What pairs well with wine? Analytics!

If you’re anything like me, a glass of wine at the end of a long day is a terrific way to relax and unwind.

And whether your glass contains a deep, rich Cabernet, a crisp, floral Sancerre, or a dry, refreshing Pinot Grigio, they all share one thing in common, and that is – you guessed it – analytics!

That’s right! Just like a delicious charcuterie or cheese plate, analytics also pairs great with wine! From the grape all the way to the glass, analytics play an important role in the modern production of wine.

Joining me to walk us through the wonderful world of wine analytics is Burak Kazaz, professor of supply chain management, and the executive director of the Brethen Institute at Syracuse University.

We have a stock market for expensive wines, it’s called London International Vintners Exchange. It’s located in London and a lot of the trade goes through them. Winemakers do not directly sell from that platform, there is typically a negotiant, which is a middleman, who buys the wine from the winemaker and sells from there. So it’s kind of an organized secondary market for this, but it is like a stock market from that sense. As a result, buyers need to know what is the true value of this wine because everybody can ask for whatever price that they want, but is it the true value? And for that, we rely on predictive analytics.

Interviewed this episode:

Burak Kazaz

Syracuse University

Dr. Kazaz’s research interests include the integration of supply chain operations (purchasing, production, distribution), marketing (pricing, market segmentation), and finance (managing economic/currency risks, hedging), with a special interest in managing uncertainty and risk (e.g. exchange-rate fluctuations, supply disruptions, lead-time uncertainty, quality uncertainty, demand fluctuations) in global supply chains.

Dr. Kazaz aims to provide the business community with new perspectives on how to manage risk and uncertainty. His research offers solutions for managing global supply chains that operate under volatile international financial markets, such as exchange-rate fluctuations. Kazaz also investigates the impact of disruptions and supply uncertainty in pricing, production, and distribution activities. His work has found implementations in agricultural supply chains that experience supply and demand risk. His recent work on wine futures and pricing of young wines are carefully followed by industry leaders, and have been featured both in premier journals of business and in popular media.

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