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According to a survey released by Wines Opinions, CEO John Gillespie says that high frequency 1,151 American wine drinkers at the 22nd Wines Industry Financial Symposium in Napa suggest that one of the most influential recommender of wine is a “wine knowledgeable friend.”
A rating of 6.0/10 a wine knowledgeable friend came first while a wine shop staff got 5.3/10 and a sommelier in a restaurant had a rating of 5.2/10. Wine Spectator had the highest rating of 4.7/10 in the wine media , 4.4/10 for Wine Enthusiast while a Wine Advocate had a 4.1/10 rating equivalent to that of a wine retailer in the survey.
Though after the presentation Gillespie warned that the findings doesn’t necessarly capture the market influence. He said “I don’t know if the Enthusiast is as influential on the market as Parker.”
He further said “People who are Parker fanatics are true acolytes. They’re slaves. But the Enthusiast has a huge database of anyone who’s ever bought anything from them: wine openers, anything. They’ve done a good job of leveraging that.”
Wine sales professionals may be happy that their opinions are now highly valued than many wine media but Gillespie retariates you cannot overlook the power of a friend recommendation as a person or social media because it is overwhelming.
“If you work at Binny’s in Chicago and you have worked years to get certifications, and two people walk into your store and one leans into the other’s ear and says, ‘Buy that one,’ you’re finished,” he said. “You can’t do your job. That must be frustrating.” he further said.
