The Wine You Buy Tells Your Age

We like to compare generations in many way, so why not wine consumption?

Using AI to Select Wineries to Visit

Artificial Intelligence is everywhere on the Internet. Perhaps, you could say it's being shoved down our throats. Regardless, we all probably use it, more so with the youngest among us. Millennials and Gen Z of drinking age. Yes, some of the Gen Z (1997 to 2012) are of drinking age!

Following is some help in using AI to actually give you useful suggestions.

The Phases of Wine Sales Going in the Crapper

There are five stages of grief: Denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance. So far with the wine business facing a downturn I've seen action, panic, and marketing. 

Action is ripping out vineyards and lay-offs. That is, cutting product and people -- the usual corporate steps. Panic is the fear you can sense in writing and speech from some in the industry. Marketing is what I see now as people are trying to get more time and money spent on reminding people to buy wine, sometimes in weird ways. One is a tasting room tax on sales with the money going to some as yet undetermined group to do some sort of marketing. 

Whatever the next phase is, I hope we get there soon because this marketing phase seems wrong.

I vote for giving the people what they want. That would be things like fun, unpretentious wine in cans, or at least something beside a 750ml glass bottle. Get rid of the corks, add ingredient labeling. I don't know which phase this is, but I hope it's one of them. Innovation, baby!

Thanks for your attention to this matter.  

September is California Wine Month

 Over 20 years ago, the California State Legislature gave us a whole month to celebrate wine!

Wine and Women

Women and their wine have a special relationship. Here's a sometimes humorous look at this culture.

Alternatives to Wine in Sonoma County

So you're not much of a wino, or someone in your group travelling to Sonoma County couldn't care less. What to do?

California Agriculture

California agriculture is big! How big is it? In production value, it leads the nation. Part of the reason is the number of high value crops such as nuts, dairy and, of course, wine grapes. It's a $60 billion industry, with $23 billion of it exported. The value of organic products is increasing significantly.

The next biggest ag states are Iowa, Texas, and Nebraska.

Wine One-Liners

 It's a good way to start off the new year.

Bill Foley, Billionaire, Winery Owner

Bill Foley, 79, has interests in financial institutions, sports teams, and wine. He owns about 20 wineries from California to France, Argentina, and New Zealand. Foley has seven wineries in Sonoma County, including some big names like Chateau St. Jean and Ferrari-Carano. And he's not done buying.

Bill is no dummy. While attending the Air Force Military Academy in the 1960s he managed to make $40,000 in the stock market. While in the Air Force he negotiated contracts with the likes of Boeing. After the military he earned his law degree and launched a career in financial services.

The bankrupt Vintage Wine Estates of Santa Rosa is selling assets, and Foley is there looking for bargains. From the bankruptcy auction he is set to purchase Sonoma Coast Vineyards plus Cosentino and Swanson Wineries in Napa.

Bill Foley's wineries

A Career at a Winery?

If ever there was a job situation that looked great from afar, it's working in an idyllic setting of a winery surrounded by vineyards. Let's take a look at how you might get there.

Many of these jobs will be in wineries, though there are plenty of other wine sales, wine retail, and wine importers jobs that will be located somewhere else.

See winejobs.com for current job listings.

State Laws on Buying Alcohol

In the U.S. we had Prohibition. At the end of that failed experiment, the states were given control over alcohol. That led to some really diverse laws. About the only thing that's consistent is that you must be 21 to purchase alcohol, and you can't drink and drive. Even those rules weren't always the same in all states.

There are state-by-state exceptions to consumption with the 21 age for purchase, usually it's for religious reasons, medical reasons, or if you are in a class where part of the curriculum is tasting alcohol, such as an oenology or brewing class. In Alaska parents can give their kids a drink.

Tales of Sonoma County Past

 Some of these are wine stories, some not. Some seem to come right out of the Wild West. Most appeared in the local paper, so are likely to be true.  :)

What Drinks are You Likely to Bring to a Party?

Based on age, what type of alcoholic beverage will you bring to a party to share with other guests? The older you get, the more likely it will be wine.

   Click on image to enlarge.

Yearly Changes in Alcohol Consumption

Wine, beer, and spirits consumption in the U.S. by year. Wine has lots of peaks and valleys. Beer has been on a slow decline that can't even be stopped by the craft beer movement. Spirits bottomed out in about 2000 and is coming back.

Click in the image to enlarge.

The People of Sonoma County

People are stereotyped by where they live (hello Texas and NYC) and Sonoma County is no different. Here's a look at the people of Sonoma County.

Odd Drinking Laws

Yes, some are from the Bible Belt, but you'll find oddball drinkin' laws from all over the world.

Lowering the Drinking Age

I know what you're thinking. 1) We tried that once with lowering the drinking age to 18 in many states and it wasn't such a good idea. 2) This would increase drunk driving problems.

Wines Stories of 2020

  A look at the main stories covered in this blog for 2020. Yeah, guess what, the Covid pandemic tops the list as it related to the wine business. Second on the list were the wildfires.

Drinking a Little Less

Yep, we've seen the studies about moderate consumption being healthy. We'd like to believe, but I think most of us have doubts about, the validity of these claims. This is why there's a trend to drinking less, drinking lower alcohol beverages, or not at all. Well, there's another way.

And Now the Bad News About Alcohol

   Yes, you read the good things in beer and wine and how a bit of alcohol a day may be beneficial. You've certainly heard about health benefits of red wine. Of course, there's the downside of too much alcohol.

   A CDC study on alcohol from 2011-2015 gave some dark statistics.