The Fourth of July is a fun opportunity to “media watch” the advertisements and pitches from within the wine world.

Such as, “Here are the trendy BBQ wines this year!”

And, “Everyone is drinking rosé! Why aren’t you?”

And, “Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay may still be king and queen, but check out these pretenders to the throne!”

I get it. There’s momentum and juice behind these pitches, and a cultural instinct that affirms its currency.

The question, however, is whether the data bears that out.

That’s one of the exciting things that Enolytics can do in terms of wine business intelligence: confirm – or deny – the trends, and help to chart the map of consumer behavior so that marketing outreach hits the mark not only in terms of what the media tells us is popular but also what consumers are actually interested in buying.

Take rosé as an example. I feel like I’m hearing about it all the time – that “everyone” is, in fact, drinking it. But the data indicates that, when consumers choose red versus white versus rosé, rosé’s numbers are still far in the minority by a ratio of six or seven to one. (Source: Hello Vino 2015 mobile consumer data set)

Take, also, the “pretenders to the throne” that are supposedly giving Cab and Chard a run for their money. The data indicates that Cab and Chard’s reign is secure, but what’s helpful (and perhaps more interesting) to know is that it’s ZINFANDEL that makes a bid at exactly this time of year, that is, the week before the Fourth of July. When we dig into the data, we know that Zin’s popularity leapfrogs this week. It isn’t a summer thing. It isn’t a month-of-July thing. It is a week-of-the-Fourth thing.

When it’s your job to market wines in a targeted, informed manner, insights like that are good to know.

Here’s one more – the taste profiles for popular wines or, put another way, what consumers are looking for when they’re looking for, say, Pinot. (Earthy, spicy, red berries.) Compared to what they’re looking for when they’re looking for Cab. (Rich and dry, black fruits, herbal.) Compared, for that matter, to what they’re looking for when they’re looking for Zin. (Jammy, fruit forward, dark fruit.)

These are the treasures that the trove of data gives up, in this case from one source at one specific moment in time. They’re insights that are indeed good to know.

What is it that you need to know? How can we help? I’d be very glad to hear.

Thank you for being interested, and I look forward to your thoughts –

Happy Fourth of July!