An interesting theme that keeps coming up in cases and the midterm project has been how difficult it can be to sell an experience good. The values of experience goods seem to be largely driven by reputation. And reputation seems difficult to change.
For instance, Kingston Family Vineyards struggled to overcome the prevailing opinion that Chile produced "drinkable but unsophisticated" wines. I may be no sophisticate, but the Kingston wines we sampled this past week were among my favorites of the quarter.
Another example of this came up as I researched my midterm project. My topic is Washington state, which people tend to associate with syrah (though cabernet sauvignon makes up more acreage). For some reason (inconsistency? marketing?) syrahs tend to be very unpopular with consumers. The joke cited by numerous articles was: What’s the difference between a case of syrah and a case of pneumonia/syphilis? You can get rid of pneumonia/syphilis. Critics are beginning to discover more and more of the complex, savory syrahs that typically exemplify the wine and I wonder how long it will be until consumer tastes catch up to this.
My takeaway from this is that there is a huge opportunity in finding a way to overcome the inertia of opinions in the wine industry. Our discovery and appreciation of wines are too often obstructed by prevailing "wisdom" and biases. Wine clubs with Netflix-like algorithms are obviously helpful only for members. Those of us who still opt for the brick-and-mortar shopping experience could use some help as well. There are a few wine apps out there to help demystify the process. I am curious to hear from others in the course if they have found any of these particularly helpful. My hope is that these services will enhance the ability of nascent regions and wineries break out of whatever mold that might currently be inhibiting their success.
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