As Sri noted, the government shut down is causing a big headache for wineries looking for COLA (Certificates of Label Approval). This impacts new wineries like mine (Birdhorse) even more than established small wineries. When the news of the government shutdown hit, we sprang into action, figuring we could at least get our labels submitted into the queue in order to be near the top of the list once they started processing. Unfortunately, this is when we learned that someone needs to manually approve first-time registrants for access to the COLA online system! And since the government is shut down, there's no one to do even that. Therefore, the queue is building and we are basically up the creek.
Once the government reopens, we will have to go through the COLA registration process. This historically took about 6 days. Only after we've been granted an online account (despite having been permitted and registered with the TTB for months), then we enter the COLA queue. Historically, it took about 36 days for a wine label to be approved. Unfortunately, the TTB stopped processing COLA accounts as of 12/20 and wine labels as of 12/18. So, we'll have at least a month's backlog on top of the normal processing times. I just hope it's not worse.
This causes real operational problems for us. We have decided not to print and to wait for the COLA, because we can't afford a reprinting should the TTB have edits. The downside here is that we need to bottle in March. Typically, bottling and labeling can occur together in a nice, mostly automated fashion. In the increasingly likely event where we don't have approved printed labels in sync with our bottling time, we will have to bottle and then later manually affix our labels.
The government shutdown has not yet caused a top-line issue for us, but that is the next worry should it continue further into record territory.
https://www.ttb.gov/labeling/processing-times.shtml
https://www.ttb.gov/formulation/registrations-processing-times.shtml
https://www.ttb.gov/labeling/colas.shtml
Wednesday, January 23, 2019
Is the Sommelier Exam A Pour Decision?
When I told my dad that I was planning to sign up for the Introductory
Sommelier Exam, his response was: “Great! Then you can get a job pouring wine
in someone else’s restaurant.”
Point taken.
But it did get me thinking more seriously about the exam
itself. Who takes it? Is it worth it if you’re not in the food & beverage
industry? What’s the ROI if you are
in the food and beverage industry?
Here’s what I found out:
About the Exam
There are several levels: introductory, certified, advanced,
and master. Each level will cost you hundreds of dollars just to take the
course and sit through the exam itself.
The first level is definitely not anything like what you saw
in the movie Somm. It’s a 2-day course with master sommeliers, followed by a
multiple choice exam about the different wine regions. There is a “low failure
rate,” and you passing it gets you a lapel pin and certificate. Beer and sake
are also included on this introductory exam!
It seems like over 90% of those who take the exam do have
experience in the food and beverage industry, and are taking it to further
their careers. However, there is a margin, like me, who wants to take the exam
simply because we appreciate wine and want to learn from the masters.
Once you’ve passed the introductory level, each subsequent
level recommends at least 1-2 years of straight up preparation. There will be
blind tastings on each exam after introductory.
Oh, and in case you were wondering – the recommended reading
for Level I includes Karen MacNeil’s Wine Bible (check!)
What’s a Master
Sommelier?
A master sommelier has passed all four examination levels
and guarantees to a potential employer that you are among the most qualified in
the industry, with “outstanding tasting and evaluation skills, wine knowledge,
and outstanding abilities in service and beverage department management”
(MasterSommeliers.org). Only 274 people worldwide have received this title
since its establishment in the 1970’s, and there are 182 professionals with
this title in the U.S.
Only 29 of those are women.
Master Somms in the U.S. make on average $150K.
The certification is not required of success in this field, and requires an insane amount of time and money. Given that the vast majority of the most knowledgeable wine professionals in the world do not have this certification, do you think it's worth it?
Ways to make drinking wine (and other alcohol) healthier
Ways to make drinking
wine (and other alcohol) healthier
In response to a few
conversations I’ve had with individuals in our class about the health effects
of alcohol, I’m providing a short write up on a few of the methods I
understand to reduce the long term damage done by drinking. This list is not
exhaustive – I’ve tried to keep it simple rather than delve into the litany of compounds
that show up in an Amazon search for ‘hangover cure’. Instead, this is a few of
the best bang for your buck ideas to attenuate the long term effects of an occasional
FOAM night.
1) Get out there and run, lift weights, goat
yoga, whatever.
It’s not news to any of you that exercise is important to
your health. But did you know that the act of getting your heart rate up changes
the way your body processes alcohol? There are a few different ways in which
this happens:
·
Converting sugars: we know that a hard
workout burns a ton of calories, but what if we don’t have that energy readily
available from a recent meal? Our body is smart, it stores extra energy in the
muscles and liver as glycogen, a carb
storage tank that we often dip into challenging exercise sessions (think Barry’s
or a quick Dish run). Wine contains sugar leftover from the fermentation
process in varying amounts -- dry wines have less than an
ice wine, but they’ve all got some. Drinking
after a hard workout will ensure that some of the sugar from alcohol is
converted into liver glycogen and thus spends less time hanging around in
your body, which is great news.
·
Lowering inflammation to allow wine to be
“heart healthy”: whether you believe it or not, we’ve all heard that red
wine is “heart healthy”. However, when
researchers introduced wine into some individuals lives and tracked their
cholesterol, blood glucose, triglycerides, and C-reactive proteins (proxy for
inflammation), there was no improvement. However, those who worked out twice a week
saw significant benefit to health markers. So what gives? It turns out that
exercise sets in motion a whole host of processes in our body that allow us to
get the benefit out of wine, whether it’s red or white.
·
Keeping the brain healthy: Individuals
who regularly binge drink, defined as 4+ drinks for women or 5+ drinks for men
(a foreign concept to many of us) often see cognitive declines when this
behavior is repeated over extended periods of time. However, individuals who exercised a few times a
week and drank frequently were
found to have significantly better brain health markers than those who
drank but did not exercise.
2) Don’t drink bad wine/alcohol (all the time)
Wine is
similar to any other consumer product – up to a certain point, you get what you
pay for. In order to compete on price, wineries are forced to take shortcuts. These
cheaper mass growing ops are expected to make grapes for a few hundred dollars
per ton. Some of those shortcuts may be additional spraying, fewer soil /water
tests, and adding in flavoring agents. Recently,
there was a lawsuit in California, after testing found that a wide variety
of cheap wines (think Beringer, Charles Shaw, Franzia, Sutter, etc.) had up to
5 times the level of arsenic allowable in typical drinking water. Before you stress
out: unless you’re drinking wine like you drink water, it’s probably not enough
to cause serious damage. But it does go to illustrate the quality control
tradeoffs that come with producing cheap wine.
3) When you’re drinking above average amounts,
give your body above average nutrients
You probably
wouldn’t go into an important interview or test without at least considering your
caffeine consumption / meal beforehand. So then why do so many of us go into a
night of heavy drinking with no strategy other than maybe an ill supported
plan of ‘carb loading’? Processing alcohol takes nutrients, often
ones that we don’t get enough of to begin with…and certainly don’t get at
the right time, in the right dose. In order to help your body process alcohol,
these nutrients need to be commensurate with consumption levels, and I haven’t
seen a ton of folks chasing their tequila shots with green smoothies at the
Patio.
No supplement
or food will allow you to drink a couple bottles of wine and wake up feeling
like sunshine. However, a few things will probably help your health in the long
run if you’re a moderate to heavy drinker:
·
B complex
vitamins (specifically B1, B12) – these are super important in our brains
and bodies for the production of energy, and metabolizing alcohol burns through
a ton of them. Consequently, these are best taken alongside alcohol when your
body needs them most.
·
Electrolytes
– think Pedialyte/coconut water, not Gatorade. Alcohol dehydrates you, and the
best way to rehydrate is with a drink that closely mirrors the salt and sugar
content that we have in our body. Don’t have any Pedialyte on hand? Eat some
fruit and something salty with a few glasses of water before bed after a night
out.
·
Healthy
diet – I’m not going to tell you to give up that late night snack of
choice. However, the healthier your diet is the rest of your week (think leafy
greens, antioxidant rich berries, etc.) the better equipped your body will be
to deal with and recover from the stresses of alcohol.
Disclaimer: This is
intended to be somewhere on the two by two matrix of [informative vs interesting]
between a Cosmo article and a research study. None of the above is intended as specific
health advice.
Federal Government Shutdown Impact on Wine Industry
As the federal government's partial shutdown reaching its 33rd day (with no end in sight), we've seen the far reaching consequences, including long TSA lines, national park closures, cancelled State of the Union address, etc. In fact, the partial shutdown even affects the wine industry, as federal and state approval for: (1) starting a new business; (2) new or changed labels; and (3) ingredient changes.
Wineries typically submit approval for label changes ahead of their spring releases (a process that takes up to 36 days), and without approval from the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (which is closed), wineries are in limbo. While certain label changes are exempt (i.e. simply changing the vintage for already approved labels), the rollout of new wines will almost certainly be impacted. As a result, wine makers face a dilemma: go ahead with labeling and bottling with the risk that the labels will be later rejected, or delay bottling and release, thereby potentially impacting deals with retailers.
Just for a sense of the scale of the impact (just focusing on wineries; there are downstream ripple effects for distributors):
- Per WineAmerica, a trade association representing 600+ wineries, ~70% of respondents in a survey indicated that they are waiting on label approval
- Per Wine-Searcher: In 2018, 192,000 labels made their way through the TTB's system
The impact is expected to be most acute for new / small wineries, who don't have a backlog of older vintages they can dip into.
Sources:
- https://www.winespectator.com/webfeature/show/id/Your-Rose-May-Be-Late-this-Year
- https://www.news5cleveland.com/news/state/ohio-wine-and-beer-industry-impacted-by-government-shutdown
- https://www.wine-searcher.com/m/2019/01/us-government-shutdown-hits-wine-hard
"A glass a day keeps the doctor away" - Putting to bed some misconceptions about the health effects of wine
Two sources of inspiration for this post. First, not being a particularly good creative writer myself, my objective with my blog posts is not to entertain, but to inform (while doing some cool research myself). Second, after reading Amanda's illuminating research on sulfites, I was generally curious about the health benefits of drinking wine, and hopefully put to bed some popular misconceptions that I've had. Three of which are as follows:
Sources
https://health.gov/dietaryguidelines/2015/guidelines/appendix-9/
https://www.shape.com/blogs/fit-foodies/best-wines-your-waistline
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/265635.php
- Drinking wine is fine, as long as it's in moderation - TRUE - According to the US Dietary Guidelines 2015-2020, drinking in moderation is defined as one drink per day for women, and two drinks per day for men. What is a "drink" in wine speak? The guidelines define it as 5 fluid ounces, which is just about half of our Gabriel-Glas wine glasses. Note: The guidelines do not specify whether you can carry over your 1-2 drink pass on days that you don't drink. Suffice it to say - not drinking all week and downing 14 glasses of wine at FOAM is likely not drinking in moderation.
- White wine has less calories than red wine - FALSE - Calories in wine is most directly influenced by its ABV (Alcohol by Volume) percentage. A higher ABV by 1 percentage point equates to ~12 more calories per glass. The average glass of wine has about 9-12% ABV, equating roughly to 110-140 calories. While white wine on average has a lower ABV than red wine, there are still high ABV, high sugar white wines that pack in more calories than even some of the heaviest red wines (e.g., US Moscato - 177 to 213 calories per glass)
- Red wine is good for the heart, prevents cancer, and prevents vision loss - KIND OF TRUE, BUT - Ok, yes, red wine has a compound call resveratrol, which has been proven to prevent bacteria and funghi, and protect against UV radiation. However, this health benefit comes from the skins of red grapes. Therefore, anybody can load up on the benefits of resveratrol by simply eating more grapes, blueberries, cranberries, and even peanuts - not more red wine. That said, if you had to choose amongst alcoholic drinks, red wine might be the best option.
Sources
https://health.gov/dietaryguidelines/2015/guidelines/appendix-9/
https://www.shape.com/blogs/fit-foodies/best-wines-your-waistline
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/265635.php
A $230,000 bottle of Wine
This week we read about Lafite, a brand I knew by name, and knew was one of the nicest, priciest bottles you can buy. This got me thinking, what is the most expensive bottle of wine ever sold? It turns out the highest price paid for a trio of bottles (I know, the 3 bottle thing is kind of a cop out) was $690,000, or $230,000 each. A collector bought the three bottles of wine, an 1869 Chateau Lafite, at an auction in Hong Kong in 2010. Originally, the bottles were expected to go for less than $10,000 each, so the result was quite surprising. What would prompt a collector to buy such an expensive bottle? What would the investor do with the bottles? Perhaps its a display of wealth and power? Or maybe the investor planned to drink 2 and save the 3rd? Did s/he really think the bottles would drink well (I can't imagine)? Whatever the motivation, it is an absurd amount of money to spend on a bottle of wine-turned-vinegar. I like wine, but not enough to spend hundred of thousands of dollars on a single bottle!
The 5 most expensive bottles sold at auction are:
5. Chateau Margaux 1787 - $225,000
4. Chateau Lafite 1869 - $230,000 (per bottle)
3. Shipwrecked 1907 Heidseck - $275,000
2. 1947 Cheval-Blanc - $304,375
1. Screaming Eagle Cabernet Sauvignon 1992 - $500,000
The 5 most expensive bottles sold at auction are:
5. Chateau Margaux 1787 - $225,000
4. Chateau Lafite 1869 - $230,000 (per bottle)
3. Shipwrecked 1907 Heidseck - $275,000
2. 1947 Cheval-Blanc - $304,375
1. Screaming Eagle Cabernet Sauvignon 1992 - $500,000
Changes to liquor regulations- South Africa
Our discussion in class last week about wine regulations, got me thinking about other regulatory changes that have been made regarding wine in other countries. The country that quickly came to mind for me was South Africa. Having lived in South Africa for the first six years of my life, I was interested in seeing what has changed.
To my quick discovery, a lot has changed and a lot will continue to change. For instance, just this past summer, South Africa proposed a liquor products amendment bill. This bill seeks to amend the Liquor Products Act of 1989 and the Amendment Act of 2008. Under this bill, some of the key decisions were to include beer under the patrol of the Wine & Spirit board. The board will likely change its name to incorporate this. In addition, the bill has reduced the alcohol percentage that will classify the drink as a liquor product. Previously, alcohol content in beverages were allowed to be 1%, but the bill has changed this to be 0.5%. While the bill proposed to change the sell and intake of liquor from people under the age of 18 up to people under the age of 21, this was not passed.
The fact that regulations have recently changed, not only in the US but all over the world regarding wine and liquor in general, highlights the importance of keeping up with this ever evolving regulatory landscape that will impact wine businesses.
Wine´s Glass Ceiling
After the 2 classes, we have had, I reflected on the fact that both of our speakers had been women. As a woman in Business School, it is rare to find a class in which even one-third of the guest speakers are women, so I was happy to welcome what seemed like a change.
That led me to think that possibly this was an industry, were female leaders were more common - so I eagerly did some research. Boy, was I wrong.
A quick Google search on "Women in Wine Industry" led me down a rabbit hole of disheartening articles, denouncing the lack of female representation in this Industry. The irony of it all is that this is an Industry that thrives on marketing their products to women, and where women are one of their main consumers.
One of the quotes that particularly grabbed my attention noted that while the overall total female leadership in the industry is 10% (unsurprisingly low after reading many of the articles) there are ZERO female CEOs in wine companies that produce between 100K to 500K wine cases per year.
This is despite the fact that in many of the Viticulture and Enology courses in US university female students largely outnumber men.
While this trend is, unfortunately, found in multiple other industries, I think it is still an important figure to keep in mind as we read the cases in class and meet the speakers.
In case someone wants to take a look at some of the articles, I´m adding a couple of links below:
"Wine´s Glass Ceiling and the Winery Working to Shatter It": https://www.forbes.com/sites/kristifaulkner/2019/01/23/wines-glass-ceiling-and-the-winery-working-to-shatter-it/#6066f4e7314a
"Women and the Wine Industry" (Written by the author of The Wine Bible): https://winespeed.com/blog/2017/12/women-wine-industry/
That led me to think that possibly this was an industry, were female leaders were more common - so I eagerly did some research. Boy, was I wrong.
A quick Google search on "Women in Wine Industry" led me down a rabbit hole of disheartening articles, denouncing the lack of female representation in this Industry. The irony of it all is that this is an Industry that thrives on marketing their products to women, and where women are one of their main consumers.
One of the quotes that particularly grabbed my attention noted that while the overall total female leadership in the industry is 10% (unsurprisingly low after reading many of the articles) there are ZERO female CEOs in wine companies that produce between 100K to 500K wine cases per year.
This is despite the fact that in many of the Viticulture and Enology courses in US university female students largely outnumber men.
While this trend is, unfortunately, found in multiple other industries, I think it is still an important figure to keep in mind as we read the cases in class and meet the speakers.
In case someone wants to take a look at some of the articles, I´m adding a couple of links below:
"Wine´s Glass Ceiling and the Winery Working to Shatter It": https://www.forbes.com/sites/kristifaulkner/2019/01/23/wines-glass-ceiling-and-the-winery-working-to-shatter-it/#6066f4e7314a
"Women and the Wine Industry" (Written by the author of The Wine Bible): https://winespeed.com/blog/2017/12/women-wine-industry/
Wine <> Four Loko?
While it was touched on a bit in last week's class, I left wondering how the laws of wine production, distribution and sale differ from that of other types of alcohol. Specifically, I wanted more clarity around what powers the federal government and states have to monitor distribution of other alcoholic beverages and take action when they deem something unsafe or anti-consumer.
After trying to come up with an example of this I've seen in the past, I thought of the well-known (and often mocked) anecdote around the once-popular alcoholic drink Four Loko (and most people who read this post will start laughing and stop reading right about here). Four Loko is a very sweet, sparkling alcoholic beverage probably best known by younger drinkers and often purchased in convenience stores. It received quite a bit of press for mixing high quantities of alcohol with caffeine and taurine. This mixture was so problematic and dangerous that the beverage was banned by the FDA in 2010. Soon after modifying the recipe to remove caffeine and taurine, Four Lokos were available again but saw their sales numbers diminished greatly.
While a ban of this sort is made out of safety concerns which don't directly compare with the type of free speech or monopoly concerns we discussed last week, the Four Loko history is worth remembering. While I myself have never had a Four Loko, I can understand why many consumers were angry over the ban of the old recipe. They argued that this ban was anti-consumer and that they should be allowed to willingly choose what type of alcoholic beverages to enjoy. Additionally, one could argue that the same effects as the old Four Loko can easily be achieved by drinking the new Four Loko with any energy drink bought at the same convenience stores. Therefore, there's an argument to be made that the FDA's ban does not necessarily increase general consumer safety but also violates consumers' right to choose.
Obviously Four Loko doesn't compare great with wine, but in light of the conversations we had last week I think that this sort of federal oversight and regulation is an interesting anecdote to keep in mind when surveying the wine industry today.
https://newyork.cbslocal.com/2010/11/16/schumer-feds-may-move-to-ban-alcoholic-energy-drinks/
http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/11/17/alcohol.caffeine.drinks/index.html?hpt=C1
https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2009-08-24-0908230370-story.html
After trying to come up with an example of this I've seen in the past, I thought of the well-known (and often mocked) anecdote around the once-popular alcoholic drink Four Loko (and most people who read this post will start laughing and stop reading right about here). Four Loko is a very sweet, sparkling alcoholic beverage probably best known by younger drinkers and often purchased in convenience stores. It received quite a bit of press for mixing high quantities of alcohol with caffeine and taurine. This mixture was so problematic and dangerous that the beverage was banned by the FDA in 2010. Soon after modifying the recipe to remove caffeine and taurine, Four Lokos were available again but saw their sales numbers diminished greatly.
While a ban of this sort is made out of safety concerns which don't directly compare with the type of free speech or monopoly concerns we discussed last week, the Four Loko history is worth remembering. While I myself have never had a Four Loko, I can understand why many consumers were angry over the ban of the old recipe. They argued that this ban was anti-consumer and that they should be allowed to willingly choose what type of alcoholic beverages to enjoy. Additionally, one could argue that the same effects as the old Four Loko can easily be achieved by drinking the new Four Loko with any energy drink bought at the same convenience stores. Therefore, there's an argument to be made that the FDA's ban does not necessarily increase general consumer safety but also violates consumers' right to choose.
Obviously Four Loko doesn't compare great with wine, but in light of the conversations we had last week I think that this sort of federal oversight and regulation is an interesting anecdote to keep in mind when surveying the wine industry today.
https://newyork.cbslocal.com/2010/11/16/schumer-feds-may-move-to-ban-alcoholic-energy-drinks/
http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/11/17/alcohol.caffeine.drinks/index.html?hpt=C1
https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2009-08-24-0908230370-story.html
Pisco's True Origin
I have a personal issue with origin appellations since there is a big dispute over the origin of Pisco. If you talk to any Peruvian person (like myself), you will notice pride in our voices when we call Pisco our flagship drink. However, if you ask a Chilean, you might hear them say that Pisco is theirs. After reading the case on Domain Barons de Rothschild, it left me thinking what is the difference between Bordeaux and Pisco, and why there is no doubt about Bordeaux Origin Appellation unlike Peruvian Pisco. After all, we also have a region called Pisco where the grapes to make it grow.
I still haven't found the answer. I think we were slow in the global scene to claim Pisco as our own - maybe we didn't think we needed to do it. Only in some regions like EU and recently India, Peru has the Origin Appellation for Pisco and Chilean drinks aren't legally allowed to be called with that name. This article details how after a 9 year dispute, we recently got the Origin Appellation in India: https://elcomercio.pe/economia/peru/chile-podra-denominacion-origen-pisco-india-litigio-peru-noticia-596331
If you are curious about the topic, here is a more unbiased article that mentions a dispute in Australia about Pisco where we don't have the Origin Appellation:
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-08-19/winemaker-in-battle-with-peru-over-use-of-the-name-pisco/10133394
Barriers to Entry
In college, there was a craze known as "Sweet Tea Vodka." Created by a liquor salesman and a part-time vintner in South Carolina, Firefly tasted liked sweet tea - it went down easily. However, it also had the same alcohol content as its vodka base - it took you down easily. Many people fell prey to the sweet, almost syrupy charm, of this ingenious concoction that was as friendly to your face as its southern roots would imply and as dangerous as a Myrtle Beach firecracker stand on the Fourth of July.
I interned for Firefly. Up until that point, the only industries I had been exposed to had been the law, finance and the travel company my mom worked for. I had never seen the liquor industry. It was much to my surprise (and delight) when my first meeting with my new boss involved the tasting of the new flavors of Firefly. Men dressed in jeans swapped stories about golf and family while tasting the new Raspberry, Peach and Mint flavors. There was little talk of actual business.
On my first tag along sales call, I realized that business talk was still noticeably absent. As I shadowed my boss across the bars of downtown Nashville, we took shots (before noon) with the bartenders on Broadway and swapped more stories about golf and family and drinking.
I did notice a pitch that was subtly delivered, about the same time I noticed that we were the only group authorized to sell Firefly in the region. At the time I didn't grasp how unique it was that the distributor I was working with had no competition in selling a product that they didn't create. They also had very little competition in selling alcohol at all. There were some other groups that they "competed" with, but their hardest sell wasn't convincing the bartenders to place an order for alcohol from them. It was simply to convince them of new products that they were licensed to sell. They were effectively operating in a competition-free market.
As we listened to the problems with regulation of alcohol in class, I remembered my internship and immediately understood why incumbents would be so loathed to open up these regional monopolies. If I'm on the only lemonade stand in town, why would I want to you buy lemonade through the internet, even if it might be more what you want? I also realized why having strong legal representation would be so crucial for this fight, along with having the proper allies in the statehouse.
I believe that disruption will occur, the same way Uber was able to change the paradigm in the taxi monopolies. However, I also understand that it will not be solely on the desirability of the wine being sold, but rather through the clever business plans and aggressively creative legal and political actions of disruptors.
I interned for Firefly. Up until that point, the only industries I had been exposed to had been the law, finance and the travel company my mom worked for. I had never seen the liquor industry. It was much to my surprise (and delight) when my first meeting with my new boss involved the tasting of the new flavors of Firefly. Men dressed in jeans swapped stories about golf and family while tasting the new Raspberry, Peach and Mint flavors. There was little talk of actual business.
On my first tag along sales call, I realized that business talk was still noticeably absent. As I shadowed my boss across the bars of downtown Nashville, we took shots (before noon) with the bartenders on Broadway and swapped more stories about golf and family and drinking.
I did notice a pitch that was subtly delivered, about the same time I noticed that we were the only group authorized to sell Firefly in the region. At the time I didn't grasp how unique it was that the distributor I was working with had no competition in selling a product that they didn't create. They also had very little competition in selling alcohol at all. There were some other groups that they "competed" with, but their hardest sell wasn't convincing the bartenders to place an order for alcohol from them. It was simply to convince them of new products that they were licensed to sell. They were effectively operating in a competition-free market.
As we listened to the problems with regulation of alcohol in class, I remembered my internship and immediately understood why incumbents would be so loathed to open up these regional monopolies. If I'm on the only lemonade stand in town, why would I want to you buy lemonade through the internet, even if it might be more what you want? I also realized why having strong legal representation would be so crucial for this fight, along with having the proper allies in the statehouse.
I believe that disruption will occur, the same way Uber was able to change the paradigm in the taxi monopolies. However, I also understand that it will not be solely on the desirability of the wine being sold, but rather through the clever business plans and aggressively creative legal and political actions of disruptors.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)