Lodi Gains on Value

I was thrilled to see a new Wines & Vines Magazine article titled, “Bright Spots for Domestic Wine Sales – Surveys look positive for tasting room sales and regions of Lodi, Paso Robles, Sonoma.”

That’s great news as we deal with pulling out of this recession.

Here are more encouraging words from the article, based on a recent survey by consumer research company Wine Opinions headed by John Gillespie and Christian Miller:

“One of the most noteworthy findings, Gillespie said, was an uptick in the amount of wine California residents are purchasing from the Lodi region. In-state sales to California residents grew ‘more so than you might expect, with more weakness on the Napa Valley side, because of [their higher] price points.’”

The survey clearly defines a, “significant barrier set at $20, with purchases below that price point much more frequent, and purchases above this price point much less frequent.”

Though we don’t like to talk in terms of competition in the wine industry, I’d venture to say Paso will be giving us a run for wine drinkers’ money.

Paso’s warm climate is similar to ours, producing potentially similar wines. And while Lodi gained 7 percentage points with high-frequency wine buyers over the past 12 months, Paso gained 30 points.