12 Comments
User's avatar
Dan Petroski's avatar

This is great. It's simple, basic, and the question everyone in the supply needs to ask. Thanks for sharing!

Robert Mason's avatar

This is a very interesting subject and one which I am currently researching. Unfortunately for the traditional wine industry as we currently know it, the trend (certainly from what I have seen personally in London over the past 36 months) is that the Lo-No category is definitely growing, albeit in a tiny way compared to overall UK value of the market. It is definitely something to keep an eye on.

Robert Joseph's avatar

Times change, and so will the ‘traditional wine industry’ if it is to survive

Robert Mason's avatar

I get the feeling that it will have to very soon. There is a very nervy under-current swirling around traditional trade at the moment. Unspoken but we all know it's there.

Jan Andrzejewski's avatar

If we draw an analogy where wine in an importer's portfolio represents the 'Means' within the Ends-Ways-Means triad, it makes perfect, and not so bizzare sense. Wine provides capabilities at the table and exerts influence on the market.

Robert Mason's avatar

But then, by the same token and matrix, wine is mailable. It changes constantly based on consumer trends and producer influence. Largely the former. Importers will always follow their specific market trends and some actually try to push the envelope and exert an influence. I genuinely think that Hallgarten's portfolio over the past 7-8 years has fulfilled that concept. And they have done it really well and successfully.

Robert Joseph's avatar

As I tried to make clear, the same wine can do several jobs, and indeed the job it does may vary from user to user. But the maker and seller need to be aware of this, and to factor it into the way they see the product

Jan Andrzejewski's avatar

Wine is malleable . Wine as a 'Mean' is never objectively one thing - its function is contextual. It shifts depending on the theater of operations and the chosen Ways.

The same bottle can be a 'surgical tool' for a sommelier in fine dining, or a 'workhorse' in other establishments.. Regarding Hallgarten - agree.

Jan Andrzejewski's avatar

Wine is malleable . Wine as a 'Mean' is never objectively one thing - its function is contextual. It shifts depending on the theater of operations and the chosen Ways.

The same bottle can be a 'surgical tool' for a sommelier in fine dining, or a 'workhorse' in other establishments.. Regarding Hallgarten - agree.

Robert Mason's avatar

I couldn't agree more. I guess it is ultimately a medium which depends on perspective. That is why wine (and the wider drinks industry) is fascinating and driven by opinions, rightly or wrongly.