Unfortunately for you, my bandwagon regarding putting Sonoma County on wine labels is still rolling strong. I’m having trouble trying to figure out if it’s ego, stupidity, poor marketing or being ashamed about being from the most beautiful place in the world. I’ve just spent considerable time going over the San Francisco Chronicle Cloverdale wine judging results. Rather than just look at the awards, I went down the winery list of medal winners and looked at the appellation listed, trying to figure out where many of the places are located. Our wonderful neighbor to the east had many small appellation winners, and I always knew where they were from. Even if I’d never heard of Oak Knoll (which I hadn’t) the label reads Oak Knoll District of Napa Valley. See how easy that was? Atlas Peak, Yountville, Rutherford and Stags Leap all say “of Napa Valley.” No problem, and said with pride, I’d assume.
With that in mind, let’s see if you’re as smart about geography as wineries think you are. As a potential consumer, let’s say you’re online, perusing the award-winners list. Here’s a partial list of appellations from that list. Where are they located? (Also, pretend you’re a potential customer in New York and see how many of these you can identify—even what state, let alone smaller AVAs.) Here we go: Horse Heaven Hills, Malibu Rocky Oaks, Arroyo Grande Valley, Knights Valley (even locals think that’s Napa County), Warren Hills, Cienega Valley, Santa Rita Hills, Yorkville Heights, Chehalem Mountains, Edna Valley, Walla Walla Valley, Alexander Valley, Temecula Valley, Yadkin Valley, Russian River Valley, Old Mission Peninsula, High Serenity Ranch, Fair Play, Bennett Valley, High Valley, Capay Valley, Rockpile, Cucamonga Valley, Grand River Valley, Rogue River, Wahluke Slope, Willamette Valley, Applegate Valley, Anderson Valley, Rattlesnake Hills, and Lime Kiln—to name a few.
Next, I went to winery websites and tried to find out more. The sites ranged from very good to an absolute disgrace. One was from Holmes Harbor, saying it’s on Whidbey Island. Great—where in the hell is that? Remember, this is a nationwide competition, so how many islands are there? Another big point hit me also. I’ve been complaining about all of the small AVAs that are popping up in Sonoma County, but virtually none of them are listed (except Rockpile and Bennett Valley). Does this say the wines being produced aren’t as good as the egos would like to have us believe? If they’re so great because of their “special terroir,” why aren’t they showing well in wine competitions? With nearly 5,000 entries, you’d think they should be there.
What’s the point of this tirade? In these days of very slow wine sales, it seems to me that anything in the form of positive marketing should be used. I’ll grant that a gold medal shelf talker won’t make up for a $50 price tag, however. I’m not sure if that says wine competitions should be more or less important now. With additional judgings coming up soon, it’ll be interesting to see the level of entries. With the proliferation of wine competitions, have they lost their meaning? Do people pay attention to results (or have they ever)? Is a wall full of ribbons and medals a good marketing tool in the tasting room? What more can the organizers do to make their results more useful in marketing? Do stickers attached to the neck of the bottle attract attention? I know there are a lot of marketing consultants and companies, along with in-house marketing available. But, looking at wine sales over the last year, it doesn’t seem much is working.
The single biggest disaster is the consolidation of the wine distribution network. With only a very few national distributors available, getting them to handle and market your wine is nearly impossible. Southern Wine and Spirits, and Constellation Brands, have recently shown how inept and pitiful they really are. Constellation, along with the equally inept Foster’s Beer, and so forth, have completely ruined the Australian wine industry with their corporate and bottom-line attitude. Someplace along the way, someone has to realize that wine isn’t just a commodity like toilet paper and soft drinks, but has a necessary mystique about it. How many large corporations have moved into the wine business, only to find out it’s a completely different world and bail out after screwing up some good products. Should I remind you of Pillsbury (Souverain Winery in Geyserville), Coca Cola with Monterey Vineyards, and the succession of owners at Geyser Peak, to really indicate how easy it is to screw up a good deal? How about the succession of owners at Windsor Vineyards labeling company, from a good operation at Rodney Strong to the disaster time when it was Aussie-owned? We’re not alone in America, and we don’t have a monopoly on corporate idiots who think the wine industry would be a fun toy—until they learn it’s capital-intensive and hard work.
The flip side to that scenario is the large number of boutique wineries owned by various personalities who all generally think owning a winery is neat and fun but haven’t a clue how to market wine. “What do you mean? I have enough friends around who will buy my wine.” A nickel for every time I’ve heard that and I could have retired a few years earlier.
Maybe all of this adds up to a complacency in marketing that’s now ending and everyone is in shock. It doesn’t appear the wineries have been listening to anyone until recently when the bottom seemed to have fallen out. If Napa is having trouble selling wine, it’s no wonder everyone else is suffering. Now seems to be the time to make your consumer base good friends as well as just buyers. Friendly tasting rooms, good websites, and relating to the new customer seem to be imperative. Thus, entering judgings is still a big question. What can you do to promote your winnings? Yes Virginia, it’s a shame we have to let a stranger’s palate tell us what we should like, but that’s the function of a wine competition. (Note to wineries: Just because you didn’t win at this one, there’s always tomorrow and another judging with different palates—don’t give up just because a judge didn’t like your wine.)
OK, back to your homework. Go out and buy several gold medal wines and see if you agree with the judges. Or be like me and say, “Who gave this thing a gold medal?” It’s judging season, welcome aboard!
