I provide a wide range of consulting services related to the wine industry, primarily focusing on wine sales and marketing.
The Venn-Diagram of Wine Culture
At Van Duzer Consults, we believe the health of the wine business can best be illustrated through the lens of a Venn-Diagram, an image which brings together Great Wine, Cooperative Culture and positive Environmental Stewardship. A healthy and sustainable wine industry can be found where these ideas overlap and integrate. We strive to provide service within wine culture that embraces this marriage of ideas.
Great Wines
Greatness in wine can be expressed in as many ways as there are wines produced across the planet. Wine that conveys a true sense of place (Terroir) and individual character are the pinnacle of this concept. With that said, simple wines of humble pedigrees can be every bit as exciting as wines produced from historically important vineyards. A close friend once said to me, “all wine has merit, some more than others.”
“Wine to me is passion. It’s family and friends. It’s warmth of heart and generosity of spirit. Wine is art. It’s culture. It’s the essence of civilization and the art of living.”
-Robert Mondavi
Cooperative Culture
In an industry with methods, processes, business practices and culture that dates to at least 4000 B.C. there are very few industry secrets. The process of collaboration, sharing and ultimately cooperation has been an important part of winegrowing culture for equally as long. Promoting winegrowing culture as a whole serves the winegrowing industry as a whole. Working in collaboration with your neighbors, partners and industry peers is key to the future sustainability of the wine business.
“Wine is a living liquid containing no preservatives. Its life cycle comprises youth, maturity, old age, and death. When not treated with reasonable respect it will sicken and die. “
-Julia Child
Environmental Stewardship
What constitutes quality environmental stewardship? This is a question that is as complicated as anything imaginable. How this concept applies to winegrowing is no less complex, but ethical behavior is a thread that applies from vineyard to table. Whether considering vineyard practices, winery production techniques or business methods, ethical behavior remains the gold standard in defining a grower or winery’s commitment to the environment that provides the ingredients for making great wine.
“Ethical behavior is doing the right thing when no one else is watching-even when doing the wrong thing is legal.”
― Aldo Leopold
About George Van Duzer
It’s Great to Meet You
George started...
After bouncing around Northern California and traveling in Europe and South America, George found himself in his family’s adopted hometown, Calistoga. It was then George found his life’s passion while working as a harvest intern, at Joseph Phelps Vineyards during the harvest of 1991.
Throughout the following decade George worked and learned from Robert Mondavi, Helen Turley and several other inspiring Napa Valley wine-growers. He did nearly every job possible through these years, working in the vineyards, production, brand management, sales and marketing and guiding air tours surveying Napa’s magnificent terroir.
While developing a thorough working knowledge of wine-growing, he also discovered a love of education studying and acquiring degrees at Napa Valley College, the University of San Francisco. Then in 2001, he and his wife (Christine) packed their belongings and moved to New Haven, Connecticut, so George could attend Yale University’s School of Forestry and Environmental Studies.
During his time at Yale, George’s love of wine was reinvigorated and upon graduation, he returned home to integrate his passion for wine and the natural environment. Returning to California also meant moving to Southern California to support Christine’s graduate education at the University of Southern California.
This meant living in Los Angeles, a city that he found both intimidating and intriguing. While living in Los Angeles, George became the managing partner in a small winery located on the Central Coast. Commuting back and forth over the following decade, he developed love of Los Angeles and Southern California in general.
The last several years George has been primarily focused on wine sales and marketing in Los Angeles and surrounding communities.
