Great post over at Pinot Law that I highly recommend you check out. Here’s the take-away for the time strapped:
I do not wish to belabor the point, but the sooner the wholesalers realize that a major paradigm shift has occurred in the wine market, the better off they will be. The Internet is not going away any time soon, and it is already revolutionizing how wineries and consumers interact. Arguably, by permitting self distribution and direct shipments to consumers, small wineries can grow into big wineries — and big wineries will need a wholesaler to ship their goods. As the wine industry goes larger and more competitive throughout the country, that is great news for consumers, wineries and yes, even wholesalers.
UPDATE: And here’s a link to Tom Wark’s latest press release on the 75th anniversary of Prohibition.
Money quote:
At the height of Prohibition a small syndicate of powerful and wealthy individuals controlled alcohol distribution across the country through corruption, close affiliations with government officials and heavy-handed tactics. On the 75th anniversary of Repeal of Prohibition, a small group of alcohol distributors completely control alcohol distribution through heavy-handed tactics that stymie entrepreneurship and prevent consumer access to wine — all for the sake of extraordinary wholesaler profits.
Josh:
Thanks for the shout out! I think what I was saying yesterday, and what you said in your April 7th blog entry on wine retailers are very similar. Once wineries embrace the technology of the Internet, that will help them increase their consumer base and expand their production. In turn, that turns a small winery into a larger winery. And that larger winery is going to need a decent distributor/wholesaler. Consumers win; wineries win; and — dare I say it — even the wholesalers win. Great blog by the way, and I love the name!
Thanks for a great blog and useful information for us discerning imbibers. You also might want to check out http://www.openwineconsortium.org. More Failla and Peay in every Xmas stocking!!
Hi there!
Congratulation on your award and for your blog !
I’m Fabrice and I’m the author of VINSURVIN, the best-visited amateur wine blog in France, awarded a few months ago at the Wine Blog Trophy as the Internautes’ favorite. To give you an idea, VINSURVIN (pun readable as 20/20 - best mark at school) receives 20000 visitors a month (which might sound ridiculous to you as I have no idea what the figures can be in the States ).
Would you be OK with answering a little interview some day ? I would be really interested in knowing the kind of wines you like, etc.. and I’m sure so would my readers. You can leave a comment on my blog.
Hoping to hear from U soon,
Best regards,
Fabrice, VINSURVIN, Producteur de Chroniques Oenophiles.
Kevin,
Thanks for the comments and for your great blog. Anything with Pinot in it has to be good!
I think you’re right and that we are saying similar things, but you went a step further and put forward the idea that it would actually be in the wholesalers best interests to help small wineries grow anyway that they can. That’s a VERY unique spin, and just way too insanely logical for the wholesalers to even comprehend.
Richard,
I’m a member! I’ll look for you and friend you up!
Fabrcie,
Email sent!
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