Bad news (and maybe a little good)
Posted on November 25th, 2008 – 9:15 AMBy Bill Ward
With major apologies to the late, seriously great Marvin Gaye, one of his best songs might oughta be reworked as “Mercy, Mercy Me (The Economy).” Things ain’t what they used to be, that’s for sure.
I’ve been hearing for months that distributors are having trouble moving any wine in the $15-$40 retail range, especially to restaurants. I’ve been hearing about really good wines at all price points gathering dust at wholesalers’ warehouses. And lately, I’ve been hearing a lot about serious problems at the “high end.”
Alicia Anderson, who operates the fabulous Compleat Wine Cellars business out of France 44, admitted that business has slowed and added that “everyone in the luxury business is kinda scared right now.” Out in California, the gorgeous food-qand-wine shrine Copia is in major trouble. And the Wine Spectator’s James Suckling has a great blog post up about a cult California winery getting a bit of comeuppance (fun comments thread there, too).
With sales at the medium and high end slowing, distributors will be cutting back on orders. That might be good news for consumers, as wholesalers and retailers might be forced to slash prices on current inventiories in order to bring in newer releases.
4 Responses to "Bad news (and maybe a little good)"
Bill -
The general theme of this post is on target, but what I’m seeing in both the retail and restaurant scene is mainly a ‘trading down’ for most consumers. Those that used to spend $25 on a bottle without concern are running, not walking, to dependable $18 bottles. Those that were at $18 are now shopping around $12. Etc.
However, the most amazing thing are the number of restaurants that think I want two glasses of sub-par wine for $5 a glass when I’d much rather pay $11 for one great glass. The price point doesn’t matter … the bang for the buck is what counts. Wines that over-deliver against their price is the future.
The last point I’ll make is that times are toughest for unknown, unproven, relatively expensive wines. In times like this people experiment less and dependability is the key. Dependability can be via a label, a trustworthy wine merchant, or a great server at a restaurant. That’s why your wine map is a great source right now.
Thanks so much. And I couldn’t agree more re. the restaurants, 90-plus percent of which have a lame by-the-glass selection.
Also a great point on the lesser-known labels. I wrote earlier this year about why syrahs haven’t caught on, and part of the reason is that a lot of them are from unfamiliar (to most folks) wineries. Rocca Family, C.G. di Aire and Spencer-Roloson make killer syrahs, but the combination of price point and the unknown makes them a tough sell.
Still, I wish more retailers would get behind West Coast syrahs — or at least try to get the customers who are buying several bottles or even cases of higher-priced cabs to mix in a couple bottles of simliarly priced (or cheaper) syrah.
I was disappointed to discover that the link you provided to James Suckling’s blog at Wine Spectator requires a subscription. I’m all for making a buck, but are the musing of Mr. Suckling really that valuable? They aren’t to me.
My bad. didn’t realize it was subscription only. Here’s an excerpt:
“… a story about a California cult wine I heard from a retailer friend of mine in the States. He said that this well-known winery sent a salesman over to his shop the other day and told him that they were happy to give him an allocation of their newest release. In fact, he could have all he wanted. The price was $300 a bottle, if I remember correctly.
The interesting thing is that he had been trying to get a six-bottle allocation of the wine for years, and the winery had always turned up its nose at him. “Our wines are sold only by mailing list,” a spokesman for the winery had told him then. …
But times have changed. Oh yes. They have changed. My friend politely told the salesman that he was not interested. “I couldn’t sell the wine at the price I paid for it now with the economy being so bad,” he said. …
I think similar stories are going to be told more and more in the wine market.”
