Book Description

The world is awash with wine - nearly 30 billion liters are produced every year. But how much is truly fine wine? Vastly less than what is claimed to be. By coining the term "Grape-a-hol" and defining it as "an alcoholic beverage made from fermented grape juice and passed off as a substitute for fine wine," this book exposes the questionable practices of big business and the regulatory myopia of governments that are subverting artisan wine making, altering consumer tastes, and sabotaging the future of fine wine. Industry insiders themselves, the authors draw on their intimate knowledge of both the U.S. and New Zealand wine industries to reveal how the line between fine wine and bulk wine has become dangerously blurred. But it is not too late. Grape-a-hol is a rallying cry to everyone who believes it is only art - not economics - that can create truly fine wine. MICHAEL F. SPRATT, Ph.D. is a founder and owner of Destiny Bay Vineyards. Michael currently serves as President of the Waiheke Winegrowers Association, is a Director of New Zealand Winegrowers, and a founding member of The Specialist Winegrowers of New Zealand. Prior to launching Destiny Bay in 2000, he was a partner in mergers & acquisitions consulting for PricewaterhouseCoopers in their San Francisco office. In addition to his 20 year career as an international management consultant, he spent nearly a decade in production and business management in the micro-electronics industry in Silicon Valley. Michael holds a Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of California at Berkeley. He has written a number of articles on wine industry issues in New Zealand. MARK L. FELDMAN, Ph.D. is the CEO of Destiny Bay Wine Imports. Mark has been instrumental in the marketing and branding of Destiny Bay Vineyards since its founding in 2000. His experience as the U.S. importer and distributor of New Zealand's highest rated artisan wine has made his presentations on luxury branding a featured attraction at private tasting events. He also is a former CEO of Space-Time Insight, a founding partner of Start Up Farms International, a Senior Vice President of Strategy at Virsa Systems and a Senior Vice President at SAP Labs. Earlier in his career he was a partner and global practice leader for mergers & acquisitions consulting at PricewaterhouseCoopers. Mark holds a Ph.D. in Communications from Northwestern University and is a frequently quoted speaker who has addressed audiences throughout the world on industry-transforming events. Grape-a-hol is the second book written by Spratt and Feldman. Their first, Five Frogs on a Log: A CEO's Guide to Accelerating the Transition in Mergers, Acquisitions, and Gut-Wrenching Change, remains a business favorite in five languages.