I've been seeing headlines about #winery traffic being down sharply this year. But they mostly overlook that Q1 of 2023 was unusually cold and wet. At #TablasCreek we had 20 rainy days in March, and only 1 weekend day that was not raining and over 60F. Headlines were all about #floods and #BombCyclones and evacuation warnings. It's a wonder our traffic was only off 22%! Traffic is up vs. 2022 since April 1st.

I dove into it in a new blog. https://tablascreek.typepad.com/tablas/2023/04/are-tasting-room-sales-really-falling-off-a-cliff-not-exactly-.html

#wine #WineBusiness

How often do you get to talk to someone who knows literally more than anyone else in the world about an interesting and relevant topic? I do this Wednesday at noon PDT!

Joining me for my #TablasCreek #InstagramLive will be Steve Gross, Vice President of State Relations for the #WineInstitute. He knows more about the web of laws and regulations that govern whether #wineries can sell their #wine to you, the customer, than anyone else alive. I hope you'll join us.

#WineBusiness #WineShipping

Still feels weird to be inside a crowded room. Today I joined the Beijing stop of ASC Fine Wine's China tour.

Nice to check out part of the ASC portfolio, including Louis Jadot, Norton, Robert Mondavi, Robert Weil, Muga, Cono Sur and Casa Silva -- I went back for a second pour of their Pinot Noir.

Just ten weeks ago, restaurants and bars in Beijing were not able to accept patrons, events were being canceled left, right and center, travel was risky, and we had to do regular COVID testing / scan QR codes to get into venues. It feels like 10 months, not 10 weeks...

#wine #winetasting #winebusiness #winelife #beijingwine #grapewallofchina

15 years ago, I tried 9 Chinese wines with 3 fellow tasters in Beijing.

A "where are they now?" post about a much different era of Chinese wine and about what happened to the tasters and wineries since that day in 2008.

Note: We did the tasting at "Dishes of Mao Zedong Hometown" restaurant, behind the Hilton Beijing, with wines from Grace, Catai, Bolongbao, GreatWall, Domaine Franco-Chinois and more.

Snarkiest comment: "I’m glad it’s not more than 28 kuai.” About US$3 at the time.

Also, the producers of the two best wines in the tasting are currently in the top tier of Chinese wineries now.

https://www.grapewallofchina.com/2023/02/20/flashback-chinese-wines-15-years-ago/

#wine #winebusiness #winetasting #china #beijing
#beijingboyce #grapewallofchina

@jasonchaas

Congratulations, proof positive that as with everything in wine, it's about the story as much as the drop itself.

#tablascreek #wine #boxwine #patelindetablas #winebusiness

One year ago at #TablasCreek we released our first-ever box of #wine: the Patelin de Tablas Rosé. I was hoping it would go fast and in my best-case scenario we'd sell out in a week. We sold out in 4 hours and I got to spend the next week replying to disappointed customers. So this year we made about 3x as many boxes.

Looks like maybe I underestimated. We released the new vintage this morning and have already sold 60% of the total we made. Bonkers.

#BoxWine #PatelinDeTablas #WineBusiness

Chinese wines in Sweden! Stockholm is stocked with Chinese wines thanks to Ludvig Sääf, who also imports Chinese baijiu and craft beer via his company Lu Spirits.

Saaf lists Canaan and Domaine Franco-Chinois, based just beyond Beijing and considered among China’s better wineries. They are available at seven venues in Stockholm.

“People are really impressed at how good these wines are," says Saaf. But as in China, the prices are high.

“Canaan has really been helpful setting the price with the local market in mind,” he says. “But Chinese wines are still way more expensive than the same quality European wines.”

“I am optimistic about the wines because they are unique, particularly the Riesling, which customers have found to be quite different from European Rieslings,” says Saaf.

“It is good that Chinese wines bring something more than just novelty, that they also bring new flavors and styles to the shelf.”

Full story:

https://www.grapewallofchina.com/2023/02/14/scanaandinavia-chinas-canaan-dfc-wines-in-sweden/

#wine #winebusiness #chinawine #china

I write for two statewide publications in New Jersey, and I wrote a wine-based love story recently for my column. I didn't set out to write a love story, and it's not a fairy tale, but it is a confluence of love stories -- love for one's heritage, maternal love, romantic love, wine love (yes, its a thing!), love for life. I loved being able to share it. It's all paired with the wine world elixir of love -- Champagne.

Love has its challenges, and a big part of this story is about the difficulties starting a wine business, being new to the trade, being a woman in the trade, amd being not just small but a micro-business, going up against luxury goods companies giving away non-luxuriously made crap, I mean, swag.

But we all root for love and our belief love overcomes challenges...it keeps us positive and hopeful. But do we root for the underdogs?

#wine #champagne #winebusiness #smallbusiness #valentinesday

https://www.jerseysbest.com/community/made-with-love-montclair-family-creates-special-champagne-for-every-occasion/

COVID full circle: A bittersweet moment recently as I stood in the finger-number cold and flag-snapping wind at Domaine Franco-Chinois, the first winery I visited after China finally eased its COVID rules in December and the last one I went to before the virus struck three years ago.

Domaine Franco-Chinois / DFC and its sibling and neighboring winery Canaan are just outside Beijing and rank among China's best.

I tagged along with critic Shuai Zekun of jamessuckling.com and tasted 39 wines, ranging from Bordeaux-style reds to crisp fresh whites to a delectable late harvest Petit Manseng to a couple of skin-contact wines featuring grapes rarely seen in China.

A look at those two visits, at the two wineries and at a diverse tasting.

#wine #winetourism #winetasting #winebusiness #winetasting #huailai #beijing #china #chinawine #covid #covid19

Three years ago, I wrote a post titled "Virus Crisis: Ten Ways China’s Wine Trade is Hurting" to explain how COVID had meant travel restrictions, slashed flights, canceled trade shows, closed restaurants and bars, falling sales and more.

We thought it was bad in February of 2020 -- we didn’t realize how much more shit would hit the fan. (Spoiler: a lot.)

I have now added a post about how the last three years has hurt various parts of China’s wine industry: importers, trade show organizers, consultants, on-trade and local producers. A brief look at each niche, with an example or two.

Plus, the story of one wine trade professional who returned to China late last year, tested positive and ended up locked in a room, behind a rusty door, for 17 days with two strangers.

It's no surprise, after you finish reading his tale, to see him write, “We take freedom for granted: freedom is a fragile thing.”

Full post is here:

https://www.grapewallofchina.com/2023/02/08/three-years-later-covid-the-damage-done/

#wine #china #covid #covid19 #winebusiness

This piece by Jon Moramarco of #BW166 is a great counterpoint to all the doom-and-gloom pieces on wine's future spurred by the recent #SiliconValleyBank report that suggested that #Millennials and #GenZ weren't adopting wine as fast as #Boomers were aging out of prime wine-buying age. But... accounting for demographics shows a much more optimistic story, with every age band increasing their DTC purchases. https://www.bw166.com/2023/02/05/wine-the-glass-is-half-full/

#Wine #WineBusiness

This is an outstanding initiative by Tablas Creek. Using kegs for tasting room wines (at least some of them) will have a significant impact on their carbon footprint. Tablas Creek is shining light for the U.S. wine industry with these efforts.

#wine #winebusiness #sustainability @jasonchaas
https://tablascreek.typepad.com/tablas/2023/01/whats-the-most-useless-glass-bottle-one-that-never-leaves-the-winery.html

Kanye West and Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio, or How to Keep a Good Wine Region Down ... https://youtu.be/mXiUMYxfHZ4

#wine #winemaking #winebusiness

Top 5 Online Wine & Liquor Retailers in the U.S., 2021
#wine #wineretail #winesales #winebusiness #online

Top 5 Online Wine & Liquor Retailers in the U.S., 2021
#wine #wineretail #winesales #winebusiness #online

Found this excellent #wine commentary today. Does the article make me want to watch these shows? 🤔 Not really (although admittedly one day I may just be bored enough..). BUT what IS interesting is how media influences not just consumer preferences (and thus buying trends) but also what’s (incorrectly)considered wine knowledge. And that’s not to mention the effect it can have (and has had) on the industry. Pull out Merlot and over-plant Pinot anyone? Anyway…that’s my two Pennie’s for the day✌️. Anyone else have thought, feelings, comments or concerns?

https://www.everydaydrinking.com/p/is-white-lotus-the-new-sideways?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
#wine #wineindustry #wineinmovies #winebusiness

Tell me you work in #wine without telling me you work in wine

#wineindustry #winebusiness #winetasting #winereviewer #wineenthusiast

Welcome to my patch: this lineup from Thanksgiving reflects the array of varieties and producers I keep in my cellar and offer my guests. Give a shout-out if you see something you recognize! (Or go ahead and ask me about the shiner 😉)

What are some regulars in YOUR stash that you like to serve when company comes over?

#wine #wineindustry #winebusiness #wineenthusiast #winetasting

Re #Introduction as I just migrated over from the sfba server: I'm the Senior Editor of Wine Enthusiast and review the wines of California for the pub. I've got my Diploma through the Wine Spirit Education Trust (WSET) and teach wine courses through the Napa Valley Wine Academy. Always willing to chat all things #wine #wineindustry #winebusiness #winetasting #wineeducation

Re #introduction as I just moved over from the soba server to this one: I’m the senior editor of Wine Enthusiast and review wines from California for the pub. I’ve my WSET Diploma and teach at Napa Valley Wine Academy. Always willing to chat all things #wine #wineindustry #winebusiness #winetasting #winemaking #wineeducation