NoBullGrape

The impact of Big Wine!

Others have pointed to this article, yet I am so astounded by these three simple points made by Hoyt Hill in the Nashville City Paper that I must repeat them...

Thirty percent of the wine sold in the United States is distributed by one wholesaler, Southern Wine and Spirits, and, in the states where Southern Wine and Spirits actually does business, they distribute more than 70 percent of the wine sold?

Approximately 80 percent of the wine produced in Australia is made by three companies? Approximately 70 percent of the wine produced in California is made by five companies? And that Foster’s is one of those three Australian companies and one of those five California companies?

One man, Michel Rolland, is the winemaker at more than 200 wineries?

And those stats don't even talk about Constellation and Gallo!

Big is not inherently bad and some of these companies/trends ensure that more US consumers are introduced to wine.  Yet, the inherent homogenizing effect that these big companies can have -- be it compromising quality in the name of "scale," undermining key wine making areas that could have wonderful futures if supported or focusing heavily on the latest marketing trends as opposed to the long-term investment that great wine requires -- must be watched.  Mr. Hill is right to highlight a few of the better known importers as sign posts for quality wine. 

Yet, consumer groups -- and maybe it starts with the small community of wine bloggers -- need to hold these companies accountable so that there is always an environment for quality wine.  Fermentations' work following the Michigan shipping issues is  a great example of this.  Their opposition to proper use of place names, their efforts to weaken (as opposed to maintain or strengthen) US vintage dating rules, their weakening of quality wines that they acquire (I've heard this is the case with Gallo's purchase of Louis Martini in Napa, yet have not witnessed anything myself) or the limited selection of wines carried  by distributors like Southern are just a few places where they need to understand that they are undermining the future of a great industry.  Finally, I do not believe that this is merely a fight to protect small producers against "Big Brother." I believe that such watchdogs actually have the shareholders (at least in Constellation's case as Gallo and Southern are private companies) long term best interests at heart. Happy to pitch in on this and am open to good ideas that can launch such an effort.  If the world Mr. Hill describes is allowed to continue to grow, we all could lose.

Big harvest predicted for California

I'm never sure how one can make grand statements about grapes in a state as big as California, just like I can't understand how they let someone label their wine "California Cabernet Sauvignon," etc. yet today's San Francisco Chronicle claims that the experts are predicting a big harvest.  Best news here is their claim that sugars could be low, hopefully providing the consumer with a respite (albeit small) from a few of those higher alcohol reds...

 

Grape harvest may exceed expectations  
- Cyril Penn
  Thursday, September 29, 2005

If rain stays away from Wine Country for a few more weeks, this year's harvest could be more bountiful than expected.

Wine industry observers say the quality of the 2005 harvest is looking good but will depend on late-season weather  --  particularly, whether there's significant rain before the grapes are picked.

Brokers of bulk wine and grapes believe the 2005 crop could exceed the California Agricultural Statistics Service (CASS) forecast, despite the fact that an estimated 100,000 acres of table and wine grape vineyards were removed from the Central Valley in recent years.
Last year, 2.78 million tons of wine grapes were crushed, according to CASS. In August, CASS predicted this year's wine grape crop would be 2.95 million tons. CASS is scheduled to revise that number on Oct. 12.
Cool weather has many grape varieties two or three weeks behind "normal" development, amid fears that many varieties could come in all at once, stretching already tight crush and tank capacities.
"We've been projecting a major increase in most varieties this year for two reasons," Turrentine Wine Brokerage president Bill Turrentine said. "New acreage is kicking in, and we had a perfect spring in 2004 for 2005's bud differentiation, plus a lot of water in the winter of 2004/2005. Also, we had unsettled spring weather, and people thought there was shatter and started downgrading their estimates, but the vines have a lot of horsepower because of the wet winter. Berries kept developing and getting bigger and bigger so that we now have very heavy clusters."
Previous reports indicate that Pinot Noir crops could be much smaller than hoped, but most other varieties do not appear to have been harmed by spring rains.
"We track it variety by variety, so it's hard to generalize," Turrentine said, "but I think we'll see a record harvest on most varieties."
"It's a big harvest, large crop, limited crush capacity, type of year," said Glenn Proctor of the Joseph Ciatti Co., another broker of bulk wine and grapes. "Yield numbers have been very robust. People are surprised."
Proctor said he too, is seeing capacity issues among some wineries, but noted that harvest always comes down to an issue of "timing."
"I think there's a potential for some grapes being left on the vine if crush capacity continues to be an issue," Proctor said.
"Winemakers seem to be very happy with the quality that's coming in, but processing space still seems to be the issue," said Erica Moyer, a Lodi-based broker for Turrentine.
"The other interesting thing about this harvest," said Moyer, "is that we're seeing good maturity out there, but sugar levels aren't very high."
Grapes with low sugar levels produce wines lower in alcohol. 

Center for Wine Origins launches and Location Matters

Just noticed that the "Center for Wine Origins" launched via this press release.  They seem to have a survey that shows 57% of those surveyed (and they seem to be higher income folks) "believe where a wine comes from is one of the single most important issues in choosing a wine. This underscores the increasing importance Americans are placing on location when it comes to selecting quality wines. Whether a wine comes from Napa Valley or Champagne, France, Walla Walla, Washington or Oporto, Portugal --location really matters," said Shannon Hunt, director of the Center for Wine Origins.
These guys were also at the Napa Declaration that we covered earlier.

When it comes to harvest, taste buds still reign

We read a lot of articles about how science is making wines (particularly California wines) better.  It is all probably true, but I think it is important to remember that the grower and/or winemakers taste buds remain an integral part of the process and why one should not always rely on test tubes and gauges when making wine.  Two articles that I ran across this morning brought this to life.  The Spectator's web page has a "Napa Harvest report" from Cathy Corison, one of those down to earth/non 15% alcohol winemakers who we have discussed previously.  After the usual discussion about Brix, etc. she says:

"The tannins in the skins mature over time, so we're looking at the way we chew on the skins and the quality of the tannins. When a grape gets ripe, when you squeeze it the skin begins to slip off the pulp in a way it doesn't do before it's ripe. You look at the uniformity of the color. A completely black berry that is black all the way to the pedicel [is ideal]. And then, of course, flavors. And very important, I do all my own sampling because I've got to be out in the vineyard to see how the vines are doing. I'm in the vineyard every single week and, as we get close to ripening, I'm in there every couple days, watching the vines."

There is just no substitute for chewing the skins  and tasting the grapes to find the best time to pick. 

This is further supported by another article in today's papers.  Corie Brown of the LA Times is one of this blogs favorite writers as she writes good stories about interesting people in the wine industry.  Today she profiles Moraga Vineyards, LA's only bonded winery.  I can't afford their wines, but was inspired by the following description of their decision-making process for harvest. 

"On the first Saturday of this month, Jones, Rich and vineyard manager Carlos Contreras sat down to taste Sauvignon Blanc grapes at the vineyard picnic table, a reconditioned slab of the old Santa Monica Pier. Rich, Moraga's winemaker since 1996, spends the harvest months jetting back and forth between Moraga and his winery in Napa Valley, Talisman Cellars.

After crushing the grapes in six sandwich bags, Rich poured the juice out into six plastic bowls. Each bag of grapes represented a separate vineyard section. Each tasted dramatically different as the men took sips from the various bowls. Only one block delivered the nectarine and ripe banana flavors they were looking for. Several grape samples had the pepper scratch at the back of the throat that signals under-ripe grapes."

In a world where we highlight traveling oenologists and high-priced consultants who try to calculate the chemistry of a 100-point wine, it is wonderful to be reminded that -- whether the wine is from the New World or the Old World -- quality requires human interpretation and involvement.  Kudos to those winemakers who take the time to do this as, I think, it is one of those unquantifiable factors that influences the final product.

More wine consumers read Food & Wine than Parker

The Shiraz blog found a Wine Opinions survey  that says many more consumers read  Food & Wine than both Wine Spectator and Wine Advocate.  I'm not sure whether he likes this or not.  I for one do.
No magazine is perfect, but I think the future of the US wine drinking world is bringing more consumers to appreciate wine as an everyday drink.  This magazine is doing a better job everyday of just that -- providing interesting wine pairings for their recipes, more wine education and -- in addition to Lettie Teague -- bringing Ray Isle formerly of Wine & Spirits over to expand their coverage.  Good writers about good wine in a way that connects with real people... what more could we want?
Whether one likes him or not, Parker is for the connoisseur and/or someone who, having already learned a bit about wine, wants to know more.

Developing clones: EU vs. rest of the world

This blog is dedicated to discovering and celebrating great winegrowing locations.  Yet the discussion often returns to the vines that go into the ground in these places to produce the wine we like so much.  As such, clones (the different sub varieties of grape vines) are very important.  Many of the wine regions that we (as consumers) are just discovering (e.g.Mendoza) are using relatively new clones as the backbone of their resurgence. 
In many places around the world local governments are funding important research into the discovery of newer and newer clones that are disease-resistant and favor certain characteristics that impact grape quality and production.  This is happening in Australia, New York and many other places. 
However, there are some who believe that this is a scandalous attack on the industry and the environment.  An interesting insight into the tension that a very small project in France can be read in this article in today's NYT.   
In addition to being useful in understanding grape clones, this is yet another talking point in the ongoing (and important) dialog about the future of the French wine industry when the rest of the wine world (and not just the New World) is moving so quickly.

Wait I missed some really good winery blogs!!!

As I have said before, winery blogs give all of us who don't live near a working winery wonderful insight into the very interesting harvest period.  I provided some winery blogs earlier, but have been notified that there are more.  Wonderful!

Here's an  list of some I had missed.

In particular would like to point out Dover Canyon Winery as they have a great blog and were kind enough to shoot me a note.  Looks like they will be picking very soon.

Anne Amie Vineyards

Atelier Winery

Match Vineyards

Oklahoma Wine News (Nuyaka Creek)

Preston Vineyards (Lou's Musings)

Sokol Blosser
BIG CONGRATULATIONS ON JUST GAINING ORGANIC CERTIFICATION!!!!

Wood Family Vineyards

The  Winery Website Report where many of these came from also has a blog.  They are certainly right to note that the lack of blogs among the zillions of wineries out there is quite amazing.  I hope this trend changes as the more I know about a winery, its commitment to its particular land and the people behind the label, the more likely I am to buy their wine.  Kudos to those already doing this and looking forward to discovering many more winery blogs in the coming months.

Harvest in Champagne

Continuing our look into the harvest.... Champagne is one of the earliest regions in France to harvest and it is in full swing right now.  Here is a link to a video about how they harvest -- including hand picking every grape in the entire appellation.  Low bandwidth. High bandwidth.
As Champagne regulations require pressing to happen very quickly after picking, this video about their unique presses and requirements seems appropriate as well.  Low bandwidth.  High bandwidth.
These are all short 1 to 1.5 minute Quicktime movies.

Learning about harvest via wine blogs

The Northern Hemisphere harvest season is in full swing.  It is a great time to learn about what goes into your wine.  This year it is even better as there are a number of cool blogs run by vintners that give you unparalleled access.  Remember, winemaking is VERY HARD WORK.  Therefore, don't give up on blogs that don't post much as they have their hands full right now.

Here are a just a few of the ones I like (and I'm sure there are many that I have yet to discover):
Domaine de la Gramiere -- The first harvest of a US family seeking to make organic wine in Languedoc
Anomaly Vineyards -- Napa vineyard that is about to start picking.
Carolyn Tillie's Ultimate Grape Vine Blog -- Great photos, insight, etc. on the situation in her part of California

Despite Spectator claims, still no US consumer benefit in sight from US-EU Wine Accord

I think the Wine Spectator has been central to the increase in US consumers who are interested in wine.  In short, they expose consumers to more wines, educate them and make them more confident shoppers.  However, an article on the Spectator's site mischaracterizes the outcome of the EU-US wine accords (at least how I understand them) and falsly claims that US consumers gain something....

Daniel Sogg claims:

At least one aspect of the negotiations does benefit American consumers: EU wines are exempted from U.S. certification procedures. That has been a source of concern to U.S. importers since October 2002, when the House of Representatives passed a bill that would have required imported wines from Europe to be accompanied by a certification form and laboratory analysis. Importers who purchase wines on the secondary market (or so-called gray market), which is a major source for many of the finest European wines, would likely be unable to obtain that certification. Although the bill died in committee, the wine provisions were still in play.

A few corrections:

1. The certification procedures mentioned were passed in December and the TTB rules were only published in August.  Not one bottle of European wine has been impacted by these regulations yet.  The link to the article he had written in 2002 shows that similar language had been passed by the House of Representatives in 2002, but the Senate never passed it and the President never signed it.
2. The law was written by and passed at the insistence of the Wine Institute to increase pressure on the negotiations.

Now, this is just a subtle point (and I'm glad they are covering this issue and looking for the consumer benefit), but the inaccuracies still lead me back to the question I asked before: Everyone is talking about how great this is for producers and world trade, yet what do US consumers get out of this agreement?