As we touched on in class, Napa in particular has a strong family business tradition, with 95% of vineyards being in this category. I'm intrigued what the global proportions may be, and also on a comparative basis among countries. It strikes me that passing down ownership of land is particularly relevant with family businesses, and nearly all wine businesses are predicated upon a particular terroir formed in a particular climate. Furthermore, most people in the US and in the world are nowhere near as mobile as we are. Most people age, work, and even study quite close to where they are born and where their families reside. Superior wine-making techniques also rely on the passing down of knowledge that much be physically shown and understood -- you can't just write all your secrets in a book, and you also might not want the tricks of your trade to be accessible to anyone outside your family.
I'll be interested with some of the speakers this quarter to hear about the family dynamics and how they played out. I appreciate a good drama after all...
James, I think you make a great point about how it might make sense to keep wine businesses in the family because of wine-making know-how as well as land ownership. I've also wondered at times if it is easier to maintain a winery's style if it's passed down within a family, thus families are incentivized to select family members as successors. They trust that their family members will follow tradition. I really value wineries that make wines in a consistent style. It makes it easier to know what to expect from a bottle. Therefore if I was a wine maker with a successful product, I would do everything in my power to keep styles consistent over time. I imagine that it's easier to maintain style when a winery passes within a family than in a corporate manner. Family members feel family pressures more acutely than a corporate operator might.
ReplyDeleteI wonder how the family aspect of the winemaking business reinforces traditional methods, for good or ill. While there’s obviously a lot to be said for the winemaking traditions that have been honed over centuries, the reverence some in the industry have for the old methods sometimes seems to border on Luddism, at least to an outsider like me. For example, The Wine Bible mentioned that European countries typically ban irrigation of vineyards, whereas New World vineyards often embrace the technology. Or look at the controversy over natural cork, synthetic cork, and screw tops. While there are certainly strong substantive arguments on all sides of these issues, tradition, perhaps buttressed by the conservatism of a family business, appears to play a strong role. Maybe there's an opportunity to bring more technology to bear on the industry to supplement rather than displace the traditional methods.
ReplyDeleteBe sure to ask Pete Mondavi, Jr. And Christine Wente these questions!
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