“Premiumization is elitist”

Of course it is, but that hasn’t stopped the wine business from embracing it – to its detriment

Two recent news items show just how little the wine business understands the dilemma that it’s facing. In the first, one of the Gallo family decries premiumization and the harm it has done to wine. In the second, an Italian producer boasts about its $15 wine spritzers – which, by any measurement, is premiumization run amok.

Is it any wonder I worry about the future of the wine business?

The premiumization quote comes from Stephanie Gallo, the chief marketing officer for E&J Gallo, whose family runs the largest wine company in the world. Speaking to the North Bay Business Journal’s Women in the Wine Business Conference, she said: “I hate the word ‘premiumization’ — hate it. I think it’s elitist.” Instead, she said, wines should be priced so they’re affordable for consumers of every income level and circumstance.

Which, of course, is what the Wine Curmudgeon has been saying for years. Who knew I had such powerful forces on my side?

And, for the most part, Gallo does just that. Three of its most important brands — Barefoot, Apothic, and the Italian sparkler La Marca – not only dominate their categories, but Barefoot alone would be the third biggest producer in the U.S. by itself.

We can argue about quality, but Gallo does know how to sell cheap wine – and is one of the few producers who still wants to do it.

Because the Italian company obviously doesn’t. The marketing materials it sent me hit every current wine talking point as if they were written by a chatbot culling the Internet: Cocktail-like! Low alcohol! Lighter! And its name sounds just like this!

And all for just $15 a bottle.

Sigh. Apparently, no one in Italy has heard about canned spritzers, hard seltzers and the like, which cost about half as much and have dominated the market – but seem to be losing favor with consumers. Or, even, this pink wine, also half the price.

Which, of course, is a distinctly wine thing to do. Let’s release a product after it has already run its course and consumers have moved on to something else. And, when it fails, we can say we tried and pat ourselves on the back for making the effort but not being appreciated.

Photo: “stocks-7559” by Artem Beliaikin is marked with CC0 1.0.