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Sonoma Wine Group changing the wine industry
Sonoma Wine Group changing the wine industry
Sonoma Wine Group changes industry trends with quality and approachability
Satellite Beach, FL – In the past, a certain stereotype attached itself
to wine drinkers, creating an unfortunate perception of wine as an
elitist drink for special occasions. Serious wine drinkers had a
reputation of throwing fancy words around and looking down on anyone
who couldn’t discern Pinot Grigio from Chardonnay. In part, the wine
industry itself perpetuated its own myths in an effort to create a
profitable wine “mystique.” The abundance of wine regions, varietals
and appellations assisted in complicating the topic, and there’s still
a misconception that one has to “understand” wine in order to drink it
or risk making a “mistake.”
These misunderstandings do not apply to beer, by contrast. Beer is
considered more populist - a drink for all people in all walks of life.
Beer comes in easy-to-open cans or bottles. Imported brands don’t cost
significantly more than commercial brands. Beer is a drink people
request on a first-name basis by brand, like an old friend. No one
seems to feel the need to understand where beer comes from or know its
life story, and there is no choosing the “wrong” beer.
Wine on the other hand comes in a bottle and, until fairly recently,
had to be “uncorked”. Corks were even known to spoil wine. For
restaurant servers, there’s a whole protocol involved with serving
wine––a correct means of opening and pouring and topping off. Many
restaurants allocate huge amounts of money training their wait staff in
proper wine etiquette. Often servers would rather sell beer or
cocktails than wine because both are much easier to serve and involve
no maintenance (such as refilling glasses or ice buckets). No shortage
of restaurants have been lambasted by food critics, simply because the
server “fumbled” with a cork, or didn’t follow proper wine service
protocol. No wonder many servers shrink from recommending wine, even
though the number one consideration a diner takes in ordering wine is
server recommendation. If only wine were easier to sell, easier to
serve, easier in general.
Stefanie Olson, Executive Vice President of the Sonoma Wine Group,
recognizes a new generation of diners, updating the mainstream. These
diners, Olson states, have been “raised on convenience, and eat out
frequently–––up to once or twice a day. For them, restaurants and
dining out aren’t a treat as much as a way of life.” This new
generation is less occupied with antiquated notions of how and when
wine should be consumed. For a full 39% of adults, wine is the
alcoholic beverage of choice. By 2008, wine consumption in the United
States is predicted to be #1 in the world, states Olson.
One recent advance towards convenience and modernity concurrent with an
increase in restaurant dining is the replacement of corks with screw
tops (outraging some wine
snobs, but nevertheless happening!) Screwtops make wine more accessible, both for the server and the diner.
Sonoma Wine Group is making wine service simpler, and wine more
approachable. Currently offering three selections –– red, white and
pink, all produced from award winning, vintage California wine ––
Sonoma Wine Group makes choosing wine simple. The unique 375 ml,
QualitySeal™ screwtop bottles offer “the right amount of wine every
time™”: two glasses. For the diner, this allows either one’s own
“private” bottle, perfect for a leisurely dinner, or the perfect size
to split between two people. Individually sized bottles means the wine
is never oxidized (as larger bottles become when they sit behind a bar,
waiting for takers), and the diner can pour it him- or herself,
effortlessly, freeing the server.
Sonoma Wine Group offers the unique sales venue of a beer distributor.
This insures the wine is always fresh, always available (since beer
deliveries occur every couple of days, unlike wine deliveries which may
only occur monthly). Each bottle is colorfully labeled and inscribed
with a cheerful toast. It’s all about a friendly and approachable
attitude about wine, making it easy to use and as easy to sell. With
each bottle, the restaurant sells an automatic two glasses of wine,
double the profit of by-the-glass sales.
The future of wine is in many ways the past. Fossil vines date back 60
million years, and grape cultivation and wine drinking may be as
ancient as 4000 BC.
Wine is a healthy beverage. All the essential vitamins are found in a
single glass of wine. Red wine is high in antioxidants and has been
credited with lowering the risk of heart disease. Wine has been with us
a long time and seems to want to help us.
Wine is a drink of the world. Antarctica is the only continent on earth
that doesn’t produce wine. Commercial wine is produced in a full 48 of
the United States.
When you really examine wine for what it is–––an agricultural product
available all over the world–––wine snobbery begins to look plain silly.
With Sonoma Wine Group and the new wave in wine drinkers, there is no
wrong choice. As Stefanie Olson sums it up, “The rule is there are no
rules”. Wine is easy, fresh, modern, convenient and delicious with
every kind of food. Wine snobbery is dusty and dead…or perhaps it’s
simply corked.
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Media Contact:
Quantified Marketing Group
407.936.1010
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