Even with a strengthened yuan (RMB) and weakened US dollar, American wines do not appear particularly affordable here, especially when distribution costs and local taxes are factored in. But, irrespective of currency fluctuation, US wines are often perceived to offer weak QPR (quality-price ratio) compared with wines from other countries, almost regardless of where you’re buying them. As a Brit, I remember well the polarized selection available on retail shelves or from specialist merchants in the UK: one could choose from either budget/bulk or a narrow range of the ‘premium’ to ‘super-premium’.

Obviously, this picture is unfair to the diversity of what the US offers, either in terms of product or, in some cases, QPR. At the same time, it’s easy for those of us who don’t live in the States to forget that, if most American wines are consumed domestically, arcane shipping laws mean US wine lovers often miss out on that diversity too.

But what’s going on in China? What challenges do American wineries face if they want to capture a piece of this developing market?

First off, let’s not view the PRC through jasmine-tinted spectacles. Although the market for import wines is developing, it is not sizeable by international standards. Its potential may be considerable, but it takes very careful marketing and placing of wine to get anywhere in China.

However, there are country-specific concerns for US wines, even those hailing from California (which usually initially leads the way for other states/regions). Eric Pope, regional director of emerging markets for the California Wine Institute, notes that ‘awareness’ has definitely improved, even if market share is on the lower side:

California wines have made major gains in awareness in China’s major markets.  I will use the example of one California wine maker who attended a California tasting 7 years ago in Shanghai and said that ‘you could have shot a canon through the crowd and not hit anyone.’ Today we are getting 200-300 people attending the tastings with the majority of attendees being local Chinese.

Pope adds ‘Chinese import statistics show that the value of California wines imported into China is growing faster than the major competition’. Obviously there is much more to be done. A surprising chunk of the Beijing wine community, for example, only heard about the last major Californian tasting to be held here at the eleventh hour. But Pope is right to be enthusiastic. The California Wine Institute is also developing tasting programmes in so-called 2^nd-tier cities as well as the likes of Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou: a sensible move.

Nick Sonderup of Golden Gate Wine, which imports exclusively American wines into Hong Kong, Macao and now mainland China, notes some of the difficulties in approaching the more immature PRC:

When we mention that we are a specialist USA wine supplier the first response from the western on-trade channels is ‘tough sell’ or ‘our sales of US wines are very low’ etc. Hotels, restaurants and less so, bars, have at least some representative brands from the USA, but many of these are commercial brands and are distributed by the larger, more well- established players.

As a wine educator, I can understand Sonderup’s frustration with the lack of knowledge that often accompanies an immature market (but that’s partly why we’re here, of course). Also Chinese on-trade, provided you have the right connections, should prove more valuable in the long-term as local Chinese restaurants and fledgling wine bars develop more professional lists.

With local consumers the signs are, perhaps, more promising. As Sonderup observes: ‘Chinese tourists who have been to the USA have a greater appreciation mainly born of having been to vineyards in the US during their travels’. Moreover, when I review importer lists – including some of the smaller companies no one outside China really knows much about – the picture for diversity is rosier than one might expect.

For example, Summergate, one of the leaders in high-end American wines, stocks Kistler, Bethel Heights, Ridge, Silver Oak, Diamond Creek, Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars, Philip Togni, Pahlmeyer, Harlan and Bond Estates as well as the more entry level Irony, Gnarly Head, Woodhaven and Delicato ranges. ASC carries the likes of Joseph Phelps, Caymus, Cakebread Cellars, Seghesio, Shafer, St. Supéry, Cambria, St. Francis, Erath, Chateau Ste-Michelle, Beringer and Kendall Jackson (these latter two giving ASC some entry to premium level flexibility). ASC also bottles in bulk ‘Chateau St. Pierre’, a starting point for many consumers.

The aforementioned Golden Gate Wine, meanwhile, covers a wider range of West Coast wineries including Willamette Valley’s Sokol Blosser, Domaine Serene and Elk Cove; Henry Estate from Oregon’s Umpqua Valley; Russian River Valley’s Freeman Vineyard; and Napa’s Far Niente, Nickel & Nickel, Inglenook, Peju and Turnbull as well as California State-wide Esser Vineyards plus the budget Rex Goliath (Central Coast), among other labels.

More intriguing still, perhaps, is Napa Reserve, based in Shanghai, a specialist shop promoting exclusively Napa wines (the company behind this venture is an importer called Rutherford Bench China Ltd. which pretty much indicates what grafting one culture onto another involves). Napa Reserve is flanked by Globus which handles Schramsberg’s sparklings, Landmark, Zmor, and even the non-alcoholic wines of Ariel and Ruby Red Fine Wine which stocks the collective Cal-Asia wineries (Volker Eisele, Interlude, Shannon Ridge etc.) among other US labels.

Smaller offerings come from DT Asia which stocks Paso Robles Rhone-variety specialist L’Aventure (and the budget Red Peak range), East Meets West (Ferrari-Carano), Jebsen (Robert Mondavi, Ravenswood and Estancia) and Aussino (Cuvaison, Wente, Castoro Cellars and Hayes Ranch) – Hayes Ranch also being distributed by Links China (along with Lyeth). Finally, Torres China, brings in Hess Selections and, of course, Marimar Torres; whilst Opus One’s distribution obviates exclusivity deals with the wine popping up on the lists of Links China, ASC, Torres China, Aussino, among others.

But what about ‘Nava’? At least the fame of Napa appears to count for something in China, a country where, in some cases, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Take the Nava – yes ‘Nava’ – Valley located in Shandong Province. This is where large scale domestic producer Great Wall has developed Chateau Junding, whose own website highlights the ‘Nava’ concept: http://www.nava.cn.

But as Jancis Robinson MW noted on her last visit to China, these ‘premium’ to ‘super-premium’ ventures on Chinese soil are unlikely to produce any fine wine any time soon. Fongyee and I were actually among the lucky panel who managed to select some 15 Chinese wines for Robinson to taste from a sample of over 60. But they were indeed a sorry sample by international standards.

In other words – although flattery indicates Chinese awareness of the likes of Napa – California, Oregon, Washington and other US wine-producing states do not have much to fear in terms of competition by quality. We just hope everyone can continue to get the word out and as effectively as possible. Fongyee’s last lecture at Beijing’s China Agricultural University, with the wines of Robert Mondavi, attracted some 180 students (above). Surely, some of those students will, in future, be drinking American wines.

Cheers,

Edward Ragg

It’s a direction that will affect everyone in the wine industry, from wine writers to wineries, magazines, newspapers and marketing folks. If you don’t jump on the social media bandwagon you might just be left in the dark. If you don’t believe me, then listen to Clay Shirky, a prescient voice on the effects of the Internet. One of his latest TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) talks, appropriately titled, “How Twitter Can Make History”, Shirky argues that emerging technologies enable loose collaboration, which is essentially changing the way our society works.

I strongly urge any individual in the wine industry to watch this video to understand the technical transfer that is happening in today’s world and how it affects today’s businesses (please watch it from start to finish, you won’t regret it).

There are a number of  interesting points in this video you should not miss. For one, Shirky states, “…our generation is living the largest increase in expressive capability in human history”. There have only been four periods over the last five hundred years where media has changed enough to qualify for the label “Revolution” – printing & press; telegraph & telephone; recorded media; radio & television. We are living in the fifth revolution with social media.

Second, the 20^th century model revolved around professionals bundling a message and distributing it to the masses. According to Shirky, those days are over, never to return. Today, former consumers are now the producers, and the ability for amateurs to communicate between the masses is the new media landscape.

I’m sure many of you agree that we are long overdue for a new revolution. We could sit here all day and ignore it, and for those that don’t buy into the concept lay blame and point fingers, asking when this silly social media stuff started and question “why bother?”, but what is the point in doing so? I’ve been on the social media bandwagon for a while now, even though I’ve been known to poke fun at it from time to time, blaming ADHD for the evolution, but it is what it is, and as the old adage goes, if you can’t beat them, join them.

Now I am not here to take sides. I grew up on magazines and I have no shame admitting I still subscribe to publications like the Winespectator and Food & Wine. However, as much as I feel some regret for abandoning the old model, we need to evolve and move on because many consumers no longer identify with print. Why? The social media landscape delivers content faster and more effectively and the communication between the masses is recreating the user experience. It’s going beyond the one-to-one or one-to-many communication patterns via telephone, radio and TV and evolving to a many-to-many pattern, which instills sharing and innovation.

Those in the wine industry who utilize the social media model effectively and think outside of the box will remain competitive and thrive. Lately, we have all read a lot about the fate of professional wine writers and wine magazines in general. Some are doing reasonably well at embracing this new media and others are not. Print media doesn’t have to die, it only needs to rethink how they distribute content and engage with their readers — the bottom line is that newspapers and magazines desperately need a new image.

One way to accomplish this is by combining the old print model with the new electronic model. It’s not acceptable anymore to simply print a magazine. The first step towards the right direction is to incorporate newsletters, blogs and digital editions into the mix.

The second step is engaging with your readership. This is applicable for anyone in the wine industry so whether you are a writer, magazine, newspaper, blogger, winery, wine shop, marketer, etc. etc., listen up! The secret? Engaging with your customers. One example is twittering, which goes beyond posting stories, wine reviews, awards and daily specials. It’s ok to twitter these kinds of things, but you are doing yourself a disservice if you don’t follow up by making that personal connection with your customer. Believe it or not, your customer wants to make that special connection with the winemakers, journalists, publishers, storeowners, and bloggers, so the more this happens the more likely your business will succeed in the social media model.

As for electronic media, publishing the interaction you have between you and your customers is a win-win situation. A wine writer that does this particularly well is Natalie MacLean.  She uses twitter (friend her up at @NatalieMacLean) to market her products and services but takes it a step further by engaging with her followers and incorporating reader suggestions into her digital media model. For example, if a follower twitters a new wine and food pairing suggestion, she’ll review it and add it to her Wine & Food pairings Drinks Matcher mobile application; this is the level of detail every business should follow to succeed in the social media model. It’s about the sharing aspect and making those connections that will make it worth while for both the business and the consumer, building long-term relationships and loyalty.

So the next time you question the value of twitter, or for that matter, social media in general, remember what Shirky said about the direction of our new media landscape and remember to utilize lessons learned from those who are struggling to make it in a digital world. If you think it’s a waste of time, you are sadly mistaken.

What are your thoughts? Are you using social media to connect with your community? Do you have any good or bad experiences or thoughts on what businesses should consider when adding social media to a marketing plan? Do you think social media can save the day or is it a waste of time?

~Pamela Heiligenthal

Photo credit: Modern Language Center

I’m a wine geek at heart so when I heard about an opportunity to receive a scholarship to attend a 3-day Spanish Wine education course sponsored by the Wine Academy of Spain and Catavino,  I jumped at the opportunity to find out more about the program.

I’m well aware of some of the initiatives this well-respected academy has headed up in the past, including the World Conference on Climate Change lead by Pancho Campo. If you have an interest in the impacts of climate change and how to adapt to a new climate, check out some of the audio files I uploaded a couple of years ago.

As for their latest venture, Catavino is responsible for the organization and development of awarding one scholarship to a blogger in each of the twelve cities the Academy plans to visit. Integrating the social media aspect into the business model of the Wine Academy is a smart move …and lucky for me, they’ll be hosting one of their 3-day certification programs right here in Portland!

What first caught my eye about the 3-day certification course was the opportunity to taste more than 50 Spanish wines during the intensive program. If you’re like me and don’t have a copious amount of Spanish wine at your disposal, this would be a great opportunity to sample some remarkable wines while educating your palate.

The course also covers detailed information about Spanish Appellations, climates, soils, history, wine styles and grape varieties providing participants with a solid foundation to prepare for the exam, which takes place on the third day of the event. And best of all? The top 15 highest scorers across the USA will win a weeklong Spanish Wine Tour covering Spain’s top DO’s (Denominación de Origen)! How cool is that?

So how does one qualify for the scholarship? Simply answer a question via blog post, video or podcast – its’ obvious I opted for a blog post ;) Why do I want to learn more about Spanish wines? In a nutshell, although the Spanish wine sector has changed considerably in recent years, Spanish wines are often misunderstood, underappreciated and overlooked by many wine consumers.

My intent is to complete the course and educate consumers about the many facets of the Spanish wine industry by encouraging wine lovers around the world to explore beyond their safety zone and to discover what Spain has to offer. Spanish cuisine is also an important component, so my intent is to educate consumers on the regional foods and to explore the many wines that compliment the regional dishes.

It would be quite an honor for any blogger to receive one of the twelve scholarships offered – and an even higher honor to join the elite group that tours Spain’s top DO’s!

Even if you’re not a blogger, I highly recommend and encourage any enophile to attend; with twelve major cities on tour, you’re bound to be near proximity of one of the locations. Take my word – the wines you will taste at this event will more than pay for the price of the ticket alone so you should take advantage of this great opportunity.

…and if you haven’t joined the social media movement, I encourage your participation. It will open your world to discover and share opportunities with a network of personal and business relationships. I’ll end this post by saying that if it wasn’t for social media, there’s a good chance I may not have stumbled across this great opportunity — and a special thanks to Steve De Long for bringing this to my attention! If you’re already a member, friend me up on twitter & facebook, and if you wish to pursue a business relationship, you can find me on LinkedIn.

~Pamela Heiligenthal

Innovative restaurants are making bold moves to compensate for the lack of regulars -- change is the only path to success when you are not successful with your current business model.

Today on Wine Bytes, my wine blog on OregonLive, I talk about  how encouraging it is to see that some innovative restaurants have made bold moves quickly to compensate for the lack of regulars, for whom they depended on for years. I applaud any entrepreneur that realizes change is the only path to success when you are not successful with your current business model. Check out my latest post here.

The spin among wine journalists, bloggers and winery owners that believe negative wine reviews are of no use to anyone is a concept that I find as hard to swallow as a raisiny Zin with TCA. Photo credit: sfgate

Today on Wine Bytes, my wine blog on OregonLive, I talk about The positive side of negative wine reviews. Many believe negative wine reviews are of no use to anyone, which is a concept that I find as hard to swallow as a raisiny Zin with TCA.  I buy wine like a consumer.  That status will never change no matter how many samples we receive, and the process of our tasting regimen is vastly different from the Wine Spectator, Robert Parker, Wine Enthusiast, Stephen Tanzer, Tasted, and Vinography. If you are not familiar with our procedure to tasting, reviewing and rating wine check out my latest post here and read my take on the positive side of a negative review.

2008 Veramonte Sauvignon Blanc , Chile ($10-$15)
What’s interesting about the ‘08 Veramonte Sauvignon blanc is that it hits all the flavor profiles of a traditional Sauvignon blanc and then throws in a punch of raciness and spice to mix it all up.

On first taste, it hits a whole lot of herbaceous notes of grass, weeds, and lemon grass, and then it brings on a dash of asparagus, grapefruit and lime finishing with a blast of sharp, tart, mineral and spice.  …more>>

2006 House of Nobilo Pinot Noir, New Zealand
Fresh and fruity this one delivers despite being consumed long before it was ready. A faint hint of violets and raspberry in the aroma light but pleasant. Bright cherry flavors come across as a classic representation of NZ Pinot. Nice texture in the mouth and a slightly tart slightly smooth finish make this a good wine and  …more>>

2006 Grayson Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon, Paso Robles, CA ($10-$15)
Two years and two vintages later after our first review of this wine it has not really changed much. Exhibiting open and pour access I think we can say the wine is approachable. The aromas stay true to the past vintages with a nose of dried cherry and cassis. The flavor profile brings similar components of intense blackberry, cassis, and cherry flavors. The texture is smooth as it spreads across the palate. Overall it is a …more>>

2006 Les Freres Couillaud Muscadet Loire, France ($10-$15)
The 2006 Les Frères Couillaud Muscadet de Sèvre et Maine Sur Lie Château de la Ragotière Sélection Vieilles Vignes is a medium-bodied, zesty lemon-lime wine with a clean, long finish. The Loire produces an abundant amount of Muscadet made from the Melon de Bourgogne grape, and this wine, like many Muscadets are vinified sur lie meaning that the wine is not racked off the lees after fermentation - it is bottled straight from the vat without racking, which, in turn, provides some carbonation (fizziness)  …more>>

2007 Dry Creek Vineyards Chenin blanc, CA ($10-$15)
A medium bodied Chenin blanc with lots of melon, nectarine and honey flavors. Zesty and clean, this wine has crisp acidity and finishes with a refreshing, mouthwatering lemon flavor. Drink as …more>>

2006 Villa Pillo Red blend, Italy
This blend of Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot is fabulous right after opening and then it goes through a settling in period. If you are serving it among a group, decant it. If alone, it will open at your pace. Big and tight in the beginning, this wine has the breadth of appeal usually associated with wines from names that draw a lot more  attention. Powerful aromas of dark cherries and blackberry with an abrupt hit of licorice that settles down quickly, making this a very…more>>

2006  Cline Cellars Zinfandel, CA ($10-$15)
I am often asked my opinion on best zinfandel under $10 and the word that always rolls off my tongue is Cline. Without hesitation nor a moment for thought regardless of vintage consideration. The folks at Cline have been making great Zinfandels for decades now. There was a time another vintners name came to mind but they have rested on their laurels for way too long leaving Cline the hands down all time favorite. Exhibiting sweet   …more>>

2006 King Shag Sauvignon blanc, New Zealand ($10-$15)
Cool birds, great wine. This value oriented Crisp white quaffer hits all the right notes and delivers flavor beyond what might be expected. The nose is huge expressing pineapple, grass and a heavy dose of grapefruit. A classic Marlborough NZ Sauvignon Blanc; it has opening flavors that carry the same grapefruit and grass as the nose with a luxurious mouth-feel and pleasant full flavored finish. Varied drinking temperature can bring intriguing palate changes in viscosity and flavor. At colder temperatures, the wine is extremely crisp, refreshing and great. With a few  …more>>