2021.  A year with big expectations.  The re-opening of economies around the world with Covid vaccines in distributions instead led to fits and starts with the Delta and Omicron variants.  Wine pricing and costs went through gyrations with the tariffs between the EU and US imposed and then lifted and supply chain disruptions creating both cost and availability issues.  And clean and natural wines continued to become a broader topic amongst wine consumers and the trade who struggle with their definitions and impact.  XChateau assembled a panel across the wine value chain (Producer - Diana Snowden Seysses of Snowden Vineyard and Domaine Dujac;  Importer - Xavier Barlier of MMD; Distributor - Michael Papaleo of Banville Wine Merchants; Retailer - Kyle Meyer of The Wine Exchange; and Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW of The Wine Advocate) to discuss these issues and answer audience questions live on Clubhouse.  A wide-ranging and captivating conversation!Also, people have asked us how they can support the show.  So, we recently launched on  Patreon, where your contributions will help keep the wine business content flowing! Detailed Show Notes: Panelists: Producer perspective - Diana Snowden Seysses, winemaker at Snowden Vineyards in Napa & Domaine Dujac in BurgundyImporter perspective, Xavier Barlier, SVP of Marketing & Communications for Maison Marques & Domaines USA, the importation arm of Champagne Louis Roederer and related companiesDistributor perspective - Michael Papaleo, VP of Sales at Banville Wine Merchants, an importer and distributor focused on the New York, New Jersey, and Mid-Atlantic regionRetailer perspective - Kyle Meyer, Managing Partner of The Wine Exchange, a leader wine retailer in Orange County, CaliforniaWine Critic / Reviewer perspective - Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Editor-in-Chief of Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate for the last 13 yearsTopic: Re-opening from CovidDiana - producers in Napa and France weren’t required to close. Their biggest concern was keeping employees safeMike - learned how to conduct non-in-person sales (online and on the phone) by creating compelling content and using humor to find ways to engage accountsLuxury wines did well - the average case price pre-pandemic was $136/case; increased by $30/caseOn-premise recovered, but not all the way - 2019 - 55% on-premise, 2020 - 27% on-premise, 2021 - 44% on-premiseCollectors who were drinking through their wines started re-filling their cellarsBanville Wine Merchants was able to expand through the crisis (headcount went from 12 salespeople in 2020 to 16 in 2021, with 21 expected in 2022)Kyle - 2020 Q2/3 - online orders went up dramatically - people bought everything2020 Q4 - needed more inventory, supply chain issues created lack of access that persisted into 2021A lot of people are now comfortable buying wine online, do to a big pick up business75% of sales online pre-Covid, now 85-90%2021 felt more normal, like 2018 (2019 had issues w/ tariffs, etc.)Xavier - MMD’s luxury portfolio was positioned mainly towards on-premise Pivoted to off-premise (e.g., high-end Safeway stores in Los Angeles)Champagne shortages in 2021 - Roederer is sold out, pricing of Champagne is higher than it was before, bubbly is more popular than everLisa - The Wine Advocate piggybacked on the success of online wine sales -> web views were up 10x vs. pre-Covid, subscriptions showed strong growth, but not as much as web viewsEvents had to be canceled in 2020, tastings re-factored, including re-packaging wines into little bottles for tastingsPulled off some events (e.g., Kings of Rhone, Bordeaux 2010)End of 2021 - lots of Zoom fatigue, people want in-person events, but push for smaller events (e.g., masterclasses, dinners) to avoid large groupsHope to keep some virtual events in the future w/ hybrid elementsXavier - used to have to travel a lot before, pivoting to virtual staff training in the B2B context in 2021 was more efficient and convenientTopic: Inflation / Wine PricingKyle - s