01 • FEATURED STORIES
August 2026 Edition
Latest Releases
04 • RELEASES
The Craft
The return of sweetness
Consumers have not issued a single verdict against sweetness. They respond to different levels of sugar, acidity, aroma and texture, while the word sweet
By Grafting
4 min read
The Craft
The Region is the Product
A winery can control its tasting room, but it cannot control the journey that makes the tasting worth taking. Visitors experience opening hours, roads,
By Grafting
5 min read
The Forces
Geographical indications in a global market
Geographical indications create commercial value only when legal exclusivity becomes usable market meaning. The global regime is strengthening, including online enforcement, but protection does
By Grafting
4 min read
The Drinker
Premium is not a positioning strategy
Premiumisation is useful as a market description, but weak as a brand position. When every producer uses the same adjective, it stops helping buyers
By Grafting
4 min read
The Craft
Why Cocktails own the occasion
Cocktails compete with wine by arriving as finished propositions: a name compresses the choice, a visible serve signals the mood, a familiar recipe reduces
By Grafting
5 min read
The Craft
Most wine communication starts in the wrong place
Wine communication usually has a sequencing problem rather than a shortage of material. Producers lead with family history, geology, cellar work and values because
By Grafting
5 min read
The Craft
What consumers think "Natural," "Organic," and "Sustainable" mean
Natural, organic and sustainable are not interchangeable descriptions of wine, yet consumers often read them as versions of the same promise: fewer inputs, less
By Grafting
5 min read
The Drinker
Are you building for Loyalists or Explorers?
Loyalists and explorers are better understood as buying modes than as fixed customer types. The same person may want reassurance for a familiar dinner
By Grafting
5 min read
The Drinker
Wine at lunch versus wine at night
Daypart changes the wine proposition more than most portfolios and wine lists admit. Lunch often carries a tighter consequence budget - less time, less appetite
By Grafting
5 min read
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