For $40 per month, Joe will ship you a curated box of 8 quarter-bottles of wine to “expand your wine knowledge and impress your friends (and Bumble dates).”
I sat down with Joe to get his take on the state of the industry.*
Q: What are the biggest opportunities in the wine industry?
A: Millennials! Our generation is fast-becoming the biggest consumer of wine, and we have no idea what to do with it. The average age of a wine club manager is 65. They spend half of their time at conferences hand-wringing about how to talk on Instagram. We see our value-add as curating wines in a way that millennials are used to. This means a customized and authentic product that is affordable. It also means making it available online.
Q: And what are the biggest challenges?
A: Low consumer education. No one knows what to buy or how to buy it!
Another issue is a profitability “dead zone” for wineries. In the $25-$35 per bottle range, it is extremely difficult for wineries to maintain quality required to maintain profitability over time. This is why TasteIt decided not to create their own wine, but to partner with other high-quality producers to get the word out. TasteIt is a marketing platform for the wines that manage to maintain this level of quality.
Q: How do you choose your wines?
A: We look for wines in the $20 - $50 per bottle range, and opt for a mix of known and unknown brands. We’ll use brands like Wente to bring on smaller wine labels in our “piggybacking” model.
Q: What about pricing?
A: Since we act as a wholesaler and distributor in California (with Type 17 and Type 20 licenses), we can price below traditional retailers, a big win for us.
Q: What’s your favorite wine?
A: My parents raised me on Rombauer (basic I know) and they consistently produce really exceptional wine for a good price point. It’s also been at every birthday and Christmas I’ve had for a while so I’ve always enjoyed it on a special occasion.
*Answers edited for clarity and brevity]
