I’m shocked. You mean the BIVB hasn’t yet convinced the average American grocery shopper of the virtues of a well made bottle of Monthelie, or Mercurey, or St. Romain? I hear what you’re saying.

I ran a wine shop many moons ago, before the urge to get a job that would permit me to make enough $$$ to feed my wine jones took over. Many many hours were spent hand selling Burgundy, a bottle or two at a time, with vineyard maps in tow. It’s not an easy region to know and the wines are tough to sell to those who do not know.

The three tier system doesn’t help anyone either. Out here in Washington State, where I dwell, it ain’t exactly easy to buy small production Burgundy. As a retail consumer, I have spent decades scouring the national marketplace for a few bottles of this or that. Our state was always open to out of state retailers. Recently, the wholesaler lobby paid the legislature to enact a bill that shut the door.

A bill was just in committee in our state legislature, sponsored by a state senator who was getting lots of pissed off mail from his constitutents asking why they suddenly could not buy wine from licensed out of state retailers they had been trading with for years. The new bill would have permitted out of state retailers to buy a permit and legally ship direct to state residents, who would also pay state sales tax on the transaction.

When a public hearing was held on the bill, the committee chairwoman opened the hearing by remarking that she had received more mail from constituents on the bill than any other legislation she had ever considered — all but two letters urged her to assist in getting the bill passed. Even the Washington Liquor Control Board, which is supposed to be enforcing a ban on out of state retail sales to our state, came out in support of the bill — noting that enforcing the ban is impossible and serves no real purpose; and the state may as well regulate this trade and get tax revenues from it.

So what happened? Today I learned that two industry lobbyists got to the Committee members and the bill will die in committee before it gets to the floor of the state legislature.

So not only is it tough to get a handle on what’s what in Burgundy, but just laying hands on the stuff requires quite a lot of creativity.

Another rant, I know, and slightly off topic. But this hits me where I live.

But wine is just like anything else: the vast majority of wine drinkers will buy what they have been marketed and there are several places where people get disconnected. First, there just isn’t enough time in the day for the average person, and odds are they aren’t going to devote their free time to learning the nuances of French wines (how many people will honestly trade their TV for the Oxford Companion?) So while we all know that the French are adverse to breaking with tradition, they really should make their wines more accessible to Americans.

Sure, a fraction of people will buy whatever is the most expensive thing on the shelf, but most just don’t know what the hell the names actually mean! Those expensive wines are recognizable, something that most French wines aren’t. So much of the market buys New World wines that have neat labels or are labeled with a name or varietal they know and, on top of that, New World wineries have done a hell of a good job with marketing in general. Champagne houses did as well, and look at the amount of business they’re doing! There’s even been a substantial amount of press for those grower-producers lately, too, as is inevitable when markets grow. In recent years Spain and Portugal have also taken a hint, have mounted huge marketing campaigns, and they’re starting to see the fruits of their labor (not just the big guys, either)

The majority of wine drinkers don’t buy wine from independent shops. Look at the large portion of the market that buys wine at the grocery store or at Trader Joes, etc….these stores are still in the business of making money, not in the business of educating consumers about wine (we can’t blame them for that). Why would they carry a wine that is a tougher sell? And once again, the average consumer isn’t going to spend the little time they have away from their jobs and such to troll the local wine shop to get taught about wines they don’t know. It’s easier to pick up the Napa Cab.

Yes, the 3-tier laws here are dated, and so are the laws regarding importing goods from Europe (though the people who benefit from it certainly don’t think so). Many of us in the business believe it’s time for a change, and we’ll have to deal with that issue sooner rather than later. But if you’re aiming for more exposure and in getting these wines more widely available, then it’s time to stop ignoring the innate issues of the way these wines are marketed and sold. If Burgundy as a whole could generate more sales and credibility with the largely un-tapped middle market of American consumers, then I bet that the wonderful wines that you and I hold dear would be more readily available as well.

I’m not saying this is the only possible solution, but I think it’s a big part of it.

**End of Rant**

It was named is-wine (2000-2005).

It still exists under that name, but is now on 8th Street between 5th and 6th, and of course it hasn’t got my winning personality behind it anymore…

Many years ago, Fred, I operated a small Finger Lakes winery. I can surprise you with my stories–either that, or make you cry with me!

Tom, I didn’t know that you had a store in NYC. when was this and where was the store?

Alas, I had to quit the effort, but I had fun while doing it.

I no doubt overreacted. But as you may have surmised, it’s a subject near and dear to my heart.

The “middle” of the Burgundy market definitely does need to be developed, especially in the U.S. The problem in part is the benighted three-tier distribution system in place in most states, which makes it difficult for retailers to lay hands on wines from small producers who can’t get “posted” by distributors because they don’t have sufficient wine to sell and don’t have the kind of ready made market wholesalers usually demand.

My comments are really not limited to the Cote d’Or — there are wonderful wines coming out of the Maconnais, Chalonnaise, Chablis and environs. Even in the sea of plonk that is Beaujolais, there are islands of extraordinary quality. Plenty of folks are doing it right — old vines, low yield organic viticulture, natural non-interventionist vinification, wines true to type and not “internationalized” — at reasonable prices. The trick is getting them on people’s tables.

And as you say, the same could be said of many European wine regions.

You are mainly correct and could very well be talking about many regions in all of Europe, not just Burgundy. And I agree, cavalier is not a good face to put forward…mea culpa.

Problem is: the critics focus and write about what sells magazines, and not much about the rest seems to interest many.