Text of My Presentation at Vinistra winegrowers exhibition in Poreč, May, 2014:
FOR THE PAST TWELVE YEARS I HAVE BEEN COMING TO ISTRIA, ENJOYING ITS WINE, FOOD AND GASTRONOMICAL CULTURE. I EVEN HAD A CHANCE TO HELP A BIT DURING ONE OF THE FIRST SVJET MALVAZIJE COMPETITIONS. DURING THIS PERIOD, THE QUALITY AND DIVERSITY OF WINES PRODUCED IN THIS REGION HAS RISEN AND THE REPUTATION OF THE FINEST LOCAL WINES HAS BEGUN TO SPREAD TO DISTANT LANDS.
SO THE TIME IS RIGHT TO POSE THE QUESTION: CAN ISTRIAN WINES — PARTICULARLY MALVAZIJA ISTARSKA — FIND A NICHE IN THE AMERICAN MARKET?
I AM HERE TO STATE THAT THE ANSWER IS ‘YES.’
IF ISTRIAN PRODUCERS ARE INTERESTED IN DEVELOPING A FOLLOWING AMONG AMERICANS WHO ARE PASSIONATE ABOUT GOOD WINE, I BELIEVE THAT THEY CAN ACCOMPLISH THIS.
IT WILL TAKE TIME, IT WILL REQUIRE A STRATEGY, AND IT WILL REQUIRE RESOURCES. BUT IT CAN BE DONE.
IN THE NEXT FEW MINUTES, I WOULD LIKE TO DESCRIBE WHAT MIGHT BE SOME ELEMENTS OF THAT STRATEGY AND WHY IT MAKES SENSE TO FOLLOW IT NOW.
FIRST, A FEW CHARACTERISTICS OF THE AMERICAN WINE MARKET BEAR REPEATING:
THE AMERICAN MARKET IS THE LARGEST SINGLE-COUNTRY MARKET IN THE WORLD AND THE MARKET IS GROWING AT TWO TO FIVE PER CENT PER YEAR.
AMERICANS CONSUME 13 PERCENT OF ALL THE WINE PRODUCED GLOBALLY AND 35 PER CENT OF WHAT WE CONSUME COMES FROM OTHER COUNTRIES.
AMERICANS PER CAPITA DO NOT DRINK MORE THAN THE FRENCH OR THE ITALIANS — OR PERHAPS THE CROATIANS — BUT AMERICANS NOW DRINK MORE WINE THAN BEER — OR ANY OTHER BEVERAGE. AMERICANS IN FACT DRINK MORE ITALIAN WINE THAN ITALIANS DO.
BUT THE KEY POINT IS THAT MORE YOUNGER AMERICANS ARE DRINKING WINE THAN EVER BEFORE. AND WINE MARKETERS HOPE TO CAPTURE THESE CONSUMERS — MILLENNIALS — WHILE THEY ARE STILL YOUNG SO AS TO CREATE A LIFELONG CLIENTELE.
THIS PHOTO WAS TAKEN LAST MONTH AT AN INFORMAL WINE TASTING IN SAN FRANCISCO THAT WAS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. ADMISSION WAS $80 — ABOUT 50 EUROS. MORE THAN TWO THOUSAND PERSONS ATTENDED OVER THE COURSE OF THE TWO-DAY EVENT.
AND MOST OF THOSE IN ATTENDANCE WERE IN THEIR TWENTIES AND THIRTIES.
THIS GENERATION HAS VERY FEW PREJUDICES WHEN IT COMES TO WINE AND FOOD — THEY ARE INTERESTED IN DISCOVERING NEW TASTES, DIFFERENT CULTURES — AND THIS IS REFLECTED IN THE WAY WINE BARS TRY TO DRAW IN NEW CUSTOMERS
THIS ARTICLE ILLUSTRATES THIS POINT: THE OWNER OF THE WINE BAR SAYS: “WE HAVE FIFTY DIFFERENT WINES BY THE GLASS. EVERY SIX TO EIGHT WEEKS WE ROTATE…WE LOOK FOR PRETTY OBSCURE, HARD TO FIND WINES WITH SMALLER PRODUCTION RUNS…”
THIS NEW CULTURE OF WINE LOOKS FOR NEW TASTES. THE MARKET OVERALL IS DISTINGUISHED BY:
GROWTH
DIVERSITY
OPENNESS
INTENSE COMPETITION
AT A LEADING WINE CHAIN IN CALIFORNIA YOU CAN GET RECENT VINTAGE VERDICCHIO, BORDEAUX, CABERNET FRANC, NERO D’AVOLA, GERMAN RIESLING, AND A FRIULI MALVASIA — FOR $11 A BOTTLE
AND AT ONE OF THE MOST HIGHLY REGARDED NEW RUSTIC ITALIAN STYLE RESTAURANTS IN SAN FRANCISCO, AN ISTRIAN MALVAZIA — A RARE SIGHTING — IS $50 A BOTTLE — OR $12 A GLASS. THIS BY THE WAY IS A VERY FAIR AND REASONABLE PRICE POINT FOR WINE AT A GOOD RESTAURANT IN THE UNITED STATES. KEEP IN MIND THAT THE RESTAURANT PRICE IS ABOUT TWO AND A HALF TO THREE TIMES THE RETAIL PRICE.
ANOTHER WAY OF LOOKING AT RETAIL PRICE IS TO CONFLATE ALL AVAILABLE DATA FOR ALL MALVASIA BIANCA WORLDWIDE. THE WEB SITE WINE SEARCHER CAN THEN CONVERT THIS TO ANY CURRENCY — THIS SLIDE SHOWS PRICES EXPRESSED IN KUNA.
SO IT IS A REASONABLE — REALISTIC — EXPECTATION THAT IF ISTRIAN PRODUCERS WERE TO DIRECT THEIR ATTENTION TO THE AMERICAN MARKET, THEIR PRODUCT WOULD FALL IN OR NEAR THESE PRICING PARAMETERS.
THE PROBLEM, THE CHALLENGE REALLY, IS TO CREATE A BRAND — AN AWARENESS ABOUT MALVASIA ISTRIANA AMONG PASSIONATE WINE ENTHUSIASTS IN THE UNITED STATES THAT WILL THEN FORM THE BASIS FOR A MORE DETAILED MARKETING EFFORT.
AND THE WAY TO APPROACH THIS ISSUE IS TO FIRST RECOGNIZE THAT — AS THE HGK WROTE IN A PUBLICATION TWO YEARS AGO — “LOCAL WINE BRANDS, INTENDED FOR THE GENERAL MARKET, ARE STILL RELATIVELY UNKNOWN INTERNATIONALLY.”
THAT ASSESSMENT IS PROBABLY STILL TRUE.
THE MAIN U.S.-BASED WINE PUBLICATIONS — WINE SPECTATOR, WINE ENTHUSIAST, WINE ADVOCATE — HAVE ONLY RECENTLY BEGUN TO REFERENCE CROATIAN OR ISTRIAN WINES.
THIS IS A BIT DISCOURAGING, OF COURSE, BUT THERE’S A GOOD SIDE AS WELL. ISTRIA DOES NOT HAVE TO MANAGE OR DEAL WITH ANY NEGATIVE IMAGE IMPRINTED IN THE MINDS OF CONSUMERS. PEOPLE SIMPLY DON’T KNOW ABOUT ISTRIA AND ITS WINE.
IN OTHER WORDS, ISTRIA HAS A STORY THAT IT NEEDS TO TELL, NOT A PERCEPTION THAT IT NEEDS TO CORRECT.
SO…WHAT MIGHT BE SOME OF THE WAYS TO TELL THAT STORY WHILE ACQUAINTING AMERICAN WINE ENTHUSIASTS WITH ISTRIAN MALVASIA?
FIRST, START TO TELL YOUR STORY AT SELECT GATHERINGS OF WINE PROFESSIONALS.
TAKE THIS ONE AS AN EXAMPLE — “SLOW WINE” — AN ANNUAL DEGUSTATION FOR WINES FROM ITALY THAT ARE PROUDLY SMALL PRODUCTION. THIS EMPHASIS ON QUALITY — NOT QUANTITY — IS IN TUNE WITH WHAT ATTRACTS YOUR POTENTIAL CLIENTELE TO SPECIALTY FOOD AND BEVERAGES. EVENTS LIKE THIS ARE AIMED AT RESTAURANTEURS AS WELL AS WINE MERCHANTS. AGAIN, INSTEAD OF BEING DEFENSIVE ABOUT THE QUANTITIES THAT CAN BE MADE AVAILABLE TO THE AMERICAN MARKET, BE ASSERTIVE ABOUT THE VALUE YOU PLACE ON QUALITY
CREATE YOUR OWN EVENTS — WORKING WITH IMPORTERS AND DISTRIBUTORS — AT INDIVIDUAL RESTAURANTS. THE MENU FOR THIS EVENT, AT A RESTAURANT IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA, SHOWS AN INTELLIGENT PAIRING OF WINE AND FOOD. THROUGH CAREFUL PLANNING, SUCH DINNERS CAN INTRODUCE INFLUENTIAL WRITERS, ENTHUSIASTS AND OTHER “MULTIPLIERS” TO THE WINES OF A SINGLE OR MULTIPLE WINERIES.
CREATE YOUR OWN NARRATIVE. THERE SHOULD BE A SIMPLE AND COMPELLING NARRATIVE FOR MALVAZIJA ISTARSKA — DESCRIBING ITS HISTORY, QUALITIES, TERROIR — AND THEN ON TOP OF THAT THE NARRATIVES FOR INDIVIDUAL VINEYARDS.
LAST SUMMER’S ARTICLE IN THE NEW YORK TIMES WAS A BRILLIANT SUCCESS FROM THAT POINT OF VIEW. LOOK AT HOW THE AUTHOR DESCRIBES HIS ENCOUNTER WITH MALVASIA ISTRIANA:
Its color was limpid gold, and it possessed a subtle saltiness that rippled down my throat. In the sparkling little postcard world I found myself inhabiting that afternoon, the wine blended into the background — and that was its beauty: it was a peerless, understated accompaniment to the seafood, and it bound everything together. It was why I was in Istria in the first place.
AND SINCE THIS STORY APPEARED IN THE NYT, THE FOLLOWING DAY THERE WERE REFERENCES TO IT ON BLOGS, SOCIAL MEDIA AND THE LIKE.
THOSE NARRATIVES CAN BE VERY EFFECTIVE WAYS OF CREATING A PERSONAL IDENTITY FOR A WINERY THAT CUSTOMERS CAN RELATE TO AND ASSOCIATE WITH. MIKE GRGICH’S NARRATIVE IN CALIFORNIA IS AN EXCELLENT EXAMPLE OF SPREADING INFORMATION AND ATTRACTING INTEREST THROUGH THE PERSONAL STORY OF THE WINEMAKER.
GEORGE FISTONICH, A CROATIAN-ORIGIN WINEMAKER IN NEW ZEALAND, PROVIDES ANOTHER GOOD EXAMPLE OF THE PERSONAL NARRATIVE. FISTONICH’S VILLA MARIA BRAND EMPHASIZES ITS WINE BY EMPHASIZING HIS PERSONAL HISTORY AND AUTHENTIC VALUES. WINE ENTHUSIASTS — WHEREVER THEY ARE — APPRECIATE THAT QUALITY WINES SHOULD REFLECT PERSONAL CHOICES AND VALUES OF WINEMAKERS. TELL THE STORY OF THOSE PERSONAL CHOICES AND VALUES EFFECTIVELY, AND YOU’VE DONE A GREAT DEAL TOWARD MAKING A COMPELLING ARGUMENT FOR PEOPLE TO TAKE AN INTEREST IN YOUR WINE.
THE OTHER CLEAR ENTRY POINT FOR DEVELOPING A NICHE MARKET FOR MALVAZIJA ISTARSKA IN AMERICA LIES IN EXPLOITING THE KNOWLEDGE ABOUT ISTRIA THAT ALREADY EXISTS FROM AMERICAN TOURISM OR RELATED MEDIA.
NOW, AMERICANS ARE DOWN THE LIST OF FOREIGN TOURIST VISITORS TO ISTRIA, AND IN FACT IT IS VERY HARD TO PIN DOWN AN EXACT NUMBER. BUT EVEN IF “ONLY” 100,000 AMERICANS VISIT ISTRIA EACH YEAR, THIS AUDIENCE BECOMES SIGNIFICANT OVER TIME AS A RECEPTIVE AUDIENCE FOR ISTRIAN WINE WHEN THEY RETURN HOME.
THE FACT IS, ISTRIA’S TOURISM ECONOMY HAS GROWN ALONGSIDE ITS WINE PRODUCERS. CERTAINLY A PART OF ISTRIA’S TOURISM DRAW HAS BEEN ITS GREAT FOOD AND WINE, BUT VERY LITTLE HAS BEEN DONE BY ALL ACCOUNTS TO REACH THOSE TOURISTS AFTER THEY LEAVE CROATIA. MORE COULD AND SHOULD BE DONE.
FREE MEDIA — ESSENTIALLY PUBLICITY THAT YOU DON’T HAVE TO PAY FOR — IS ALWAYS SOUGHT AFTER IN THE FOOD AND BEVERAGE INDUSTRY. TO GET FREE MEDIA, SUCH AS ANTHONY BOURDAIN’S PROGRAM ON CNN…
OR THIS ARTICLE LAST MONTH, REQUIRES AN ONGOING OUTREACH CAMPAIGN — OR A LOT OF LUCK. SUCH CAMPAIGNS REQUIRE FOLLOW UP AND LONG-TERM COMMITMENT, BUT HELP LAY THE GROUND WORK FOR SMALL, TARGETED ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS.
THERE ARE ALWAYS GOING TO BE OTHER EVENTS — TARGETS OF OPPORTUNITY — THAT CAN BE USED TO OPEN THE DOOR FOR ISTRIAN WINE. THEN, DEPENDING ON EXPORT CAPACITY, A TARGETED, LIMITED ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN WOULD MAKE SENSE. YES, THE AMERICAN MARKET IS HUGE, AND ISTRIA’S EXPORT CAPACITY IS LIMITED. BUT IF YOU THINK ABOUT A CERTAIN NICHE — A MODERN, SOPHISTICATED YET OPEN-MINDED, YOUTH-ORIENTED CLIENTELE — THERE IS A POTENTIAL NATURAL FIT.
WHAT SHOULD WORK BEST IS — TELL THE STORY OF MALVASIA ISTRIANA ON ITS OWN MERITS, NOT ON THE BASIS OF TRYING TO BRAND IT AMONG ALL THE WINES OF CROATIA. THE PROXIMITY OF MALVASIA ISTRIANA TO GRAPES FROM SLOVENIA AND FRIULI — AREAS BECOMING WELL KNOWN AMONG AMERICAN WINE AUDIENCES — PROVIDES A BIT OF AN INTRODUCTION TO ISTRIA’S FAVORITE GRAPE. IT’S TIME TO MAKE THAT INTRODUCTION TO AN AMERICAN AUDIENCE AND SEE WHERE THAT RELATIONSHIP LEADS.