NoBullGrape

Center for Wine Origins in Chicago

We’ve all been talking about the recently launched Center for Wine Origins.  So instead of talking, I went to see what they are all about.

While at the Chicago Wine & Food festival last weekend, I attended a seminar sponsored by the Center. Led by a speaker from the Society for Wine Educators (Lisa Airey), the seminar was all about the terroir of the Champagne region and the Duoro Valley (the group uses Champagne and Port as examples when talking about protecting wine origins). She really knew about these places and brought them to life.  For example, I knew Champagne was chalky and cold, but the Lisa Airey brought soil composition, microclimates, history (Napoleon, WWI, etc.) together in a way that was really informative and – frankly – cool.  She brought the uniqueness of Port and Champagne places to life. 

Of course, the discussion was helpful, but everyone came for the wine… I found the tasting greatly improved by my better understanding of the distinct place where the wine came from.  Sort of like tasting a Napa Cabernet Sauvignon after you have visited Napa.

We tasted two Champagnes that I had never had– Pommery Brut Royal and Nicolas Feuillatte Rosé. I guess I had just passed over them at the stores as they are both relatively available.  In any case, found the Pommery to be somewhat yeasty and quite dry, which called to mind the chalky soil that Airey mentioned. With its higher pinot noir content, the rosé was slightly fruitier and a truly different wine than the first, yet the notes on location, grape type, etc. came in handy when tasting the two.  While different, both blends from multiple places, vintages, etc., it was clear that they were both from this special winegrowing region.

The Center followed the Champagne with two Ports. The first was a Quinta de Ventozelo 10 Year Tawny, which I’ve never had – I don’t think it’s sold in the U.S. The wood aging gave it a really nice full, round flavor and a beautiful color. We finished up with a Vista Alegre 1997 Vintage, which the staff had nicely decanted prior to the seminar. It was a little on the young side, but the contrast between it and the tawny was incredibly sharp – a testament to how greatly differences in the aging process are reflected in the bottle.

I went down to the Center’s booth in the festival’s main tent afterwards and tasted the 1997 Vintage one more time – it really outshone some of the other more standard Ports being tasted at the festival.

At the end of the day, I think I learned two things about the Center:
1. They are passionate about location.  While Champagne and Port are clearly their primary focus, complaints by others that this is some sort of scheme by the Europeans to attack the US, etc. are unfounded.  The Center goes out of its way to talk about location being important for all wines – one of the main themes of this blog.
2. They are the real deal.  Instead of just another association pitching a theory, they had smart, engaged spokespeople at the seminar and the booth who were willing to spend time talking about wines, etc…. not just handing out glossy materials (or dressing in red spandex with little to say like those trying to get us excited about Wines of Rhone….).  In addition, I found them very focused on the consumer -- not trying to  just be a voice for the other Ports and Champagnes that were displayed at the event.

Overall, found the Chicago Wine & Food event interesting.  A bit of a pourathon, I still found lots of smart, interesting people who care about wine and are excited about telling potential consumers about their wines.  All in all, a good sign for the future of the US wine market. 

Changing US food scene

Frank Prial has a great overview in today's NYT Food & Wine section of how the leading lights of NYC restaurants -- particularly Danny Meyer, Drew Nieporent, Bouley, etc. -- created contemporary cuisine.  Just as was stated when Julia Child died, I think these restaurateurs (as well as others) are integral to the increased interest in wine among US consumers.  Without great, unique (and, frankly, less French) food, there would be fewer opportunities to pair new wines with food. 
Each of the new generations of chefs have moved US cuisine away from straight meat and potatoes and towards fresher ingredients, interesting international influences and a rethinking of the "old standards." They have also broken down the barriers where one thought French, Italian, Californian when describing a restaurant. All of this has made dining out across the US -- as these trends have major impacts across the country for many years -- a more exciting event.  In addition, the diversity of the foods has forced restaurant wine cellars to expand and diversify... opening the doors to greater consumer knowledge and numerous wine "discoveries."  When this is coupled with a change in the manner in which one serves food and wine (out with the big old guy who talks down to you and in with the knowledgeable wait staff and sommelier who wants to help you), the wine industry, the restaurant and the consumer all win.
Clearly this reinvention needs to continue and one reads Prial's article wondering if he is also quietly saying that the new wave of restaurants from the 80s have now become the "old standards" and there is a need for a new revolution.  I say, bring it on!  It certainly can only help more Americans find more wines from wonderful wine growing places that go with whatever the next generation of hot shot chefs can come up with. 

Wine gains momentum

Gallup came out with a poll today that claims that Americans are drinking more wine than ever.

Cool statistics and findings from Gallup's annual Consumption Habits poll, conducted July 7-10, 2005 include:

• Today, 39% of drinkers in the United States say they drink wine most often, while 36% say they usually drink beer. This is compared with 1992 when beer was the runaway leader, with 47% naming it; just 27% named wine. Liquor has consistently ranked third, with between 18% and 24% naming it as their preferred drink.
• Despite the downward trend in the percentage of young adults whose preferred drink is beer, it remains their top choice as of Gallup's July 2005 survey. Wine and beer are closely matched as the preferred drink of those 30-49, while wine is the clear leader among those 50 and older.

Demographics

• 30-49 year olds are drinking less beer (40% down from 48 in 1992) and more wine (37% up from 31 in 1992) and liquor (21% from 17 in 1992) than in the past.
   
• 50+ drinkers show strong interest in wine while drinking less liquor.  The percentage of beer drinkers among older Americans -- those 50 and older -- appears stable at around 30%. Wine has consistently been the top drink preferred by this age category, although since 1994, the percentage choosing wine has increased further (from 37% to 45%), while the percentage for liquor has declined (from 30% to 20%).
• The youngest drinkers polled are dropping their beer consumption, yet they are not grabbing wine glasses... instead they are going for martini glasses... Beer is still the preferred drink of nearly half of adults aged 18-29*, but the figure is down compared with 10 -- and even 5 -- years ago. In contrast, the percentage saying they usually drink liquor has more than doubled, from 13% to 32%.

Gender

• Men prefer beer; women prefer wine. That has been the case throughout Gallup's tracking of this measure. Even in 1992, when beer was chosen by nearly 2-to-1 over wine among all drinkers, only 27% of women named beer as their standard drink, while 43% named wine. Since then, wine has gained in popularity among both sexes, but especially among men.
  This advance for wine has come at the expense of beer. There has been virtually no change in preference for liquor among men and women, but the percentage naming beer has declined since 1992/1994 by 12 points among men, and by 6 points among women.

Non-white drinkers

• The national shift from beer to wine is especially pronounced among the nonwhite population. The long-term increase in preference for wine (since 1992/1994) has been +7 percentage points among white Americans, but +17 points among nonwhites. Similarly, the percentage of those preferring beer has fallen by 10 points among whites, but by 15 points among nonwhites.

MOST DISTURBING STAT
Only 63% of those polled drink.  That means that 37% -- over one-third -- of Americans over 21 do not drink alcohol!  No comment...

For full results see: Gallup

Alcohol levels

The high alcohol levels of reds primarily from California has been a big discussion item for the past few months among wine writers.  I found the recent Janis Robinson article very informative.  In this article by Eric Asimov of the NYT it becomes clear that American winemakers a. can control the alcohol rates a bit more than the average consumer might think and b. that there is a real backlash among smaller CA winemakers against this higher alcohol wine.
After having a few too many wines that sting the back of my mouth on the way down, I'm starting to think that there must be more focus on finding the balance between big fruit and alcohol levels for California (and Washington State I suppose) cabs for consumers to embrace them on a regular basis.