Branding
January 12th, 2010 | Posted by Celia
I have been reading a business book lately and several chapters cover the whole issue of branding which, as we all know, can be crucial to a product’s future. It made me think of Riesling.
We get many visitors to the Cellar Door who start to tremor when you mention tasting Rieslings. Their faces speak a thousand words exhibiting fear of the imminent. You can tell that they have already made up their minds about “Brand Riesling”.
As Riesling is the signature grape here in Canterbury (and because we love it so much) we encourage/coerce/force (always with a smile) our visitors to taste and the reaction is just amazing. They are totally bowled over. It is most satisfying to see the fear simply dissolve with each sip.
I have to say that the above description sits largely with an older generation who remember the many unbalanced Rieslings that floated around in the eighties. For the 20 somethings however – what a different story – they come in to the Cellar Door and specifically ask for the Rieslings. It is great to see that “Brand Riesling” is wowing a new generation and converting some older ones along the way as well.
Andrew
January 13, 2010
The problem of branding is not just limited to grape varieties.
I am convinced that perhaps ten years ago when consumers were not quite as ‘savvy’, that they used to confuse the old French appellation system with brands. (Then again, who wouldn’t be confused by appellation d’origin?)
For example, consumers would seek out Chablis, Sancerre or Beaujolais, possibly believing that it was all the same quality – perhaps coming from one huge vat located in the centre of each village!
Celia
January 15, 2010
It is nice to see people getting more and more clued up and more open minded in their approach to wine and the different varietals. I believe the advent of good wine by the glass is helping with getting the varietal ‘brands’ out there. Things have come a long way in the last ten years or so. The future is going to be interesting!
Lynn McDowell
August 4, 2010
The news about Riesling in the US is good: Compared with 2007, restaurant sales volume of Rieslings increased 16.7% in 2008–the most of any wines on Restaurant Wine’s Top 100 list. The runner-up for sales volume increase was white generic wine, which increased by 0.9%. Riesling’s definitely being discovered, and 2009 is expected to show continued growth (results not in yet).