Vinomofo Wine Deals

[Rug]

Interesting. I didn't find it too bad. There was a bit of alcohol heat on day 1 that mostly dissipated on day 2.

Drinkable but not amazing

Like a lot of wines at the Fo.

 

[Tannin]

Like a lot of wines at the Fo.

Most are on there for a reason. Doesn't sell via "regular" means >> hello VM!

 

[sagittariusdrake]

My early call is that they have not done so well ...a lot of characteristic hype but the numbers tell the tale
In the good 'ol days (who remembers…sigh) stuff sold out quickly..here very little has sold out..although the appetite for Grange seems ok.

I haven't bought from VM (nor been here) for a while - multiple raisins - but my trend for 4-5 years was downwards like most folk here?

Maybe a business model transition from market disruptor to player is a tough ask?
I was happy to get many bargains & new wines otherwise unavailable, but the curve dipped steeply.

Anyway, I found the article below via rabbit holes having incidentally recalled that Andre Eikmeier was in Pacific Drive.

Paywall should be down?

12ft

12ft.io

 

[Whining&dining]

OMG that was a jaw-dropping exposé on Vinomofo SD, I'm somewhat shocked that the author of the article felt emboldened enough to call a spade a spade in such forensic detail (potential litigation and all that). The reality is that his facts are obviously unassailable.
It won't stop me from buying more gear from VM in the future particularly if the wine is of solid provenance and quality but caveat emptor is definitely the case...

 

[tgh]

or is that the drinkers

For sure with my reviews, pinch of salt territory...taste buds like a thirsty rhino moi….

 

[prozac]

I haven't bought from VM (nor been here) for a while - multiple raisins - but my trend for 4-5 years was downwards like most folk here?

Maybe a business model transition from market disruptor to player is a tough ask?
I was happy to get many bargains & new wines otherwise unavailable, but the curve dipped steeply.

Anyway, I found the article below via rabbit holes having incidentally recalled that Andre Eikmeier was in Pacific Drive.

Paywall should be down?

12ft

12ft.io

Thanks for posting. I had considered taking up shares had they floated but ... well, ...

 

[tgh]

had they floated

they may be.. down a creek somewhere.. who knows… private orgs can go bust with very little noise
The model was initially very successful as the buyers scoured the land for unsold vintages.
Having cleaned everyone out they are now buying under the same trading conditions as everyone else.
The marketing hype has ( arguably) passed its use by date as folks get sick of the noise.
Imo..orgs like this need frequent "reinvention" to keep staff and customers engaged .. I wish them well.

 

[prozac]

had they floated

they may be.. down a creek somewhere.. who knows… private orgs can go bust with very little noise
The model was initially very successful as the buyers scoured the land for unsold vintages.
Having cleaned everyone out they are now buying under the same trading conditions as everyone else.
The marketing hype has ( arguably) passed its use by date as folks get sick of the noise.
Imo..orgs like this need frequent "reinvention" to keep staff and customers engaged .. I wish them well.

Agree. Looking decidedly stale right now. Some fanfare made 15 months ago about JD stepping into the marketing side, but honestly catch-cry like WTF is a turn-off for me and maybe other buyers too. We are, after all, sophisticated.

 

[tjb]

sigh.. just finished my second Jilyara from a recent purchase.
The first was a just so so quaffer and this one was fantabulous ..IMo would have held its own in most line ups…..so there ya go beef_armer...

Agreeing there. Found the Jilyara a pretty good one. But as always YMMV

 

[Whining&dining]

Very sage comments @tgh, like Beefarmer I love VM's willingness to accept returns without the burden of having to pay the freight costs but unfortunately my "hit" rate has sunk to such a low ebb that I am now returning nearly 60% of the wines I've bought recently. Case in point (no pun intended), I bravely threw my dough at The 2016 General shiraz six-pack now reduced to $15 from $30 and can see why, having tasted it, they are keen to offload. The nose is actually quite enticing and it still has a decent colour but it falls apart in the glass for me, somewhat astringent, attenuated flavours that are hanging on a thread, didn't get better on the second night, I think it's drinking window was probably reached a couple of years ago. Not terrible but really not something I would ever want to have in the cellar (or elsewhere).
Having said that, I'm using the credit to buy a dozen of the Bull Trader just to see what the fuss is about and hopefully that be a keeper...

 

[prozac]

Very sage comments @tgh, like Beefarmer I love VM's willingness to accept returns without the burden of having to pay the freight costs but unfortunately my "hit" rate has sunk to such a low ebb that I am now returning nearly 60% of the wines I've bought recently. Case in point (no pun intended), I bravely threw my dough at The 2016 General shiraz six-pack now reduced to $15 from $30 and can see why, having tasted it, they are keen to offload. The nose is actually quite enticing and it still has a decent colour but it falls apart in the glass for me, somewhat astringent, attenuated flavours that are hanging on a thread, didn't get better on the second night, I think it's drinking window was probably reached a couple of years ago. Not terrible but really not something I would ever want to have in the cellar (or elsewhere).
Having said that, I'm using the credit to buy a dozen of the Bull Trader just to see what the fuss is about and hopefully that be a keeper...

The returns and Auspost breakages must be biting into profit.

 

[Whining&dining]

I guess so but back in the day my return rate was far less probably around 10% and even then I felt a little guilty at pulling the pin on a wine prematurely...

 

[sagittariusdrake]

had they floated

they may be.. down a creek somewhere.. who knows… private orgs can go bust with very little noise
The model was initially very successful as the buyers scoured the land for unsold vintages.
Having cleaned everyone out they are now buying under the same trading conditions as everyone else.
The marketing hype has ( arguably) passed its use by date as folks get sick of the noise.
Imo..orgs like this need frequent "reinvention" to keep staff and customers engaged .. I wish them well.

I wonder if the tables have turned for their buyers?
Rather than a quick cash injection to move stockpiles, wineries see them coming, slap a label on what would be a cleanskin & call it exclusive?
And Dan's etc have caught on to the mystery marketing ploy.
With the contraction of the China market there should be a wine lake for them to siphon but they seem to be shifting remainders & using their faves to tart up rubbish.

 

[redbigot]

I wonder if the tables have turned for their buyers?
Rather than a quick cash injection to move stockpiles, wineries see them coming, slap a label on what would be a cleanskin & call it exclusive?
And Dan's etc have caught on to the mystery marketing ploy.
With the contraction of the China market there should be a wine lake for them to siphon but they seem to be shifting remainders & using their faves to tart up rubbish.

It's complicated.
1. There are always a number of wineries that have excess stock that they want to move, for a variety of reasons, not always, but including that the wine is inferior at the original price. Some use VM, some use other channels, some use both.
2. Some wines offered are made for/exclusive to VM, the quality often reasonable for the price offered, not the supposed and fanciful quoted RRP.
3. Some wineries have adopted the "high RRP - low sell price" model for some/all of their wines, via VM and/or other merchants.
4. The China situation has increased the pool of wines fitting 1, 2, 3.
5. Many of the wines offered (I haven't done the math) are VM direct imports, often exclusive to VM and likely quite profitable.
6. "All" wine merchants are doing "mystery" wines and the wineries either don't know or don't care that these wines are mostly identifiable within 10 minutes of the listing appearing. It's just a channel for #1 above.
7. There are still bargains to be had if you do the research and/or have access to the right information. If you are sending a lot back (and care about that), you may need to reconsider your evaluation process in respect of your own preferences and not that of others.

I haven't seen any recent financials, but IMO merchants like VM are never going to be hugely profitable, but they can survive if they are smart enough.
Here's another Joe Aston/AFR diatribe: Blue Sky’s Vinomofo going nowhere

 

[misohoney]

The shift towards consuming less but more premium alcohol hasn't helped vm's cause either. Most customers prefer to buy a few bottles and trend towards better quality which goes against the VM model of 12 bottles of junk intended for China

 

[redbigot]

The shift towards consuming less but more premium alcohol hasn't helped vm's cause either. Most customers prefer to buy a few bottles and trend towards better quality which goes against the VM model of 12 bottles of junk intended for China

Doesn't seem to have affected Dan Murphy and the other chains too much, or have I missed the profit downgrades?

 

[Whining&dining]

7. There are still bargains to be had if you do the research and/or have access to the right information. If you are sending a lot back (and care about that), you may need to reconsider your evaluation process in respect of your own preferences and not that of others.

I haven't seen any recent financials, but IMO merchants like VM are never going to be hugely profitable, but they can survive if they are smart enough.
Here's another Joe Aston/AFR diatribe: Blue Sky’s Vinomofo going nowhere

In regard to #7, I am disinclined to make purchases based on other forum members opinions alone. My issue is that despite the possible vagaries of vintage I have gone back in for the same wine from the same winery and is has been like chalk and cheese, interesting to note the widely varying experiences of the 2019 Jilyara The WIlliams Block Cab Sav even within the one purchase...
Paywall popped up for the VM article in the Financial Review, I'd be curious to get some more intel even if seen as flawed...

 

[redbigot]

Paywall popped up for the VM article in the Financial Review, I'd be curious to get some more intel even if seen as flawed...

Try going via Google on the headline, I'm not an AFR subscriber, it let me see it all via Google result.

 

[prozac]

...
Paywall popped up for the VM article in the Financial Review, I'd be curious to get some more intel even if seen as flawed...

Put address into - 12ft – Hop any paywall

 

[sagittariusdrake]

It's complicated.
1. There are always a number of wineries that have excess stock that they want to move, for a variety of reasons, not always, but including that the wine is inferior at the original price. Some use VM, some use other channels, some use both.
2. Some wines offered are made for/exclusive to VM, the quality often reasonable for the price offered, not the supposed and fanciful quoted RRP.
3. Some wineries have adopted the "high RRP - low sell price" model for some/all of their wines, via VM and/or other merchants.
4. The China situation has increased the pool of wines fitting 1, 2, 3.
5. Many of the wines offered (I haven't done the math) are VM direct imports, often exclusive to VM and likely quite profitable.
6. "All" wine merchants are doing "mystery" wines and the wineries either don't know or don't care that these wines are mostly identifiable within 10 minutes of the listing appearing. It's just a channel for #1 above.
7. There are still bargains to be had if you do the research and/or have access to the right information. If you are sending a lot back (and care about that), you may need to reconsider your evaluation process in respect of your own preferences and not that of others.

I haven't seen any recent financials, but IMO merchants like VM are never going to be hugely profitable, but they can survive if they are smart enough.
Here's another Joe Aston/AFR diatribe: Blue Sky’s Vinomofo going nowhere

Agreed, I found their direct imports to be most alluring & good value, notwithstanding the exclusivity.
The days of their securing quality bin or vintage ends seem well passed &/ or a very minor component.
But they seem to have become a clearing house using the Persian rug store marketing model.
If they reach a terminal phase, can we expect years & years of closing down sales?
Or will they get subsumed by TWC, Just Wines or GWD?