The February edition of Power Tasting focuses on some of the problems we see with wine tasting today. Simply put, going wine tasting has become too expensive, at least in some areas. The levels of alcohol in many wines is increasing and popular tourist destinations in and near Wine Country are too crowded.
Power Tasting is generally about the pleasure of tasting wines in the places they are made. It’s something we enjoy doing and we seek to share that appreciation with other like-minded readers. So why are we pointing out some of the issues regarding wine tasting today?
We fear that wineries, especially those that consider themselves “top end” are creating a situation in which younger, less experienced visitors to Wine Country may be deterred from going. This may be acceptable to the wineries in the short term because more mature visitors are likelier to spend more money there. Wine tasting has become a revenue source for the producers and they want to optimize the return on investment in facilities and staff.
Trading today’s profits for tomorrow’s growth is usually a bad strategy. There is a need for a new generation to take up wine tasting – and by extension wine drinking – to become reliable customers, over time. We are highlighting some of the problems regarding wine tasting as a call for change. Not reversion to a different era in winemaking, but an eye towards future growth.