Indiana Wine in the Big Box Stores

This weekend, I was at Kahn’s looking for special deals and just to browse. I like to slowly walk up and down the aisles at places like Kahn’s because I always find that I learn a few things. Plus, I like to find cheap wine (what, you don’t expect me to drink ONLY Indiana wines, do you?). For this opportunity, I forgive the downsides of big box wine shops like this, such as the lack of personal service (Kahn’s cannot hold a candle to Cork and Cracker) . Luckily, while the deals were so-so, I noticed the customer service has much improved at Kahn’s, though still miles below Cork and Cracker. Perhaps the recent split in the company has served some purpose.

Anyway, while looking, I came across the Indiana section. You might have missed if you have never explored Kahn’s before. It’s in the back, next to the Missouri section. That’s right-the Missouri section, which consists of around 6 wines. If you look on the other side, you will note the big cardboard boxes of Franzia.

I noted the following wineries represented at Kahn’s: Brown County Winery, Butler Winery, Chateau Thomas, Easley Winery, French Lick Winery, Madison Vineyards, Oliver Winery, Simmons Winery, and Winzerwald Winery. Of course, Oliver had the most varieties, at 17 (including Sky Dog for $8.99-the highest price I have seen anywhere). Simmons and Chateau Thomas were also well represented.

I couldn’t help but feel sad at the display in front of me. The section was unkempt, which I could chalk up to a busy sales period before the holiday and this weekend. However, I could not excuse the obvious fact the bottles were not rotated. Bottles with lots of noticeable dust were in the back. Some bottles of one variety were buried behind a lot of a different variety. Given the short shelf life of most Indiana wines, especially fruit wines, this is bad news. I am sure that Brown County Winery would agree with me-those bottles of Cranberry Apple can’t sit on the shelf forever.

I wonder if Indiana wineries should be asking themselves what the benefits of these placements and displays are. Will this bring more sales? Will this bring more people to your winery? More importantly, does this help your brand? Does this help your reputation?

If you are like Oliver, a winery that is becoming firmly established as a regional player, you have no choice but to sell at venues such as these. But what if you have Oliver like aspirations? Is there another way to accomplish this volume that might be more brand friendly? If you are Winzerwald, and reside deep in Southern Indiana, is there any other way to get your wines to Indianapolis? Is this because we are all prisoners of Indiana’s unconstitutional shipping statute?

I don’t have answers for these questions yet. I may be silly in even asking them. But over the course of this blog, as I talk to winemakers and others involved in the Indiana wine industry, I will keep these questions in my mind and try to gather some thoughts from others.