Who Buys Wine?

Here's a nugget from Hugh McLeod's summary notes on his involvement with Stormhoek over the past two years.

10. One thing that the Tesco road trip nailed for me: Most wine is bought by ordinary folk. Most of them are women. Most choose the wine because they like the label. Most won't spend more than $10. And that, my friends, is the market I am in. Sure, the male-dominated, over-fifty-dollar "snob" market might be a good wee business to be in for some folk, but be warned: it's a surprisingly tiny niche.

He's got more to say here, including that Stormhoek sold 40,000 cases of wine in 2005, and their current run rate is close to half a million cases a year.

It also points out why artisan (i.e. small, high-priced) producers need a direct-to-consumer strategy.  Because the person in Safeway isn't buying your wine.