To teach is to learn. The problem with wine’s “studying” culture.
The wine world is dedicated to “studying”. This is good. And bad. The wine business needs to develop a culture of teaching. And about more than wine.
Joe Fattorini's Substack
Home of the wine marketing masterclass - MBA-level insights for wine professionals and students every Wednesday. Chapters from "On Claret" a lavatory book on red Bordeaux every Friday. And wine, society, and culture posts in between.
Live Last read · last published · next check
Latest posts
We were the future, once.
In 2003 I was asked to interview Matthew Jukes, who died last week. This is what I wrote twenty three years ago.
One wildfire is a tragedy, thousands is a statistic
A friend recently lost their vineyard to wildfire. I was horrified. But thousands of fires are forgotten as statistics. That is a problem.
More wine review numbers that don't add up
Who do you trust? A friend? Or Trustpilot?
If there’s so much wine why isn’t it cheaper?
It’s a “buyer’s market”. Apparently. But which buyer?
It's not about me, it's "you"
The "you" versus "me" ratio is the most basic rule in copywriting. But only one major UK wine retailer get close to following it. And we're surprised wine doesn't connect with the public.
The Taxonomy Trap
We've abandoned Old World vs New World and added orange wine and "blouge." But the real problem isn't that our categories are wrong — it's that our whole way of thinking about wine is.
No Andy, tinkering with rates will not save British hospitality
Today's policy is nothing more than £100 million pound PR campaign for Andy Burnham
Yes, you can have a "butter sommelier"
And indeed one London club reportedly has. It's not nearly as stupid an idea as it sounds. There was a time we had "mattress sommeliers".
Your Wine Is Disappearing from AI Search. Here's What to Actually Do About It.
Large brands already dominate the results. For everyone else, the answer is not a secret hack. It's better architecture, clearer facts, and knowing when to ignore the whole thing.