Comments on: The Paradox of [Wine] Choice

By: Jon Campbell

Jon Campbell — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 05:01:39 +0000

interesting you mention it……………I read the article in the economist, then went to work and pulled 4 wines off the tasting bar

By: Nick Perdiew

Nick Perdiew — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 18:15:53 +0000

Thanks for the thoughtful post.

It was 2003 when psychology professor and author Barry Schwartz addressed this topic pretty fully in his book The Paradox of Choice: How More is Less
( http://www.amazon.com/Paradox-Choice-Why-More-Less/dp/0060005688 )

It has obvious implications for the wine business. Most notably, that ‘enthusiast’ shoppers who appreciate hyper-choice can more fully indulge in their interest (aside: or CAN they? Is this real choice or just the appearance of choice??). The book above starts off with a story about shopping for jeans. The proliferation of brands and styles is theoretically good–there is an implied promise that you can get your ideal fit. The reality is that shopping for jeans, like shopping for wine is an exercise in frustration for most people. Merely having more information at the point of sale actually doesn’t help either. I believe ultimately that the value we place on our time is higher than the value we place on the perfect choice (if there even is such a thing in wine).

A whole set of business models exist in the US (a la the erstwhile Amazon one, all existing varieties of Snoothiness) that attempt to satisfy the most curious among us. Theoretically that’s what we want right? Only up to a point, it turns out, that our time cannot be better spent enjoying the wine or the winery itself. Businesses that on the other hand SAVE you time and increase your enjoyment all while imparting a little more knowledge and experience are a different animal.

The example of the success of Trader Joe’s stands as a uniquely powerful counterpoint to the proliferation of choice. There’s still a treasure hunt going on by the shoppers, but it’s a much much smaller one, bounded instead by a totally different philosophy of retailing based not on choice so much as niche brand trust.

To anyone who wants a deep dive on this topic, I recommend the book above.

By: Mike Veseth

Mike Veseth — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 22:01:30 +0000

Couldn’t agree with you more! Great to hear from you, Ken. Happy New Year.

By: Ken Bernsohn

Ken Bernsohn — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 21:33:47 +0000

You quoted, “Expectations have been inflated to such an extent that people think the perfect choice exists, argues Renata Salecl in her book ‘Choice’.” Luckily, when it comes to wine, “the perfect choice” depends on budget, situation when you’re drinking the wine– fine dining or just fueling up at meal, with your boss or with someone you love are examples, personal taste, availability (Falernian isn’t commonly available) and a variety of other fctors, including season of the year.
With wine there is no perfect choice, but there are many that are delightful.

By: ravi singh

ravi singh — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 09:44:39 +0000

Mike an interesting view point. The younger demographics in some emerging markets mean that these new imbibers of wine want to try different wines each time rather than repeat what they liked. A sort of immersion in the new found wine culture. If you don’t give them a choice they may go else where.

When they see a large range of products these youngsters with decent disposable incomes feel empowered and that’s where they want to shop!

By: Donn

Donn — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 02:27:14 +0000

Simple names, where the name is the same as the wine, do help a lot. All Brunello is Brunello. You don’t have to try to guess what all those proprietary names are. All Argentine Malbec is just that, only 2 things to know: 1. Argentina seems to be good at a particular grape. 2. The grape is called Malbec. Again, you don’t need to study the Burgundy village map or the family tree to see which Colin or Jadot is running the show now. Too bad that critter brand creators didn’t understand this. Only Yellow Tail survives and only because it is sweet without saying sweet. Can you imagine how hard the brand managers at well run consumer companies like Proctor & Gamble or Kellogs must laugh every time the discussion goes into branding in the wine industry?

By: Tim

Tim — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 02:22:13 +0000

Mike, I always enjoy your blog. It gives us all something to think about as we look for new business models to sustain ourselves through these turbulent times. The BRIC stuff is great too! Keep up the nice work. Cheers, Tim

By: RobLL

RobLL — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 01:21:18 +0000

I limit my time studying wine to this and a couple other blogs. Read one or two books a year. This gives me time to have some grasp on Pacific NW value wines, which comprise the great majority of my purchases. To branch out to other areas and price ranges simply would take more time than I care to spend.