#28 Wine and Marketing: A Lesson From My Grandfather

This week I found out my grandpa has been collecting red wine for decades. I didn’t know about it. Each bottle was tied to a special event, emphasizing the idea that wine isn’t just wine, it’s a memory lane.

It’s product marketing in its purest form.

Nobody keeps a bottle of wine for 50+ years because it’s technically good. They keep it because it means something. Because there’s value in collecting rare bottles and building an emotional empire.

He had bottles from Château d’Yquem to Margaux. Each one had a story—trips he took, milestones in the family, celebrations. It wasn’t just wine. It was his way of holding onto moments.

Here’s the thing: I didn’t even know the difference between Bourgogne and Bordeaux until now. Entire regions spend centuries fighting to prove they’re the best. It’s marketing. A Bordeaux doesn’t just taste valuable—it feels valuable because of the story behind it.

And that made me realize: wine and tech launches aren’t so different.

Wine producers manage scarcity, timing, storytelling, reputation—all the same levers we talk about in product marketing. My grandpa understood that long before I did. He didn’t use the vocabulary of funnels or positioning, but he got it.

What His Wine Taught Me About Marketing

• Positioning creates markets.
  Bordeaux vs. Bourgogne isn’t about grapes—it’s about identity. The same way a SaaS tool can stand out in a crowded market by owning a narrative.

• Launches matter.
  A vintage isn’t just released; it’s unveiled. Scarcity, timing, and storytelling turn a product into an event. Think about sneaker drops or iPhone launches—it’s the same psychology.

• Reputation compounds.
  Château d’Yquem is valuable not because of one great year, but because of generations of consistency. A great product team does the same—protecting and reinforcing the story so the brand outlives any single release.

• The story outlasts the product.
  My grandpa’s bottles will eventually be opened or fade with time. But the stories tied to them—that one came from a trip to France, that one was bought when his business hit a milestone—those are what I’ll always remember.

Wrapping Up 🍷 

Yes, this piece is a little different from what I usually write. I’m definitely nostalgic writing this down as I was very close to my grandfather and he will forever be my biggest inspiration.

His wine collection reminded me: products don’t win because of what they are. They win because of the stories we attach to them.

Wine, software, sneakers: it’s all the same. The product is consumed. The story is what lasts.

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