XChateau Wine Podcast

Latest Episodes:

The dynamic loyalty of fine wine buyers w/ Pauline Vicard, ARENI Global Nov 25, 2020

Show notes

A global think tank, a research and action institute, ARENI Global is dedicated to understanding and sharing knowledge around the world of fine wine. Pauline Vicard, the Co-Founder and Executive Director, shares ARENI’s definition of fine wine and details findings from their research around the fine wine consumer. This includes how millennials are shifting the mindset of all fine wine consumers, how they are loyal to merchants over brands, and the differences between consumers in Hong Kong, mainland China, and Europe. Listen in and get to know the fine wine consumer better!

Detailed Show Notes:

ARENI Global - started as a think tank in 2017, gathering experts within and outside of the wine world, now a research and action institute with 3 steps: 1) understand the world 2) the impacts on the future of fine wine 3) what actions to take
ARENI deliverables
- Discussion platforms with peers
- Publish whitepapers, reports, articles
- Smaller events, panels
Fine wine definition
- Objective quality - complexity, length, balance, potential to age
- The capacity of fine wine to stop time, bring emotions
- Relationship with its maker - the authenticity of expression of the winemaker
- Price points - start at 30 euros ex-cellar, to the highest bracket of 450+ euros ex-cellar
The fine wine consumer
- ARENI interviews collectors and merchants every year
- Want to be treated as unique; curious - really into information; international; demanding; very loyal (not to wines/brand, but to several merchants) - trust is important; price-aware; masculine = getting more feminine (~15-20% today); getting young (now ~49, but getting younger)
- Use the internet to review prices and ratings
- Younger international / millennials - don’t have a lot of regional differences, often source wines from around the world; choose restaurants based on sommeliers and follow them on Instagram; learn from the internet
- Hong Kong - buy to possess, only buy through friends, interested in famous history or personalities, not vineyards and soil
- Mainland China - buy to drink, only buy through friends, use the internet to make sure wine exists and isn’t counterfeit
- When prices rise for specific wines or regions, those buyers move on to other wines/regions; the brands find new customers in different regions
Fine wine regions
- mostly the classics, Bordeaux (70%), Burgundy rising, Italy, and Champagne
- California has not impacted much because very little sold internationally, though more via La Place de Bordeaux; taste profile too powerful, Super Tuscans more similar to Bordeaux and better-perceived value
4 types of fine wine consumers - fairly equally distributed between each
- Passionate - addicted to knowledge, mentorship important
- Status Seekers - buy the label, belong to a group, approved by influencers
- Collector Drinkers - buy and sell wines, make money to buy more wine
- Affluent - people who are rich and want to drink better wines
Millennial mindset - impacting other groups with their mindset - want to be considered as an individual, demanding, likes sustainability, social media use; the challenge is the affordability of fine wine
People tend to learn about fine wine through family consumption (especially in Europe), work (especially in the US), bought fine wine when it was cheaper years ago, mentorship (often from merchants and sommeliers), interest in food, and travel

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Innovating for fun and interaction in wine auctions w/ Jeff Zacharia, Zachy’s Nov 18, 2020

Show notes

Jeff Zacharia, President of Zachy’s, the global leader in wine auctions, tells us about how they made wine auctions more fun, have been moving to studio sales and bidding parties without live auctions, and how they narrowly escaped being swindled by Rudy Kurniawan’s wine fraud scheme. We learn all about the wine auction process, what regions are trending, and where he sees the market going. Don’t forget to rate and review XChateau wherever you get your podcasts!

Detailed Show Notes:

Zachy’s founded in 1944 by Jeff’s grandfather, Jeff joined in 1983
Zachy’s wine auctions started in 1995 when wine auction became legal in NY, started with a partnership with Christie’s, and then went independent in 2002
Expanded to Hong Kong in 2008 and London in 2020
- London is to expand in Europe, believes it is underserved from a wine auction perspective
- Having wines in Europe enables quicker delivery for European customers
London was the wine auction capital, then became New York, then Hong Kong, now it’s in between New York and Hong Kong
Auction Process
- Send a list of wines, get a low and high estimate, sign a consignment contract
- Organize wines to Zachy’s warehouse, catalog wines in detail (including fill, labels, etc.…), and print catalog, either electronic or print
- 3 methods of auctions - live auction, studio sales (live auctions online), and internet / timed sales
- Zachy’s differentiation - great effort in researching and inspecting the wines
Auction Market
- Saw steady growth year over year, with a spike in 2019 due to big sales
- 2020 - beating projections (12% above projections)
Zachy’s leadership - how they became the #1 wine auction house globally
- Wine is all they do. They are focused and passionate about it
- Jeff has been in the wine business for 40 years and built deep, long-term relationships
- The team has invested years building their relationships with collectors and wineries
- Innovations - centered around making auctions fun and engaging
  - Changed from the classic auditorium-style auctions to restaurant-style with food and wine
  - Bidding parties - often for studio sales, smaller gatherings around the world (e.g., Sweden, London, Germany, China, Hong Kong) that have the same food and wine atmosphere connected via Zoom to the auction
  - Investigating how to make virtual auctions more interactive
Auction business model
- Currently focused on buyer’s premium
- May have seller’s commission, but depends on consignment size - the larger the consignment, the smaller the commission; substantial sales may even have rebates from the buyer’s premiums
- Getting more consignors is the challenge currently
- Expect prices to continue to rise - quality keeps rising (especially weaker vintages), and more collectors out there for a relatively inexpensive luxury
Growing auction markets - Burgundy remains strong, some growth in Champagne and Rhone, California hasn’t yet gotten traction - potentially due to a different style of wine than those who are buying Burgundy
Provenance premium often from ~20-200%
Producer direct - can introduce or reintroduce wines to Zachy’s buyer base, sharing these wines for them to taste, and another way to help build the brand
Scores declining in importance with more wine critics
To be auctionable - need quality, rarity, and fashionable - what people are looking for
Rudy Kurniawan story - bought a lot of wine from a Zachy’s auction and never paid, sent a list of wine to be sold in order to pay, but Zachy’s was uncomfortable with the wines (~60% seemed suspect) and rejected the whole consignment

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Putting Trust in Data w/ Russ Mann, WineBid Nov 11, 2020

Show notes

With a 25 year history, WineBid is the oldest and largest online wine auction site. The original wine re-commerce platform, Russ tells us about the auction process from the buyer and seller perspective as well as all the data they collect and display for the wines. This includes innovations such as a 360-degree bottle shot, price history charts, and new functionality like their customized shipping feature. He even spills the beans on a few tips and tricks to getting the best deals on WineBid!

Detailed Show Notes:

Russ’ background - software and e-commerce at realtor.com, myfico.com, gazelle.com, and also had a vineyard in Temecula, California, growing Syrah and Tempranillo
WineBid - 25 years old, based in Seattle with operations in Napa, the oldest and largest wine auction site
Weekly auctions - open at 7:15 pm PST on Sundays, closes at 7 pm PST the next Sunday
- All items open at the same time
- Pro’s get 1st 5-10 minutes to view and place bids
- What doesn’t sell rolls into the following week
- Now introducing some wines mid-week, with most wines going in one week
- Set good reserves upfront
WineBid Sunday Night is "appointment internet" - people watch the auctions' final minutes with a good bottle of wine, watching some wines get bid up
Can monitor all bids at once with WineBid
For Sellers of wine
- Consignors are mostly private individuals
- Most sales are for $10,000-$1M+, ideally $100+ average bottle value
- Sellers send their list and get an estimate
- WineBid does the appraisal and after agreeing with consignor, ships wine to the Napa warehouse
- Wines are inspected, authenticated, and photographed
- Once sold, sellers get a check or electronic wire transfer
- As part of an estimate, for larger cellars, WineBid will help catalog and pre-inspect on-site
Reasons people sell wines
- As in many businesses, the 3 D’s - divorce, debt, and death
- People also have their tastes change and swap out what’s in their cellars
- They move and want to downsize their cellar
- Spouse/partners - may force sales before they can buy more
Wine as an investment - WineBid was featured in an article in the Economist, conducting a 15-year analysis
- Basket of Burgundy wines would have outperformed the S&P 500
- Basket of Bordeaux wines would have been close to the S&P 500
- Need to think of total transaction costs- transactions costs higher for wine as an investment, as a physical asset
Consignment vs cash buyout for wine sellers - generally make more money consigning and capture more upside, but takes more time and can get paid sooner, at a discount, with immediate cash buyout
Business model
- Seller commissions - at most auction houses 5-25%, larger the consignment, the lower the premium
- Buyer’s premiums - generally 15-25%, 17% at WineBid vs ~20-25% for live auctions
Buyer demographics - ~135-150,000 registered bidders
- 70% US, 20% Asia, 10% Europe
- ⅔ Male, ⅓ Female
- Upper middle income and higher-tech, finance, professionals (lawyers, doctors)
- Demographics getting younger, particularly in 2020 -> interested in a broader selection of wines with higher mobile usage
- Most learn about WineBid via word of mouth, recently doing more social and digital advertising and trying to make the experience more personal
Tips & Tricks for buyers
- Bid early, put in 1st bid at the reserve, and set your max price upfront -> this may discourage others from bidding on the wine
- Don’t get emotional and chase the wine up
- Look for wines that you know you’ll like without scores or in the 90-93 point range (94+ get big premiums); analysis based on average critic scores
Only ~3% of the wine market is online, ~$10B online with a $325B overall market
- Covid pandemic accelerated the move online by ~7 years
- E.g., Wine.com setting record numbers and seeking capital at ~$1B valuation
- GoPuff buying Bevmo
WineBid Innovations
- 360-degree hi-res bottle shots
- One of the best for still photography in wine auctions
- Shipping functionality - can see everything you have and pick and choose what and when to ship
- Some of the most detailed condition notes on bottles
- Wine price chart for the history of the bottle, like a Zillow Zestimate
Most expensive wine sold on the site - a $50,000 bottle of Rose from Sine Qua Non
Provenance premiums
- Don’t see significant premiums on provenance
- No significant premiums for original wood cases (“OWC”) - buyers often don’t want to pay extra to ship the wood case
- Certificates of authenticity not seeing significant premiums
- Label appearance is important to many buyers
The proliferation of wine critics and influencers has led to some influencers rivaling and outpacing traditional media

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Digitization and Diversity in Wine Auctions w/ Jamie Ritchie, Sotheby’s Wine Nov 05, 2020

Show notes

In this episode, we learn about the wine auction market from Jaime Ritchie, Worldwide Head of Wine at Sotheby’s, one of the leaders in the space. We discuss how wine auctions work, how finding in-demand wines to sell is the current challenge, and the increasing digitization and diversification of the space. From moving to more online auctions, younger buyers from more diverse backgrounds and geographies, to how tariffs and taxes and reshaped the wine auction landscape, this episode is a must-listen if you have any interest in the world of fine and rare wines.

Detailed Show Notes:

Sotheby’s founded in 1744, wine division in 1970 - started with wine auctions in London
Expanded wine auctions to New York and London, which also has retail
Spirits getting to be a bigger part of their business, 3% in 2018, up to 19% in 2020
How auctions work
- Find the wine and collections
- Create auction estimates (low - high estimates) and suggested reserve (confidential between auction house and seller)
- Logistics - go-to wines, photograph, and ship
- Terms & consignment agreement with seller signed
- Data entry and presentation of the collection to maximize value
- Publish auction catalog and marketing
- Live auction
- Invoicing
The auction process normally takes 6 weeks - 3 months. Large collections often require 6 months - 2 years lead time
Auction vs. retail - auctions for rare wines or full cases, retail more for futures, latest vintages, more diverse way to buy wines (by the bottle or by the case)
The wine auction market - ~$500M / year
- Sotheby’s had record sales in 2019 ($118M), up 20% from the prior year
- The average lot size is ~$7,500 / lot (2019)
- Covid impact - fewer wines on the market, makes operations more difficult -> lower overall sales value and volumes
- Market pricing still strong, likely due to stock market strength and low volumes, unlike during the Great Recession where prices fell 40%
- The buyer set is expanding
  - Age - buyers getting younger
  - Geographically - more Asian and South American buyers
- Long-term - the price of wine will rise as more people want to drink, and a relatively fixed supply of the best wines
Asia market - Sotheby’s started in 2009 - $40M, $55M in 2010
- Asian buyers are the least price-sensitive, used to be US market
- Wines now go from EU/US -> Asia vs EU -> US before
- Largely influenced by Hong Kong wine import tax rate going to 0%
- The only cost to get wine there is to ship containers (~$6-10k / container)
UK market - less competitive auction market, more competitive fine wine market; Brexit impact - trying to find ways to mitigate the impact, expecting a minimal overall impact
US market - most competitive auction market, w/ tariffs, no collections being shipped to the US
Logistics - offer shipments from NY to Hong Kong 3x / year
- Overall, it depends on the laws and customs of each country or state
- In general, it is the buyer’s responsibility to move the wine after purchase
Digital transition
- Planned only 6 online auctions and 20 in-person ones in 2020, ended up being mostly online
- New digital Sotheby’s auction platform - was planning 3-5 year transition, did it in 3 months
- Online to be the common marketplace with live auctions for special collections
- Can still do events with online auctions - Robert Drouhin auction - dinner in Hong Kong with a live auction in London
Business Model
- Online still costs the same to process wines vs. live auctions
- Buyer’s premiums rising because the main issue is sourcing the wines
- In 1990 - used to be a 10% sales commission with no buyer’s premium, now no commission and all buyer’s premium
Growth areas after the price of Burgundy has skyrocketed - Rhone, Italy (Tuscany, Piedmont), Champagne, German Wines; CA and Bordeaux have been flat
Investable vs. Auctionable wines - investable wine have a belief that they will increase in value, auctionable just need a secondary market value, may not need to appreciate, be in good condition, and authentic
The provenance of wines can drive big premiums
- Lafite direct from Chateau auction (2010) - $7M sale vs $1M low estimate - 7x
- Robert Drouhin sale of ‘45 DRC Romanee Conti - 17x estimate, $550k per bottle, a world record bottle price
Auction market good at maximizing value for wines that have appreciated and for re-setting prices, not good at launching new wines
Critics scores less important post-Robert Parker. No one has the same influence. People now aggregate 2-3 different critics scores, market-moving away from it
The Auction Buyer - getting more diverse from all angles
- Mostly men, wish there were more females
- 50% of 1st-time buyers in their 20s and 30s
- 50% of Hong Kong buyers in their 20s and 30s
- 60% worldwide buyers in 30s and 40s
- In 1990, the average age of a buyer was 65
- Used to be heavy finance-driven, now more tech and real estate
- Asia and N America consistent, with Mexico and Brazil buyers coming in and out
The Auction Seller
- 3 D’s - debt, death, and divorce -> even more with Covid; + doctor’s orders for wine
- Most people have purchased too much wine, they can’t consume it in their lifetime, so it goes on sale
- When people have children, they entertain at home more -> drives more buying

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Wine Preservation: Tom Lutz, Repour Oct 28, 2020

Show notes

XChateau is a podcast about all things wine, from vine to your glass. We tackle the business of wine and keep you up to date with new and exciting developments in the wine industry.

In this episode, Robert Vernick and Peter Yeung interview Tom Lutz, Founder & Creator of Repour Wine Saver, one of the leading new inventions in wine preservation technology. We discuss the technology, how people have learned about it, the differences between Coravin and Repour, and what the future holds.

Other topics covered in this episode include:

Tom is a chemist by trade (worked in biodiesel, aquarium products)
Repour was invented when he had a newborn son and ended up pouring half bottles of wine down the drain.
Technology:
- Uses food grade oxygen absorbers
- Binds the oxygen, of which the atmosphere has 21%, does not replace it.
- Requires air to exchange and remove the oxygen, so the bottle needs to be stored vertically
The capacity of the stopper
- Built for 5 pours of one bottle, glass by glass - this would expose the wine to 1,500 ml of air.
- The max amount a stopper has to handle is 2,000 ml of air.
Uses recyclable materials. However, many municipal grids have 3”x3” grids that filter out small objects; for large customers, they do take back repours to recycle
Pricing
- Consumer: 4-pack ($8.99 / $2.25 each), 10-pack ($17.99 / $1.80 each), 72-pack ($120 / $1.67 each)
- There are often promotions via the email list.
- The future target price point is $1/stopper or lower.
- Trade: 4x72-pack (288 stoppers) - starts at $0.83 / stopper
Customers
- Started with on-premise (restaurants)
- With COVID - moved more to consumers.
- Wineries - have been using for virtual tastings and wine club gifts, also several doing custom branding.
Coravin vs. Repour - both work.
- Coravin is better for tasting and cellaring wine.
- Repour is for enjoying wine like you normally would and saving the remainder of the bottle for later.
Marketing
- Mostly word of mouth
- After 1 year of testing the science, Tom started with a local sommelier group that did a blind tasting, and Repour worked great.
- TEXSOM - gave out samples, and many conversations have come back to that event
Duration of effectiveness - weeks or months, Repour has tested out to 6-7 months.
The Future - potentially replaceable inserts, sparkling wine and possibly showing how much oxygen-absorbing capacity is left.

If you loved this episode, we would love for you to subscribe, rate, and review on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts. Until next time, cheers!

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Wine Preservation: Greg Lambrecht, Coravin Oct 21, 2020

Show notes

XChateau is a podcast about all things wine, from vine to your glass. We tackle the business of wine and keep you up to date with new and exciting developments in the wine industry.

In this episode, Robert Vernick and Peter Yeung interview Greg Lambrecht, Founder & Chairman of Coravin, leading wine preservation and access technology. We discuss the technology, how to get the most out of the Coravin, how people learn about coravin, and what is in store for the future.

Other topics covered in this episode include:

Greg fell in love with wine in Napa at age 16
Works in medical devices
Was frustrated with how to explore wine without committing to the whole bottle
Coravin’s goal: to change the way wine is served and sold
Founding:
- 1st prototype - 1999
- A patent filed - 2004
- Company founded - 2011
- The product launched - 2013
Technology - basic components existed before Coravin but needed a lot of refinement
- Surgical grade needle - started with 3 types
- Gases - started with 4 types (CO2, helium, argon, & nitrogen)
- Gas pressure - biggest invention is the pressure regulator
Capsule uses
- Don’t hold the trigger for a long time; use multiple very short presses to get the most out of the capsule; Want to hear as little as possible when the Coravin is tilted back up
- The average is 15 full glasses/capsule - can get up to 20-24 if used right
- @ 15 glasses/capsule, each glass is ~$0.50 for argon gas
Coravin models
- Model 3 - $199 (entry pricing) - all the functionality, but only in grey and single design
- Model 5-6 - has different colors and finishes
- Model 11 - removed hand clamp, now uses a smart clamp (which is now across the range); automatic pourer - can set up the amount to pour on you phone
Needles
- Vintage needle (silver ring) - pours more slowly, can use up to 19th-century wines
- Fast flow needle (red ring) - 30%+ faster, can use for corks up to 15 years old, mostly for restaurants
- Standard needle (black ring) - can use up to wines from the 1960s
- Professional needle (gold ring) - rare and expensive, like a blend of the vintage needle and standard needle
- Need to replace needle every 500-1,000 uses, if it’s hard to insert the needle and/or there is silver at the end (the Teflon is wearing off), it’s time to replace the needle
- Cut foil to improve needle life
- Don’t use on synthetic corks, vinolok (glass corks)
- Northern Italian wines and Diam corks - corks are harder and reduce needle life, but okay to use
For best usage - use the 4 C’s
- Clean - need to wash it after use, rinse with hot water through the spout at the end of the evening
- Clear - give the trigger a quick press before you go onto the next bottle
- Cellar - still need to protect the bottle and store wine as you would for aging
- Cork - don’t use on bad corks - a simple trick, push down on a cork, if it slides, don’t use Coravin
- The drop of wine at the top - when you remove the needle, it drags a bead of wine as the cork closes, does not mean the cork has not sealed
- “Cold and old” - colder and older bottles have less elastic corks and take longer to heal. Leave them standing up for five minutes before putting in the cellar
Coravin screwcap
- Markets that wines will last for 3 months, but has seen 10-18 months
- Trick - only need 1 screwcap module for long-term storage, put the original screwcap back on after pouring with Coravin, and will be fine
Coravin marketing - how people hear about it
- #1 - at wineries - for pouring library wines, etc.…
- #2 - restaurants and wine bars
- #3 - at a friend’s home (word of mouth) - this is becoming the #1-way people hear about it in the US
Distribution
- In 60+ countries
- Start almost exclusively in trade. Over time, consumer demand outstrips trade
- US - 80-90% sold to consumers, China - predominantly trade
- With the Covid pandemic - 75% of business is now online
The Future - the mission is to make it faster, easier, and more fun than opening a bottle; sparkling wine is in the works
An MW tested preservation technologies for his research paper, and the Coravin was the only product that worked

If you loved this episode, we would love for you to subscribe, rate, and review on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts. Until next time, cheers!

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Wine PR: Paul Yanon, Colangelo & Partners Oct 14, 2020

Show notes

XChateau is a podcast about all things wine, from vine to your glass. We tackle the business of wine and keep you up to date with new and exciting developments in the wine industry.

In this episode, Robert Vernick and Peter Yeung interview Paul Yanon, Vice President of Wine, for Colangelo & Partners, a New York-based PR agency focused on wine, food, and spirits. We discuss the differences between working with European vs. American wineries, how the return on investment (“ROI”) is changing in the PR space, and how Justin Timberlake and ‘N SYNC have parallels with wine PR.

Other topics covered in this episode include:

Paul is Australian and grew up around wine. His move to the US provided more insight into European and South American wines.
Colangelo & Partners - founded in 2006, the largest fine wine agency in the US with ~55 people
PR scope:
- Media relations (traditional)
- Digital (e.g., TikTok, Twitch, Instagram, Facebook)
- Events
Writers need good content, and PR people need conversations to get content out there.
PR can bridge what’s in the bottle with the how and why of the wine - important for critics to have a full understanding.
Publications are moving to a younger audience - includes connecting on digital platforms.
Digital helps track ROI - final conversion to sale is the “holy grail,”; historically measured by “page space,” now using more robust metrics, including “share of voice.”
Geographic differences in working with clients
- Europeans - more trust that agency knows the US market
- Americans - debate using a PR firm in NYC vs. locally, want PR agency to be an extension of the team
Criteria for a wine brand to be a good fit for PR - need volume, access, and availability
Direct-to-consumer (“DTC”) channels can be more cost-efficient than trade - don’t require as much face to face interaction.
Trade requires messaging for both consumers and trade, need to be in front of trade, and need a reason to displace another brand off their list.
Campaign Examples:
- Portuguese Cork Association - found historic (Hamilton era) Madeira bottles - had them resealed with cork and auctioned off. The effort was filmed, and a museum exhibit was created; showcased how cork has performed over the centuries.
- Napa Valley Vintners - had Shake Shack participate in a promotion.
Wine PR agencies are a good place for sommeliers to work - good storytellers who have a passion for the product.

If you loved this episode, we would love for you to subscribe, rate, and review on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts. Until next time, cheers!

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Wine PR: Morgan Moore & Alex Fondren, Glodow Nead Communications Oct 07, 2020

Show notes

XChateau is a podcast about all things wine, from vine to your glass. We tackle the business of wine and keep you up to date with new and exciting developments in the wine industry.

In this episode, Robert Vernick and Peter Yeung interview Morgan Moore, Director, and Alex Fondren, Associate Director, of Glodow Nead Communications, one of the largest independent lifestyle PR agencies focused on hospitality, food and beverage, retail, and real estate. We discuss how wine is consumable art, the relevancy of trade magazines and wine critics, and how Glodow Nead creates partnerships between clients to develop great synergies.

Other topics covered in this episode include:

Glodow Nead - started in the entertainment industry (“meat in seats”), the 1st West Coast agency to have offices in Asia (Singapore, Shanghai)
Sample beverage clients: Plumpjack Group, Pine Ridge, Donum Estate, Seghesio, Bodega Garzon (Uruguay), Phantom Creek Estates (Okanagan Valley, Canada)
PR firms - the primary job is to secure earned media
Earned media - articles (or broadcast, social media) that are not an advertisement, has not been paid for or in exchange for the product; more trusted than paid media
Wine is “consumable art” that can’t be compared to any other consumer product
Wine critics are still relevant - for collectors, at point of sale
Trade magazines shifting focus - Wine Enthusiast has been promoting celebrity wines
Wine coverage has grown beyond trade magazines to other media
3 goals for PR firms for wineries: drive sales, brand awareness, & brand relevancy
Business model: monthly retainer, 1-year contracts with a 30-day notice for cancellation; generally $5-20,000 per month
PR ROI: give earned media the same value as a paid advertisement (e.g., a 1-page feature article in Travel + Leisure may be worth $5-10,000 as the cost of the equivalent advertisement)
Article lead times
- Long lead times - e.g., Wine Spectator works 6 months in advance
- Medium lead times - e.g., San Francisco or Los Angeles Magazine work 3 months in advance
- Shorter lead times - e.g., Wine Spectator Online works within the week
Glodow Nead differentiation
- More than just wine - can bring more stories to more journalists, including lifestyle publications
- Global clients - journalists get more excited about the potential to write about topics globally
- Partnerships between clients (e.g., hotels, resorts, celebrity chefs)
- Big events department
Example campaigns:
- Plumpjack Winery - hired Glodow Nead because of entertainment experience - wanted to bottle their most expensive wine in screwcaps - the screwcap vs. cork campaign was one of the most successful ever
- Flowers Winery - opened a new tasting room and articles about it drove traffic to their site
- Partnership Examples: St Regis SF’s Polo Cup with Hamel Family Wines, Ritz Carlton Lake Tahoe, hosted high-end wine dinners and private dinners with wine clients, Napa Valley Wine Train hosts winemaker dinners and spotlight tastings
Traits for good wine PR people - 1st be obsessed with media, then wine knowledge

If you loved this episode, we would love for you to subscribe, rate, and review on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts. Until next time, cheers!

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Wine PR: Stephanie Teuwen, Teuwen Communications Sep 30, 2020

Show notes

XChateau is a podcast about all things wine, from vine to your glass. We tackle the business of wine and keep you up to date with new and exciting developments in the wine industry.

In this episode, Robert Vernick and Peter Yeung interview Stephanie Teuwen, President and Co-Founder of Teuwen Communications, an award-winning, PR agency focused on food, wine, and spirits. We discuss what a PR firm does in wine, how wine PR differs from other consumer brands PR, and the business model of PR.

Other topics covered in this episode include:

Stephanie’s background - in restaurants, from Provence, France
Founded Teuwen Communications, splitting from a larger PR firm, to support a single restaurant
Goals of a PR firm - build and expand awareness; support sales (PR efforts need to go back to the bottom line)
Scope of PR efforts
- Earned media
  - The PR firm is a strategic storyteller to journalists
  - Written, video, podcasts, audio
  - Build relationships with media, work as a team with journalists
  - 70% of the press is driven by media and public relations
  - Written publications often plan out 6 months in advance
  - Major wine magazines - have a core base that reads them, but pivoted to move a lot of content online, important for trade
  - Gets ~100-500 articles / year for clients
- Influencer marketing
  - Influencers need to have a true voice
  - Voice should resonate with their audience
  - Influencers important to democratize wine
- Advertising - Often to amplify the voices of other efforts
- Events - both virtual and in-person
Measuring sales and PR impact - through traffic and sales on the website, anecdotes from customers, how the brand is portrayed
The difference between wine PR and non-wine
- Passion for the product
- Wine knowledge, highly technical - often have wine certifications
- Don’t work with celebrities - a different area of PR
Wineries need good distribution (either direct-to-consumer or trade) to make PR investment worthwhile
Business model - min investment ~$50-60,000 per year
Campaign example - Wines of Alsace - “Alsace Rocks”
- Trying to engage with a younger audience
- 360 campaign - trade, events, influencer marketing
- The client now rolling out globally

If you loved this episode, we would love for you to subscribe, rate, and review on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts. Until next time, cheers!

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The Global Cork Market: Carlos de Jesus, Amorim Cork Sep 23, 2020

Show notes

XChateau is a podcast about all things wine, from vine to your glass. We tackle the business of wine and keep you up to date with new and exciting developments in the wine industry.

In this episode, Robert Vernick and Peter Yeung interview Carlos de Jesus, Director of Marketing and Communications for Amorim Cork in Portugal, the largest cork company in the world which is celebrating its 150 year anniversary in 2020. We discuss the various uses of cork, the differences between corks and other closures, and how the business of cork has evolved over the decades.

Other topics covered in this episode include:

Amorim - 150-year history, largest cork company in the world, produces 5.5 billion stoppers per year, over 18,000 winery clients globally, most small
Sources cork from 1,000s of property owners, mostly in Portugal and Spain
Uses of cork: wine, footwear, fishing, aerospace, flooring, and sports
Differences between cork and other closures: technical, sustainability, and additional value add
Technical differences
- Oxygen transfer rate (OTR) - plastic (lets in too much oxygen), screwcap (lets in too little), cork (“just right”)
- Average cork has 800 million cells in it
- TCA - “we have defeated TCA” - mitigated to the point where cork is now gaining market share
- Consistency of corks - not an issue for technical stoppers (micro agglomerates, twin top), the technology used to help with natural corks
Sustainability - people, planet, profits
- CO2 - a single cork can have up to 562 g CO2 sink per stopper
- Cork harvesting one of the best paid agricultural jobs, ~€125-135 / day for three months/year
- Cork forests one of 36 hot spots for biodiversity in the world
- Also fights forest fires, regulates water cycles, and trees live 200-250 years
- Corks are both compostable and recyclable (e.g. - ReCORK America)
Additional value add = the happy sound of a cork popping
- Of 100 most sold brands in the US (data from Nielson), the average price of wine with cork is consistently higher than other closures
Closure market
- 19.5B closures per year
- 12.5B closed with cork (~70%)
- 1.8-1.9B single-use plastic stoppers
The price of cork ranges from €0.04 - 3.00 per cork
- Screwcaps (the lowest price), plastic, cork
- Cork can now sometimes undercut the price of plastic
Supply and demand for cork
- 2.2M hectares of cork forests in the Western Mediterranean - lots of trees to supply the current industry
- Takes 43 years for a cork tree to supply cork for a wine closure -> new research with micro-irrigation is reducing the first harvest from 25 years to 10-12 years

If you loved this episode, we would love for you to subscribe, rate, and review on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts. Until next time, cheers!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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