Prelude: Grape Expectations?
1. A Tale of Two Glasses
2. Old Bottles, New Wine
Flight One: Globalization—Blessing or Curse?
3. The DaVino Code
4. Missionaries, Migrants, and Market Reforms
5. The Masters of Wine
6. Curse of the Blue Nun
7. America’s Hangover
Globalization Tasting
Flight Two: The Miracle of Two Buck Chuck
8. Martians versus Wagnerians
9. They Always Buy the Ten Cent Wine
10. Everyone’s a Critic
11. The McWine Conspiracy
12. The Future of Wine in Three Bottles
Two Buck Chuck Tasting
Flight Three: Revenge of the Terroirists
13. Mondovino and the Revenge of the Terroirists
14. The War on Terroir
15. The China Syndrome
16. The Best of Wines or the Worst of Wines?
Grape Expectations Tasting
Droll [and] informative. . . . I never would have dreamed that I
could be fascinated by how market trends and climate change are
shaping the global wine industry, but by the end of the first
chapter Veseth had me hooked. . . . This book is a lively,
globe-trotting treatise. To sum up using wine reviewers' parlance:
Wine Wars opens with a witty bouquet and a note of didacticism. On
the palate it is well-balanced and juicy, and it has an optimistic
finish that lingers. Cheers!
—Barbara McMichael, Bellingham Herald
Mike Veseth is professor emeritus of international political economy at the University of Puget Sound. He is editor of the award-winning blog The Wine Economist and author of several books on the business and pleasure of wine, including the best-selling Extreme Wine; Money, Taste, and Wine; and Around the World in Eighty Wines, which received the 2018 Gourmand International award for “Best U.S. Book in Wine and Spirits Tourism.” He’s currently working on his next book when he isn’t traveling around the world with his wife, Sue; speaking to wine industry groups; and looking for great wines and great wine stories.
Fascinating. . . . Political economist and blogger Veseth examines
the wine world and analyzes its historical and present-day factors
from the small to the large along with their potential impact on
wine's future. He structures his overall argument into three major
'flights,' or selection of wines for tasting, the first being the
effects of globalization. Looking at expansionist politics and
economics, he examines retailing policies in domestic markets such
as England, Germany, and the U.S. Veseth turns to the wine drinking
market and its evolution, and the ever-expanding influence of wine
criticism on both in the face of the rapid changes in bulk
production. The last part of his analysis looks at terroir and the
potential effect of climate change. . . . Veseth's analysis is
provocative.
*Publishers Weekly*
Seeking to view the global wine trade through an economist's lens,
Veseth (international political economy, Univ. of Puget Sound;
Globaloney: Unraveling the Myths of Globalization) takes readers
through an engaging examination of international wine markets and
the impact of consumers. Veseth carefully explains the construction
of stores' wine walls, including the psychological, physiological,
and economic impact of the placement of wines on them (think of
reaching up for the 'top shelf'). Also included is an analysis and
breakdown of the wine consumer market into distinctive groups, such
as 'Satisfied Sippers,' 'Image Seekers,' and 'Wine Enthusiasts.'
Veseth's basic premise is that the modern, globalized market now
pits mass-made bargain wines against stuffy, epicurean standbys,
creating limitless choices for certain types of consumers and
turning the traditional model for what drives industry sales on its
head. VERDICT This book will interest not only oenophiles but also
general readers following the global economy or market
analysis.
*Library Journal*
Should wine be a beverage for everyone, or should it be an
artisanally nurtured nectar, whose pleasures are available only to
those with sophisticated noses and the deepest pockets? Veseth
documents how these two contradictory approaches dictate what wines
appear on shop shelves. The apotheosis of wine-for-all is the
famous 'Two Buck Chuck,' a wine made ubiquitous in America by a
German-owned chain of stores. At the same time that a mass market
for wine has burgeoned, newly knowledgeable consumers have become
increasingly aware of 'terroir,' the unique characteristics that
come from wine grapes grown in specific soils and carefully bottled
and aged to bring out their most distinctive and subtle qualities.
Nevertheless, outsize profits lure vintners to make their products
attractive to consumers of average taste. The appearance of new
markets in China and elsewhere challenges small winemakers to
expand or disappear entirely.
*Booklist*
This is a serious book about the future of the wine industry that
does not take itself too seriously. The writing of wine experts has
long been lampooned for its pretension and incomprehensibility to
the layperson. Veseth (economics, Univ. of Puget Sound) avoids
these traps, although readers disdaining puns may wish he had not.
He has produced an accessible, insightful book that shows he
obviously has both intellectual understanding of and emotional
attachment to the topic. His main intent is to address the
potential benefits and dangers of various developments in the wine
industry. Has globalization meant more choices at affordable prices
or the homogenization of the choices facing consumers? How will
climate change impact the traditional wine centers in Europe and
the newly established regions in the New World? Will competition
divide the market into a broad base of cheap wine in cardboard
boxes for the masses and traditional wines costing thousands of
dollars per bottle for a few elites? Veseth maintains his optimism,
even if the prevailing mood is more dismal, and his optimism should
be infectious for both wine lovers and those simply looking for an
informative, entertaining book about the economics of a particular
market. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readership levels.
*CHOICE*
Veseth expertly presents the economic forces that are shaping wine
consumption, and he frets about the beverage's future, particularly
with the pushback seen by 'terroirists'—people who are obsessive
about a wine's 'terroir,' that its identity reflect its unique
growing conditions and place. The battle for wine's future isn't
only about money, he posits, but also about power struggles between
vintners, retailers, and governments. . . . In his artful and
sometimes amusing analysis of the 'wars' taking place within the
wine world as a result of all these skirmishes. Veseth untangles a
complicated issue and provides a cogent summary of an industry's
challenges. For anyone who appreciates a good glass of wine—or
who's been disappointed by a bad one, despite a high sticker
price—Veseth's insights will prove tantalizing.
*Foreword Reviews*
Mike Veseth’s Wine Wars is broader than simply a book on the
economics of wine, but it definitely looks at the trends that
shaped the global wine industry as it has become today from an
economist’s perspective. . . . These stories are fascinating and
informative. . . . Anyone with an intellectual curiosity as to how
all the factors came together to produce the wines available to us
today will find much in Wine Wars to satisfy that curiosity.
*New York Journal of Books*
Of all the wine blogs in the wide, wide blogosphere, one that I
look forward to reading the most is Mike Veseth’s Wine Economist.
There’s nothing else quite like it. . . . As of this month,
Professor Veseth’s thoughts are available in long form. He’s just
published a book entitled Wine Wars in which he tackles economic
forces as diverse as Two Buck Chuck (he’s a fan), the oft-debated
descent of 'real' wine into 'McWine,' and much else. It’s more
business book than guide to wine—but students of wine as well as
the economy will find much to enlighten and even entertain, thanks
to Professor Veseth’s readable style.
*The Wall Street Journal*
I don't even like wine, and I found Veseth's book lively and
engaging.
*The Seattle Times*
Mike Veseth write about globalization and its effects on the wine
industry, citing the popularity of cheap, branded products (Two
Buck Chuck, most notably) and the subsequent backlash from
“terroirists”- those who believe that a wine should reflect its
local soil, culture and climate […] He takes a look at China’s
emerging wine business (its output recently surpassed Australia’s)
and samples a few glasses from two of its vintners, one the
country’s oldest in existence, the other a relative newcomer.
*Forbes*
Wine Wars is no dry textbook. Rather, it's a well-written story
about what is—and isn't—happening to the world of wine. Every wine
lover will find the stories and history of what is in their glass
fascinating.
*The News Tribune*
A clear-eyed and expansive take on globalism and big business in
wine. It's a welcome addition to the wine book shelf. . . . For
many writers, the wine business is handled as a dry, academic
subject, but in the hands of Veseth (like Perdue before him) it's
interesting and zippy reading (bordering on a fun vacation read)
and an incredibly helpful primer for not only the newly wine
interested to help them understand the wine wall at their grocery
store, but also savvy veterans who have, perhaps, focused their
learning in specific regions, not looking at the wine world in
totality and from a business perspective.
*Good Grape*
Veseth takes a sideways look when discussing The Curse of the Blue
Nun, The Miracle of Two Buck Chuck, and the Revenge of the
Terroirists (the sub-title of the book and the three sections in
which is it divided). The first two parts help understand what’s
different about shopping for wine at Trader Joe’s and Costco, and
that was enough to keep my attention. Veseth is an economist and
that’s one of the reasons I subscribe to his blog feed. . . . I
wish there were more books like this focused on beer.
*Appellation Beer*
Mike Veseth has applied his economist’s perspective, his
understanding of global affairs, his clear understanding of the
business of wine and his crystal clear writing style to assemble
one of the best wine books of 2011. . . . Veseth's analysis is
thorough, sound and matter-of-fact. This is a well and tightly
woven story, well-told by a creative thinker. . . . A fascinating
read, this book has pace, humor and insight.
*The Winesights Reader*
Economist Mike Veseth is an authority on the global wine market and
here presents his view of the three forces shaping the wine world
today. . . . Ultimately, his view is optimistic. . . . Any consumer
keen to understand how the wine world works—and may develop—will
find this a highly readable, comprehensive account.
*Decanter*
Written by a wine economics expert who lives in Washington, this
book provides fascinating history on the globalization of the wine
industry—and why that is not necessarily a bad thing. Veseth
convincingly makes arguments for why inexpensive wine is not a
problem and why the wine world is unlikely to collapse on itself.
All in all, it is a comprehensive, well-written and glass-half-full
book. Frankly, I learned a great deal about wine, how it is made
and the history of many wine regions. I learned a great deal about
the Chinese market, as well as the problems going on in France and
Australia. This was a hugely entertaining and valuable read.
*Goodreads*
Mike Veseth’s latest book gives an economist’s perspective on the
globalization of wine. The conflict he writes about is that between
the globalists and the terroirists; between mass-produced and
handcrafted wines; between the large multinational corporation and
the small, family winery; between the wines that critics love and
those that consumers purchase. . . . Fortunately, he doesn’t write
like an economist. Anyone familiar with his blog, The Wine
Economist, already knows that he writes about wine markets in a way
that non-economists can easily understand. Reading the book, I kept
thinking about Freakonomics, another popular book [that] uses the
principles of economics to explore and explain a variety of social
phenomena in a way that anyone can understand. Mike Veseth does the
same thing but focused on the wine industry.
*I-Winereview Blog*
Bottom line . . . this is an informative, well-written, and
interesting book that I would recommend to any wine lover
interested in what a wine economist has to say.
*Wine Berserkers*
This book is a lively, globe-trotting treatise. To sum up using
wine reviewers' parlance: Wine Wars opens with a witty bouquet and
a note of didacticism. On the palate it is well-balanced and juicy,
and it has an optimistic finish that lingers. Cheers!
*Kitsap Sun*
It's said that wine is bottled poetry, but Mike Veseth knows it is
also big business. Veseth, a professor of international political
economy at the University of Puget Sound in Washington, has pulled
together his love of wine and economic sensibilities to write a
book that is an interesting, accessible read. Veseth is clearly
enthusiastic about both wine and economics, and as a
self-proclaimed 'wine economist' he explains the intersection of
these interests with verve. It's a quick tour of the field, and for
the purposes of his discussion, he sticks to big names and
describes the successes of Yellow Tail, Charles Shaw, Blue Nun,
Costco, Tesco and even Olive Garden with admiration. As an
economist he sees the benefits of globalization, including more
choices for consumers and a stabilizing effect for an industry that
reacts slowly to changes in supply and demand.
*Wine Spectator*
Globalization, corporatization, and terroir-ization of the
fermented grape juice industry are all uncovered in this unveiling
of the dark business side of winemaking by the market-minded yet
engaging writer behind WineEconomist.com. . . . [A] gift your wino
will love.
*Santa Barbara Independent*
Spritely written, easy to read and full of information about the
history and growth of the global wine industry. . . . While dozens
of fine new wineries start up in the U.S. each week and hundreds of
wines can now be found on the wine wall of every large grocery
store, Veseth worries that most wine drinkers never get past the
few McWine makers that rule the industry. . . . He pins his hopes
on winemakers he calls terroirists—those who care about the idea
that wine should embody the unique tastes, aromas and characters of
the place where it was made and the winemakers themselves. He
believes many of those new wine drinkers will eventually graduate
from lower priced bulk wines to higher priced hand-crafted local
wines. Hopefully enough to support a rich and diverse market of
wines for every occasion.
*The Wenatchee World*
Money makes the wine go round, and Wine Wars helps to make sense of
it all. . . . Not to spoil the end of the story, but Veseth remains
hopeful in the end about the mix of wine dynamics. Despite the
seemingly crushing power of global price-cutting and
homogenization, he thinks distinctive, even quirky wines have a
bright future—in other words, something for everybody. . . . Along
the way, his overview of economic forces that have shaped wine's
career take the reader on a number of historical excursions and
international visits. The treatment is breezy and easygoing. . . .
Nonetheless, Veseth does get to some fundamental economic realities
behind the surface of wine, and even readers who pay attention to
the ups and down of the wine market will learn something. This kind
of information may not change the way your next glass of
Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc tastes, but it surely will help you
understand how it got there. And that, to go back to wine's many
wondrous properties, gets us back to the lure of enlightenment.
*Vinography: A Wine Blog*
There’s never a dull moment in its 225 pages. . . . Certainly if
you’re a wine drinker—'oenophile' makes me visualize a
trilobite-looking creature—this book provides a valuable education
about what you think you’re buying, and who you’re buying it from.
Veseth pulls back the curtain on an ongoing 'bargain wine
revolution,' talking about the provenance of Trader Joe’s beloved
Two Buck Chuck, and how conglomerates without house brands have
bought their way into an assortment of once-local brands.
*SunBreak*
Wine Wars nicely captures the essence of [the] factors affecting
the evolution of wine and the agenda for wine economics. The
running theme throughout this book is a search for the future of
wine. Writing in a brisk and non-technical style, Veseth uses this
theme to focus on the competing forces vying for wine’s future. . .
. The interrelationships that bring wine to the world are truly
international in nature today, and will only become more so in the
future. Veseth infuses Wine Wars with stories about these
connections and conflicts, and in the process we learn much about
the business aspects of wine—in addition to enjoying the narratives
that inform the economics. . . . Anyone with an interest in wine
and wine economics will enjoy reading Wine Wars.
*Journal of Wine Economics*
Jubilant. [Mike Veseth] possesses the art of expression: 'Wine
Wall,' 'DaVino Code,' 'McWine Conspiracy' and, without doubt one of
the best, 'Château Cash Flow.' He is swimming in a palette of
colors, which he delights in dampening: Gallo’s famous Red
Bicyclette, Yellow Tail, Blue Nun, his favorite White Zinfandel. .
. . [His] work involves a veritable global framework and gives one
the chance to visit Australia, [or] New Zealand, for example, in
great depth. . . . The reality, which Veseth is right to underline,
is that behind all the discourse, all the lyrical flights of fancy
about the fabulous year, the involvement of generations of vintners
and producers, there is always the fundamental question of money,
of revenue and of power.
*Revue d'économie régionale et urbaine*
Wine Wars provides some terrific insights into how and why the wine
you see in your local grocery store got there, and why you buy (or
don’t) the wine you do.
*The News Tribune*
Wine Wars by Mike Veseth is a fantastic, witty read that tells the
story of wine market trends, like Two-Buck Chuck and Costco. Also,
the book discusses globalization and how this affects wine
enthusiasts with a ‘rich but overwhelming array of choices.’
*Nooga.com*
[A] superb book about the forces shaping the modern wine industry.
. . . [R]eplete with interesting tidbits about economic theory,
including the way that protectionist policies have led to the
production of plonk, while free markets have forced producers to
raise the quality of the wine they sell. These are matters that Mr.
Veseth devotes considerable time to, and that he explains in clear
and elegant prose. He is an economist, to be sure, but he is a
writer of considerable skill and his book is not just educational,
but engaging and entertaining as well. It’s not just a great book
about the wine industry, but a great business book, period.
*Project Sunlight—A Winemaker's Education*
If a glass of wine followed by a discussion of economics gets your
blood boiling, Mike Veseth’s Wine Wars is the book for you. Writing
with wit and verve, Mike Veseth, the wine economist, tells the
compelling story of the war between the market trends that are
redrawing the world wine map and the terroirists who resist them. .
. . Veseth has 'grape expectations' that globalization, Two Buck
Chuck, and the revenge of the terroirists will uncork a favorable
future for wine in an engaging tour-de-force.
*Great Wine News*
Veseth then recounts his own experience on a trip to Friuli in
northeastern Italy, a place brutalized by the two world wars, where
they have planted a special vineyard of peace using grapes
varieties from all around the world. Interestingly, Veseth found
that the wine produced from this vineyard, Vino Della Pace (Wine of
Peace) wasn’t 'especially distinctive' on the palate, but was
memorable for its 'optimistic symbolism.' . . . A few sentences
later, 'We longed for the taste of peace when we didn’t have it.
Now that we do, we find it a little bland. So we seek out terroir,
even if it threatens to divide us once again.' It’s an astoundingly
simple way to say something so profound and Veseth nails it
perfectly. . . . Maybe there is more to economics than just
money.
*Wine Country BC*
In Wine Wars, Veseth discusses the different forces that shape the
world of wine today. If you want to talk about and understand wine
markets, this book is essential.
*Yahoo Lifestyle*
Wine Wars takes us through the global wine business landscape
highlighting many issues at play. He [Veseth] sees wine as a broad
church, the future undetermined as the different forces battle it
out.
*Harpers Wine & Spirit*
Wine Wars is a fascinating contemporary insight into the
predominant market forces of globalization. . . .But Wine Wars is
as much a social history of (and insight into) wine consumerism as
it is an economic treatise. . . .Put simply, Wine Wars is one of
the better, more informative and entertaining wine books I have
read for ages. Thankfully, Mike Veseth avoids the miasma of
pompous, self-congratulatory drivel that often swirls around wine
criticism. So those in the business of wine who have not read it
already, should do so now. . . .If Wine Wars was a wine I would
rate it at 98/100— great balance and finesse, good body and grip,
fine texture and length and a lingering aftertaste that leaves you
craving for more.
*Wine Business*
Wine is, first and foremost, a business, though the nuts and bolts
of economic survival rarely make for good reading. Enter Mike
Veseth, who brings the mind of a trained academic and the writing
talent of a veteran blogger to this fascinating exploration of the
macroeconomic forces shaping the global wine industry. He knows his
subject inside and out, and after reading Wine Wars you will have a
deeper understanding of the major trends that are shaping not only
the business of wine but the actual flavors of the wines you
drink.
*Paul Gregutt, columnist, blogger, and author of Washington Wines &
Wineries: The Essential Guide*
If we are what we drink, Mike Veseth knows the reasons have as much
to do with market forces as mouthfeel. He is as at home with a
winery's annual report as a vintner's tasting notes, and this
delightfully unstuffy tour of the modern wine industry will
fascinate anyone who wants to understand how business works
today.
*Sasha Issenberg, author of The Sushi Economy: Globalization and
the Making of a Modern Delicacy*
In the fine tradition of insightful and accessible bestsellers like
Freakonomics and The World Is Flat, Wine Wars provides a valuable
service to wine enthusiasts everywhere. By combining a clear-eyed
economist's point of view with globalization expertise, Veseth
offers an insightful and accessible survey that will give readers
an understanding not only of what's in the glass, but also how it
got there, and what the future may hold as the borders of the
global wine village draw closer. This is an important work and a
fun read, too.
*Jeff Lefevere, writer, Goodgrape.com*
From the get-go you just don't want to put this book down,
slaloming as it does informatively through economic and social
history, the wine industry, the future, and observations setting
the scene for the great battle between the market forces redrawing
the world wine map and, as Veseth puts it, 'the terroirists who are
trying to stop them.' Veseth . . . writes authoritatively and
clearly. . . . This is undoubtedly a fascinating read that will be
a treat to most tastes and is one of the books of the year.
*Paul O'Doherty, JancisRobinson.com*
In his insightful and amusing new book, Wine Wars, author Veseth
explains the complicated world of wine, analyzing its past and
predicting its future. . . . This rich volume with peppery
overtones is the perfect match for anyone wanting to know more
about the business of wine. Recommended.
*Meg Trauner, Ford Library, Fuqua School of Business, Duke
University*
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