Amocat Cellars

Why French Millennials Don’t Drink Wine

Amocat Cellars — Tue, 27 May 2008 03:30:04 +0000

Hey France! Just send it over here if you’re not going to drink it!

While wine consumption is increasing in the U.S. — spurred on in part by the wine adoption habits of American Millennials (young adults aged 21 to 31) — the opposite is happening in France. Since 1980 French wine consumption has decreased by more than 50% from 120 liters per capita to today’s rate of 55 liters per capita.

Though in some ways this is positive, it is also rather alarming. Especially since a large portion of the population that is not drinking wine are France’s Millennials or young adults in their 20’s. Indeed they have moved away from wine to embrace other beverages — primarily beer and spirits in the alcohol category, and bottled water, sodas, and juices.

Further reason for alarm is the ongoing crisis for some French wine producers who can’t find a market for their grapes. Grubbing-up schemes are still in progress, the appellation system is being re-organized, and global wine competition is becoming even fiercer with new wine countries coming on board each year. Though France does have commendable wine export records with solid marketing abroad, within France very few wine marketing efforts are occurring and most are discouraged by government regulations.

Why French Millennials Don’t Drink Wine

Founder Charles Lill’s death leaves DeLille Cellars to his son and co-founders

Amocat Cellars — Tue, 27 May 2008 03:24:26 +0000

Here’s a great article on one of Washington’s best “cult wines.”

DeLille Cellars sits on a hillside overlooking the Sammamish Valley and Chateau Ste. Michelle Winery. The Lill family first bought the winery’s property in 1981, when it consisted of little more than a small house and rundown barn. At the time, Charles Lill saw it as a hobby farm and vacation property.

Lill came across the Woodinville property after a career in insurance and real estate. The woman who owned the land was on the verge of going bankrupt and needed a $30,000 loan. Lill agreed to give her the money, but said she needed to add his name to the property’s title. Once she paid him back, he’d take his name off.

But she never did pay him back, and the land eventually became the Lills’. Once the former owner moved out, the family began spending money to renovate the house. They wondered if they could put the property to some sort of money-making purpose.

Greg Lill began thinking about the family’s winemaking roots. Charles Lill’s great grandfather had made wine and beer in Czechoslovakia. The family honored its European heritage when Greg was growing up with wine every night at dinner and a wine cellar in the basement.

Greg Lill began to discuss the idea of a winery with wine broker Jay Soloff and winemaker Chris Upchurch. The three sketched out a rough plan on a cocktail napkin, and then Greg Lill wrote up a formal business proposal.

Armed with the proposal, Greg Lill met with his father on a Lill family Thanksgiving holiday in Hawaii. Then 32 years old, Greg Lill was nervous about asking his father to invest several thousand dollars in a new business. He knew his dad was conservative when it came to money.

But Charles Lill liked the idea, and the whole family voted to give it a shot. The Lills located grapes from the Yakima Valley and rented a small warehouse in Woodinville to make the wine. In 1992, DeLille Cellars produced its first vintage. According to Greg Lill, the winery was the fourth to come to Woodinville, and the beginning of a wave of boutique wineries.
Founder Charles Lill’s death leaves DeLille Cellars to his son and co-founders

Good time for wineries to cash in

Amocat Cellars — Tue, 27 May 2008 03:15:39 +0000

So, I’m not sure if it’s a good idea to sell, because some guy wants to buy up all the wineries he can, or if it’s a good time to sell because there aren’t family members willing to take on running family-run wineries…

Thinking of selling the family winery? A man with $100 million to spend thinks now’s a pretty good time.

With hundreds of family-owned wineries likely to hit the market in the coming decade, financier Bill Price, a vineyard owner and co-founder of Texas Pacific Group, says winery owners might want to think about heading for the exits.

“If you’re one of the people planning to sell, now might be a good time,” Price told a wine conference in Santa Rosa on Wednesday.

Between 500 and 1,000 family-owned wineries in California, Oregon and Washington could be sold in coming years because the next generation is either unprepared or unwilling to follow in the footsteps of their pioneering winemaking parents, Price said, citing a recent study.

Good time for wineries to cash in

75th Anniversary of Prohibition’s Repeal Shows Little Has Changed

Amocat Cellars — Tue, 27 May 2008 03:08:12 +0000

I’ve been following the state-by-state passing of arbitrary laws affedting the transport of wine delivery. It’s funny how fast 75 years flies by, but for many states it might as well still be prohibition.

“Despite evidence and educated opinions to the contrary, America’s wine wholesalers have continued to insist that adult Americans should not have access to wines via direct shipment,” Wark reiterates. “Research shows that in the past 6 years, American wine wholesalers dumped more than $50 million dollars into state political campaigns to achieve their goal of keeping consumer from accessing the wines they want via direct shipment. Today, only 15 states allow retailer-to-consumer shipment of wine over state lines. The result is a diminished market for wine, loss of state tax revenues, consumer frustration and lack of confidence that the alcohol regulatory process is fair.”

75th Anniversary of Prohibition’s Repeal Shows Little Has Changed

Tempe vintner gets the buyer involved

Amocat Cellars — Tue, 27 May 2008 03:01:54 +0000

Here’s an interesting take on a wine subscription:

When Kate Portanova of Scottsdale wanted to take part in a formal tasting at a winery, she didn’t have to drive to California or southern Arizona.

She made her way to a business park in Tempe, near Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. She sipped a few glasses of Cabernet Sauvignon in an office-turned-urban-winery that sits next to a dentist’s office.

Portanova is one of about 50 people who have bought into PurVine, a rare approach to winemaking that asks wine lovers to commit to more than just a bottle or case of wine. The wine is sold by the barrel or fractions of a barrel, meaning dozens of bottles of wine.
Tempe vintner gets the buyer involved

Wine center expands to keep pace with Oregon vineyards

Amocat Cellars — Tue, 13 May 2008 18:57:48 +0000

Wine center expands to keep pace with Oregon vineyards -
Temperature-controlled storage and shipping are both growing

Wine Village Will be Santa Cruz Destination

Amocat Cellars — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 18:42:40 +0000

God I wish we had something like this up here!

Wine Village Will be Santa Cruz Destination
BonnyDoon forms nucleus for wineries, spirits, and beer tasting.

Wine baron?

Amocat Cellars — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 17:11:09 +0000

I didn’t know there were any still around, but it looks like a wine baron from France, with actor Gerard Depardieu, as one of the partners has snatched up a hillside vineyard on the slopes of… Mount Fuji in Japan?

French wine baron snaps up vineyard in Japan

Links

Amocat Cellars — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 08:22:55 +0000

E. B. Foote Winery - In Burien

Kalamar Winery - In Sumner (on Lake Tapps)

Mark Ryan Winery - Huge reds in Woodinville

McMenamins - Some day Tacoma will have one…

North Olympic Peninsula Winery Loop Association - Wineries of the North Olympic Peninsula

Portteus Vineyards - He grows grapes in Zillah and makes a great blend (Rattlesnake Red)

Soos Creek - Amazing wines from Kent

South Seattle Artisan Wineries - A group of wineries south of Seattle

Stina’s Cellars - A local wine maker in University Place

The Wine Bank - An awesome wine shop in University Place.

Zino Society - Connecting accredited investors, entrepreneurs and wine enthusiasts

Drink to be famous?

Amocat Cellars — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 06:26:23 +0000

Celebrity-driven alcohol beverage products - - those branded with the name of, or directly associated with a famous individual - - are gaining popularity in the U.S. and wine is emerging as the star of the show, according to The Nielsen Company.

Gaining marketing leverage from celebrities as diverse as film director Francis Ford Coppola, former NFL coach Mike Ditka, professional golfer Greg Norman and recent releases from Martha Stewart and Paul Newman, celebrity wines are on the rise. Celebrity wines are up nearly 19 percent in grocery store sales since last year and represent 0.9 percent ($41.8 million) of total wine sales. Celebrity spirits sales show the same growth rate (19 percent) in grocery stores and represent 0.3 percent ($7.5 million) of the total spirits category. In liquor stores, celebrity spirits are growing at an even faster rate, showing a nearly 21 percent increase since last year, compared to celebrity wines’ liquor store growth rate of 8 percent.

Consumers Attracted to ”Glitz” of Celebrity Wines -
http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20080305005634&newsLang=en

Intriguing concepts come to mind. What I want to know is how do you know which celebrities will increase sales… but also which might decrease sales? For instance, would you by Rosie O’Donnell Wine? Not sure that would appeal to me. Then again you could call it whine and then it might. I’m sure it’s just a matter of time until someone tries it.