In 1999, the Web was still considered an innovation in Europe. In France, 11,6% were connected; 100,000 adventurous people are managing their bank accounts on line; e-commerce brings 200,000 euros! It was also the time of the Internet boom: start-ups are getting millions from angels and investors. After two years of euphoria and craziness, it is the krach. But, in spite of that, one third of the French population was connected – mostly by cable. Amazon.com and ebay.com opened their French site. A healthy sign of confidence in the new economy! In 2004, 12 million French were on line, more than 50% connected by cable or high-speed. Apple launched its iTunes platform in France. In 2005, two years after the US, French people became addicted to blogs. 2 million French bloggers appeared almost over night! In 2006, advertising on line brought several million euros. In 2007, the iPhone became available in France. In 2009, over 32 million French people were connected; they were aware of Facebook and discovering Twitter.

Of course, France is not the most Internet friendly country. Regulation is the keyword for the French administration on connectivity, privacy, wine, advertising, e-commerce. In spite of all the restrictions, France is opening up to the 21st century. To look at the future, one has to look at the US. In the last ten years, I saw tremendous innovations coming from the US in the wine industry: services for wineries such as VinoVisit.com, search engine specifically tailored to wine like ablegrape.com, think tanks like VinTank.com, on line wineries such as Crushpad, new packaging. I also saw some innovations coming from Europe, like the unique code designed by adegga.com in Portugal.

New consumers generated new marketing strategies and new trends: women and Millennials, emerging countries. China and India became the new powers – first by the exponential number of wine consumers but mainly by their potential production.

Let’s not forget the incredible wine communities spread all over the Internet in already existing communities: wine groups in LinkedIn.com, pages or groups on Facebook, networks on Twitter now helped by the search. Individuals became leaders and carry the new trends to new countries and new consumers. It would be incredibly long and difficult to mention all the innovations but i’m really amazed by what happened on the Net in ten years.

I look forward to witnessing and being a modest part of the formidable innovations that will take place in the next ten years. Welcome to 2010!

Vinexpo is this year again bubbling with activity and people: 2,400 exhibitors representing 48 countries, some new to Vinexpo (Poland, Sweden, Belarus and Egypt). In the halls you meet a lot of Eastern European professionals as well as people from India, Maghreb or Middle East. A fascinating medley of languages and styles.

But a girl has to focus on an activity a day in order to keep a minimal sanity. I went to the Malbec Summit where British and American wine journalists and experts conducted comparative tastings between Cahors and Argentine Malbecs. Dangerous exercise? Not so much since both places have very different expressions of their terroirs. There is indeed no way to compare the Argentinian and Cahors terroirs: different climates, different soils and different wine making techniques.

The panel went through the tasting of the wines. They all agree that the wines they chose were very good in quality but so different. When Argentina is lusher and made for immediate consumption, Cahors Malbecs’ new style is fruit-forward as their Argentinian counterparts but more structured, allowing a better ageing potential.

The format of the Summit, organized by the UIVC (the professional Cahors producers organization), is original. It shows that this rising grape, malbec, has a great potential for various expressions. Regions don’t need to be competitors. They can, on the contrary, work together to express the best of a promising grape now planted in several countries.

For more information on Malbec.

When the Western world is in financial trouble, eyes turn to other markets: India, China, Russia carry the hope of our sick economies for recovery. The wine business is no exception. Wine consumption is on the rise in India but it’s still very marginal compared to spirits and beer consumption. The yearly annual wine consumption is estimated at 10 millions liters – compared to 3,000 millions liters of spirits and 1,000 million liters of beer! The potential for the wine business is huge as long as the wine industry can convince the Indian consumer to trade beer and spirits for wine.

What could help the average Indian consumer to change habits? India produces wines from international grapes, such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Merlot, Shiraz and Zinfandel in red and Chardonnay, Chenin, Sauvignon, Clairette and Ugni in white. Chateau Indage, Sula, Grover, Vinsura and Vintage are the five top producers. Indage produced 3,600,000 l (40%); Sula, 2,700,000 25%); Grover, 1,250,000 15%); Vinsura, 250,000 and Vintage, 100,000. This shows Indians are familiar with our traditional grapes and wine styles.

On the other end, their wine and food traditions don’t play in favor of wine consumption. Indians drink tea with their meals. Wine is more the before dinner drink during the long pre-dinner meetings with friends and family. An other obstacle is the legal drinking age of 25. Last but not least, only the upper middle class can afford to drink wine because of its still high price for the average income. The middle class is estimated at 300 million individuals, but the upper middle class at a mere 30 million potential consumers. They are mostly located in three states: Maharastra, Kamataka and Delhi.

Imports are a very small part of the Indian market because of the high taxes and the little number of importers. Getting an import license costs the equivalent of about 8000 euros, which is a very high price for a local merchant. What are the market shares of the various importing countries?

- France: 40,5% (81,500 cases)
- Australia: 22,4% (45,000 cases)
- USA: 14,9% (30,000 cases)
- Italy: 8,2% (16,500 cases)
- Chili: 5,8% (11 750 cases)
- South Africa: 4,1% (8,250 cases)
- Germany and Argentina: 2,7% each (5,500 cases)
- Spain: 2% (4,000 cases)

What is the best strategy to approach the Indian market? First of all, there is no Indian market: each state is different and requires a specific approach. Second, there are two main doors: Mumbai, capital of the Maharashtra with a booming economy in spite of the terrorist threats and attacks and a good wine knowledge because the region includes 90% of the Indian vineyards and Bangalore, capital of the Karnataka, the Indian “Silicon Valley”, head quarters of the Grover Vineyards and full of young graduates back from Europe or the US with a thirst for Western lifestyle.

India is indeed one of the most promising market for imported wines but the “candidate” to this Eldorado has to be aware of the numerous traps: a family oriented type of business, very strong local cultures, a complex and subject to change system of distribution and high costs of imports in taxes. But the Indian consumers are curious of our wines and open to the adventure!

“A whole new generation is flocking to an ancient beverage [...]“, writes Courant journalist Cecily McAndrews on US Millennials. I already wrote a lot on Millennials’ taste for wine whether in the US or in Europe. What I’d like to point out is the rise of the emerging markets’ Millennials. Chinese and Indian young people went abroad to study, whether in the US or in Europe. They were exposed to a different culture and got a taste for wine. In India and China, wine is considered a status symbol. Back in their countries, Chinese and Indian Millennials bring back their new taste and a wider knowledge of wine than their elders. They are part of wine clubs and go to tastings. To me, they are a significant part of those new markets we need to explore. We have to learn more about them and their tastes, more about their wine and food culture in order to market successfully our wines. All our Western wines are not fit to please them: Champagne and bubbly wines are totally unknown in China, for example. Do we need to spend years and a lot of money to teach them how to enjoy them or should we try to market wines they are susceptible to like more spontaneously? This is the question we have to ask us and emerging markets’ Millennials could be the answer to our questions: they are the bridge between our two worlds.

China – like India – is most likely to be see as a huge potential consumers’ market. But it is also becoming a main producer. Dynasty, Changyu and Great Wall, the three major wine companies, control about half of China’s market for grape-based wines. Grape wines are still a minority on the Chinese market when rice wine and yellow still account for almost two-thirds of the consumption.

The increase of international corporations’ take in Chinese wineries might change the game: the French wine and spirits company Rémy Cointreau owns a 27 percent stake of Dynasty. An other factor is the rising quality of the Chinese wine production and their very competitive prices – around $3 for a bottle.

I would be very curious to taste some Chinese wines. I’m sure they must be as interesting as the Thai wines I tasted a few weeks ago.

I seem to be in a consuming mood! I’m catching up on some reading and I happened to fall on two enlightening reports on Indian consumers: Rabobank’s The Indian Wine Industry Uncorked , and ResearchandMarkets, Wine Market Outlook in India. There is also a detailed article by Subhash Arora in Meininger’s Wine Business International, dating back from March 2008.

Reading the three reports allows to draw a relatively precise profile of the Indian wine industry and its consumers. In 2008, the average national drinking per capita is 4,6ml – about a teaspoon. It is a huge progress considering that, 10 years ago, the wine industry was virtually non existent. The industry is controlled by three major players that detain 90% of the production. Indians are drinking mostly local wines and hardly any imported wines. What does it mean to international players? The Indian market is wide open for the adventurous and bold!

I’m absolutely fascinated by the Indian wine industry. I already wrote a few posts on the subject on this blog: India, as a wine producing country and market; the Indian wine consumer; and many others where India was mentioned.

Today an even more amazing news was released by Indage, one of the two largest Indian wineries (the other one being Sula). Indage will release new brands in UK to complement the curry whose British love so much. The red and white wines, specially created to accompany the sometimes spicy and hot curry flavors, will be distributed in supermarkets as well as restaurants.

It is a very smart move if you know that the curry industry in UK is worth £3.5 billion every year: if British people select the new Indage wines instead of beer to drink with their curry, the wines could bring a lot of money to Indage.

According to journalist Aislinn Simpson, “Santosh Verma, the director of Indage, hopes to convince British consumers that South Asian wines are just as good as established labels. “India has the perfect soil for grapes,” he said. “With the Himalayas in the north and Western and Eastern Ghats towards the south, we are taller than any European mountains. Our wines are on a par with any superior-quality wines from any part of the world”.”

With a growing middle-class buying Indian wines, the local wine industry has a beautiful future.

That’s it! I got it and I read it! I just couldn’t believe my luck when the post office delivered Gary‘s book on Friday. (My skepticism is just the result of a lost book package, actually MY own book, by… DHL.)

Last week, Gary was concerned about his book not being available in some stores. He Twittered the question to the world. Randulo saw this Tweet and invited him to call in live to the podcast he was doing at the time, which Gary did. You can listen to the short phone chat with him about the book, and his interest in tea, which he finds very similar to wine in many ways.

Anyway, Gary’s book is on my desk and I carried it along with me all weekend to read it. Funnily enough, on the cover Gary’s name is subtitled “star of winelibrarytv.com“. Fortunately, Gary is much more than a star: he’s witty, bright, funny, sincere and honest. He writes as he talks: with energy and passion. Do you know a lot of “stars” with those qualities?

Gary worked very hard to give us his opinion on 101 wines he really enjoyed and brought thunder to his world, as he put it in the title. The book is not a guide, it’s not the wines Gary recommends you to drink: “buy wines that are true to themselves and true to you”, Gary recommends. Why is that? Because “that’s how we’re going to change the wine world”: forget the ratings, forget the critics, forget the marketing strategies, the commercials and the ads. Buy a bottle because you think you’ll like it: if you don’t, you’ll have learned something about yourself and wine.

How did he select his 101 wines? They are “the 101 wines that I am most excited about and want to recommend to anyone interested in wine”, “wines that break down barriers, create new styles, and ooze charisma”. The program sounds intriguing. Should we get in a little more details about the wines? From #101 to #1, every wine is reviewed with the same info: winery name, price, origin, grapes, ABV (alcohol by volume), production and web site.

First Gary’s titles: “Making Mom Proud” for 2 Brothers, Cabernet Sauvignon reserve 2005; “It’s in the mail” for Ambulineo Vineyards, Big Paw Chardonnay 2006 or “Wine for your two-year-old” for Taylor Fladgate, Quinta de Vargellas, 2005. There is the humor and the odd comparisons. When Gary wants his reader to imagine how a wine tastes, here is what he advises to do: “I need you to take some pigs-in-a-blanket – you know, those mini hot dogs. Now you’re going to take a strawberry Fruit Roll-Up and wrap it on one more layer. That’s right! We’re going one more layer! Now bite it. Eat. Sprinkle some black pepper on it! That is this wine”. What is he talking about? a Languedoc wine, Mas de la Barben, Les Calices 2003 selling for $44! And in case you have some doubt about what a fruit roll-up is, there is a foot note on the subject.

Is Gary not taking wine seriously by any chance? Not at all. Gary is certainly one of the more erudite people I read on the subject: he’ll tell you everything on the most obscure grape, like Kekfrankos or about a label, like Ceago Vinegarden. Ceago is a Pomo Indian word, meaning “grass seed valley”. He will give you insights on the winery and the winemaker, tell you what he felt and smelled and tasted in the wine.

You can agree or disagree with whatever Gary says but there is something you have to agree about: Gary’s book is easy to read, gives you an in-depth appreciation of the wines he tasted, plenty of information on almost everything related to wine, taste, aroma and flavors. The book is informative, easy to read and you’ll get a good laugh out of Gary’s comments and remarks. How many wine books make you laugh?

In his fascinating book, Futurewise, Patrick Dixon explores the world around six letters – the letters of the word “F.U.T.U.R.E” : F as Fast, U as Urban, T as Tribal, U as Universal, R as Radical and E as Ethical. It is the definition of the new consumer. Let’s see what the “fast consumer” is about in the wine business.

The international consumer lives in a fast world : fast-changing technologies, fast-changing products, fast-changing world, fast food, fast travels. “The developed world, is cash-rich, time-poor and intensely impatient”, Dr. Dixon sums up in a striking sentence.

The rise of the Internet is certainly one of the most significant changes in the way consumers can access new products, new information and new people. News now travels almost instantaneously, as the phenomenon of “breaking news” on the American news channel CNN shows. Consumers are used to zapping from one TV channel to another, and apply the zapping technique to brands. They are not loyal to a brand anymore and keep changing, depending on the ad, the novelty or the appeal.

Because the technology is changing, the market is changing. The consumer requests diversity and quality, as well as immediate access to the product he wants to buy, taste or try. The answer is e-commerce or the sale of the goods on line.

Yesterday, Europeans were drinking their father’s cellars and building cellars for their children. The Americans were recovering from the Repeal of Prohibition and were building their wine industry. The Japanese were recovering from World War II and getting acquainted with Europe. Today, the French, Americans and Japanese are “zapping” from one wine to another, experimenting with new tastes, new countries and new styles. Yesterday the French were drinking 80 liters a year; today they are drinking 55 liters a year. Americans were drinking beer, cocktails and whiskey; they are now drinking 8 liters of wine a year. Japanese were drinking sake and tea; now they are drinking French classified growths and other European fine wines. Yesterday, wine was served everyday at lunch and dinner in Europe. Today, the French, the Americans and the Japanese are eating sandwiches in front of their computers, reaching for the bottle of water and the cup of coffee. Dinner time is very often some frozen food reheated in the microwave by an overworked parent, or some pizza ordered by phone. Yesterday, before the family meal, Mr. Dupont went into his cellar, chose his bottle carefully and put it on the table to complement the nice dinner home-cooked by Mrs. Dupont. Today, Mrs. Dupont chooses the wine and gets in her car to buy it at the nearest supermarket. Yesterday, Mr. Smith was drinking beer and Mrs. Smith milk. Today, they are all drinking sodas, beers or wine. Yesterday, regional branding was an important element to help wine enthusiasts develop an understanding of the global wine world. Today, the New World favors varietals, while the Old World is switching strategy.

Today, all of them – Japanese, Europeans, Americans, Indians, Chinese, Russians – are connected by phone and through the Internet, and to the Internet through their phone. The M Generation of Patrick Dixon could also be called the “Mobile Generation”, because their mobile phone connects them to the world through the Internet. The M Generation can buy on line by phone after they have got the information they were looking for on the Internet. Because it is connected to the world by phone 24 hours a day, 7 days a week if it want to be, the M generation is also a giant online community. Ben and Linda Smith, two young Americans interested in wine, are connected to the Internet. Their counterparts in Europe are Pierre and Sylvie Dupont, in India Chandra Singh and in China Yin Li. All those people are going to surf the Net to find information on wine, exchange ideas and tips or share their tasting notes on their favourite wines or addresses of good wine and e-commerce sites.

What do those people living in different cultures and speaking different languages have in common? Mostly they share the same interest in wine, food and a quality lifestyle, speak English or have a decent knowledge of English and have access to the Internet. Sooner or later they will cross paths on a forum, on a blog or on an informational site on wine. They will be part of community-building projects, such as wine encyclopedias, wikis, blogs or forums. “The spirit of the online community,” explains Patrick Dixon, “will continue to be a passionate belief that information should whenever possible be given away for the benefit of humankind as a whole. This ethic will have a profound effect on many businesses […].” Dr. Dixon can now switch to the present tense. Almost everyday a new site is born to sustain the international online community of wine consumers. Wine forums, wine blogs and even wikis are now so popular that their numbers have exploded.

Tomorrow we’ll talk on emerging markets for the wine industry. I happen to find a rather interesting article by one of my colleagues, Uché Okwonko, author of Luxury Fashion Branding on luxury and emerging markets.

On her website, Uché created an online magazine on luxury. Her latest article, “Separating the Facts from the Fiction of the Emerging Luxury Markets”, is related to emerging markets and I do think that a lot of her ideas are quite pertinent for the wine market:

“Before looking at the main features of each of the emerging markets, it is important to note that the emerging markets have unique characteristics that make it unrealistic for them to act as benchmarks for one another. For example, the socio-cultural attributes of China and Russia are so starkly different that it would be impossible to use the same parameters in their measurement. One thing the emerging markets have in common however is their current robust economies and the future promises this holds for luxury companies.”

After she presented the main differences between the four emerging markets (Brazil, Russia, India and China), she concludes:

“The emerging luxury markets collectively hold promising futures for the luxury business but entry and successful business in each of these markets remains challenging as it ought to be approached through a sound set of strategies developed following an evaluation of the market’s specificities.”