THINKING ABOUT THE FUTURE OF WINE

Sylt — Germany’s St. Tropez, weekend — time to go through my “wine files”.
I reflect on our business and discuss improvements

DISTANCE — certainly

Mr. Sun, CEO of Changyu in China, said : “We grew too distant from our consumer.” Yep. I agree.
The wine-centric view. Not looking outward, not benchmarking against other industries. The obsession with expensive wine. The false perception that trading up is the answer. The belief that this is merely cyclical rather than structural.

TRANSITION — but how?

Don St. Pierre caught my attention with his brilliant The Drinks Business article earlier this year. His point: the Chinese wine market is not dead. It is transitioning to a better model — where people drink wine because they like it. The numbers until recently tell the story: consumption has fallen from around 18 Mio hl to 6 Mio last year — in just 120 moons.
If this hits Europe, we are in serious trouble. So how are we fighting the decline?

NO EXCITEMENT — true in 95% of cases

My wife Marion Moser recently put it perfectly: The consumer simply isn't being given much choice anymore.Look supermarkets. In the UK,  you often have the category leader — say Concha y Toro from Chile — and then BOB bottlings. Nameless, generic and not very exciting.
Exceptions, of course. Markus Huber at Sainsbury’s and elsewhere is always a treat as a BOB. But overall, wine has become a commodity. It has lost  its mojo.
“How can you love wine when you don’t get excited by it?” Exactly. There is so much competition for consumers’ attention — and the spirits industry understands this.
Campari Group Aperol Spritz has become a phenomenon. Chapeau. Sweet. Spritzy. Affordable. Italian lifestyle. Instantly understandable. And there you go.

PRICE — too high

My partner Markus Huber recently spent a few days in Italy. His perspective changed too. “We had dinner at local restaurants every day. Every table had wine. People enjoyed it. How? Carafed wine at €7 for 0.3 litres — and it was good. I loved it.” Exactly. Maybe the future of wine isn't always about selling more expensive bottles. Maybe it is about making people want to drink wine again.

GAME-CHANGING IS NEEDED — AND HISTORY MAY HELP

I was a young man when the Judgment of Paris happened. I understood what it meant, over time. It shaped my life: stay curious, look beyond the established order, innovate, and create something special for consumers. Then came Opus One — another true “wow” moment. I still remember my first glass. At Steirereck in Vienna, the legendary sommelier Adi Schmid poured it from a small carafe. I have never forgotten it.

And then came Steve Jobs. We should have listened in 2007, when he gave the world the iPhone.I have said it before:
WE NEED AN iPHONE MOMENT FOR THE WINE INDUSTRY.
AND WE NEED IT FAST.
Enough inspiration?
Stay tuned.
Describing the status quo is one thing.
Showing the way out of this mess is another.