Archive for the ‘Wine Funny Stuff’ Category

“Luxury Drought?” Who’ll Buy Expensive Wine?

cartierI love economic forecasters. They basically live in the Land of Make-Believe, where they use all kinds of sophisticated economic extrapolation techniques to make pronouncements like, “Producers of high-end wine face a “luxury drought” decade through 2020, in which attracting younger “affluent” consumers who actively acquire luxury goods will be increasingly challenging as the ranks of such buyers decline until the buying power of the Millennial increases as they age.”

Huh? I think I’ve translated this for us regular folks to mean, “You’re gonna have a hard time selling pricey wine for the next 10 years.”

This forecast was made at the 2011 Direct to Consumer Symposium in Santa Rosa, California by Pam Danziger, president of Unity Marketing. She was talking about wine buying trends, and she predicted a “luxury drought” through the year 2020. The reason, according to Ms. Danziger, is that high-end wine sales rely on people who are in the “window of affluence,” which is defined as being between 35 and 45 years old. She predicted that it will take 10 more years for the current Millennial Generation to muster enough buying power to start purchasing luxury goods, such as high-end wine.

This is taking me back a few years, when we talked about Yuppies, and Conspicuous Consumers. Those were people who couldn’t wait to flash their nouveau money around by buying toys like BMW’s and Silver Oak Napa Valley. The Yuppies are probably in their 50′s by now, and guess what? They’re still flashing their money around!

I disagree with Ms. Danziger on this point: high-end wine sales aren’t dependent on 35-year-olds. The guys who walk  into my shop looking for Silver Oak (at $100 a bottle) are closer to 50 than 35. And my children, who are the much-celebrated “Millennials” of her research, are a LONG way from buying wine that goes for more than about $8. They’re experimenting with wine, and willing to trade up, but they’re not even close to the “luxury” end of the wine spectrum.

To give Ms. Danziger her due, I think she’s absolutely correct in her estimation that it’ll take some time for high-end wine sales to recover. Many American wine drinkers were forced by economic necessity to “buy down,” to purchase $25 wine instead of $50, or $10 wine instead of $20. And what many discovered was — “I kinda like this cheaper stuff! Maybe I don’t need to spend as much as I used to on wine.”

That’s my theory about wine buying trends. I’m not an economist, and I don’t play one on TV, but if I were a betting woman, I’d buy stock in  wineries that produce great stuff for under $20. They’ll be riding the trends from now until 2020. Cheers!



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Why “Fine Wine” and “Experts” Are Not Obsolete

wine snobSometimes expensive wine is great, and sometimes it’s ludicrously overpriced. Sometimes experts are blow-hards that want to obfuscate and confuse to make themselves feel important, and sometimes experts are actually helpful. Sometimes ratings are just a crutch for the timid and unimaginative, and sometimes they help us find a previously undiscovered gem.

You might wonder why I’ve begun this post with lots of italics. Well, the italic type is my reply to an article recently published in livemint.com, which I believe is a Wall Street Journal online publication from India. Here is the article’s headline and subhead:

“Robert Parker is obsolete, wine is in vogue: Fine wine–the term is used so often and in so many situations that it has almost become meaningless–has now reached the tipping point in terms of affordability, access and most importantly, status “

Author Shoba Narayan is reporting on a study of wine drinking preferences conducted by food and wine critic Robin Goldstein. To cut right to the chase, Goldstein’s study concludes that, “Individuals who are unaware of the price do not derive more enjoyment from more expensive wine.” Narayan goes on to give “a prediction: that the notion of “fine wines” might become obsolete in the future, at least for the broader wine-drinking public.” Read the rest of this entry »
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Advice on Food and Wine pairing: Just Relax

foodHere’s a great quote by Wine Spectator’s Matt Kramer, from an article on December 7, 2010: “Good wines can take care of themselves if seated next to a food partner that’s the least bit sociable.”

He was writing about what appears to be a growing obsession, often fueled by a Search-for-the-Hole-Grail ardor, to create the perfect wine and food pairing. Sommeliers and wine lovers have gone to incredible lengths to match every possible nuance of a dish with an accompanying wine. It can get kinda ludicrous, as they concoct ever-more-bizarre combinations of ingredients and choose obscure wine varietals.

Well, I’m with Matt. Mind you, I too have thrown out more than my share of suggested pairings, because as a wine retailer I’m frequently asked the question, “Which wine should I buy to go with tonight’s blah blah?”  I also plan and host wine and food pairing dinners, where I wax eloquent about the unique and perfect compatibility of each pairing.

But when I go home at night, I don’t waste any time worrying about what I’m drinking with dinner. In fact, I follow a very predictable pattern: while I’m cooking, I’ll sip on a Chardonnay, hopefully well-balanced with just a bit of oak and a snappy finish. My spouse chooses a crisper white for the cooking session, usually a New Zealand style Sauv Blanc with enough acid to turn my mouth inside out. Read the rest of this entry »

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Dethroning a King: Why French Sparkling No Longer Reigns Supreme

bubblyA recent article in Time.com reports that Champagne (the “real” bubbly made in the Champagne region of France) has been suffering a steady decline in sales, especially in their export markets. In 2009 alone Champagne producers decreased production a whopping 44% to account for decreased demand.

At the same time, sales of Italian bubbly have jumped a whopping 22%. That’s not too surprising in these economic times, given that a bottle of Champagne goes for anywhere from $40 to $300, while you can pick up a good Prosecco for under $15.

So cheers to the Italians for making the most of bad times and creating good times for their bubbly producers.

The article also explained that Italian sparkling wine producers have  begun to create fine bubbly that can compete head to head with the French in the premium category. Again, good for them.

In fact, the wine world has always had any number of top-quality producers of fine wine and sparkling wine, even though the French would have us believe that they are in sole possession of the top-quality market niche. The French have always been incredibly good self-promoters, and for centuries had the wine world believing that Quality was defined by their Bordeaux, Burgundy and Champagne. They had us all believing that if we preferred the taste of something — anything — else over the taste of French wine, it was because: a) we’d had a bad bottle; b) we had a bad palate; or c) we were hopelessly low-class and incapable of appreciating the finer things in life. Read the rest of this entry »

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A Grateful “Thank You” to Wine

wineYou may have heard about a new book, “365 Thank You’s,” written by a guy named John Kralik. The story goes that he was hitting rock bottom in his life, and instead of inviting himself to the world’s biggest Pity Party, he decided to focus on the things in his life for which he could be grateful. Every day for a year, he forced himself to find someone he could thank with a hand-written note, and in so doing turned his life around.

His point is well taken. I’ve discovered that finding something (or many things) to be grateful for is the best way to stop being ridiculously self-absorbed and start thanking God and my lucky stars for all the ways I’ve been blessed.

So today I want to be thankful for wine. Not just for drinking it, although that has been fun. Sometimes really fun.

And not just for selling it, although that has provided me with gainful employment and (usually) decent profits.

I want to be thankful for what wine does to bring people together. In my life, wine has often been the excuse for family and friends to get together, maybe for a wine taste or perhaps a dinner. We taste, we eat, we talk, we get to know each other better. Wine helps break down barriers and helps relationships grow. Wine has created the opportunity for us to connect with each other and enjoy many, many memorable moments. Read the rest of this entry »

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Are Millennials Really A Unique Wine Generation?

millenI love this quote from the author of the Thomson Vineyards blog:

“Millennials are often referred to as the Demand Generation. We aren’t patient. We want instant and blissful gratification. And we want it to be a luxurious high-end experience that we can afford on our less than ideal wages not necessarily in line with the level of education we’ve all achieved.”

Wow. Instant gratification is a concept we can all relate to. But this guy suggests it’s unique to the Millennial Generation.

Really?

And who is the “Millennial Generation,” anyhow? Read the rest of this entry »

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The Wine Lady–Trashes Cooking Wine

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“And the winner is….” Wine Rating Simplified

pourHave you heard of Tyler Colman? If you’re any kind of a wine blog reader, you’ll know him as Dr. Vino, author of the #1 wine blog on the web. Apparently he does more than blog, because I recently came across an article he wrote for the USAirways in-flight magazine. My wine-drinking friend Jerome forwarded it to me, and I’m passing it along to you.

The gist of the article is that the rating system used by wine critics to score wines is seriously flawed. Amen to that. Colman contends that we should use a much simpler rating method — “The Drinkability Scale: Put out a bunch of wines, invite friends over for dinner, and (all things being equal) the bottle most quickly emptied is likely the best that evening.”

This is brilliantly simple. It recognizes how wine is consumed in the real world: rather chaotically. At our parties, folks are wandering from room to room, group to group, chatting, eating and drinking. We’re sure not sitting around a table taking notes.

So bravo to Dr. Vino. I’ll let you read his article in its entirety. Cheers! Read the rest of this entry »

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Kick-Ass White Wines

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The Wine Lady–Don’t Dis Merlot.

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