* * * * *
(Click on link above to read the whole report.)
". . .$100 bottles of wine gather dust." -- Michael Whiteman,
President Joseph Baum &Michael Whiteman, Co, Inc.,
International Restaurant Consultants http://www.baumwhiteman.com/
President Joseph Baum &Michael Whiteman, Co, Inc.,
International Restaurant Consultants http://www.baumwhiteman.com/
Michael Whiteman cutting through the bull in Barcelona.
At Hotel Arts, for whose original restaurants the Joseph Baum & Michael Whiteman, Co. was the consultant.
Photograph by Gerry Dawes©2006.
At Hotel Arts, for whose original restaurants the Joseph Baum & Michael Whiteman, Co. was the consultant.
Photograph by Gerry Dawes©2006.
"#3 UPSCALING THE DOWNSCALE: No question that consumers are trading down. Steakhouse sales slipped 25%-30% since last year, and $100 bottles of wine gather dust. Predictably, hamburger and hot dog sales are on the rise but not because they’re cheap. What’s important is that consumers are using these vehicles as trade-up treats! That’s what’s behind the explosion of “gourmet” hamburgers smothered in the likes of manchego cheese and Iberian ham; or fanciful hot dogs served with goat cheese and guacamole; or french fries revved up with parmesan cheese and truffle oil.
Consumers are trading down in order to trade up! That explains why operators are success -fully playing one-upmanship with these items, why they’re labeling them like categories of steak: brisket burgers, short rib burgers, grass-fed burgers. It’s why lamb burgers, which you couldn’t give away three years ago, are selling. It’s why you find hand-made artisan hot dogs and Kobe dogs smothered in home-made relishes and condiments (Show Dogs, San Francisco; Bark, Brooklyn; Hot Doug’s, Chicago).
Danger: At low price points, there’s little economic risk in experimenting; but when people finally have more money in their pockets, will they forsake these humble things and rush back to steaks and chops?"
Consumers are trading down in order to trade up! That explains why operators are success -fully playing one-upmanship with these items, why they’re labeling them like categories of steak: brisket burgers, short rib burgers, grass-fed burgers. It’s why lamb burgers, which you couldn’t give away three years ago, are selling. It’s why you find hand-made artisan hot dogs and Kobe dogs smothered in home-made relishes and condiments (Show Dogs, San Francisco; Bark, Brooklyn; Hot Doug’s, Chicago).
Danger: At low price points, there’s little economic risk in experimenting; but when people finally have more money in their pockets, will they forsake these humble things and rush back to steaks and chops?"
* * * * *
US wineries must adjust to new $50 ceiling: report
November 24, 2009Richard Woodard, Decanter Magazine
The era of the US$100-plus bottle may be over as the US recession takes its toll on Baby Boomers' wealth, according to a new report.
In the preliminary findings for its 2010-11 Annual State of the Wine Industry Report, Silicon Valley Bank warned that wineries need to adjust to a 'new normal' of reduced spending power – among the very consumers who have driven recent growth in the market.
'For that segment of Baby Boomers who have seen their net worth drastically reduced and who have been the prime target of wine marketing for nearly 20 years, a US$50 bottle of wine is now permanently out of the question for a normal purchase,' said Rob McMillan, report author and founder of the bank's Wine Division. (Click on link above to read the whole article.)
____________________________________________________________________________
About Gerry Dawes
Gerry Dawes's Spain: An Insider's Guide to Spanish Food, Wine, Culture and Travel
Gerry Dawes was awarded Spain's prestigious Premio Nacional de Gastronomía (National Gastronomy Award) in 2003. He writes and speaks frequently on Spanish wine and gastronomy and leads gastronomy, wine and cultural tours to Spain. He was a finalist for the 2001 James Beard Foundation's Journalism Award for Best Magazine Writing on Wine, won The Cava Institute's First Prize for Journalism for his article on cava in 2004, was awarded the CineGourLand “Cinéfilos y Gourmets” (Cinephiles & Gourmets) prize in 2009 in Getxo (Vizcaya) and received the 2009 Association of Food Journalists Second Prize for Best Food Feature in a Magazine for his Food Arts article, a retrospective piece about Catalan star chef, Ferran Adrià.
In December, 2009, Dawes was awarded the Food Arts Silver Spoon Award in a profile written by José Andrés.
". . .That we were the first to introduce American readers to Ferran Adrià in 1997 and have ever since continued to bring you a blow-by-blow narrative of Spain's riveting ferment is chiefly due to our Spanish correspondent, Gerry "Mr. Spain" Dawes, the messianic wine and food journalist raised in Southern Illinois and possessor of a self-accumulated doctorate in the Spanish table. Gerry once again brings us up to the very minute. . ." - - Michael & Ariane Batterberry, Editor-in-Chief/Publisher and Founding Editor/Publisher, Food Arts, October 2009.
Mr. Dawes is currently working on a reality television series
on wine, gastronomy, culture and travel in Spain.
on wine, gastronomy, culture and travel in Spain.
Experience Spain With Gerry Dawes: Customized Culinary, Wine & Cultural Trips to Spain; Travel Consulting on Spain
Gerry Dawes can be reached at gerrydawes@aol.com; Alternate e-mail (use only if your e-mail to AOL is rejected): gerrydawes@gmail.com
Gerry Dawes can be reached at gerrydawes@aol.com; Alternate e-mail (use only if your e-mail to AOL is rejected): gerrydawes@gmail.com
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment