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Iremember the good old days. If you wanted to choose a wine, you went to a wine shop and talked a little with the seller, tried one or the other, and went home satis ed with a few bottles. Most of the wine shops were open from noon, because many of the owners pur-
sued their main career in the mornings. Usual- ly as a teacher. The wine trade in the cities was also similar to the taxi trade. Many unsuccessful academics who spent their student days in Ita- ly or Spain opened a wine shop and demonstra- ted their individual strength there. The Internet and ordering online was inconceivable at this time. And it would have been considered a crime to order something as wonderful as wine online. In retail and discount shops there were the, let‘s say simple wines, mostly in two litre bottles or in a Tetra Pack. Special wine sections were unheard of. And it would not only have been a crime to buy wine there, but a deadly sin for the declared wine expert. Times have now changed. Most of the wine shops have their own online shop, winemakers have di- rect marketing on their website and are no longer dependent on commercial agents. In addition to large and well-equipped wine departments, retail and discount shops also have their shop online. But what not only amazes me, but also absolutely irritates me: In addition to these online shops for wine, more and more „wine pages“ on the In-
ternet are taking root. Many come and many go. But one thing remains. It‘s not trickling in, it‘s streaming in: Enormous amounts of money
is pumped into these online platforms through venture capital, crowdfounding, and other nancing.
Do these investors have too much mo- ney, do they love wine and want to do so- mething good for it?
I don‘t really think
so. But how can you
amortise an inves-
tment of 25 million
or more off the cuff
with an online shop
only by selling wine?
If you look at the cur-
rent numbers it‘s hard-
ly possible. The aver-
age price of the wine drunk in Germany is less than €3.00, the consump- tion per head of the popula-
tion increases only minimally, and the long-es- tablished companies are still competitors. Thus a great cut-throat competition or a spe- cial opportunity to get a lot of informati- on about consumers. Which is what every company today would like: data, data, data. For me personally, nothing has changed. I buy my wines as before in the wine shop or at the wi- nery. Now and then at retail and discount shops. And I also buy from some of the long-established wine sellers. Even if they are gradually disappea- ring. Like one of my favourites, he started by dri- ving his VW bus to France to buy wine and then sold it directly from his car at home. They have passion, history, and a lot of emotion. And not the venture capital of companies, for which the sale of wine is only a means to an end. But, as we
know, the means justi es the ends. Or does it?
Vine fretter
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