I share your enthusiasm for more analog moments, like reading, not podcasting your post.
The issue with wanting a wine that is just "cold and wet" and without much thought is the price. In order for that beverage to be actually good and made by someone like a Foxen or me. That's gonna be about $20 or more. There is plenty of alternative plonk on the shelf at the big box store for less than $20, including thoughtless beer and bubbly things. That's not our market or the market for vinyl.
Seeing your parallels with tattoo artists, film cameras, vinyl - are premium analog, akin to wine over $20 or maybe even $30 or $40. Hopefully, those same people looking into a hand stitched leather bag or waxed cotton jacket to accompany their film camera and vinyl collection are the same people buying wine produced by people we know and not cheap plonk. I hope you're right.
I think we are circling the same idea from different angles.
I feel pretty confident that the people who are gravitating toward a lot of these analog hobbies like film photography, vinyl, knitting, waxed jackets, etc, have the means and motivation to choose quality wine as well.
They are already choosing things made with skill and intention, which is my entire point (and I think yours as well). These people aren't bargain bin shopping unless they are the type that enjoys the thrill of the hunt (like finding a Barbour waxed jacket or vintage Levi's for an amazing price at the local thrift/charity shop), because they know that defeats the whole purpose of slowing down.
To me, that's why the analog parallel really matters for wine. It's not necessarily that the person who wants a mindless Tuesday-night glass is going to suddenly turn into a collector of vintage champagne or whatever, but the people driving the revival of analog are the same people who value handmade things that take care and attention.
These folks are predisposed to care about where things came from and who made them, which is exactly the kind of demographic wineries in the premium and even luxury wine categories should be turning our attention to, regardless of where they are in their wine journey.
Because even their "mindless" choices tend to be better than the Temu and Charles Shaw crowd. The person who puts a record on to play while they are cleaning isn't exactly contemplating the deep emotional resonance of the music while they are doing the dishes or scrubbing the toilet, but they ARE still choosing vinyl over Spotify, which is an important distinction.
Again, again, again, my whole point is that I think the wine industry really underestimates how big the opportunity to take advantage of these folks' predisposition to quality actually is.
I recently got distracted by micro-watch manufacturers. Not Rolex or Panerai, but small watch production using Swiss or Japanese movements. Again, parallels to what you/we are discussing. People are willing to purchase a small production, craft item made by an independent producer for a premium.
The small groups around micro-watch are intense, as intense as any wine enthusiast and they call out posers quick. They are also honest about the production flaws as well as practical ones. They call out producers that make a crap watch. We don't do that in wine. Ever.
And that could be part of the issue. It's easy to call out a big wine conglomerate. But an outright flawed wine, won't get called out because of the whole "drink what makes you happy" thing. If we truly 'demystified' wine, we'd call out the flaws. That's beginning to happen in 'natural' wine (another horrible term and a lot of marketing) as that community will be harder on itself than any other. I think that's great. It will make that whole category of wine better.
I agree, there is an underestimation of how strong the craft/analog movement can go. We are a part of things that are retro / slow / artisan. It's folks like us that are spreading that word.
I'm working on an article for next week about the new Michelin Grape distinction, and one of their stipulations to get a star is that you cannot have flawed wine, so this topic is very relevant! I wrote a whole article about the "natural" wine category (https://www.winemarketingfieldguide.com/p/is-this-wine-natural) and my problems with it as well, because I agree, I think we need to call out obviously flawed wine, and that category as a whole excuses flawed wine as "part of the style," which is so silly.
I wonder if the Michelin Grape designation will help people become more comfortable with calling out flawed wine or if we will see people reject the entire system as being elitist. Time will tell!
I worry a bit about yet another 'rating system' especially that from Michelin who gets paid to come to a city these days and rate restaurants.
10,000 taco shops in Mexico City and 1 gets a Michelin Star? Seriously? I call bull-scheidt on that one. I goes to my Volturi Pic Meme...do we really need another on-high ratings organization who in this case is anonymous? No. That's just another way for the wealthiest/biggest wine companies with land and title to get more accolades. Don't think for a second it won't be pay to play.
My wife Toni volunteers at Fiber and Fringe (Paso Robles) and is quite proficient at knitting/crocheting. She's planning stitch nights and reading nights our new tasting room in downtown Paso. Not to be overly stereotypical, what about the guys - besides Monday Night Football, have you run across any ideas that would bring them in?
I share your enthusiasm for more analog moments, like reading, not podcasting your post.
The issue with wanting a wine that is just "cold and wet" and without much thought is the price. In order for that beverage to be actually good and made by someone like a Foxen or me. That's gonna be about $20 or more. There is plenty of alternative plonk on the shelf at the big box store for less than $20, including thoughtless beer and bubbly things. That's not our market or the market for vinyl.
Seeing your parallels with tattoo artists, film cameras, vinyl - are premium analog, akin to wine over $20 or maybe even $30 or $40. Hopefully, those same people looking into a hand stitched leather bag or waxed cotton jacket to accompany their film camera and vinyl collection are the same people buying wine produced by people we know and not cheap plonk. I hope you're right.
Hey David!
I think we are circling the same idea from different angles.
I feel pretty confident that the people who are gravitating toward a lot of these analog hobbies like film photography, vinyl, knitting, waxed jackets, etc, have the means and motivation to choose quality wine as well.
They are already choosing things made with skill and intention, which is my entire point (and I think yours as well). These people aren't bargain bin shopping unless they are the type that enjoys the thrill of the hunt (like finding a Barbour waxed jacket or vintage Levi's for an amazing price at the local thrift/charity shop), because they know that defeats the whole purpose of slowing down.
To me, that's why the analog parallel really matters for wine. It's not necessarily that the person who wants a mindless Tuesday-night glass is going to suddenly turn into a collector of vintage champagne or whatever, but the people driving the revival of analog are the same people who value handmade things that take care and attention.
These folks are predisposed to care about where things came from and who made them, which is exactly the kind of demographic wineries in the premium and even luxury wine categories should be turning our attention to, regardless of where they are in their wine journey.
Because even their "mindless" choices tend to be better than the Temu and Charles Shaw crowd. The person who puts a record on to play while they are cleaning isn't exactly contemplating the deep emotional resonance of the music while they are doing the dishes or scrubbing the toilet, but they ARE still choosing vinyl over Spotify, which is an important distinction.
Again, again, again, my whole point is that I think the wine industry really underestimates how big the opportunity to take advantage of these folks' predisposition to quality actually is.
We are certainly talking about the same thing.
I recently got distracted by micro-watch manufacturers. Not Rolex or Panerai, but small watch production using Swiss or Japanese movements. Again, parallels to what you/we are discussing. People are willing to purchase a small production, craft item made by an independent producer for a premium.
The small groups around micro-watch are intense, as intense as any wine enthusiast and they call out posers quick. They are also honest about the production flaws as well as practical ones. They call out producers that make a crap watch. We don't do that in wine. Ever.
And that could be part of the issue. It's easy to call out a big wine conglomerate. But an outright flawed wine, won't get called out because of the whole "drink what makes you happy" thing. If we truly 'demystified' wine, we'd call out the flaws. That's beginning to happen in 'natural' wine (another horrible term and a lot of marketing) as that community will be harder on itself than any other. I think that's great. It will make that whole category of wine better.
I agree, there is an underestimation of how strong the craft/analog movement can go. We are a part of things that are retro / slow / artisan. It's folks like us that are spreading that word.
I'm working on an article for next week about the new Michelin Grape distinction, and one of their stipulations to get a star is that you cannot have flawed wine, so this topic is very relevant! I wrote a whole article about the "natural" wine category (https://www.winemarketingfieldguide.com/p/is-this-wine-natural) and my problems with it as well, because I agree, I think we need to call out obviously flawed wine, and that category as a whole excuses flawed wine as "part of the style," which is so silly.
I wonder if the Michelin Grape designation will help people become more comfortable with calling out flawed wine or if we will see people reject the entire system as being elitist. Time will tell!
I worry a bit about yet another 'rating system' especially that from Michelin who gets paid to come to a city these days and rate restaurants.
10,000 taco shops in Mexico City and 1 gets a Michelin Star? Seriously? I call bull-scheidt on that one. I goes to my Volturi Pic Meme...do we really need another on-high ratings organization who in this case is anonymous? No. That's just another way for the wealthiest/biggest wine companies with land and title to get more accolades. Don't think for a second it won't be pay to play.
Hi Heather,
My wife Toni volunteers at Fiber and Fringe (Paso Robles) and is quite proficient at knitting/crocheting. She's planning stitch nights and reading nights our new tasting room in downtown Paso. Not to be overly stereotypical, what about the guys - besides Monday Night Football, have you run across any ideas that would bring them in?
Analog 2026! Love this and rise of physical media grandma hobbies :)