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XChateau Wine Podcast

Bringing More People Into Wine w/ Jacki Strum, Wine Enthusiast Media

Ep. 178
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With ~2M monthly sessions on their newly unified commerce and media website, Wine Enthusiast continues to be a beacon for the wine industry. Jacki Strum, President of Wine Enthusiast Media, details their new wine review platform and global wine travel directory, democratizing access to wine and wine experiences globally. These initiatives help bring more people into the world of wine, including the younger generations, a critical part of building a vibrant wine industry.  


Detailed Show Notes: 

Covid altered the business model, led to re-structured organization and unified media and commerce divisions on wineenthusiast.com

2022 - WE paused reviews for emerging wine regions to recalibrate systems

Existing tasting process

  • 1 of 2 publications that review every wine blind (high cost), taste in flights w/in region and price brackets
  • Need to store, archive, organize wines, set up tastings (in paper bags with numbers), and hire reviewers
  • 50% of reviews are done at HQ (imported wines), and West Coast wines are done locally
  • The manual process of filling out a pdf and putting that into the box with wines, manually inputted into J Guide (legacy system, 20 years old), then stored and organized for tasting

New tasting platform (Sept 2024) - anyone can submit a wine for review and all will be reviewed

  • New digital platform - bar code scanners, printed tabs, can track shipments and deliveries, a more fluid database
  • Reduces large volume of questions from people submitting wine (can track digitally)
  • It has the same # of reviewers, but a more flexible infrastructure can allow for more wines to be tasted
  • $65/SKU processing fee - all reviewers charge in some way (e.g., require subscription, membership, or advertisement)
  • 6-month processing time (same as before) - hope to reduce this over time, based on the schedule of reviewers
  • Printed reviews selected by the tasting dept, all scores published online for free

Tasting platform benefits for new and small wineries 

  • Opens up reviews to all regions across the globe
  • The US market is still heavily score-driven for distribution (some major retailers, e.g., Costco, Kroger, Albertsons, require scores from major publications)
  • Helps with tasting room and local distribution sales

Media trends

  • Print is still doing well (e.g., books outsold movie tickets last year), and magazine subscriptions are increasing (free tote bags help)
  • Advertising up slightly 
  • Digital media is growing, with a targeted advertising focus
  • Events - biggest growth area - launched Sip of South America, Sip of Italy, and biggest event is Wine Star Awards (25th Anniversary in SF this year)
  • TikTok now allows alcohol advertising, getting Gen Z engaged with wine knowledge

New travel division for WE

  • Tasting room directory, partnered w/ Tock - 1st agnostic travel global wine travel guide
  • Leverages Tock’s wineries as launching list (~1,200 wineries, CA focused), building out globally with WE relationships (~100 wineries reached out in 1st month to be included)
  • The 2nd most trafficked page on the site

WE revenue mix

  • Covid - led to explosive commerce growth
  • Today - back to 2019 levels, ~80% commerce / ~20% media

Getting Gen Z engaged with wine

  • Print enables content absorption without ad bombardment (e.g., book reading bars in NYC)
  • Need to change content for each channel to target audience (e.g., Google as people’s “secret diary,” article on how to hold a wine glass became a top 5 article)
  • Influencers, infographics, video - bring in new consumers (e.g., wine & potato chip parking article led to major influencer doing every pairing on TikTok)


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  • 180. Always have distribution w/ Cheryl Durzy, LibDib

    50:00||Ep. 180
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  • 179. Building brand ambassadors through hospitality w/ Meaghan Frank, Dr. Konstantin Frank Winery

    46:26||Ep. 179
    As the pioneer of Vitis Vinifera in the Eastern US, Dr. Konstantin Frank is one of the key leaders of the Fingers Lakes region in New York. Meaghan Frank, a fourth-generation vintner, has been leading the charge to evolve its hospitality program to create brand ambassadors for the winery and the region. Its 1886 Wine Experience has won Best Wine Tour by USA Today in the last two years. Meaghan breaks down their hospitality program and its impact on their business. Detailed Show Notes: Finger Lakes region, NY - 150 wineries (of 400 in NY), NW NY State - 5 hrs from NYCSkinny, deep lakes that moderate weatherGlaciers left diverse soilsTourism-driven, seasonal visitors (spring to fall) for lakes, hiking, close to Niagara Falls, Corning Museum of GlassDr. Konstantin Frank - PhD in Viticulture from Odesa, Ukraine; a grape scientist; fled to NY during WWII35 years of cold climate grape growing experience when moved to NY1st to plant vinifera in Eastern USPlanted experiment station in the 1950s - 68 varieties, including Furmit, Pedro Ximenez, and Touriga Nacional) to research what would work bestDr. K Frank Winery17 vinifera varieties → 40 wines60% wholesale, 40% DTC40 states, 9 export markets (5%, incl Japan, Aruba (lots of NY visitors), UK)DTC 60% e-commerce (driven by wine club), 40% hospitalityHospitality programThe goal is to create brand ambassadors and loyalty, get the word out about the Finger LakesInspired by Australian hospitality programs - private, educational~40k visitors/year (#1 PA - 1 hour away, NJ, OH, NY core markets) - all seated, paidPre-pandemic - ~80k visitors/year for free bar tastingsMoved to an experience-driven program with wine educators, take advantage of lake viewThree experiences: Eugenia’s Garden - modeled after great grandmother’s garden, most casual, can do a la carte glasses/bottles/flights; enables people to enjoy the day; targets a younger demographicSignature Seated ($15pp) - most popular, educational, 1 hr, 6 wines, 5 different themes that are part of the winery’s story (e.g., traditional sparkling, Riesling pioneer, groundbreaking grapes, red wines)The 1886 Wine Experience ($75pp) - only May-Oct, 2-2.5 hrs, led by wine educator, a tour of the vineyard, sparkling and still wine cellars, seated tasting of 4 wines with bites, followed by additional tastings; won best wine tour by USA Today last 2 years; lots of 1st-time visitors book 1886 due to unique natureLessons learned - used to do 6 wine flight w/ bites, which was too many; did themed months (e.g., sparkling) - did not work with mostly touristsDifferentiators - spend lots of time, has a separate private space for 1886Wine club evolutionUsed to have people pay upfront for the year - bigger barrier to signing up, always feel like “playing catchup” to ensure value delivered, concentrated work during shipment periodsMoved to more subscription model - quarterly, 3 wines w/ default package, fully customizable, no upfront fee, 20% discount on wines, and get free tastings (no limit)8% club conversion - the only way to get free tastings now, used to waive w/ 4 bottle purchaseLocals small portion of the club - pickup option only 10%, PA #1Avg tenure 1.5 years, seeing it extend with the new club modelPopular winesHospitality - Rkatsiteli #1, traditional method sparklingWholesale - #1 & #2 - dry & semi-dry RieslingRiesling 60% of production, traditional method growingIncreasing issues around climate change - 2023 had the largest spring frost in history, increasing water issues

  • 177. Opening Minds with Wine & Yoga, Morgan Perry, Vino Vinyasa

    34:40||Ep. 177
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  • 176. Evolution, not Revolution w/ Giampiero Bertolini, Biondi Santi

    29:30||Ep. 176
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  • 175. Wine Business, The Italian Way w/ Stevie Kim, Vinitaly

    41:42||Ep. 175
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  • 174. The Vinitaly Marathon w/ Stevie Kim, Vinitaly

    45:12||Ep. 174
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  • 173. The Market for Brunello w/ Giampiero Bertolini, Biondi-Santi

    28:01||Ep. 173
    Written by the Biondi-Santi family in 1967, the appellation rules for Brunello di Montalcino are some of the strictest in Italy. This has led to Brunello vineyard land becoming some of the most expensive in the country and led Brunello on the pathway to becoming one of the world's iconic wine regions. Giampiero Bertolini, CEO of Biondi-Santi, explains the terroir, regulations, and market for Brunello di Montalcino and his belief in pursuing value and quality over quantity. Detailed Show Notes: Giampiero's background - studied economics, worked at Procter & Gamble, entered the wine industry by chanceBrunello di Montalcino - hill in Tuscany, b/w coast and Apennine mountains, protected by mountains and with altitudeThere are lots of different soils, and each location on a hill is differentSangiovese - only appellation in Italy with only one varietal, >150 clones (Biondi Santi uses 46 clones)1967 - 78 producers; today >250Quality has improved over the last 20 years, with more emphasis on viticulture1970s - Franco Biondi Santi trialed 40 clones and chose BBS11 for their soilRegulated production systemCreated by the Biondi-Santi family in 1967Limited yields (Brunello - 8 tons/ha; Rosso - 9 tons/ha)Strict aging requirements - barrel min 12 months (Rosso), 24 months (Brunello, Riserva); bottle min 4 months (Rosso), 24 months (Brunello, Riserva); Brunello min 5 years totalSamples tasted by the Commission panelAppellation expanded ~20 years ago, now frozen at 2,100 ha2023 - Rosso appellation expanded (550 → 900ha)Biondi-Santi has a target style for their wines and matches vineyard lots to create style (~60% Brunello, 25% Rosso, remainder Riserva when made)Some producers make single vineyards now (both Rosso and Brunello), but Biondi-Santi is not focused on thatThe most expensive vineyard land in Italy ~₠1M/ha, a significant rise in 2015 when the 2010 vintage was releasedForeign investors (France, Brazil, Belgium, Swiss) are increasing the value of the landMarket for BrunelloThe biggest is the US, developed by producer BanfiOther vital markets: Switzerland, the UK (higher-end wines), Hong Kong, ItalySales ChannelsRosso - more casual restaurants, wine bars, BTGBrunello - 50/50 on and off-premiseRiserva - mostly high-end retail as it is for collectorsFuture of Brunello - hopes the focus is on value and quality and not higher volume

  • 172. Do Everything with Passion w/ Arianna Occhipinti

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