[Paul Masson once promised to sell no wine before its time, but a new survey suggests many consumers don't know when wine may be past its prime. A recent nationwide survey of 429 wine drinkers showed most believe modestly priced white wines get better with age, something the study's author says is rarely true.] The idea that wines get better with age is ingrained in our consciousness, whether we like it or not, ... But that doesn't mean it's true for all wines. |
I think it's important for us to understand what this population is because it's shifted so dramatically in the last couple of years. |
It would be a mistake to think boxed wines are for the pedestrian market. |
Only 'dry and tannic' came out worse. |
Quality and value is what really drives people, and it is not tipped in California's favor. |
The idea that wines get better with age is ingrained in our consciousness, whether we like it or not. But that doesn't mean it's true for all wines. |
The only marketing statements about Beaujolais are that it's here and it's the absolute first. |
The only thing worse than what consumers don't know about vintage dating is what they nonetheless believe. From the time Orson Welles intoned the famous line for Paul Masson in the 1970s: 'We will sell no wine before its time,' people have maintained the notion that when it comes to wine, older is better. Unfortunately, such a belief can lead to poor choices of wine and disappointment with a purchase. |
They commissioned us to do a study of consumer awareness and consumer attitudes about wines made from grapes having extended hang time, and more concentrated and more intense flavors. We did the research, completed the study, and presented it as one of their seminars last year. |
Those are two very solid indications that freshness as a concept for wine is a marketable, and a pretty profitable, thing to hang your hat on. |
We're going to get it. They are going to take the easiest route. |
What do you want to pay for? You want to pay for the best outcomes, ... We don't want to know that you're seeing them. We want to know they're doing well. |
When an $8 or $10 bottle of white wine that is of a lighter style gets to be three, four, five years in the bottle, it starts to lose its fruitiness. It loses that crisp acidity. |
While sales data can indicate what is selling, we can give people the why and how. |