed to answer a few questions on this topic.

What makes Bordeaux “innovative” in the wine business?

I think it used to be conservative and for many properties it is perhaps an image they choose to cultivate but, for the vast majority, it is just no longer the case. Examples – look around some of the cellars, we have some of the most modern cellars using the very latest wine making techniques. Of course, Bordeaux is all about the place (terroir) but technique is nothing new. Blending but has always been a keystone of what is Bordeaux and if that is not a technique…!

Haut-Brion was one of the first properties to have stainless steel tanks as early as the 60′s and the innovations have been coming on ever since. One major reason I believe is the influence of the Institut d’Oenologie (Enology Institute) here, not just for the R&D going on there but for the rapid dissemination of this information from the institute to the growers and wine makers via the structure of consultants and through the role of the negociants that often get such criticism commercially but play a major role in many cases in advising their suppliers – growers – and offering them expertise that they would not normally have access to. They are also a very innovative force as they are in direct and constant contact with the market place which, for smaller growers, is very difficult, and they can relay this market information and translate it into practical wine making, packaging and marketing advice.

How do you foresee the future of the Bordeaux wines on the international markets? I’m referring mostly to the estates that are not part of the Grand Cru system. How could they manage to fight competition and innovate?

I see many young wine makers and managers at the properties I visit in the region. These young people are highly trained individuals either in oenology or in business or both! They speak foreign languages and have usually spent a period wine making or working in other wine regions throughout the world. They are bringing this experience and this market knowledge back home.

As a consequence they are making wines, especially in the ‘Everyday’ price range that are not just extremely good value for money but of consistent quality (often a criticism of Bordeaux with the vintage effect that accompanies our climate), of a style that suits the market for their price point and attractively packaged. They are also aware that making a fine wine is not enough. They travel and meet the customer either opening their cellars and their homes to visitors – hence, the increasing number of tasting rooms and chambres d’hôte (B&B) in the Châteaux especially in the Côtes region – or getting on the market place via the negociants, through initiatives like Everyday Bordeaux or in wine shows where they have direct contact with their final customers.

I also think that these wine makers show a side to Bordeaux that is uncomplicated and I believe that education as well as wine tourism is the key to reassuring people that choosing Bordeaux from a supermarket shelve or from a restaurant wine list is not automatically an expensive or an intimidating choice – Education is the key. The CIVB (Bordeaux Wine Council) via its wine school ‘l’Ecole du Vin de Bordeaux’ has betted on this by training 145 international wine educators about Bordeaux; its innovations and accessibility and also by partnering with 19 wine schools internationally to spread this message – being very aware that not everyone who is interested in Bordeaux can get here to learn about it. Since 1990, over 100,000 people worldwide have followed the Bordeaux Wine School programmes: amateurs, distributors and educators. As of 2007, 14 000 professionals had benefited from these training programs. Education is definitely a key.

Technical innovations in wine making and blending, a new generation and a new style of Bordeaux producers, education are indeed the keys to the new world of Bordeaux wines. Wendy Narby will be our guest on our live radio show, the new wine consumer, on March 17th. She’ll give us more details on this topic and you’ll have a taste of her warm personaility and passion for life and wine.

At the end of last year, I was contacted by Sid Patel, Marketing Director of The Friday Monkey wines from Australia. Since I didn’t know this brand, I was curious enough as to look for it on the web. The web site is clean, user-friendly and answers most questions of somebody who didn’t drink their wines and could be a potential customer. I especially liked their first sentence – direct and enticing: “Friday Monkey wines are drinks for any occasion; be it at home, a casual dinner with friends, or at a BYO restaurant. We give you the finest quality wine that tastes good and lets you have all the pleasure. ” As well as their closing statement: “Wine may be regarded as a metaphor for the spirit of Australia, reflecting the multi-faceted elements of a nation that retains the essence of its origins, embraces the new and distils both into a product of vigor, variety and complexity. Our wines are young, trendy and sophisticated.” The Friday Monkey winery produce the usual culprits: Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Shiraz, Cabernet Merlot, Rose and Chardonnay. I liked what I saw and sent a few questions to Sid who answered very nicely. Friday Monkey is the new brand by excellence: well thought out and very well marketed within the Web 2.0 world.

How did you choose the name?

The Friday Monkey name was chosen with the purpose of gaining immediate brand recognition. Friday is the best trading day of the week for liquor sales in the United States. USA and UK are our focus. The sight of a cute monkey swinging on a vine is one which delights people of all ages. Combined on a wine label, they present a whimsical image which is readily noticed with irresistible appeal to the impulse buyer. Its name is easily remembered and describes the contemporary personality of the wine. It also conveys a feel good factor while making a purchase decision in the store. Last and not the least, it will boost retailers’ wine sales without them doing any hand selling.

How innovative is your marketing strategy? Do you use Web 2.0 tools?

We have a Facebook group page with 325 members, a group on LinkedIn called “Beverage Network” and we are on almost 50 blogs. We are not on Youtube yet, but will be there soon as we have just completed a wine tasting video with a critic. This is posted on our facebook group page for the moment.

Other marketing strategies include traditional tastings, posters, banners, magazine adverts, print articles, house wine programs. We also partner with ‘event’ companies and give them our wines to use for free (almost). Thus they open our bottles at wedding events, birthdays, corporate parties, dinners, etc and we get awareness. We also partner with clubs, charity organizations, etc. For example: we offer discounts to YHA members, South Australian Farmers Federation, University of Western Australia, etc. We also sponsored a global conference of the Australian Primate Society. We will be sponsoring an event for American Primate Society this year.

We are now considering advertisements on Facebook, MySpace, etc….but we are hesitant and working on the statistics as 25% of the audience on web 2.0 are under 21 (legally cannot drink) and it will more of a brand awareness program than depleting stock. Therefore, we still prefer print and traditional advertising in wines. Facebook allows and places your adverts to users which are above 21, so we may start with those.

Besides the US, do you plan to reach other markets (Asia, Europe)?

We are in a few countries but we have not really mass marketed them as the duty and taxes are very high. We are waiting for the local government to cut down some taxes and that will be the right time for us. As far as Europe goes, we will be starting distribution with a UK based importer and Finland importer in 2009. Due to the current economic conditions, we are waiting for the right time to launch as we don’t think that this is the right time to introduce a ‘new’ brand in a ‘new’ market. Thus till mid next year, we will focus on penetrating where we are.

Or maybe not anymore! Since I’m not a big fan of oaky wines, I think I’ll love wineries that will use the new OakScan™ created by Radoux Cooperage that “utilizes near infrared spectrometry (NIRS) to deliver the instantaneous quantification of the extractable tannins (ellagitannins) in individual oak staves before they enter production. Since extractable tannins have a profound effect on the organoleptic properties of the wine or spirits they contact, Radoux OakScan™ enables customers to understand the potential tannic contribution of finished barrels and how it relates to their products”, as stated in their press release.

Until this recent innovation, it was said and believed that the quality of the tannins were connected to the quality of the wood. For centuries, the Vosges, the Allier department and the area of Nevers in France were supposed to be the best. Then the focus shifted from the origin to the grain of the wood. Tighter grains are more aromatic and release less tannin than wider grains but sometimes produce higher tannic levels than wider ones. The aging process of the wood is also a critical factor as it is subject to variation due to seasonal weather patterns. According to some coopers, longer drying times (24-36 months outdoors) produce superior staves.

None of those factors were up to now scientifically taken into account. According to Vice President, Sales and Marketing Nicolas Mähler-Besse of Tonnellerie Radoux, “OakScan™ corroborates the effectiveness of our grain-selection and drying regimes. We measure tannic potential just before the barrels are assembled, and consequently, eliminate the risk of variation due to grain size and drying time.”

Tannins can now be even sophisticated and controlled during the winemaking process. If you love soft and discreet tannins in your wines, watch for the wineries working with this new technological process.