Gary Vaynerchuk video interview: 'US should stay away from Bordeaux 2009'
December 11, 2009
By John Abbott
The American market should stay away from Bordeaux en primeur until the global economy has stabilised, internet wine guru Gary Vaynerchuk has told decanter.com
In an interview at the UK launch of his new book 'Crush It: Cash in on your Passion,' Vaynerchuk said his wine retailing business, Wine Library, had 'rolled the dice with not playing the '08 market' and said firmly that he would be staying away again in 2009.
Speaking about 2009, Vaynerchuk warned that the current economic crisis would impact heavily on the en primeur campaign in the US, because the conventional buyers aren't in the market for it.
'Futures rely on the new buyer, the next generation coming along. The problem is, the new buyer, the one that would have been there under normal circumstances, is not there.'
'In the US, if they're going to buy a future, and they see that 2008 Latour has 98 [Parker points] and the 2009 has 99+, and the price difference is staggering, they're going to buy the 2008.'
Vaynerchuk reiterated the online call to arms he delivered at the recent Wine Future conference in Rioja, saying that the only way wine producers would survive in the future was by 'making real relationships with consumers.'
'Producers need to get into the trenches. It's the way I built my brand – they need to have a real connection with the consumer.
'They need to be on Facebook, they need to be blogging, video blogging and answering every one of their emails. The only way to have a real business is to have a real relationship with the consumer.'
'I think the US has a leg-up because technology is such a backbone of what's going on in the US.'
Vaynerchuk, who was included in this year's Decanter power list at number 40, said that American palates were changing, moving away from the traditional 'fruit bomb' preference.
Vaynerchuk's latest book 'Crush It! Why Now is the Time to Cash in on your Passion' is the first in a series of 10 books in a $1m publishing deal with HarperStudio.
Have your say... To post your comment on this story, email us at news@decanter.com Ditto Gary;
If you like Bordeaux, there is plenty of reasonably priced petitte chateaux; and
when it comes to QPR, dollar for dollar Bordeaux rouge out performs domestic cab & blends. Jon Bruno
As the animated and talented Gary Vaynerchuk said in his video responses to decanter.com questions, he is an entrepreneur and certainly not an independent wine commentator: he sells wine. It seems evident that business interests determine his desire not to buy the 2009 vintage (stocks of unsold wine inventory, for example). While I can understand the Parker point score logic - the 2008s are highly rated by Parker - I think that the vastly superior harvest quality of the 2009 vintage overall will result in demand for 2009 in the US, and stores will provide that vintage in the US. The two big question marks are how the economy will be doing when futures buying commences next year and how will the Bordelais price their 2009s... Panos Kakaviatos
And the sky is blue. So what? Is anyone really thinking that Bordeaux futures are even something a sensible person would consider at this time and at these delusional prices? Come on. A. Skroback, NYC
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Ditto Gary;
