The
Business Mood in the Valley
I was talking with another publisher that specializes in
wine books and products and he asked me what the mood was like up in the
valleys. That made me want to laugh; here was a person who had full time
salesmen who spent a good part of their time in the area selling books and
stuff, and he didn’t have a clear idea. Or maybe he did and like any good boss
he wanted more information.
Here’s what I told him. People are cautious in their buying,
they’re coming off of a quiet winter after a lower than average season and they’re
putting all their buying off until they feel more confident. Many of the
wineries were putting off the release of their Sauvignon Blanc. In some ways
the Sauv Blanc is the local area’s Beaujolais Nouveau, an early release wine
that will bring in some much needed money in the slow part of the season.
But it costs money to release a wine, bottles, announcements and parties.
Everything is shifting back a month. While the best outlets for our books are
planning on doubling their orders this year, they want to wait a month before
placing them. They know our books make them money, but the folks in the front
offices have told them to hold up on their spending a little longer.
Fortunately I’m in the tour business so they know they’ll see me many times in
the season. One of those times they’ll order books, and maybe some vineyard
inspired leather goods.
We’ve been branching into more gift books and gift items
that we can market to wineries across the state, not just in Napa and Sonoma.
Even though we love creating winery tour books, we feel that the future of tour
books is in smart phone apps. These days ‘content is king’, and when that
content changes the way it does in wine country, being able to download the new
version is great.
The Boomers will keep buying our tour books, and Gen Y’s buy
our apps, but every generation buys bags, and leather is the ultimate green
material. Speaking of green materials, the grape leaves are popping out on more
and more vines, even the up valley cabs are showing a little sparkle. Some of
the twisty old vines are still slumbering, but at their age they can sleep a
little late if they want to, they’ve earned that.
Ralph & Lahni de Amicis are authors of the Amicis Winery
Guides, and owners of Amicis Tours. They are authors of over twenty books on
health, design, business and travel. Their iPhone Apps, The Napa Valley Wine
Tour, and The Sonoma Winery Tour are a tour guides approach to these beautiful
area, complete with 1000’s of photos and insights. Their articles and products
can be found on the sites http://www.amicistours.com
and http://www.spaceandtime.com
|