Wine Shelf-Talkers: Consumer Aid or Consumer Fraud? (update 2)

Way back in February 2010, I wrote about the use of shelf-talkers to help consumers make wine-buying decisions (Wine Shelf-Talkers: Consumer Aid or Consumer Fraud?). In that post, after some discussion of the pros and cons of the use of shelf-talkers, I discussed a highly deceptive use of a shelf-talker by my local Fresh Market grocery store. That post was followed by an update that discussed how Fresh Market responded to my complaint to set the matter right.

Anyway, the time has come to revisit the issue of wine shelf-talkers (note that I started writing this post last fall … and kept adding to it and putting off finishing it; oh well).

I continue to believe that a shelf-talker is a useful tool for consumers. There are far too many bottles of wine, encompassing an enormous number of varieties from a bewildering number of regions (and most stores, even grocery stores, will have wines from at least 11 countries — 10 points to the first reader who can identify the 11 that I’m thinking of…) for a consumer to make any sort of decision absent at least some additional information. Clearly just reading the sales puffery on the label is no more valuable (or at least not much more valuable) than reading the advertising copy on the front of a box of cereal. Even an educated wine consumer will often have a great deal of difficulty determining whether a particular Cabernet Sauvignon is going to be better than another, let alone determining the quality of a wine from a lesser-known Château in Bordeaux. So a shelf-talker that describes what a consumer can expect from a particular bottle of wine can be very useful. But only so much… Consider the following four wine reviews (chosen, more or less, at random, from 2008 Cabernet Sauvignons from Napa Valley):

• Rich, with loamy earth, currant, black licorice and subtle cedar touches that build depth and complexity. Best from 2012 through 2020.
• A dense, full-bodied wine with lots of creme de cassis, charcoal, licorice and forest floor, the wine is opulent and already delicious and powerful. It should continue to drink well for at least 12-15+ years.
• Cedar, wild berry and blackberry aromas are taut and firm on the palate, appealing for its modest mix of berry flavors. Drink now through 2015.
• This is a strongly flavored Cabernet. It has upfront blackberry and red cherry jam flavors, with some sweet spicy notes from French oak barrels. It’s not a wine you want to age, but is smooth and flattering now.

So which wine sounds best? Would it surprise you if I told you that the first two reviews were for the same wine (Hall Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 2008), the first review coming from Wine Spectator and the second from Wine Advocate? And would it surprise you that the third and fourth reviews were also of the same wine (Decoy Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 2008), the third from Wine Spectator and the fourth from Wine Enthusiast? Do those sorts of descriptions help you decide which wine you might want to purchase and drink?

Now, let’s add in an element found on many shelf-talkers that stirs up an enormous amount of controversy: ratings. Most wine ratings use a 100-point scale; however, in reality, you’ll never encounter a wine that received a rating lower than mid-70s (and those are really, really rare). Similarly, in a grocery or casual liquor store, you won’t find many wines with ratings above 91 or 92 (and those will be pretty rate, too). Most wines that you come across in a grocery store or casual liquor store will have “earned” a rating in the low 80s to low 90s or won’t be rated at all. And before you ask, the ratings given to the wines described above were, respectively: 91, 95, 84, 87. Make of all this what you will.

But there is a dark underside to the use of ratings (and an ongoing controversy in the wine-blogging world). First, there is the ever-present issue of how ratings are determined. Obviously, one reviewer’s palate may be strikingly different from that of another and, thus, so too may be their respective ratings. There is also the ongoing issue of whether ratings should be based on blind-tastings, blind-tastings with limited information, or more open tastings. Should tastings be done with or without food? And of course, there is the question of conflict-of-interest (i.e., whether a reviewer or publication accepts gifts or paid advertising from a particular producer). There may even be “point inflation” from year-to-year.

For my part, so long as I keep those distinctions in mind, the rating can be another useful tool, especially in the absence of other information. If a proprietor who has become familiar with my palate or whose recommendations I’ve appreciated in the past suggests a particular bottle, even though it didn’t get a great rating, I’m usually willing to take that more personalized suggestion over the available ratings. But query whether the proprietor of most wine shops (let alone the average employee in a casual liquor store or grocery) has had the opportunity to taste and evaluate every bottle in the store. When I’m confronted by an employee who clearly doesn’t have a clue about which bottle might be good, then a rating from a trusted (or semi-trusted) source is at least something that can be used to help make a decision.

(Funny story on this point: Last November, shortly after the new Beaujolais Nouveau was released, I happened to be in a grocery store that has a fairly large wine section. I walked over to see if the new inexpensive bottles had arrived. A store employee walked up, introduced himself as the store’s “wine advisor” and asked if he could help me find something. I asked if any 2011 Beaujolais Nouveau was available. He asked what that was. I patiently explained it to him and he said, “Wow! That’s really interesting. I’ll have to remember that.” Now tell me why I’d want to trust any recommendation that  “wine advisor” gave me…)

There are other issues with the use of ratings on shelf-talkers, many of which I discussed in the original Wine Shelf-Talkers: Consumer Aid or Consumer Fraud? post.

So I understand and appreciate the use of shelf-talkers with ratings to assist consumers in making a decision. Many consumers understand, at least at some level, that a wine with a good rating is (or at least should be) “better” than a wine with a lesser rating (though how they necessarily compare a particular rated wine to a wine without a rating is another interesting question). But the shelf-talkers must be accurate. And that brings me to the second part of the dark underside of the use of ratings.

There is an obvious incentive for a store to denote wines that received a high rating. I’ve often wondered why stores don’t use more shelf-talkers, especially to help sell wines that did get good ratings. And I really wonder when I see a store using a shelf-talker for a wine that received a poor rating. But what is to stop the unscrupulous proprietor from lying? Or to stop the careless proprietor from simply getting it wrong? Most consumers won’t have any means by which to determine if a posted rating is correct. As I mentioned in the original Wine Shelf-Talkers: Consumer Aid or Consumer Fraud? post, a shelf-talker will often describe a vintage other than that being sold. For example, take a look at this photo that I took last fall at that same Fresh Market store (sorry for the quality of the photo; it’s hard to take a professional looking shot on an iPhone while standing in the middle of a busy grocery without being way too obvious):

This particular wine was being sold on Fresh Market’s “90 Points or More for $20 or Less” table (see the photo below). And so Fresh Market was pushing the Drylands Sauvignon Blanc 2010 for $15.99 and noting that the wine received a rating of 90 from Wine Spectator. But there’s one small problem. Can you spot it? Look at the battle on the left of the image. It, like all of the other bottles on the shelf, was from the 2009 vintage. [Note: When I went back to Fresh Market about two weeks after taking this photo, the bottles on the shelf were the 2010 vintage, with no 2009 vintage in sight…] Now in this case, the difference isn’t that great. Wine Spectator gave the Drylands Sauvignon Blanc 2009 a rating of 89, just one point lower than the 2010 bottling. But the 2009 bottle doesn’t meet the criteria to be included on the “90 Points or More for $20 or Less” table, does it?

Vintage Switcheroo (as I like to think of it) is far too common and I’m not sure if most consumers stop to notice whether a particular shelf-talker or rating accurately reflects the bottle being sold. For that matter, I don’t know if most consumers recognize the extent to which the quality of a particular wine can vary from vintage to vintage (by way of example, the 2005 Drylands Sauvignon Blanc received a rating of 91 from Wine Spectator while the 2004 bottle only received an 85). Next time you’re in a store that uses shelf-talkers, especially a grocery (my local Kroger has numerous shelf-talkers that are for vintages 3 or more years older than the vintage on the shelf), take a look and compare to see if you can spot any examples of Vintage Switcheroo. And if you do, please tell the manager.

More sinister still is the use of completely bogus ratings. For example:

Just to be clear, this shelf-talker is telling customers that the 2009 vintage bottle of the Summation White blend by Kendall-Jackson received a 90 point rating from Wine Spectator. Only guess what? That’s right. Wine Spectator did not give the wine in question a rating of 90. To be clear: I took this photo last fall. When I searched Wine Spectator’s online wine rating database (to which I subscribe), I found no ratings at all for Kendall-Jackson’s Summation White blend. None. For that matter, there were no ratings for any Kendall-Jackson wine for after 2006! So did Fresh Market simply misattribute this rating to Wine Spectator when, in fact, it came from another publication? Perhaps. But if so, that other publication was neither Wine Advocate (which gave it a respectable 89 points) or Wine Enthusiast (which only gave it 85 points).

Similarly, consider this shelf-talker from Costco for the Glenelly Cabernet Sauvignon 2009:

Note that the shelf-talker tells us that Wine Spectator gave the 2008 vintage a rating of 90 and the 2009 vintage a rating of 91. The 2008 rating is correct. However, as of date I took this photo in August 2011, Wine Spectator had not rated the 2009 vintage of this wine (and the two Glenelly 2009 wines that had been rated by Wine Spectator received ratings of 87 and 84); when I checked again before writing this post, I found that Wine Spectator had (finally?) rated this bottle (in its November 2011 issue). But guess what? It only earned an 88. And once again, the rating cannot be attributed to another publication (both Wine Advocate and Wine Enthusiast gave it a 90 and Wine Enthusiast didn’t rate it until their November 2011 issue). Back in August, I pointed this problem out to Costco’s wine manager and he told me that he just posted the shelf-talkers that his corporate office gave him. He also told me that “he was sure it was right” suggesting that corporate was very careful about these sorts of things.

Then a month or two ago, on another visit to Costco, the shelf-talker for this bottle of Cade Cabernet Sauvignon caught my eye. It may be hard to see, but the wine received a rating of 98+. Now, I’m not in the habit of buying expensive bottles of wine, but a rating of 98+ was so unusual that I became curious, especially with a price in $50s rather than well over $100. I became even more curious when I realized that the wine had a list price of $135 and was apparently being sold at at a whopping 60% discount. You know what’s coming right? Well, you’re probably close. You see, the shelf-talker is almost correct. Wine Advocate did give a 98+ to the Cade Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain 2008 — but that was for the Cade Estate bottle, not the base Cade bottle which only received a 92. And the bottle on the shelf at Costco was the base Cade bottle, not the Cade Estate bottle. Now, I understand that is a very subtle distinction that may be lost on many people. But it shouldn’t be lost on the wine department at Costco’s corporate offices that prepare these shelf-talkers. To be fair, when I contacted Costco, they made the correction very quickly and the local store manager called to thank me for pointing out the problem. But you have to wonder how many people bought the bottle after reading the misleading shelf-talker, thinking that they were getting an incredible deal on a nearly “perfect” bottle of wine.

Or consider the following photo, again from Fresh Market (you would think that they’d have learned a lesson, right?):

Can you guess what I’m going to tell you about this photo and display? For this one, you have to look closely. First, note that the store-produced shelf-talker claims “90 Point” but doesn’t attribute that score to a source. However, the bottle has a neck shelf-talker (presumably added by the winery or distributor) claiming 90 points from Wine Spectator. But wait… What’s that shelf-talker on the bottle to the right where it shows an 88 point rating from Wine Spectator? In point of fact, the La Joya Merlot being offered here has never received a rating of 90 from Wine Spectator; it did get in a 88 … back in 1996. More recently, the 2010 and 2009 vintages scored 86 and 85, respectively. A close look at those neck shelf-talkers (sorry, but my photo was way to blurry to be useful) reveals that they are referring to the 2008 La Joya Syrah and the 2009 La Joya Malbec, none of which were on Fresh Market’s shelves.

Or consider this in the September 14, 2011, the Recipe Exchange & Wine Review Newsletter email from The Wine Guy at Grapevine Cottage:

To really savor the Tawny Port experience, the Wine Guy recommends trying a glass of Yalumba's Antique Tawny Port from Australia (10 years - Wine Enthusiast 97, $21) in a brandy snifter on a warm fall evening after a great meal. 

That 97 rating (even though from Wine Enthusiast) at a $21 price point really caught my attention. But, yes, I’m sure you know where this is headed. Now, I’ll admit that because this bottle is non-vintage, getting the precisely correct rating can sometimes be tricky. When I search Wine Enthusiast’s online ratings (free) for “Yalumba Port” or “Yalumba Tawny” I find only three entries, one of which appears to be the bottle in question (the wine reviewed has the same name and is dated February 1, 2011). That bottle received a rating of 89. Again, respectable, but certainly not a 97. Moreover, the other two bottles rated (which are clearly not the bottle in question), only received ratings of 89 and 92. So where did the 97 rating come from? Wine Spectator has reviewed several bottles of Yalumba Tawny. The best-rated was way back in 1998 (rating of 92). The rating for the bottle that is most likely the one being advertised was reviewed in 2010 and received a rating of 88. Wine Advocate rated what may be this bottle (the bottle rated by Wine Advocate may be a prior bottling because it appears to be sourced to Barossa Valley rather than just “Australia”) back in 2009 and gave it 92 points. Again, very respectable, but not a 97. To be fair, when I brought this to the attention of the store, they took it quite seriously and when I was next in, they had a new shelf-talker. And, it should also note that this particular store uses shelf-talkers for every bottle in the store, and this is the only error that I can recall seeing.

It’s worth noting that “Vintage Switcheroo” appears to be very common on non-vintage wines, especially Port. I came a cross an interesting Port recently with a shelf-talker proclaiming a 92 rating and a very inexpensive price (sorry, I forgot to take a photo). I looked up the Port and, sure enough, it did get a 92 rating — in 1995. The more recent reviews (the most recent being 2010, if I recall correctly), rated the wine in the 85-87 range.

And not to beat a dead horse, but…

“WA” is the shorthand for Wine Advocate. When I look up “Anwilka” I find that Wine Advocate has only rated one bottle from this winery, that being the 2008 vintage of the same wine being offered in this shelf-talker. But that bottle received a rating of 90, not 94. Wine Spectator reviewed the 2006 vintage, but only gave it an 89; Wine Enthusiast hasn’t reviewed the bottle. So again, the question becomes where did the 94 rating come from?

One of the more interesting shelf-talker problems that I’ve encountered recently was completely innocent and did not even involve a mistake.

I guess I should also mention that I have found numerous errors at one of my favorite wine shops. I’m not going to mention the name here … at least not yet. I’ve pointed out to the staff at least a dozen misleading shelf-talkers in just the last six months or so … and I can’t say that I feel as if my complaints have been taken that seriously. I’m withholding the name of that store for the moment in hopes that I can get that store to recognize the proverbial “error of its ways” so that these sorts of problems don’t continue to recur. But I am to the point that when I shop at that store (which I continue to do because I like the staff and the selection) I never rely on a shelf-talker and, instead, always look up any wine that I’m thinking of purchasing.

And quite recently I encountered one of the most egregious mis-uses of a shelf-talker since the Fresh Market shelf-talker that was the subject of my original post. The store in question only posts shelf-talkers for a tiny percentage of the wines that they stock (and I’ve never quite figured out a rhyme or reason for which wines get a shelf-talker and which don’t). Anyway, a shelf-talker for the 2005 Bodegas Murcia Sierra Carche caught my eye because of the 96 rating from Wine Advocate and the price markdown sticker on the bottle itself. The shelf-talker was a printout from the Wine Advocate website and proclaimed:

The 2005 Sierra Carche contains 50% Monastrell, 25% Malbec, and 25% Petit Verdot aged for 13 months in French and American oak. Inky purple, the wine offers an array of scents which jump from the glass. Notes of toasty oak, pencil lead, tar, black cherry, blueberry, and blackberry are followed by a full-bodied, structured wine with gobs of flavor, terrific intensity, and a powerful palate impression. The wine is well-balanced with enough stuffing to evolve for 3-4 years. It will provide pleasure through 2025.

However, the printed shelf-talker omitted the second paragraph of the Wine Advocate review (emphasis added):

(Note: Compaints [sic] based on different bottlings from what Mr. Miller tasted make us suspicious of what happened at the winery. Until further notice, readers are advised to bypass this wine.)

Think about that for a second. The store was willing to tout the 96 point rating that the wine originally received from Wine Advocate but did not include the caution from the same source to bypass the wine.

By now, I think you’ve got the picture…

I’m not suggesting that a retailer can never make an error. But, on the other hand, I don’t go around double-checking every single shelf-talker I see. Rather, I tend to check if a shelf-talker catches my eye (and isn’t that the goal of a shelf-talker?) and makes me curious. The fact that I found this many errors in such a short period of time only among shelf-talkers that caught my attention and made me curious suggests to me that this is more than just the occasional, forgivable error (and trust me: I’ve found far, far more “errors” than I’ve included here). Moreover, given that it really isn’t that hard to go online and check a rating, it would seem a minor burden to presume that wine retailers will double-check before posting any shelf-talker.

I continue to believe that a shelf-talker is a potentially valuable tool for the wine consumer. But as with any other form of advertising, the consumer must be wary. I think that wine retailers should be encouraged to provide consumers with more information upon which they can base a purchasing decision (and the “wine advisors” available at many stores don’t count…); but consumers must demand that the information provided is accurate. Would you stand for a car dealer to post the sticker for last year’s model on this year’s car? Of course not. Would you stand for a pharmacy to provide side-effect warnings for a drug that have been replaced by newer information? Of course not. Would you stand for a movie theater posting a review for the wrong movie? Of course not. So why should anyone stand for wine merchants using false or misleading information to help sell their merchandise.

Encourage wine sellers to offer more and better information. But recognize that merchants may make mistakes … or may engage in intentionally fraudulent conduct. If you visit a wine merchant and receive good help and good advice and find good and useful information, tell them. But when you visit a wine merchant that uses false or misleading shelf-talkers, they need to know that you’ve noticed. Think of it as a public service as you will be helping the next consumer who may not be aware of these issues or astute enough to examine shelf-talkers more closely.

Wine Shelf-Talkers: Consumer Aid or Consumer Fraud? (update)

Last night I took Fresh Market to task for deceptive advertising. I followed up my blogged complaint by, once again, calling the company. This time I managed to get to the right person. I spoke to Fresh Market’s Merchandising Coordinator for Beer & Wine. He agreed that there was no excuse for the deceptive shelf-talker. Interestingly, he noted that Fresh Market stores are not supposed to use winery-supplied shelf-talkers either. He told me that Fresh Market’s regional or district manager was going to be in the store today and would make sure that the shelf-talkers in place were accurate. He was very polite and clearly understood the seriousness of the issue. For that I give him and Fresh Market credit.

In some ways, this reminds me of my complaint to Regal Cinema (and the follow-up with Pixar).

I admit it: From time to time, I can be a real pain in the ass. But when I see something that is fundamentally wrong, I have no problem saying so and calling to task those responsible. By the same token, when things are fixed, it becomes my responsibility to say so. I’ll try to stop by Fresh Market later this week to see what sorts of changes have been implemented.

Wine Shelf-Talkers: Consumer Aid or Consumer Fraud?

If you’ve ever wandered around a liquor store or the alcohol section of many groceries, you’ve no doubt seen how many different bottles of wine are available for purchase. Unless a consumer has previously tried a particular bottle or had one recommended by a trusted friend, how is a consumer supposed to choose a bottle? After all, from the hundreds, even thousands, of different wines available, there are dramatic differences in quality and taste, not necessarily associated with price.

Better liquor stores (and even more so with wine shops or liquor stores specializing in wine) have employees (or proprietors) who are familiar with as many of the wines as possible and, even if not familiar with a particular bottle, usually have some knowledge of the producer or other information from which they can help a consumer make an informed decision. The best employees of the best wine shops and liquor stores know the right questions to ask of customers to learn their particular palates in order to recommend appropriate wines. But at your run-of-the-mill liquor store or grocery store, there is simply no way to have employees this knowledgeable about the wines and customers or willing or able to devote the time (and expense) to learn about the wines and customers. Try asking an employee at most grocery stores whether a particular bottle of wine is any good and you’ll most likely get a blank stare or a simple “Uh, I dunno”.

My mother used to own a women’s clothing store. One of her strengths was knowing her customers’ tastes (not to mention what they’d previously purchased). Thus, if a husband came into the store and wanted to buy his wife a present, my mother could direct him to something that she knew the wife would like (and look good in and didn’t already own). A similar philosophy must work for a wine store: If the proprietor learns what I like and consistently recommends wines that I do, in fact, enjoy, then I will continue to respect and follow his advice (and shop at his store). By contrast, if the proprietor recommends wines that I do not like or doesn’t take the time to learn my palate, then I have no reason to trust his recommendations (or frequent that store).

But not everyone has the time to develop a palate, to shop at a specialty wine store, to get to know the proprietor (or allow the proprietor to get to know them), or, perhaps most importantly, to spend much money for a bottle of wine. How then can a consumer decide which of the numerous bottles available at the local grocery or regular liquor store to buy? How do you separate the good from the mediocre from the swill?

One method employed by many stores (and eschewed by many others) is the “shelf-talker”. This is usually a small note displayed by the bottle to tell the consumer what to expect from that particular wine. Within the wine community, there is some controversy about the use of shelf-talkers. For myself, I recognize the usefulness of shelf-talkers, but am often wary. A recent incident (discussed at the end of this post) led me to take the time to write about shelf-talkers.

On the positive side, the use of shelf-talkers can to some extent help a consumer with no other information “get into the game”. If the store carries 500 different bottles of wine, there would most likely be no other way for a consumer to make a choice other than buying based solely on price or brand name. But in the case of wine, more so than almost any other product I can think of, there is far, far more than just price or brand that needs to be considered. You can buy a lot of very good wines for $10; but you can buy even more bad wines for that price. You can also buy a lot of very bad wines for far more money. And a winery that makes a very good $10 Merlot doesn’t necessarily also make a good $10 Riesling, so reliance upon brand doesn’t work quite so well, either (and add to this the fact that many brands make only one or two varieties and thus may have no brand recognition beyond wine connoisseurs). Plus, just because that Merlot was good last year doesn’t mean that it will be good this year.

So when a consumer walks into a store that does use shelf-talkers, they can be quite helpful. Knowing that a particular wine won a medal at a prestigious wine competition or was highly recommended or considered a best value by a respected wine magazine can do quite a lot to help a consumer make an informed decision. If there are 20 bottles of $10 Merlot and one of them received a “Smart Buy” rating from Wine Spectator and another has a 92 rating from Wine Enthusiast, then the consumer at least has something on which to base a decision and a reason to choose one wine instead of another. (I’m not going to get into the issue of how various wine magazines make their ratings or whether there is bias; that is a complicated and controversial enough issue for another day.) So, in that respect, shelf-talkers can be a valuable aid to consumers. Similarly, a shelf-talker that helps a consumer know what to expect from the wine or suggest food pairings can also be quite useful (especially for a consumer interested in trying a more “exotic” wine).

Given that, why would a store choose not to use shelf-talkers (presuming that it doesn’t have knowledgeable employees)? Here’s one simple reason: Take two bottles of Merlot, one costing $10 and the other costing $20. Now presume that the $10 bottle gets better ratings (or wins more awards, or whatever) than the $20 bottle. How many consumers are going to choose the lesser-rated, more expensive bottle? Obviously, the store has more incentive to sell the more expensive bottle.

So a shelf-talker can provide good information to a consumer, but not necessarily to the benefit of the store.

But there are downsides to consumers, too (and, unfortunately, these may be to the benefit of retailers).

First, many stores that do use shelf-talkers, use them selectively; that is, only some wines have an associated shelf-talker. How does the store decide which wines will get shelf-talkers and which won’t? One possibility is that poorly-rated wines don’t get a shelf-talker while highly-rates wines do. However, experience suggests that this reasoning is not employed. I’ve seen plenty of stores with shelf-talkers on mediocre wines while very good wines have no associated shelf-talker. Thus, when a consumer sees selective use of shelf-talkers, the consumer should at least consider why the store has chosen to use them only selectively. Why this bottle, but not that bottle? Perhaps the use of a shelf-talker is more indicative of wines that the store is working hardest to sell (perhaps there is a glut in the storeroom or the store got those bottles at a particularly good price). Or perhaps the store has been paid by a particular winery or wholesaler to utilize shelf-talkers for its wines. In some respects, use of a shelf-talker may not be much different than the way the grocery chooses to put a particular brand of cookie or soft drink in its Sunday circular.

The other downsides for consumers are more troubling, sometimes (as we’ll see), even fraudulent.

Many stores use a shelf-talker that recites ratings (usually from wine magazines) for the past several vintages. For example, at Fresh Market or Costco, you’re likely to see a shelf-talker that says something like this:

2007: No rating

2006: 90 Wine Spectator

2005: 91 Wine Enthusiast

2004: 88 Wine Spectator

Generally, that shelf-talker is “fair”. But what if the 2007 vintage has been rated subsequent to the time that the shelf-talker was printed? If the wine got a good rating for 2007, I guess it’s mostly a case of “no harm, no foul”. But what if the 2007 vintage received a poor rating? If the store is trying to sell the wine on the basis of past good ratings, then isn’t the more recent poor rating relevant? Certainly, the store shouldn’t be expected to revise shelf-talkers daily, but shouldn’t a consumer be able to expect that a statement that a particular wine hasn’t been rated is at least a reasonably up to date statement?

This example above also illustrates another frequent problem. Note that the 2004 and 2006 vintages cite Wine Spectator while the 2005 vintage cites Wine Enthusiast. Why? Maybe the 2005 vintage wasn’t rated by Wine Spectator; if not, it is certainly fair to cite another source for a rating. But what if Wine Spectator’s rating for 2005 was 82? In this case, is it fair to cite good ratings from one source but when that source gives a poor rating to change to a source that gave a better rating? On one hand, as long as all of the sources are reputable, what’s wrong with choosing the source that gave the best rating? On the other hand, something just seems “wrong” with changing sources mid-stream, when the only reason is to avoid noting a poor score.

Shelf-talkers like that in the above-example are also known to employ an additional bit of deception. Occasionally, you’ll see the list of vintages omit a particular year. In my experience, that is almost always a sign that the store is trying to hide a bad rating for a particular vintage (rarely it is because that particular wine was not produced that particular year). This practice also seems “wrong”; moreover, I don’t really understand this practice given that the store is not trying to sell the wine that received the bad rating anyway.

Another thing to look for on these kinds of shelf-talkers is the use of lots of different sources for ratings, especially sources not usually considered among the “usual suspects”. Different people have different opinions about the ratings of different sources, but generally Wine Spectator, Wine Enthusiast, and Wine Advocate (Robert Parker) are reasonably well-respected. Wine & Spirits and Steven Tanzer are also reasonably well-respected, though not used as commonly as the first three. But there are numerous other sources that you may see on shelf-talkers from time-to-time. Unfortunately, most consumers who don’t read wine trade magazines have no idea who these sources are and have no reason to respect one more than another. So query the “fairness” of using the lesser-known sources. It’s a bit like when a newspaper prints a movie review by the reviewer for the North Podunk Post rather than a review from the New York Times or one of the well-known reviewers from one of the major papers or magazines. Why should a consumer give any credence to that reviewer’s opinion? This issue may be exacerbated in the case of wine magazines where there is a lot of speculation (maybe even evidence) that some sources (maybe even the well-respected sources) employ a “pay-for-play'” methodology; that is, wineries who advertise with that periodical tend to get more favorable treatment. Maybe yes, maybe no. But certainly it would be improper for a shelf-talker to quote a periodical where the reviews are not presumed to have some degree of impartiality and independence.

Another common “trick” employed on shelf-talkers is to mention awards that a particular wine has won. “Gold Medal at 2008 Santa Fe Wine Competition” for example. Here’s the problem: Is the Santa Fe Wine Competition a good competition? Is it even a real competition? If I tell you that a film won an Academy Award, you know what that is and you know that’s an impressive achievement. Of course, if I failed to mention that the award was for editing, rather than for best picture, you’d probably be a bit miffed. And what if I tell you that a movie won the Journalist’s Guild Achievement Award (no such thing as far as I know…)? In the world of wine, there are hundreds if not thousands of contents and awards a wine could wine, but how many are really important? But if you don’t follow wine closely, how would you know which of those awards are meaningful? Recently I was shopping at a reputable wine store with good, knowledgeable staff. I asked about a particular bottle and the clerk laughed and told me that it had recently won a gold medal. But then he laughed again and told me not to get too excited; the gold medal, he told me, came at the San Antonio Rodeo Wine Festival.

One of the more troubling practices (though I’ll admit that it may be a function of carelessness) is having a shelf-talker that doesn’t match the vintage of the bottle being sold. I’ve seen that at Kroger with some frequency. Kroger’s shelf-talkers do tell the vintage of the bottle that the review applies to (well, at least usually), but it is not always easy to find the vintage on the shelf-talker. Many times I’ve seen a shelf-talker telling me that a particular wine had a good rating only to discover that the shelf-talker and rating were for the previous vintage, not the vintage actually for sale. If both vintages received good ratings, then again, “no harm, no foul”. But if the vintage being sold received a worse rating, especially a much worse rating, then is it fair for the store to use that old shelf-talker? I wonder the extent to which the average consumer recognizes the difference in quality from vintage to vintage and that a 91 rating for 2007 may not translate to another 91 rating for 2008. I suspect that in most cases this is a case of carelessness; the original shelf-talker was printed when the wine was first put on the shelf and nobody took the time to replace that shelf-talker when bottles of the new vintage were added. But is that kind of carelessness acceptable? After all, we don’t accept it as acceptable carelessness for a store to continue to sell meat or other products beyond their expiration dates. And we certainly wouldn’t view it as acceptable for a store to put a false expiration date on a loaf of bread or carton of milk.

I’ve also seen the inverse of this problem. Recently at Costco, I saw a shelf-talker that mentioned the 2006 and 2007 ratings (both of which were good). The problem was that the wine being sold was the 2005 vintage. Hmm. That doesn’t strike me as the same kind of carelessness. Is it simply an effort to provide the consumer with some kind of information upon which to base a decision? Or is it something less noble?

Finally, I want to address a very specific instance of the use of a shelf-talker that I recently encountered that was, in my opinion, the most deceptive use of a shelf-talker that I’ve ever seen. In fact, this particular shelf-talker went beyond mere carelessness or somewhat deceptive sales practice to outright consumer fraud.

On February 13, 2010, I visited the Fresh Market at 2490 E. 146th Street in Carmel, Indiana. I enjoy taking a few minutes to look at the wines that are available. In the rear of the store, just across from the seafood counter, was a freestanding display stand with several wines. What I saw caused my jaw to drop. Here’s a photograph of the shelf-talker that I saw (note that this photo was actually taken on February 26; the display had changed slightly [more on that below], but the shelf-talker appeared to be the same):

So what’s wrong with this shelf-talker? Here’s a photo of Wine Spectator’s #1 Wine of the Year for 2008:

Do those bottles look the same? Nope. The wine for sale at Fresh Market is the Casa Lapostolle Cabernet Sauvignon Rapel Valley 2007. Wine Spectator liked the wine and gave it rating of 86 (the link may be password protected; sorry). But it wasn’t the 2008 Wine of the Year. That honor went to another wine from the same Chilean winery: Casa Lapostolle Clos Apalta Colchagua Valley 2005 (a blend of Carmenère, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Petit Verdot). That wine received a rating of 96 and has a suggested price of $75. While an imperfect analogy, it’s a bit like telling a consumer that the Chevy Cobalt available at the local dealer is the car that won the Daytona 500! A Chevy may have one, but it certainly wasn’t the one on the dealer’s lot.

How many people bought a bottle of that 86-rated Cabernet Sauvignon thinking that they were getting an incredible buy on the 2008 Wine of the Year?

When I saw this shelf-talker I was furious because I worried about how many people would be mislead. (I knew what the 2008 Wine of the Year was because I happen to read Wine Spectator and enjoy reading about the top wines that I’ll most likely never get to try.) I walked over the store’s main wine section to see if the misleading shelf-talker was repeated. It wasn’t. Instead, I saw this shelf-talker:

Note that while this shelf-talker (obviously produced by the winery or its distributor, not Fresh Market) is being displayed on the bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon, it clearly highlights the Clos Apalta. So a customer who was shopping in the main wine section of Fresh Market would have seen this piece of advertising as opposed to the clearly false shelf-talker at the other side of the store. One other thing to be noted: If you look at the first photo above (which, recall, was taken on February 26, not February 13), you’ll see a bottle (at the far right) with the advertising shelf-talker displayed above (along with another advertising shelf-talker). However, when I first encountered the misleading shelf-talker on February 13, it was the only shelf-talker in use for the Casa Lapostolle wine on that display.

Before I finished my shopping that day, I encountered saw a Fresh Market employee that I guessed to be the manager. I asked him if he was the manager and he confirmed that he was. I explained the problem with this particular shelf-talker to the manager. He seemed to understand, but didn’t seem to take it too seriously. I then asked him how many customers might have bought this wine thinking that they were buying something else entirely and whether that was fair. Then he seemed to get it. He said that he’d “look into it” but told me that “these things” are handled by the “wine guy” at the corporate office.

Last weekend (February 20 or 21) my wife was at that Fresh Market. I asked her to look for the misleading display and she confirmed that it was still in place. So twice this week, for no good reason other than the fact that I was angry, I called Fresh Market’s corporate number to complain. Each time, the voicemail system directed me to a mailbox that was full. On February 26, I went back to the Fresh Market. The misleading display was still present (though the display stand had been rotated) and the additional advertising shelf-talkers had been added to a few of the bottles. In addition, back in the main wine area, another large display had been set up:

The misleading shelf-talker is not used on this larger display. What is worth noting (remember the discussion above changing sources) is that the big shelf-talker in this photo refers not to Wine Spectator (which gave the wine a rating of 86), but rather to Wine Enthusiast which gave the wine a rating of 90. Gee, I wonder why Fresh Market used Wine Enthusiast here instead of Wine Spectator?

I’m not sure what more to say (I know, I know; I’ve said enough already). Fresh Market is advertising a product in a highly deceptive, even fraudulent way. The store manager has been told about the problem, but it has not been remedied. I can only wonder whether there are other similar issues at Fresh Market; can I believe anything that they tell me or is a lie an accepted part of the Fresh Market business model? I understand that mistakes happen. Perhaps the shelf-talker was a originally a mistake. But for the deceptive shelf-talker to remain for two weeks after the manager was told about the problem takes this out of the realm of mistake and into the realm of … um … something else, something far worse.

On the whole, I still like shelf-talkers. They give me some ideas and help me compare one wine to another. However, I’m always very, very cautious because of the frequency that they are untrustworthy. I think that retailers should use shelf-talkers judiciously, but they should be careful that the shelf-talkers that they use are accurate. The goal should be to help the consumer, not mislead; to sell, without cheating. On the whole, I think that retailers will, in the long run, make more money by treating consumers fairly and providing helpful information rather than by failing to provide information, providing incorrect or deceptive information, and making the quick buck at the expense of customer trust.

What do you think of shelf-talkers? Do you read them? Do you rely on them? Have you seen deceptive shelf-talkers? Let me know.