It seems that venerable news-aggregator has stumbled upon the apparently news-worthy advice that shopping in the “Bin End” section (so named, as I understand it, because these were often literally bins of wine stacked up at the end of the aisles in wine shops) of the wine store is a good place to find vinous bargains.

To the tape:

“…you can also score some discounts by looking for your wine or liquor store’s “bin ends” section, or bottles with scratched labels, wines or vintages that are bout to be rotated out of stock, or just not a great seller at that store.”

But not all is a bowl full of rosés in those end bins. The trouble with the bin-end-bargain advice quoted by Lifehacker (which is a re-blog of wine buying tips from TheKitchen.com – the rest of which are much more sound, by the way) is that quite often the wines offered in bin ends aren’t much of a bargain at all.

If you’re not careful, shopping those bin end bargains might actually leave you more disappointed than a Steelers fan after an improbable NFL post-season Tebow-ing (full disclosure: I’m a long-time Steelers fan, so, yes, this is cathartic for me, okay?)…

If you do decide to take TheKitchen.com/Lifehacker.com up on their advice to storm the bin ends section of your regional wine shops, study this game-plan to avoid getting Tebow-ed for your $10:

1. Know this: there’s a reason those bin-ended wines are poor sellers.
   It could just be some of the labels got screwed up in shipping, but in my experience it’s much more likely that the bin ends are full of wines that did not sell and so the retailer is trying to get rid of the inventory by slashing prices. Now, that can be a very good thing if the slow sales are due to a down economy, or an “off-vintage” that got lower critical scores but are still probably really good wines. But it could be because the wines weren’t actually very good to begin with.
2. The bigger the retailer, the less likely the bargain.
   Again, this is from personal experience, but the larger the retailer the more inventory they have to buy and then dump off if it doesn’t sell. Which means the big boys are almost certainly discounting something there that didn’t sell (see #1 above).
3. Don’t expect crazy-good bargains. There will not – I repeat NOT – be first-growth Bordeaux stacked up in the bin ends on sale for 50% off the SRP because the labels got ripped a little bit during shipping. Don’t go looking for the deals of the century in those bins, because you will not – I repeat NOT – find them.

Look, shopping in those end bins and/or asking for a look at discounted inventory is a good idea for bargain-hunters – but save yourself some trouble and try it with shops that you trust. You won’t be saving a ton of dough on the wine in those bin ends, but you might save a few percentage points off of SRP, and in these tough times that might be reason enough to go to the extra trouble of asking the shopkeeps (with the added benefit of possibly striking up a relationship with those sellers that could blossom into full-fledged bargains on really good juice for you in the future.

Cheers!

Copyright © 2011. Originally at Are “Bin End” Wines Really A Good Deal? How To Avoid Getting Tebow-ed At The Bin from 1WineDude.com - for personal, non-commercial use only. Cheers!

In those comments, frequent-visitor and formidable-wine-blogger-in-his-own-right Thomas Pellechia raised a couple of fascinating related questions, about which he, in turn, challenged me to write:

“…is there or should there be a relationship between what the wine ‘press’ prefers and what the wine ‘tourists’ buy? And who’s got the upper hand when it comes to establishing the success of a winery?”

Put another way, if critics say a wine really sucks, how relative of a measure is it?  Do people act on that assessment when it comes to buying wine?  And if they do, should they?  Could a winery still manage to pawn off its crappy stuff to newbie consumers in the tasting room, even if critics pan the bejeezus out of it?

Not easy questions to tackle.  In fact, they’re like trying to tackle Jerome Bettis in his heyday.  If I’d have had any clue just how deep a rabbit hole I’d be diving into after promising Thom I’d take on the topic, I would have told him (politely) to get bent and stop leaving such profound comments on my blog.

And this rabbit hole goes pretty deep, boy.  What I found in my quick-and-dirty investigation reveals a lot about how we buy wine, calls into question the future relevance of wine criticism generally (including my own modest contribution to that sphere), and tells us why it still might be possible for wineries to close many a tasting room sale on their crappiest offerings.

So take the red pill, if you dare, and I’ll show you just how deep the rabbit-hole goes…

It all began innocently enough.  Spurred by Thom’s probing questions, I posed the following simultaneously to my friends on twitter and Facebook:

“Who influences your wine purchases the most? A friend? Critic? Guy/Gal working at the wine shop?”

The results are at the bottom of this (rather lengthy – hey, I warned you) post.  For the impatient, the concept of friends and wine store staff were mentioned… a lot. Critics and bloggers? Uhmmm… not so much.  The people hath spoken, and they doth listen to friends and wine store clerks most of all. Not a scientific or statistically-relevant study, for sure, but an interesting result nonetheless.

But I couldn’t just let it go, of course, partly because the answers meant that I wasn’t so relevant even to my friends for f*ck’s sake! I mean, I want 1WD readers to up their own personal wine IQ and all but jeezuz, people!  And so I started wondering… are there statistically-relevant findings that might back up my shot-from-the-hip social media results? One thing led to another led to some Google searches, and as it turns out, a few bits of research have been done recently on the influence of wine criticism – and they bear similar results.

The first bit of research is a 2007 Wine Opinions study titled “Tracking wine media usage and the Influence of Critics” which was quoted and analyzed in June of the same year by Steve Bachmann, CEO at Vinfolio.  Steve commented on a few of the report’s highlights (emphasis mine):

- The most influential opinions affecting consumer retail wine purchases over $20 (the highest category) were “wine-knowledgeable friends” (72%) followed by retail staff (61%).

- 24% of consumers in the panel read wine blogs, about double the level which read the Wine Advocate or eRobertparker.com.

- 87% of consumer respondents agreed with the statement “I trust my own taste more than I do the wine critics.”  Despite that, 49% agreed that “I try hard to avoid wines with poor ratings.”

One interpretation (cannot stress enough that it’s one of many possible, but I think it’s valid) of these results is this:

People want to trust their own judgment when it come to buying wine, but (understandably, given the incredible volume of long-tail SKUs out there) realize they could get burned and want to minimize the scorching, particularly on higher-priced (>$20) purchases.  Therefore, they look for knowledgeable advice before dropping their coin on the bottle. The advice comes increasingly from those that they consider friends (a group which can include people with whom they have only ever had an on-line relationship), but could be trumped by the advice of staff at the point of sale.

I like this interpretation because in it I’m actually still relevant.  Sort of.  I think.  Anyway…

In 2010, a similar (smaller) survey was conducted by Paul Rickett at a retail wine store in Canada, and yielded similar results.  While the sample size is small, the findings are interesting for our little rabbit-hole journey in that the respondents also cite friends and trusted staff as having the highest influence on wine sales decisions (though in this case, those two were reversed, with the staff coming in at #1 and friends at #2 – press, including bloggers, all came in dead last).

Hmm… ok… this one I liked a hell of a lot less – not exactly a high 1WD relevancy factor there.

Then, a moment of clarity (or was it hopeful desperation?): I’m not sure I’d be hanging my favorite Steelers hat too firmly on conclusions drawn from either survey, as there are almost a countless number of factors at play in a wine buying decision (why and for whom is the wine being purchased…? what’s the comfort level of the purchaser…? did they remember to take their Geritol that day…? and what led them to buy wine that day anyway, maybe – please god -  a 1WD post…?).  BUT… it seems logical to state that trust is an important factor in influencing buying decisions – wine is apparently no exception – and that our circle of trusted sources is getting increasingly personal.

So maybe there’s a place for us after all, so long as we resonate with people on a personal level?  In the words of kick-ass `80s supergroup Asia, “only time will tell.” I like my odds in that vino worldview.  So I cancelled the Amazon.com order for that Sepaku knife.

What really got me out of the darkest, sunless areas of the rabbit-hole was this:

The most knowledgeable and/or confident of wine consumers are probably gonna buy what they like to drink no matter what the critics say about it.  Having said that, for those influenced by the recommendations of friends (and that’s a big majority of those polled in Wine Opinions study), they might steer clear of what their buddies say tastes like crap even if their own wine-buying confidence is relatively high.  The trick for someone like me is to be a valuable wine buddy for as many people as possible without trying to be a wine buddy for every possible person. I happen to love doing that, so it’s an exciting prospect.

So, coming full, rambling circle out of our rabbit-hole and back to Thom’s questions: should there be a relationship between what the wine ‘press’ prefers and what the wine people buy?

I think the answer is “Yes,” but only if you substitute ‘press’ for ‘trusted sources’  – the ‘press’ needs to be someone whose opinion matters personally to the person plunking down their hard-earned cash for a wine.

As for who has the upper-hand when it comes to establishing the success of a winery, one could make a strong argument that the answer is “the last person to touch the bottle before it gets into a consumer’s hands.”

I don’t mean to drop a wet blanket soaked with nasty-smelling reduced vino on our proceedings here, but some wineries are, in fact, gonna try to pawn their crap wines off in the tasting room, and the data above suggests that they’ll get away with it – if they can influence the purchase.  Now, if the buyer genuinely likes the taste of that wine, then my (strong) opinion is that they should go for it, buy a case, and not worry about what I or anyone else says about how bad the wine is.  But if the wine is noticeably flawed, I would question that buyer’s taste, or at least encourage them to try more wines originating from more locations to get a sense of the larger wine world; if they still want to buy the nasty stuff after that, then that’s their call, but at least it will then be an informed call.

I just hope they still have some use for people like me when those calls get made…

Cheers!

Twitter and Facebook answers to “who influences your wine purchases the most? A friend? Critic? Guy/Gal working at the wine shop?”

meganmarconyak wine shop peeps and in-store tastings influence me most!

Anastasialiv For my part, mostly friends when I don’t follow any curiosity of mine!

wiwinelover Well said! Wine geeks, GOOD bloggers & trusted wine shops. But, shops selling wine as an after-thought? No.

terroiristblog 1) The smart folks @WineBerserkers. 2) Wine geek friends 2) a couple bloggers 3) trusted wine shops (namely, @schneiderswine)

wkelterer 1. Wine shop, 2. Winemakers, 3. Research. Pretty much agree with @makerstable Critcs occasionally, but very little.

CurdsAndCliches Taste, meal, company (who’s coming over).

m_despoina Besides my own taste, friends mostly

COWinePress #1 finding hidden gems in shops (usually on own) #2 blogs & online wine forums

melanie0 Mine comes from good friends, research and wine shop folks

makerstable #1 Wine shop, #2 Research

NINhilista Primarily the guys at “my” wine shop, as well as a few somm/server friends.

JFTxWine Friends who have good/similar palates

wolfeswines Yeah! RT @1WineDude: Curious – who influences your wine purchases the most? A friend? Critic? Guy/Gal working at the wine shop?

czerwonebiale It’s usually curiosity that mostly influence my wine choses.

Vembra Holnagel Friends who have good taste and wine shop folks if they demonstrate a real knowledge and not just trying to sell the overstock.

Bob McClenahan If less than $30, I’ll take advice of wine shop. If over, then I’ll have to try it first.

Markus Stolz Pure curiosity. Also love talking to the wine shop folks, more often than not they are extremely insightful.

Cara Leyba Friends & anyone who can talk to me in wine language. I start drifting off into my happy place and just listen and hand over my credit card willingly :)

Kerri Miller Roberts For me, it is my husband. [ Editor's note: Kerri is Mrs. Dudette ]

Christine Eitel Komons If I walk into an unfamiliar wine shop and wish to browse/impulse buy on my own, one trick I use is to look at the name of the importer on the label. If it’s an importer whose taste I agree with, like Jorge Ordonez in the Spanish section or Kermit Lynch in the French section, I know I’ve got a solid bottle in my hands.

Paul Mabray you.

Meredith Miles People that have the same taste as me. A lot of times, for me, even the local wine shops don’t cut it

Pamela Wilson-Hale For me… it’s YOU Joe!!! (and my taste buds that just love the German Resilings)

Copyright © 2011. Originally at Who Has The Most Influence On The Wines That We Buy? from 1WineDude.com - for personal, non-commercial use only. Cheers!

The topic (obviously) was the potential financial implications of joining a wine club, and how to find the right club without getting fleeced. This was strange one for me; although (obviously) related to wine, the only experience I have with wine clubs is (enviously) assisting other people in selecting the best ones to fit their wine goals and budgets.

That’s because I live in the Communist-wealth of Pennsylvania, whose state-run monopoly of alcohol sales and distribution essentially make joining a wine club, for me, impossible (or, at best, economically infeasible).

My basic take is that it’s probably never been easier to find good deals on a wine club.  Why?  For one, there’s a great deal of competition, despite the strange archaic state of  U.S. alcohol shipping laws – and there are even a good number of international wine clubs cropping up.  The other factor possibly fueling high competition and good deals in the wine club space is that there’s still a glut of wine inventory that has built up due to the down global economy.  My guess is that people can wheel-and-deal their way to some sweet buys with those wine clubs – at least until the market picks up.

One of the key differentiators (if not THE key) between wine clubs is customer service.  Given the level of competition, if a wine club isn’t willing to customize for you then it’s probably not worth giving them your hard-earned cash.

Many of you out there will have much more practical experience than I do with wine clubs.  Are you a wine club member?  Have you ever had to ditch a wine club?  Shout it out in the comments!

Cheers!

Copyright © 2011. Originally at Are Wine Clubs A Good Buy? (1WD on Mint.com) from 1WineDude.com - for personal, non-commercial use only. Cheers!

I agreed to contribute content to a platform that I can’t really access and probably won’t use.

Specifically, I’ve let Hello Vino, the popular wine recommendation mobile phone application, have access to my wine reviews.

I’m part of a larger group whose reviews / recommendations are now appearing in Hello Vino.

It all feels a bit odd, since currently I don’t own a phone capable of running the app., and in general I don’t use quick wine recommendations (printed or otherwise) when shopping for wine at the store (I usually talk to the store employees about the available wines instead).

However, I was (quickly) convinced by the (compelling) arguments of others that having access to some of my reviews and recommendations would be valuable for the (many, many, many) folks who don’t think and act the way that I do (i.e., a nice way of saying that they are sane and normal and I’m, well, not quite normal)…

I had to ask the nice Hello Vino folks for screen prints so I could see how the end result looked (which I think is really cool, by the way – see inset pics).

What I’m wondering is, are the people who convinced me to share the content right?

Do YOU use mobile apps for wine recommendations?

I’m no poster child for gadgetry, despite having spent a loooong time in the IT industry.  I regularly wear out cell phones for 2-3 years before even considering an upgrade.  Here’s a telling example: when asked during an IT cross-industry group conference call about which cell phone features were most important (answers ranged from “ability to synchronize e-mail and contacts” to “accessing and rebooting LINUX servers remotely”) my response was “the ability to send and receive phone calls.”  In other words, I still think of cell phones as, well, phones.

But the ultra-modern, hip, worldy, tech-saavy, metro-sexual, millenial and Gen-X set?  I’m guessing that you could type a novel on the virtual keyboard of your cell phone in 6 minutes while watching streaming video and listening to the latest MP3 release that you just downloaded from the American Idol website.

Or something like that.

I’m going to be nice to you because I’ll want you to visit me in the old folks home from time to time so I’m not lonely.

Anyway, let’s hear it – Do YOU use mobile wine apps?

Cheers!

Copyright © 2011. Originally at Do You Use Mobile Wine Apps? from 1WineDude.com - for personal, non-commercial use only. Cheers!

Got another survey comin’ at ya – this time, it’s not from a Masters of Wine student, but from a student in a Masters of Wine Business program in Adelaide Australia.

Said student is a guy named Jeffrey Williams, originally from NY but now doing some U.S.-based market research on the on-premise perceptions of Australian wines in the US market.  He’s put together a survey to gather data on the types and price points of Aussie wine that U.S. wine lovers purchase. 

According to Jeff, “The data will be used to support an ongoing business case of the wines currently being exported and distributed to the United States.”

Which to me means this is a chance for you to stop complaining about Yellowtail and maybe provide some data to help get better quality Aussie juice sold in more places over here.

Anyway, do a guy a favor and take the survey at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/JDQDH3Z.

Cheers!

Copyright © 2011. Originally at Aussie Wine: The Survey from 1WineDude.com - for personal, non-commercial use only. Cheers!