Say What?

When researching Greece for my midterm project, I was shocked by how many sources claimed that one of the biggest factors holding Greek wines back is how difficult their names are to pronounce. But it does make sense. If I’m honest, I myself am way less likely to order a wine at a restaurant if I’m embarrassed to pronounce its name. And in this day of abbreviations, isn’t it easier to just request a “pinot,” a “cab,” or a “chard?”

However, what if Greek wines’ difficult to pronounce names could actually be to their benefit? A 2012 NPR study found that on average, participants were willing to pay ~$2 more for a bottle of wine with a name that’s hard to pronounce than for the same wine with a simple name. What’s more, the more wine expertise study participants had, the more they valued the difficult to pronounce wine. Antonia Mantonakis, the wine researcher who ran the study, hypothesized that this is because “wine geeks” interpret rare and unique wines as having higher value, so they are on the lookout for any differentiation they can find in a bottle.

Here are some of my favorite difficult to pronounce wines (and a guide on how to say their names).

Agiorgitiko (ah-yor-yee’-ti-ko) – the Greek red from Nemea that we tasted in class

Assyrtiko (a-SEER-tee-ko) – a Greek white from Santorini

Blaufrankish (blouw-FRANN-keesh) – a red German varietal

Gewürztraminer (guh-VERTZ-tra-mean-er) – a white varietal that’s popular in Austria

Spätburgunder (sh-pate-boor-gun-der) – a German word for pinot noir; perhaps there’s a re-branding opportunity here?

Xinomavro (ksee-NO-ma-vr0) – a Greek red from Naousa

Sources:

https://www.nataliemaclean.com/blog/videos/how-to-pronounce-wine-names-grapes/

http://www.wines.com/wine-names-pronunciation-guide/

http://www.thirtyfifty.co.uk/pronounce-wine-guide.asp

https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2012/06/26/155503628/fancy-names-can-fool-wine-geeks-into-paying-more-for-a-bottle

                                   

Wine Influencers

While in the past, the wine industry was mainly focused on quality to drive sales, the industry is becoming more and more of a brand-driven industry. Therefore wine marketing executives have been turning to some of the techniques, such as influencer marketing, that have been working extremely well for the traditional consumer brands.

There are two types of influencers that the wine industry uses. First, are professionals or experts in the wine industry such as sommeliers. These influencers are often followed by wine enthusiasts who have a mid or higher education level regarding wine. Usually, the messaging regarding this type of marketing is direct. The second type of wine influencers are lifestyle influencers which often are not experts in the wine industry but are looked to for the overall personal brand. These influencers often use more indirect methods of marketing the wine.

While many are unsure the role that influencers should be playing in the wine industry, some companies have successfully built their brand around social media and influencers. For example, The Whispering Angel has built a following around their brand's social media pages which highlight beautiful people traveling the world drinking their wine.



However, the question that many ask is does a social media following and  influencers impact the bottom line? This is the question that is still out as more and more wineries try this method of marketing to get a true representative perspective. However, the early hypothesis is that social media and influencers get the consumer in the door for his or her  first bottle of wine, but is not enough to keep the consumer around.  It is still the belief, that the quality of the wine has a larger impact on repeat purchases compared to social media and influencers.