Tasting Wine Cost vs. Quality

I'm excited for the class! I've been interested in wine for about five years now, and I feel like I've accumulated a number of random factoids at various tasting rooms, restaurants, and Netflix specials. I'm interested in systematizing this knowledge, particularly around tasting. What is the "typicity" of different varietals, and what signposts should I look for if trying to identify a wine during a blind taste?

I'm also interested in understanding the wine ecosystem or economy in greater detail, particularly the local system of smaller growers here in California. There is a lot of quality wine that doesn't come from well-known brands like Mondavi or Silver Oak. I'd like to know which local players are innovating wine production or consumption, and hopefully try them out! I want to better understand how the process of winemaking drives quality, rather than simply looking to the price of wine or wine point scores. Finally, I would like to understand the components of operating a smaller winery – what is it that attracts and enables so many billionaire hobbyists to the art of winemaking?

Finally, I would like to better understand the economics of winemaking and the wine value chain. How much of the value of a typical wine bottle goes to grape growers vs. wine makers, bottlers, distributors, and retailers? How different is this for domestic vs. international wines? And, how much does aging wine add to its cost – and its quality?

A Butter Understanding

I used to claim that I was an easy-goer when it came to wine selection.  "No preference." "Red, white, somewhere in between, all good."

Then, last year, a friend and connoisseur (and also a TA of this class!) helped me understand that I do have a preference or two.  We were at a tasting when she pointed out that there was a trend in the types of wines that I kept telling her that I enjoyed.  I was surprised to learn that I have one varietal that I typically tend to gravitate towards.

Hold tight though.  The story doesn't end here.

I was hanging out with my wine-snob brother-in-law a few weeks later when I told him that he should be proud of me...  I had learned something about wine! I explained that I have a type and proudly told him that I love a "good, oak-y, buttery Chardonnay." Where I expected to receive an impressed look, I instead received one of complete and utter disgust.

"Chardonnay? Buttery? That's an old person's drink.  Like, really really old."

Now don't worry.  I am holding strong in my Chardonnay love.  No shame.  What I've found interesting since then, though, is just how much of a marketing world the wine industry plays in.  I'm experiencing how trends, packaging, authenticity, brand advocates, and channels play a role.  Chardonnay's cool one moment, less so another? Who perceives it that way? What influenced the shift? Which brands are rising with the tide of a new trend or taste?

Before the GSB, I was a Product Marketing Manager for consumer products (both at Google and at BloomThat). I have a passion for learning about branding strategies in conjunction with non-market forces, supply chain influences, and growth strategies.  I want to learn more about this industry where branding is key, and I also want the opportunity to apply what we learn in various courses and experiences at the GSB to tactical, real-life cases (of wine).

Three Reasons Why I Am Taking This Class

Last time I blogged was when I was in high school... so please bear with me (or at least hope that my blogging skills improve as the quarter progresses).

I am taking this class because:

Wine is a tough business, and I want to have a comprehensive understanding of the trade. It is tough all the way from growing the grapes to making the wine to putting the bottles in customer's hands. A few summers ago, I spent 2 weeks in a small vineyard in the Languedoc-Roussillon region in France working in the fields, and my goodness, weren't those the toughest two weeks of physical labor I've ever endured. The rest of the value chain in the wine business is just as back-breaking - unpredictable natural conditions, ruthless competition, elusive consumer taste... But those are exactly why learning the business is so important before diving into it.

Wine is a complex and dynamic business, and I want to solidify my existing theoretical knowledge base with business intelligence and intuition. In the past 2 years, I have studied the "textbook" wine knowledge and successfully passed the certified sommelier exam. In this class, I would like to build the connection between theoretical knowledge (e.g., grapes, regions, appellations) and business intelligence (e.g., which markets are growing, which regions are winning favor of consumers), and be able to not just appreciate the wines but also analyze the industry.

Wine could be a lucrative and high growth business. At the outset of this class, my in-going thesis is that China would be the most attractive growth opportunity in wine in the next 5-10 years. It has a rapidly growing middle class that increasingly demands high quality consumables, of which wine occupies a special place. Wine is considered a luxury, a symbol of refined taste, and a beverage that benefits cardiovascular health. As the middle class becomes more accustomed to wine-drinking, demand for high quality and reasonably priced wine would continue to rise. In this class, I would like to prove out (or disprove) this in-going thesis, and explore potential business opportunities.

Summer 2017: A Crash Course in Wine

The most important networking event of my summer at my law firm was tasting 50 wines from a major Partner's personal collection.  Witnessing one of the most prominent figures at my firm wax poetic about Riojas, Rieslings, and Rosés, Mencia, Malbec, and Merlot convinced me that this was an area I needed to brush up on.

And, as a future transactional lawyer, learning about an industry from an economic, strategic, and marketing perspective will be extremely useful; and what better industry to focus on than wine?  I can't wait to dive in.

Chardonnay, All Day

“I’ll have a Chardonnay.”

This is my mom’s alcoholic beverage of choice, except when we have Japanese food and she switches things up with a Sapporo. Despite growing up a mere 20 minutes away from wine country in Northern California, my mother was incredibly unadventurous with her wine choices. I did not even know there were other types of wines until I went to college – Cornell’s School of Hotel Management has a very famous and popular course that is colloquially known just as “Wines 101” I was too intimidated to take such a course since I spent most of college drinking Keystone Lite, vodka crans, and G&Ts. Plus, I thought I didn’t like wine since I wasn’t a fan of Chardonnay.

(So part of the reason I’m here is because I still kick myself for not taking Wines 101.)

My relationship with wine changed after I graduated from college and moved back to Sacramento. A good friend there grew up in Napa and introduced me to the amazing world that is red wine and my personal favorite, Cabernet Sauvignon – love at first sip if you will. My friend had family members that worked in wineries, so our group of friends made numerous trips to Napa to learn about the harvesting and wine making process and taste a seemingly never-ending list of varietals.

I’m here because I want to be adventurous and educated with my wine choices – not reliant on my Cabernet colored comfort zone. Additionally, having worked in the California State Legislature, I worked as a labor policy consultant and spoke with wine industry representatives on the potential impacts of legislation. This caused me to want to learn more about the economics and business of wine and its relationship with government regulation.

Looking forward to the quarter!