August 21 2006
Randomthought #1: The most revered wine shopin Indianapolis is also one that I’ve railed against in the past for pricingtactics that are not completely above reproach.
Whenforced in to their shop this past weekend to buy some micro beers, I noticedthat the front window, in addition to having extremely dusty Riedel crystal,also had a sun-faded copy of the Wine Spectator from … 1999.
Suchis the state of wine affairs in Indianapolis, IN. Anyone that wants to come into this market with a good, authenticconcept and excellent selection will gain immediate buzz, market share andrevenue. There’s a gaping hole inbetween the Sam’s/Costco/World Market (henceforth known as the “Sam’s CostMarket”) national retail play and the independent store in Indianapolis proper.
I’ma week late to the New York Times Wine Ratings conversation so I’ll defer myopinions as it has already been well-trodden in the blogosphere.
But,what I find really funny about the article is Michael Deloach’s quotes. Deloach is the Vice President of Hook & Ladder winery in Sonoma. And, in theinterest of full disclosure, Hook & Ladder is a winery that has recentlybegun a small-scale wine blog sampling program that I am a part of. I love his attitude, though! He references Wilfred Wong from Beveragesand More, a large chain in California who also does his own 100 point scoringof wines and says:
Wilfredis a bona fide wine guy, but, really, think about it, who needs Parker when youcan make up your own numbers? If Parkeror Spectator don’t give you a high enough score, you can make up your own.”
Classic!
Imean, really, if you have a shelf talker in your wine tasting room and yourUncle Bob calls himself a wine consultant and declares it a 96 point wine, whois really going to call him on it?
Deloachgoes on to suggest that a three or a four point system is a model whose timehas come because
Applyinga 100-point scale to wine is dishonest. It makes the consumer think it’s scientific.
Itend to disagree with him there—consumers don’t think it’s scientific,consumers have just come to trust other people more then themselves when itcomes to the taste of wine.
But,his recommendation does have merit. Foranybody that has purchased a book off of Amazon.com, how many times have youbegged off of buying a book that was rated five stars in aggregate by a bunchof reviewers? And, by the same token,how many times have you passed on a two star rated book only to buy somethingelse.
Bookson Amazon.com and wine aren’t too far from each other really—you’re buying bothof them sight unseen and both are highly subjective in their merit.
Maybea combination of the qualitative benefits of the Davis 20 point system coupledwith an Amazon.com five star system is the way to go.
Dr.Vino has a quick hit on the new movie starring Russell Crowe from directorRidley Scott.
RidleyScott has typically done action flicks and Russell Crowe usually does strongmale, subtlety nuanced and flawed characters, which makes this all the morecurious.
AGood Year, based on the novel by Peter Mayle, is anything but an action movieand Russell Crowe won’t be put on any boxing gloves or gladiator gear for thisflick.
Accordingto a Publishers Weekly review at Amazon.com:
Mayle’sbreezy, uncomplicated fifth novel (Chasing Cezanne, etc.) and ninth bookfollows 30-something Max Skinner from a sabotaged financial career in London tohis adoption of the Provençal lifestyle on an inherited vineyard in France. Maxspent holidays at his Uncle Henry’s vineyard as a child, so when he inheritsthe place, the prospect of returning is tempting; a generous "bridgingloan" from ex-brother-in-law Charlie seals the deal. The estate, LeGriffon, is in a dire state of disrepair and the wine cellar is filled withbottles of a dreadful-tasting swill, but it’s nothing that vineyard caretakerClaude Roussel and prim housekeeper Madame Passepartout can’t resolve. Maxsettles into his new life easily thanks to the attentions of local notaryNathalie Auzet and busty cafe owner Fanny. The arrival of young Californian"wine brat" Christie Roberts, Uncle Henry’s long-lost daughter,complicates matters for Max, but her surprise offer and Charlie’s arrivallessen the impact of a vicious vineyard scandal involving a delicious,high-priced, discreetly produced wine called Le Coin Perdu. Mayle’s simplestory provides lighthearted if unadventurous reading and a fond endorsement ofthe pleasures of viniculture.
Dr.Vino also has a link to a movie trailer you can check out here.
Doubtfulif this movie sneaks up on the country like Sideways did—probably a little morepromotion for this celluloid wine romp.
And,last, but not least, Appellation America, a wine commerce site, has added anifty little Web 2.0 feature with combo mapping/satellite imagery from Googlemaps.
Thisis a nice little feature—not earth shattering, but as Appellation Americacontinues to wrap content firmly around commerce, it adds a little bit to theirpositioning to engender, in the online space, identification with the not onlythe story aspect of the winery, but also its physical location.
Todate, they haven’t added much in the way of community to the site, likelybecause they are bolstering their writing line-up of content contributors from thevarious AVAs and regions and you can only do a couple of things at once and dothem well.
AAseems to be doing a lot of things well—I’d keep an eye on them … and now, if Icould get them to ship to Indiana.
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