CONSUMER WINE AWARDS COMPETITION SET FOR 2012

Consumer Preferences Can Surprise, Validate Experts

November 4, 2011, Lodi, CA -- The 5th annual Consumer Wine Awards at Lodi, open to wines from every region, grape variety, type and style in the world, will take place here March 17-18, 2012. Wines entered in this unique competition are evaluated by panels of everyday wine consumers in multiple categories of wine types, styles and price ranges. The unique evnt celebrates both the diversity of wines and of wine consumer preferences. Last year’s Platinum winners included an amazing range of wines from inexpensive table wines to high-end Napa Cabernets, wines from many states across the US and other countries, representing a full spectrum of wine flavors and styles.

Consumer Evaluators in Actions

"The Consumer Wine Awards recognizes and celebrates the fact every person has unique physiological and sensory differences that profoundly affect wine and food preferences,” said co-director Tim Hanni MW.  "The people evaluating each wine category will be the very consumers who are most inclined to buy and enjoy those wines and this creates a new way for other consumers, who share similar tastes, to confidently explore wines recommended by their peers."  Awards are given in a variety of formats identified on the website, www.consumerwineawards.com and will also include a special George Taber value wine award celebrating his upcoming book, A Toast to Bargain Wines.

This year the Consumer Wine Awards will create "Best of Country" Awards for wines from around the globe; e.g., the highest scoring wines from Argentina, Australia, France, Italy, etc.,will be be given the opportunity to be tasted in their own sub-category by country, by consumers who favor traditional wines with regional character, or can be included in the traditional varietal categories at the discretion of the producer or importer.  The top scoring wine from each country would be awarded "Best of (Country/Region)". "This is a great way for producers everywhere to see how their wines rate with their own countries' wines or, at their discretion, against U.S. and international competition," Hanni said.

G. M. "Pooch" Pucilowski, co-director, said that the competition is growing in popularity, reaching almost 1000 wines last year.  He said, "Wineries should participate in the 2012 awards to tap into what we estimate to be in excess of 40% or more of the total wine market.  We reach out to the overwhelmed, intimidated and disenfranchised core wine consumers who do not seem to respond to the language, values and conventional wisdom of the traditional wine community.  We believe the wine industry can benefit from a completely new direction and strategy that can only come from critically rethinking the consumer opportunity."  Several research programs are accompanying the competition, helping participants identify consumer palatal preferences.  "With over 100,000 wines in the market, these consumer preference awards are guidelines for the industry," Pucilowski said.

Distributors, retailers, restaurateurs and hoteliers are using the prize winners in their own wine programs, said Hanni  "It's a win-win, with winning wineries working with the trade to show the consumers that their tastes are being factored into wine programs."  The competition is sponsored by the Lodi Tokay Rotary Club and proceeds fund local and international charitable projects.

Key Dates:

·         January 4, 2012 - First Day for receiving entry applications and wines (or labels) 
·         February 24, 2012 - Last Day for accepting entry applications and wines (or labels)
·         March 17-18, 2012 - Competition to be held at Hutchins Street Square  in Lodi, California

Contacts for questions and information:

Harvey Posert Public Relations, hposertpr@comcast.com, (707) 963-2685

Tim Hanni MW, tim@timhanni.com, (707) 337-0327 (tasting methodology, consumer research)
G.M. "Pooch" Pucilowski, gmpooch@pacbell.net, (209) 369-2020 (wine submissions)
Mike Bennett, (209) 642-2391 mbennett41@sbcglobal.net (Rotary PR contact, Lodi-related information and details)

Imaginary Wine and Food Disasters

Delicate sauteed halibut, salmon and
grilled asparagus served with Moscato,
White Zin and Cab (1985 Beringer
Chabot vineyard!). All yummy.

Have you even tried it?

Almost all wine and food matching occurs in the fertile imagination of usually well-meaning and earnest wine and food enthusiasts and professionals. There is also some specter of "wine and food disasters" looming that can befall the poor, unsuspecting consumer if they make the mistake of ordering or serving the wrong wine with the wrong food: see Dan Berger's piece on wine pairing disasters - http://napavalleyregister.com/lifestyles/food-and-cooking/wine/columnists/dan-berger/article_cbc1dd26-6acc-11e0-9fd6-001cc4c03286.html

Here are recommendations for Peking Duck on a recent expert thread (spelling is from posts):

• Reisling, a Sauvignon Blanc or Chateau Neuf-du-Pape, Oregon Pinot Noir, 100% Pinot Meunier Champagne, Alsace blends, a big ol' Pride Cabernet, Dolcetto and ripe vintages of rosso di montalcino, Sangiovese, Australian Sparkling Cabernet, Gewurztraminer, Grenache, Dry rose (esp. ones based upon Rhone red varieties like Grenache, and Syrah or Italian varieties like Barbera and Sangiovese), a good portuguese wine from Douro.

Holy moly.  Basically everyone just conjures up the dish, conjures up the metaphorical match and then goes to the mental rolodex of wines they love in their heads and comes up with a  match. The process is not based on any reality - just our fertile imagination and personal wine favorites. Note there is nothing wrong with this - just what the hell is a poor consumer supposed to do with this information???? You can bet that all contributors would defend their choices AND you can bet that if it is a wine you love it will be great with the Peking Duck AND if it is not a great match a dash of soy sauce (which is erroneously referred to as a wine enemy) and a tiny squeeze of lemon (for those who are more highly sensitive to bitterness) will set the dish right with any of the wines recommended.

Now take the information to your retailer, "I went online and looking for a big, delicate, fruity and spicy late harvest sparkling nouveau white cabernet-pinot noir-grenache-sangiovese rose from Portugal made by an Australian winemaker with lots of not-oak owned by an Italian family to go with Peking Duck..."

When people come to my house for lunch or dinner and I get the cursory, "What wine should I bring?" question I disclose the meal I plan and ask them to bring a wine that will NOT go with the dish. The wine should be something they like but would be considered a 'disaster' with the food. Most often I love to serve a delicate fish dish, like sole or halibut (red snapper or flounder when I am in Florida) and the wines that are selected are the intense reds that are so de riguer these days. Not sorta red, big and red.

The typical dishes I prepare are filet of sole a la bonne femme (paupiettes of sole - rolled up - poached in white wine and fish fumet with tarragon and mushrooms. The wines selected range from intense Lodi Petite Sirah to Napa Cabernet. I will invite some who have had this experience weigh in in the comments.

The results? Yummy food, wonderful wine. The sole is delicious. The wine does not overpower the food nor does the food do anything other than make the wine more rich and delectable. The wine and food 'disaster' is all in our heads. Not one of the hundreds of people I cook for over the years has EVER tried a delicate piece of fish a la meuniere with and intense red wine. EVER!

Same goes for steak and Riesling or lamb and Pinot Grigio. If the food is green and vegetal the imagination goes to Sauvignon Blanc. Oysters and Syrah? Ask winemaker Ken Brown - we spent an afternoon at Edna Valley Winery many years ago with a whole group of people slurping down fresh oyster and sucking down Syrah, Cabernet - anything close at hand that was supposed to 'not go with' oysters. If a slight metallic or bitter edge arose the tiniest bit of fresh lemon juice brought the wine back into wonderful balance. There were a lot of quizzical looks - turns out not one person in the very large group of very expert wine people had even tried the combination.

There is no natural affinity between Pinot Noir and salmon - salmon is just metaphorically more similar to Pinot: salmon is big and red as far as fish go (not as big and not as red as a cow) and Pinot is not as 'big' and red as a Cabernet. it is an imaginary match - and if you love Pinot Noir and love salmon chances are you will be very passionate that this IS a perfect match!

A couple of caveats

1. The wine must be in the realm of a wine you would enjoy - if you hate high alcohol Zinfandel, White Zinfandel, Pinot Grigio or whatever, it WILL suck with your food (or without).

2. The more emotionally you are tied to wine and food matching the more likely it is the imaginary wine and food matches you conjure up will work together. This is a psychological phenomenon and self-fulfilling prophecy of wine and food matching, not an experiential reality.

3. The more 'Hypersensitive' you are the more likely you are to get a bitter reaction from strong wines (high extract, higher alcohol) with foods with lots of umami - a tiny addition of lemon and salt will cure most negative reactions but you don't tend to favor huge reds or oaky whites in the first place and stick to the wines you love the most.

4. The more 'Tolerant' you are the more you will love big, extracted reds with whatever the hell you are eating and less likely you are to get any bitter reactions - you just want big, red wines and you know who you are! A delicate Riesling with sushi is not in the cards for you.

5. If you love the metaphorical matching of heavy wines with heavy foods, searching for that orgasmic synergy when the wine and food elevate the experience to a whole new level, compliment and contrast the flavors and textures - keep on doing that. Just understand that the experience is personal, subjective and mostly all in your head!

It is time that to radically address the role of enjoying wine and food together - things are completely out of control and the misinformation, false premises and misunderstandings are at an all-time high. Go ahead - spend a week diligently trying the WRONG wine with your food, or vice-versa. You will be surprised at the success you will have finding delicious matches you never imagined.

Wine & Spirits Education Trust Adopts Consumer-friendly Hanni Approach

I am very proud to formally announce that the Wine & Spirits Education Trust will be adopting my principles and approach to the enjoyment of wine with food for their Advanced Course curriculum. Their key textbook, Exploring the World of Wines and Spirits, is currently being revised, translated and reprinted with the new chapter and is scheduled for distribution this fall.

You can download a reprint of the new chapter, with the permission of the WSET, at http://www.timhanni.com/Wine_with_Food_WSET.pdf. I would be delighted to answer any questions and interested in comments on the material. I was in London earlier this month and was able to conduct a Master Class with the WSET team and it was very well received with some lingering doubts and resistance clearly evident from a few attendees.

I know that a lot of my assertions may at first seem extreme but I am very careful with my research and invite others to participate in helping to bring about positive change to an area that has become increasingly confusing and contradictory. My transition from staunch traditionalist to “disruptive innovator” in the wine and food arena did not come about either quickly or easily.

I am more convinced than ever that the way to globally expand wine sales and promote a greater diversity of wine styles will come from the wine community learning to celebrate the diversity of wine consumer tastes and deepen our understanding of individual consumer preferences. Combining this consumer-centric approach with a new and more accurate understanding of the dynamics of wine and food interactions with much-needed revisions to inaccurate wine and food principles could be the key for stimulating wine consumption from consumers who love wine but are off put by the unnecessary, confusing rituals and false promises of wine and food pairing. My mission is to expand wine enjoyment and by introducing a much greater rigor into a community that operates on a lot of half-truths and myths.

Join in with your comments and let me know what you think!

CONSUMER WINE AWARDS AT LODI FULFILLS PROMISE TO CELEBRATE DIVERSITY

An army of 120 wine consumers supported by a legion of over 100 local Rotarians convened in Lodi, California, to participate as Consumer Evaluators for the 2011 Consumer Wine Awards at Lodi. They sipped, spat and voted their favorites from nearly 700 wines submitted and the results covered a spectrum of wines that were as diverse as the spectrum of consumers who evaluated them. Platinum Awards went to twenty-one wines including an intense Lodi Zinfandel, two delicate Pinot Grigios, a high-end Napa Valley Bordeaux blend, a Chardonnay from Pennsylvania, a Chardonnay from Virginia and even a generic, boxed “Rhine” wine from California.

What makes this event so unique is that panels of consumers, not wine critics or experts, are selected to evaluate categories of wines that they love. This means that the awards are given by the very people who most frequently select the types of wines they are asked to evaluate. "We recognized that some wines which get a shrug from the experts are getting kudos from the everyday consumers who buy and drink them," says Competition Co-Director "Pooch" Pucilowski.

Christine Carroll, from Crossing Vineyards, Crossing, PA and Platinum Award winner for 2008 Viognier, wrote the organizers saying, “These awards mean so much more to us than the political, wine-snob-driven competitions we often enter. You have no idea how tough it is to prove that world class wine can be produced in Pennsylvania! Your recognition encourages us to go quietly about the process of making good, affordably priced wines every day. We will keep fighting the good fight.”

Master of Wine Tim Hanni, who is responsible for the unique focus and methodology employed for the event, points out, “Consumer Wine Awards at Lodi encompasses all of the things we value and are working to bring to the wine community. We are exploring a better understanding of consumer preferences and values to develop peer-to-peer wine recommendations as an alternative, not replacement, to expert or wine critic recommendations. The wine industry is missing the mark and spending too much time trying to tell consumers what they like instead of listening and finding out what they want. The Consumer Wine Awards at Lodi is part of a bigger movement to end “the tyranny of the minority” of a handful of critics, who tend to focus on a very narrow range of wines, and expose more people to the phenomenal wines from around America and beyond. We are thrilled that so many lesser-known wines performed so magnificently.”

A full listing of results and information on the 2012 Consumer Wine Awards at Lodi can be found at http://www.consumerwineawards.com/.

Contact: Tim Hanni MW, tim@timhanni.com

How (Or If) You Wear Underwear May Provide Insights to Wine Preferences

Individual sensory sensitivity manifested in strange ways.

My research colleague, Dr. Virginia Utermohlen MD, and I are proposing that the range and intensity of sensations we experience varies, often dramatically, from one person to the next and these individual differences play an important role in determining individual wine preferences. It is well known that people often argue about the characteristics and qualities they perceive in a wine—it's as if they were not tasting or smelling the same thing. This disagreement is known to occur among experts, even when they are sharing from the exact same bottle. We propose that these differences in perception often stem from sensitivity variables. Furthermore these variables are evident in a spectrum of individual attitudes and behaviors and may even influence the development of our personality traits.

Someone who is extremely sensitive to touch is usually more sensitive to other sensory stimuli: light, sound, taste, and smell. This insight helps explain a lot of things people disagree on in life, from the temperature in the room, to the use of cilantro in a recipe, to the volume of the television, to the sheets that you sleep on.

Virginia and I were recently reviewing data collected from wine consumers and discussing how heightened taste sensitivity is manifested in many other behaviors related to sensory sensitivity—ranging from finding the right thermostat settings to the need to cut tags out of clothing because it is so irritating. She inquired, “Have you ever asked people if they wear their underwear inside out?”

“Dear god”, I asked, “what on earth for?” Virginia went on to explain that a common behavior of ultra-sensitive people, who tend to prefer sweet or very light dry wines, is to invert their undies due to the irritation from the seams against their skin. Or, she said, they oftentimes just abandon wearing undergarments altogether. Inquiring minds want to know, so I have begun asking this question at events and wine tastings where I conduct our Taste Sensitivity Quotient (TasteSQ) interview.

During a TasteSQ interview at a recent wine tasting in San Francisco, I tried the question for the first time with a gentleman who hit all of the other questions for a Sweet (ultrasensitive) taster dead-on: can’t stand coffee (too bitter), loves salt (a sign of more taste buds, not less), and experiences a horrible, bitter and metallic taste from artificial sweeteners. And yes, he loved sweet wines and could not stand the horrible taste of dry wines. I proceeded to make assertion after assertion on things like his need to cut tags out of his clothes, how loud restaurants completely ruin even the most delicious food, and that his Mother experienced severe morning sickness with him. He was amazed. Feeling this was the perfect chance I asked, “Do you ever wear your underwear inside out?” He almost fell over. It was evident, and he later confirmed the answer, saying “Yep – how the h*** did you know THAT?” His friends were quite amused.

It was a simple deductive process. People who love sweet or delicate wines are typically what we call Sweet or Hypersensitive tasters. They share common traits such as hypersensitivity to light, sound, smell and, in this case, touch. In fact, they live in a vivid cacophony of sensations that other people cannot even imagine. This means they tend to seek out wines that are sweet or delicate, and they require the wines to be low in alcohol and ultra-smooth tasting.

A common behavior of these ultrasensitive individuals is to turn their undies inside out or to abandon wearing them at all. With my insatiable curiosity fired up I am delving deeper into this phenomenon and finding people who abandon undies altogether are reticent to share the information, but their stuttering and blushing give away their secret. Another connection to the term “blush wine”? Kidding.

Sweet and Hypersensitive tasters, who have the most taste buds and share an aversion to bitterness, high alcohol, and tannin will seek out wines that are often sweet, such as Moscato or White Zinfandel, or delicate dry wines, like dry Riesling or Pinot Grigio. They seek out and enjoy the very wines abandoned by the wine critics and wine community in general. Light, delicate, smooth and fragrant.

Boy, this assertion is going to get my detractors’ panties in a wad. That is, if they are wearing any.

New Hope for Mothers of Picky Eaters

Research shows picky eaters are the most sensitive tasters, provides new hope to frustrated mothers everywhere.
March 14, 2011, Napa, CA: Children who are picky eaters often have highly sensitive palates with heightened perception of bitterness. As a result they will typically avoid healthy vegetables while gravitating to salty and fatty foods thus developing a host of life-long, unhealthy eating habits that may result in higher risks of disease, obesity, and cancer. They may also be more likely to end up with diminished confidence and low self-esteem, according to Dr. Virginia Utermohlen.

The solution for preparing kid-friendly foods lies in a technique called "flavor balancing" developed by her research partner, Master of Wine and chef Tim Hanni. Says Utermohlen, "I am a highly sensitive taster myself; I was, and still am, a very picky eater and never have been able to eat green beans or many other vegetables. When I tried some fresh green beans prepared with Tim's flavor balancing technique I polished off a whole plate full!"

Utermohlen is a pediatrician, researcher and recently retired professor in the Cornell University Division of Nutritional Sciences, who studies how taste and smell sensitivity are related to personality, food choice, eating attitudes and behavior, and choice of profession. Tim Hanni MW is the founder of the Napa Seasoning Company, a trained chef and Master of Wine who studies how sensory sensitivity variables affect consumer wine and food preferences. Utermohlen and Hanni teamed up two years ago to conduct deeper research on the role of sensory physiology in shaping human food and beverage preferences, behaviors and even personality traits. Their research not only shows that picky eaters crave salt, love sweets and avoid bitter foods and beverages, but that these picky eaters grow up feeling embarrassed about their preferences and often alienated or even punished at the table. Says Hanni, “It is time we learned to better understand and cultivate, not punish, young palates.”

Contact: Tim Hanni MW tim@napaseasoning.com or 707-337-0327

Pinot Noir Summit to Assess Consumer Wine Favorites by Taste Sensitivity Quotient

How consumers' wine preferences mesh with the preferences of other consumers with similar taste sensitivity will be determined at a pioneering tasting program in the 9th Annual Pinot Noir Summit February 26 at the San Francisco Hilton. "By establishing the TasteSQ (http://www.tastesq.com/) of the participants, we can easily show how your TasteSQ  influences your Pinot Noir syle preferences and then how that matches with other people with a similar sensitivity," said Tim Hanni, MW, who created the Consumer Wine Preference format with Cornell's Virginia Utermohlen, M.D. "For the first time they'll be able to tell which wines are best suited to which groups of tasters."

How it works: the experts and the consumers will be assessed by Hanni for their Taste SQ (Sensitivity Quotient) to determine if they are a Sweet, Hyper-sensitive, Sensitive or Tolerant taster. Their TasteSQ will be recorded on their ballot as they taste through the range of wines selected from the Pinot Noir Shootout and select their top three favorite wines. Hanni and Dr. Utermohlen, partners in TasteScience, will analyze the results by TasteSQ segments to demonstrate how differences in consumer preferences can be understood and explained by taste sensitivity. This information will be available with the overall results from the event.

Pinot Noir enthusiasts will taste 64 top Pinot Noirs blind, as well as attend wine workshops and tasting with winemakers and wine educators. The daylong program costs$125, with a portion going to Junior Achievement. For tickets, register at http://www.affairsofthevine.com/. For further information contact Barbara Drady, Affairs of the Vine, 707/874-1975 or barbara@affairsofthevine.com.

To take the 2011 Consumer Wine Preferences Survey go to http://www.consumerwineawards.com/

Search for Wine Consumers to Evaluate Hundreds of Wines

The Consumer Wine Awards at Lodi is seeking everyday wine lovers to participate in a wine preferences survey and apply to become a Consumer Wine Evaluator. Please take our 20 minute survey even if you are unable to participate in the event. We want to hear from you and you can go to http://www.consumerwineawards.com/ to take our survey and apply to be one of our Evaluators.

The Consumer Wine Awards at Lodi takes place at Hutchins Street Square in Lodi, CA, on Saturday, March 19th, 2010 from approximately 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM and possibly on Sunday, March 20th, 2011, from approximately 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. We also have our famous 'After Party' from 6:00 to 9:00 and everyone is invited to participate in this event ($25.00 per person, Consumer Wine Evaluators free).

We are looking for a broad spectrum of 'everyday' wine consumers with little or no formal wine tasting training or high level wine education - our special evaluation process is amazingly simple to learn. But you certainly can be passionate about wine AND WE WANT PEOPLE WHO CELEBRATE WINES THAT ARE WELL-MADE, DISTINCT AND EVEN SOMETIMES UNUSUAL - NOT A BUNCH OF HARSH 'CRITICS'!

No expenses or compensation are provided - it is up to you to make all travel and accommodation arrangements. You will be invited, as our guest and at no charge, to attend the 'After Party' on Saturday evening. Tickets will be available at a fee for additional guests.

Do you meet these qualifications?

You have a spirit of discovery, adventure and willingness to try new wines. Evaluation panels will be made up of people who love the types of wine they are evaluating. People with specific preferences for major wine types will be selected to assess those types of wine. We are also encouraging the submission of wines from all around the world including many lesser-known varieties and styles and will do our best to assign those wines, according to primary flavors, to the appropriate panels. Last year, for example, a Rhubarb wine from South Dakota nearly earned the highest award possible missing by the narrowest margin possible while an elegant and complex Rocca Cabernet Sauvignon took the highest honors for that variety.

You need to understand that this may actually be WORK! You may anticipate tasting in the neighborhood of 40 wines over the course of 3 hours. Tasting and then SPITTING the wine is required and special training to develop your spitting skills will be provided.

While this is a fun event it is imperative to maintain a serious attitude and demeanor during the introduction, training and evaluation. It is very important, especially as wine is an alcoholic beverage, to ensure the safe and moderate execution of this program.

Thank you again for your interest in our program. Whether or not you are selected as a Consumer Wine Evaluator you are invited to visit Lodi for the weekend and join us Saturday, March 19th at Hutchins Street Square for the After Party (only $25.00 per person for non-evaluators). To take the survey, buy tickets to the After party or learn more go to http://www.consumerwineawards.com/.

Prediction: 2011 to Become the “Year of the Wine Consumer”

I love the adage, “If I ask you what time it is don’t tell me how the watch works.” And I confess that I am as guilty as any wine expert for launching into a lesson on history, geology and fermentation sciences when asked the simple question, “What would be a nice wine for my dinner tonight?”

 

This being said I think it is high time that the wine industry and our community of wine experts, educators, consultants and sommeliers take the point of this saying to heart. Some people are really curious and passionate about understanding minute details about wines: where they come from, how they are made, how made them and how to best describe their experience with fantastic descriptive details of flora, fauna, numerical ratings and god only knows what else. This is well and good if the person or people you are dealing with are on the same plane. The problem is that many people simply don’t give a rat’s butt about all of the details and trivia about wine. They just want something that tastes good without all of the hoopla and without the inference that they must become more “educated” before they can enjoy a nice glass of wine. And things have been getting worse as of late.

Over the past few decades the missive for many wine pundits has been to “educate consumers to appreciate better wines.” Behind this noble effort is a misguided premise that “better” wine is dry, intense, high in alcohol and often emitting smells that can be likened to Carmen Miranda’s head gear, cat’s pee (seriously), old socks or wet dogs. The bottom-line for all of this a covert agenda of “let’s get more consumers to spend more money on wines they may not like.” I we turn the tables and have the wine industry become as passionate about understanding and embracing wine consumers as we are about learning and disseminating wine trivia.

My prediction for 2011 is that more and more wine authorities and educators will finally take up the practice of learning to listen to consumers and back off on the inappropriate assumption that all consumers want to be educated about wine. And ditto for the incorrect assumption that all consumers are always searching for new wine experiences. Many are, and the Year of the Wine Consumer is not about stifling wine education or suppressing the desire of many to constantly explore new wines. The Year of the Wine Consumer is more about finding out where a consumer want to go and then getting them to the products that will delight them without the unnecessary baggage of intimidation, arrogance and misassumptions about what they really like and want from a wine.

To make this prediction a reality two things need to happen. First, wine consumers need to have a stronger voice and take on a powerful posture that their personal preferences count. This means to demand from the wine people you encounter that they cater you’re your needs, not the greater glory of Bacchus and the other false gods of wine.

Secondly, the wine community; educators, mavens, sommeliers, and experts, need to learn to listen for what consumers are really asking for. Would you like to be taken on a wild journey or stick to something close to home, warm and comfortable? We would become focused on asking, “What do I need to know about you?” so we can help custom tailor a wine selection that will rock your world. Our mission for the “Year of the Wine Consumer” is to get the attention focused on the consumers’ wants and needs with the option to go for a ride still open and available to anyone who cares.

If you are a wine consumer and like the idea of the wine industry being of better service to you here is how you can help. My partner, Dr. Virginia Utermohlen MD, and I are conducting a survey in conjunction with the Consumer Wine Awards at Lodi and we want you to participate. It will probably take about 20 minutes as this is not silly cliché-riddled throwaway project. There is some serious science going on behind the scenes and we are really working hard to get people who are tired of the confusion, overwhelm and lack of personalized service when looking for help with your wine selections. Please take the 20 minutes and forward this piece on to anyone and everyone you know who enjoys wine but is tired of the ordeal and expense of trying to find wines that suit your personal preferences.

Help us make 2011 the Year of the Wine Consumer by going to www.consumerwineawards.com and selecting the link: Take the NEW 2011 Consumer Survey. And then send this along to every wine drinker you know so they can do the same. Let them know that the wine industry is finally ready to listen and that the new wine education mission is to learn how to be more of service and become better listeners.

Celebrate Consumer Diversity for a Healthier, More Diverse Wine Industry

Wine consumers come in all shapes, sizes, gender, adult age and socio-economic groups. Wines come in many colors, flavors, styles and price points. Long term growth, expansion of production in emerging regions, acceptance of overlooked-but-traditional and new wine types and a general better health prognosis for the wine industry will come from celebrating the diversity of wines, wine consumers and the diversity of rating, scoring and communications systems to get the right consumer to the right product.

The way to expand wine sales and promote a greater diversity of wine styles will come from the wine community learning to celebrate the diversity of wine consumer tastes and deepen our understanding of individual consumer preferences. This strategy will allow the peaceful coexistence of different valuation systems that are geared towards, and can be custom fit to, the wants and needs of different groups of consumers.

My friend John Stallcup says that wine style, fashion and quality is largely dictated by the “tyranny of the minority”; a handful of wine critics who favor dry, highly concentrated and intense wines. This has resulted in the homogenization of wine styles around the world and stifled the efforts of vintners who favor delicacy, lesser known grape varieties or produce wine in lesser-known growing regions. Modern communications and technology are having an impact on expanding wine communication. But the frustration of new-age critics, bloggers and wine producers is omnipresent as more pressure is mounted to find alternatives to end the 30-year dominance of the 100 point rating system.

This “tyranny of the minority” results in a hyper-focus on a handful of regions, producers and wine styles. While terrific wines are being produced in every state in the US and several Provinces in Canada there is less attention paid to the passionate efforts of these vintners outside of their state or province of production. Even producers in Europe, where they have been growing and making wine for centuries, are now facing ”identity crises”. As winegrowers in Chianti, Bordeaux and other regions vie to “fight it out for the points” many lament that the wines are losing their personality and character, instead becoming homogenous and indistinguishable “modern” style of wines so fashionable with the majority of wine critics and gatekeepers.

It is important to stress that this is a call to end the DOMINANCE of the 100 point system – not a call to end the 100 point system itself. There is a definable, established and viable market segment of people who clearly favor the types of wines earning high scores in the “more equals better” equation and find the 100 point system works perfectly for their needs. The opportunity is to develop and promote meaningful alternative systems for people who do not enjoy the higher alcohol, high intensity types of wines favored by this method of valuation.

So how can we sell a more diverse spectrum of wines to the largest, most diverse range of consumers? Now is the time to create a new approach to wine marketing and communications. One that does not destroy any of the existing systems yet will usher in a new era of better understanding and personalizing the experience for wine consumers. The consumers are out there, there is plenty of wine to go around and the time is ripe for change.

Help us get wine consumers to take our survey! Wine professionals are welcome to weigh in but we really want to get this out past the gatekeepers and reach every day wine consumers.


http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/cwal2011
About the Consumer Wine Awards
The Consumer Wine Awards is an international wine competition open to wines grown and produced anywhere in the world and represents a viable alternative for generating meaningful, peer-to-peer wine recommendations. It is entering its’ fourth year and second year employing panels of untrained consumers instead of traditional wine experts. We will begin accepting wines January 1, 2011, to be tasted March 19 and 20, 2011. The submission forms and handbook can be downloaded at www.consumerwineawards.com.