(Wines&Vines) - Premiumization: the action or process of attempting to make a brand or product appeal to consumers by emphasizing its superior quality and exclusivity. 

Commoditization: the process through which goods that have economic value and are not distinguishable in terms of attributes (uniqueness or brand) end up becoming simple commodities in the eyes of the market or consumer. 

Those are the definitions that Jeff Bitter, incoming president for Allied Grape Growers, presented at this year’s Lodi Vineyard & Wine Economics symposium and which defined the symposium’s overall discussion: the premiumization of Lodi as a grape-growing and winemaking region. “Lodi has to actively fight being commoditized,” Bitter said.