This One Won’t be on the Sale Racks Anytime Soon

posted by natalya in Wine

The Pour reported yesterday that Jacques Selosse is back. I’ve been hearing about this Champagne for some time- it is favored not only by discerning French palates like those of my friend Eric Dubourg of Wineberry (who, himself, imports one of the most delicious Champagnes I have tasted, Gardet) to our very own guest blogger and favorite wine director Carolyn DeFir, who just mused on the scarcity - and allure- of Selosse last week).

Unavailable in the United States for several years due to the fact that it had no American importer (though there have certainly been many who have tried to bring it back), the proprietor, Anselme Selosse has finally signed with The Rare Wine Company which is now the Champagne’s American importer. Apparently a shipment of this bubbly has already landed on our shores. The bad news is that there’s great demand and very little supply. The booty has been allocated to top restaurants and wine stores (at top dollar) and there’s no word as to when more will arrive. Here’s hoping I’ll finally get an opportunity to try it (I’m adding it to my Snooth wishlist)

An interesting note- the Rare Wine Company site notes that critics have called Selosse Champagnes “Burgundy with bubbles,” and the wines shouldn’t be served too cold. Just in case you’ve gotten your hands on a bottle…

Who Benefits From the Democratization of Wine?

posted by natalya in Wine

“There is something approachable, unstuffy, even friendly in a bottle of Goats Do Roam compared with one of Côtes du Rhône.” The New York Times April 23, 2006

In 1999, lamenting then recently released low U.S. wine consumption figures, American Demographics asked, “How many… gallons of soda and beer would be turned into wine if: (a) You could twist off the cap? (b) It was socially acceptable to drink straight from the bottle? (c) The container wasn’t made of glass? (d) It was available in single servings?”

Prophetic, given that in 2007 myriad new packaging has made wine more accessible. The once controversial screw cap is nearing ubiquity. Though it may not be socially acceptable to drink from the bottle, Niebaum Coppola’s Sofia Mini is an example of a Champagne-like sparkling wine that comes in a sultry single-serving can, complete with straw. Wine containers are no longer made exclusively of glass, Australia’s Wolf Blass has introduced plastic wine bottles, as well as smaller serving sizes (187 ml) for “aspirational” consumers who see “wine as part of their lifestyle and enjoy the experience, but who want to expand the occasion to include the poolside, camping… without carrying around heavy and fragile glass.” There are also wine boxes and other user-friendly packages.

Costco is now America’s biggest wine retailer. According to AC Nielsen, almost 15% of all U.S. table-wine sales take place in ‘big box’ stores.

AC Nielsen’s 2006 report notes that wineries are putting pictures of animals on their wine labels, a plan that has shown early success with young consumers… “Perhaps trying to mimic the success of the Yellow Tail brand, this new wine segment has become increasingly important. Of the 438 new Table Wine brands with sustained consumer sales introduced in the past three years, 77 – or 18%– featured a ‘critter’ on the label.” Clearly there are those who “don’t want to have to take wine too seriously. Not only are they willing to have fun with wine, they may just feel ‘good’ about an animal label presentation.”

New wine nomenclature and friendly labeling have simplified the selection process (as have community wine sites where questions can be asked, reviews accessed, and searches conducted, in relative anonymity). That makes reaching for a Sicilian, Languedoc or Rioja wine only slightly more complicated than grabbing a Guinness. I’d say that’s a win-win for all.

More on this topic in coming weeks…

An Inconvenient Wine Truth

posted by natalya in Wine Industry

Decanter recently announced that former Vice President Al Gore has been named a keynote speaker at the Wine Academy of Spain’s second annual International Climate Change and Wine Conference in Barcelona in 2008. Gore is both an obvious and curious choice, given that he has no wine background. Nevertheless, An Inconvenient Truth, his 2006 film (and book) about global warming, has been heralded around the world and has injected new vigor into the climate change debate. And grapes are especially sensitive to the slightest variations in weather, so this promises to be a powerful talk.

The two-day conference features topics ranging from climate change’s impact on agriculture to an outlook on the future of wine-making as the earth grows warmer. There’s also a guided tasting of the wines of climate change (I’m especially curious about this session, so if you attend, please let us know).

As a New Yorker, I can tell you that the past few months have been baffling, weatherwise. Monday’s high broke 89 degrees; it felt more like August than October. I visited Los Angeles two weeks ago and it was cooler there than it was here. Is it boot or flip-flop weather? Without checking the reports, I’m nearly always wrong. I cannot imagine what it’s like for winemakers. A flurry of headlines from around the country have speculated on this year’s harvest and the bleak future. Here’s just a partial list:

Climate Change and its Implications for Wine From Wine Business International 3/8/2007

Congressman Thompson Focuses on Climate Change at UC Davis Presentation From Daily News Links, 04/16/2007

Climate Change The Congress on Climate and Viticulture provided a glimpse into how climate change is already affecting our industry From Wine Business Monthly, 06/15/2007

Climate Change Effects on Wine From The Napa Valley Register 9/7/2007

There’s a great deal more being reported on this subject than can be listed here. I look forward to continuing this thread.

We’ve All Got Something to Say

posted by natalya in Wine Industry

Take a wild guess. How many wine blogs on the world wide web?

In determining a count, I would have guessed a couple of hundred. I was way off.

The number that’s been bandied about is 800+ and those are just the ones we know about. There’s even a site devoted to wine blogs.

How’s that for a Norman Rockwell moment?

Wine blogs come in many varieties. There are blogs by wine girls and wine guys, wine goddesses and divas. There’s even an Asian wine hunter, a wining woman and a chief wino.

Paying homage to all these blogs is YAWB (an acronym for ‘Yet Another Wine Blog’) which proclaims “It’s not my hobby, it’s my YAWB,” while boasting a total of five entries.

Even winemakers are blogging now. The Winery Web Site Report (Yes, there is one) lists 58, though I’m certain there are many more. On these sites there are harvest and weather updates and occasionally quirky pieces- like the one about the process of naming new wine. Interesting stuff, though who has the time to read it?

So, which is it? Are we in love with wine or with our own voices? It’s a confessional era we’re living in where members of social networks- like Facebook and Friendster - post intimate photos and share each and every move (and mood). We’re loving this self-exposure — and the voyeurism, too. Wine is a sensual, evocative topic and fits in neatly. I see no slowdown in sight. Expect many more wine blogs to be born.

And, because we like to be ahead of the times and on top of the news — if you come across a blog we should know about, please do send it along.