Market Watch, Summer 2020
SUMMER 2020 MARKETW ATCHMAG COM MARKET WATCH 89 marketplace remains to be seen Most marketers say theyve seen consumers rely more heavily on the tried and true rather than displaying exploratory behaviors One of the key consumer behaviors were seeing during this period is a shift toward great quality brands that folks trust and rely on says Fetzer Vineyards Maturana Our Chilean portfolio has a lot to offer in this area driven by strong heritage labels from familiar brands including Casillero del Diablo and Frontera At Hazels Beverage World in Boulder Colorado wine department manager Joe Tedesco has been a supporter of wines from the Movimiento de Viñateros Independientes Movement of Independent Vintners I always try to find those unique esoteric producers and that organization always provides interesting products Tedesco says With Chile we do what we can to motivate the lesser known more unique stuff But he admits the pandemic has slowed demand for smaller lesser known Chilean labels In the thick of the crisis Hazels was closed to foot traffic instead customers ordered online for delivery or curbside pickup When people are going online theyre going to select their comfort brands that theyre familiar with Tedesco says Unique items that required hand selling did not sell in that period Even with things opening up again the mentality has shifted One of the big disruptors now is that as consumers go to retail theyre not spending a ton of time speaking to the floor sommeliers or wine stewards so theyre gravitating to what they know says Giordano of Pacific Highway Currently people seeking Chilean wine are spending more time focusing on Cabernet and Merlot Carménère will have its day once restrictions lift but this has disrupted any momentum By contrast Vine Connections Lehrman has seen some continued enthusiasm for experimentation The more unusual stuff is what really producing well for us he notes But to carry forward that momentum the third tier is going to have to evolve he says Channel presence is key in this environment Retailers will have to shift to a sommelier way of selling because American wine lovers dont drink the same wine every night and if they cant browse the aisles theyre going to need some guidance Were guessing that even when things settle down the foot traffic in wine shops outside of grocery stores which are a little different will be down Its possible 20 of people are never going to enter your store again because theyre going to buy online so its time to starting learning how to reach them with the wines you want to sell them and not just what they want to buy mw Chile has a variety of terroirs for winemakers to explore Concha y Toros Don Melchor vineyard top showcases the Andes mountains while Quintessential Wines Matetic Rosario Valley vineyard above highlights the countrys coast
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