communications without intelligence is noise Global Wine Trends Weekly Update created: 12.02.2010 Critical Publics | EDOAO Global Wine Trends 12/02/2010 Weekly Update Table of Contents Table of Contents .................................................................................. 2 Global Market Watch ............................................................................ 4 Consumers shift to value vintages for wine ................................................... 4 Survey indicates majority of wine shoppers would use self-service wine info kiosks .............................................................................................................. 5 Nielsen: "New Normal" Impacts Alcohol Beverages ...................................... 5 Corporates don't understand fine wine: Croser.............................................. 6 First Scottish wine to be produced ................................................................. 7 Harvesting Profits in Argentina's Wine Country ............................................. 7 Chinese consumers "waking up" to imported wine ........................................ 9 Indians 'want sweeter wines' ......................................................................... 9 This or That: Organic vs. biodynamic wine ................................................... 10 Global Industry Watch ........................................................................ 11 California Wineries Get Certified .................................................................. 11 Changing New York State’s Law on Wine Sales ........................................... 12 Châteaux splash out – on their own wine .................................................... 13 Bordeaux 2009: will hype translate into sales? ........................................... 13 Bordeaux launches new carbon reduction system ....................................... 14 UK wine industry given EU boost .................................................................. 15 NSW wine production overtakes SA ............................................................. 15 One-third of Australia's vines 'should be grubbed up' ................................. 15 Decision day looms for Australian wine ........................................................ 16 Billionaire Koch Expects More Fake-Wine Lawsuits in 2010 ........................ 17 Sour grapes! Gallo victim of wine world's biggest con ................................. 18 Wine Domain Catalysts Watch ............................................................ 19 RM champagne no shortcut to quality .......................................................... 19 Divorce Chianti-style .................................................................................... 20 Why wine critics are useful ........................................................................... 21 Batting for Australia ..................................................................................... 21 Hungarian Dry Whites? Forge Ahead ............................................................ 22 Scientific Developments & Technological Breakthroughs Watch ....... 23 Middle class wine drinkers 'harming their unborn children' ........................ 23 Red Wine, Microwaves and Local Produce: Preventing Cancer Through Our Diets .............................................................................................................. 24 Wines from Greece Publicity Monitor ................................................. 24 Blogosphere Monitor ........................................................................... 25 The relationship between price and quality of wine .................................... 25 Critical Publics | EDOAO Page 2 of 30 Global Wine Trends 12/02/2010 Weekly Update Will the recession liberalize wine laws? What to watch .............................. 26 Scottish Wine: Crimes and Misdemeanors ................................................... 26 Gewurztraminer and Discomforting Sounds................................................. 27 Peripheral Domains Intelligence ........................................................ 27 Cork industry gears up for €20m campaign ................................................. 27 Cork Airplanes Could Prop Up Bottle-Shocked Industry .............................. 28 Can you turn a tomato into wine? ................................................................ 28 German Wine Institute launches intern initiative ........................................ 29 Atkin's Observer column slashed .................................................................. 29 Global Sustaining & Emerging Trends Digest ..................................... 30 Chinese wine drinking surges ....................................................................... 30 Critical Publics | EDOAO Page 3 of 30 Global Wine Trends 12/02/2010 Weekly Update Global Market Watch The global market watch outlines developments, spotted and emerging trends that define the current situation in the global wine landscape. It includes all major developments in the market including consumer trends relating to wine and marketing campaigns or approaches, as well as concerns on health and sustainability. Consumers shift to value vintages for wine TRICITY HERALD, USA 07.02.10: Consumers still love their Washington wines but have adjusted their palates to match their pocketbooks. Washington winemakers say they largely are thankful 2009 is a memory, but some believe one impact the nation's economic recession wrought on wine lovers may linger well into the new year. Growers and winemakers who gathered at the Three Rivers Convention Center in Kennewick last week for the Washington Association of Wine Grape Growers annual meeting, convention and trade show say they generally are optimistic 2010 will be a better sales year than the last. Some believe consumer preferences, however, may have shifted permanently to so-called value wines, which affect small growers and winemakers more than larger ones. "The economy has hurt the sale of mid-priced wines," said Fred Artz, president and CEO of Artz Vineyards on Red Mountain. "Everyone is looking for better wines, better bargains for their buck." Paul Beveridge, winemaker of Wilridge Winery in Seattle, grows grapes in Naches Heights near Yakima. Last year was "terrible," he said, but he saw increased visits to his tasting room in January, lending some optimism about sales prospects this year. … He then added with a chuckle, "The big fear in the marketplace is the consumer is going to get used to it." Washington produced 165,000 tons of grapes last year and is the No. 2 wine-producing state in the country, a distant second to California, which crushed 3.44 million tons of wine grapes last year. But California saw its first decline in wine shipments in 16 years last year, to 236 million cases, according to industry sources. In Washington, wine sales at the state's roughly 300 state and contract liquor outlets were $34 million in 2009, down from $37.3 million the previous year, said Steve Brunell, marketing manager for the Washington Liquor Control Board. The number of cases of wine sold in 2009 also declined to 432,000, down from 500,000 cases in 2008, Brunell said. The recession was in part to blame. Another reason could have been the proliferation of outlets, including large retail stores, now selling wine, Brunell said. Ste. Michelle Wine Estates owns or contracts more than 60 percent of the grapes in Washington. It saw the volume of its wine shipments in 2009 decline by 2.1 percent to 6 million cases, in part because restaurants and stores reduced their inventories and consumers cut back spending on wines above $30, said Ted Baseler, president and CEO of Ste. Michelle Wine Estates."Consumers were going to their wine cellars more frequently than they were to their wine stores," Baseler said. Total revenue in 2009 was $403 million for Ste. Michelle Wine Estates, whose wineries include Columbia Crest in Paterson, Chateau Ste. Michelle in Woodinville and Snoqualmie Vineyards in Prosser, according to year-end financial statements of its parent corporation, Altria Group Inc. Baseler, who has three decades of experience in the wine industry, views consumer Critical Publics | EDOAO Page 4 of 30 Global Wine Trends 12/02/2010 Weekly Update preferences last year for so-called value wines to be a cyclical occurrence -- not a permanent shift. … http://www.tri-cityherald.com/kennewick_pasco_richland/story/892626.html Survey indicates majority of wine shoppers would use self-service wine info kiosks KIOSK MARKET PLACE, USA 08.02.10: More than 80 percent of wine and spirits shoppers would use a self-serve kiosk for product information such as tasting notes, food pairing recommendations and cellaring guidelines, according to early results in an ongoing survey being conducted by RetailCustomerExperience.com. The survey found that while 74 percent of shoppers have asked for assistance and more than 70 percent rated the service as "excellent" or "good," the majority of shoppers (82 percent) would "absolutely" or "probably" use such a kiosk for information and that more than 53 percent would "absolutely" or "probably" purchase a greeting card from the kiosk with this information on it. "With over 98 percent of respondents saying they have shopped for wine or spirits to give as a gift or take to a dinner party, a self- serve kiosk supports the need for accessible product information with the convenience of providing a greeting card all