The wine producers of California are worried. Their once cozy kingdom has been taking a hit of late, and with sales down and younger consumers searching for their thrills elsewhere where can the answers be found to arrest this trend?

   On my last visit I was constantly asking this question in the various tasting rooms, and it seemed that people were searching for a solution, but there was a tremendous amount of uncertainty that didn't really provide any clarity for me, and this is where James Silver comes in with his first book, The Post-Pandemic Wine Market.

   The subheading tells you that it's a practical guide, and for me this means that the first thing it's got to be is easy to read, because those producers are busy people who haven't got hours to spare combing through texts for solutions. 

   With this in mind James Silver has produced a book that while aimed at those producers, can be appreciated by everybody with an interest in how the wine scene has developed since it came out of the pandemic and the market has shifted because of those difficult times.

   Straight away, the author addresses how things were taken for granted in the past, and how the wine community was sitting a little smugly before tastes changed and wine seemed to no longer be the flavour of the month in a land that faced numerous challenges it hadn't been prepared for.

   After this opening, Silver leads us through those areas that he feels need addressing if wineries are to stay in the game, and the lessons he offers are so obvious that you wonder why nobody has come up with them before. 

   All the answers I was searching for in California are brought together in this fascinating book, and I would urge you to grab a copy of what should become the bible for every vineyard, marketing specialist and wine professional over the next few years (no, the problem isn't going away soon).

   The book seems to focus mostly on the Californian wine scene, but that's the world that Mr. Silver inhabits, but with slowdowns spanning the world, it might be a good idea to buy a copy quickly to help you find a suitable marketing strategy wherever you tend your vines. 

   I can heartily recommend The Post-Pandemic Wine Market and feel that James Silver has tapped into something interesting. It's not a cheap book (£26.67 from Amazon UK) but for those worrying how to work with distributers, the public and other areas of the wine game it is a price well worth paying. ​