Fermentation: The Daily Wine Blog

Would You Pay $80 For Wine In A Box?

If the Australians, Swedes, English, Danes and progressively more and more Americans are ready to wrap their arms around premium wine in a box (also known as bag in a box), why aren't I?

While watching the Oscars I was chatting with a great friend who is a marketer at a North Coast winery. She was telling me about the investigation her winery was making into perhaps bottling (boxing?) ultra premium wine. Right off the bat I'm thinking, how better to kill an ultra premium brand that has a great reputation. She on the other hand thinks the "Ultra Premium Wine-in-a-Box" might just fly off the shelf. Ultra Premium in this conversation means $20 for 750 ml.

To appreciate her enthusiasm all you have to do is take a look at boxed wine sales.

50% of wine consumed in Australia is from a Box
60% of wine consumed in Sweden is from a Box.
The English are over 25%

Boxed wines are getting big in America too, but not nearly as big as in Australia or Sweden. "Black Box" is making and selling over 250,000 cases of wine in a box...in just 2 years.

Richard Kinssies, along with my wine marketing friend, believe that eventually American's will embrace wine in a box. Well, I think so too. At a certain price point.

Right now the best boxed wines, usually selling in containers that hold the equivalent of 4 bottles of wine, costs $20-$40 a box. That's about $5-$10 per bottle.

But what about boxes of wine that cost $80 per box---the equivalent of $20 per bottle. Will it sell? Is my wine marketing friend who's considering this off her rocker?

It's clear that for acceptance of the boxed wines, consumers need to feel like the wine in the box is far better than they thought it should be. Expectations need to be exceeded. That's what has gotten American's interested in boxed wines so far and it's what has led Australians to completely embrace the concept.

What kind of wine would you have to put in a box that sold for $80 in order to exceed consumer expectations? PDGW...Pretty Damn Good Wine.

What producers have going for them is that packaging costs are far less for boxed wines than they are for bottled wines...up to 80% in some cases. And apparently the box technology is great. Nevertheless, it seems to me that to pull off this feat of exceeding expectations, you'd have to work hard to convince consumers that the only relationship between quality wine and its package is the extent to which the package keeps the wine at its original high quality. Clearly this is the case. The only job of the wine package is to preserve and do no harm.

But we are a funny people. We like our packaging here in America. The light blue box that says "Tiffany" on it often stays on the dresser long after the broach inside it finds its way to the back of the drawer.

I'm skeptical that Americans in any number would accept the idea of paying $80 for a box full of wine.

Am I wrong? Am I just a snob?

A Sign of the Wine Times

Premier Napa Valley, a Trade-only auction organized by the Napa Valley vintners, delivered another bit of good news for the wine industry on Saturday.

A record $1,459,000 was raised, besting last year's take by 48%. The real interesting number however is the price per lot that was attained at this year's auction. Retailers, restaurateurs, wholesalers and others spent an average of $8,842 on 165 lots, an increase of 42% over last year.

I don't think there is any way to read these results than to conclude that a robust confidence exists within the wine trade, evidenced by the loosening of the pocket books on the assumption that their customers will also be willing to pay more for fine, high-end wines.

But to give some perspective, following is the percentage change in price per case over the previous year for the past five years of the Napa Premier Auction

    2001:  UP 9%
2002: DOWN 16% 
2003: UP 7% 
2004: DOWN 8%
2005: UP 42%

Good times in the wine industry are completely dependent on an expanding economy. Luxury, non-essential goods follow the money. There have been a number of signals and statistics that suggest wine buying is up. This is one more signal that things are looking good.

Oscar Predictions & the Wine Kitty

The Oscars and Wine are have a long history in our home of being paired together. This will be the 8th year will celebrate the Oscars with friends and wine.

It's pretty simple. Everyone brings a bottle for the "Wine Kitty" We each have a ballot. Whoever guesses the most winners correctly takes home all the wine. The winner usually takes home a couple cases.

Of course this year is a bit different with SIDEWAYS in the running. Different for wine folk, at least. It would be remarkable for the wine industry if SIDEWAYS won for Best Picture. But, it won't.

My Oscar Predictions:

Best Picture: Million Dollar Baby
Best Director: Martin Scorsese
Best Actor: Jaime Foxx
Best Actress: Hillary Swank

SIDEWAYS Predictions:
Will Win: Best Supporting Actress (Viginia Madsen)
Will Win: Best Adapted Screen Play.

More Top Pinots PIcked By the Pinot Report

Earlier this month I distributed the PINOT REPORT's "Top 12 wine picks for 2004." There was a good deal more than just the top picks listed in this year end report. So here are the rest, ranging in Value Pinots to Pinot Areas to Watch to Top Pinot Restaurants. To get the details on these picks you really need to subscribe to the Pinot Report.

The list of "Pinot Vineyards You Can Trust" is a pretty interesting idea. You don't often seen such a list. But its time has come as more and more wines carry the same vineyard designation.

Top 12 Pinot Values of 2004
1. HRM Rex Goliath Pinot Noir Central Coast Free Range 2001, $7.99
2. Sebastiani Vineyards Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast 2002, $15
3. Turning Leaf Pinot Noir California 2001, $10
4. Edna Valley Vineyard Pinot Noir Edna Valley Paragon 2002, $15
5. Babcock Winery & Vineyards Pinot Noir Tri-Counties Cuvee 2002, $18.50
6. Russian Hill Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast 2001, $24
7. Chalone Vineyard Pinot Noir Chalone 2002, $25
8. Bishop's Peak Pinot Noir Central Coast 2001, $16
9. Buchli Station Pinot Noir California 2002, $12
10. Gallo of Sonoma Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast 2001, $15
11. Chateau St. Jean Pinot Noir Sonoma County 2002, $19
12. Acacia Winery Pinot Noir Carneros 2002, $20

8 Pinot Noir Vineyards You Can Trust
1. Cargasacchi Vineyard, Santa Rita Hills
2. Clos Pepe Vineyard, Santa Rita Hills
3. Dutton Ranch Vineyard, Russian River Valley
4. Hellenthal Vineyard, Sonoma Coast
5. Hirsch Vineyard, Sonoma Coast
6. Hyde Vineyard, Carneros
7. Keefer Ranch, Green Valley
8. Rosella's Vineyard, Santa Lucia Highlands

4 Pinot Noir Regions To Watch
1. Green Valley, Sonoma County
2. Sonoma Coast, Sonoma County
3. Chalone, Monterey County
4. Westside Paso Robles, San Luis Obispo County

3 Great Pinot Noir Restaurants
1. Farallon, San Francisco, California
2. Dundee Bistro, Dundee, Oregon
3. Zazu, Santa Rosa, California

Breaking Down New Zealand Pinot

When grapegrowers and winemakers of an emerging wine region begin debating where the best of a particular varietal is grown, you know that wine region is no longer emerging...it has arrived.

This is the case with New Zealand and its highly praised Pinot Noir.

In a recent article for The Wine News by writer Gerald Boyd, New Zealand's various regions are considered in the light of their Pinot Noir. Boyd looks at the Pinots coming out of the Martinborough, Marlborough, Waipara and Central Otago regions of New Zealand. The article is a great intro to New Zealand Pinot.

It also needs to be mentioned that The Wine News is celebrating its 25th Anniversary of publishing what is certainly America's best looking wine magazine. I love this publication for this reason, but like a pretty blond, its best not to assume the magazine is all appearance and no brain. Wine News continues to employ great writers who are given the freedom to look into their topics with depth.

This article, "Kiwis Cultivate Prototype Pinots" is a perfect example.

Napa Valley's "OTHER" Auction

Saturday Napa Valley holds its "other" Auction.

"Premier Napa Valley" is an auction held mainly for the trade. Restaurateurs, retailers and distributors gather at CIA Greystone and bid on barrels of one-of-kind wines. Wineries duel for the highest price paid for their wines. What kind of wines?

2003 Astrale e Terra Single Vineyard Atlas Peak Cabernet
Cakebread 2003 Merlot/Cabernet Franc Blend
Domain Chandon 2003 Block 173 Pinot Noir
Fife 2003 Spring Mountain Syrah, Petite Syrah, and Cabernet Sauvignon Blend
2003 Hartwell "Sunshine" Cab/Merlot Blend

Basically, these are wines you can't get anywhere else.

It a fun event mainly for the pre-auction tasting. Vintners and owners are on hand behind their barrels, pouring the wines that will be auctioned.

The event raises money for the Napa Valley Vintners Association

Alan Goldfarb has written a pretty good article concerning the event.

A Gutsy Move in Napa Valley

Many years ago I fired off a letter the editor of the Wine Spectator. The letter was aimed at Spectator columnist Matt Kramer. It was a not so subtle attack on what I recall was his contention that one day, when California vintners got it right, only one or two varietals would be planted in the States' appellations (Cab in Napa, Pinot and Chard in Russian River, Zin and Sauvignon Blanc in Dry Creek, etc.). I called Mr. Kramer a "Terroirista".

It struck me that what would essentially be a move toward the French AOC model of wine regions being devoted nearly entirely to one or two varietals was in fact anti-American. I was arguinig that the Zinfandel, planted next to Cabernet, planted next to Chardonnay, planted next to Pinot Noir was a reflection of America's inbred inclination toward diversity and it would be a terrible thing to lose this in favor of a regional monoculture.

Since then I've become a bit more sophisticated in my thinking on terroir, in large part, ironically, due to reading Matt Kramer's fantastic "Making Sense of" series of books as well as following his writing in the Wine Spectator.

But yesterday I was provoked by an email from Ballentine Vineyards into reconsidering the notion of multiculture viticultural. What brought me back was the idea of Napa Valley Chenin Blanc.

The question that I kept coming back to was, "Are we losing something very valuable as Napa Valley continues its march toward becoming a Cabernet-only appellation, as grapes such as Gamay, Petit Sirah, French Colombard and Chenen Blanc get replaced in Napa by Cabernet?

Consider the numbers.

ACRES OF CHENIN BLANC PLANTED IN NAPA VALLEY
1982....2,558
1988....2001
1991....1152
1992....1001
1993....793
1994....693
1995....629
1996....501
1997....504
1998...445
1999....242
2000...169
2001....166
2002...138
2003....138
(Statistics from the California Agriculture Statistics Service)

Between 1982 and 2003, the number of acres of Chenin Blanc in Napa Valley have dropped by 95%. It is on the verge of extinction in Napa Valley. During this same period the acres of Cabernet planted in Napa Valley has increased nearly 300%.

It needs to be pointed out that the fall in Chenin Blanc is not a result of the grape not making good wine. The grape delivers naturally high acidity and a set of delicate fruit flavors. Grown with care in Napa Valley it could, has, and does produced lovely wine.

Economics is the reason Chenin Blanc may become extinct in Napa Valley. Each year the North Coast Grapegrowers releases suggested pricing for different varietals grown in different areas of California.In 2003 it recommend a ton of Napa Valley Cabernet be priced at $3,900. It recommend a ton of Napa Valley Chenin Blanc be priced at $800. If you were a grower with 20 acres in Napa Valley what would you plant. Let me do the math for you. Assuming you produced 3 tons per acred of Cabernet on your 20 acres your gross would be $234,000. Three tons per acre of Chenin Blanc would result in $48,000.

Over at the Winespectator.com I found a total of 2 reviews of Napa Valley Chenin Blanc published from the 2000 vintage forward. And its not like the Spectator doesn't like Napa Chenin. In fact, I'd bet they'd jump at the chance to review it. They just don't have the chance to review it.

I was prompted to look into the status of Napa Valley Chenin Blanc upon learning via email that Ballentine Vineyards in Napa is now producing 1000 cases of the wine. How rare is this? There may be only 2 or 3 other wineries that now produce a Napa Valley Chenin: Chappellet, Casa Nuestra and Ballantine. (please, someone correct me if they know of others)

The Ballentine Vineyards 2004 Pocai Vineyard Estate Napa Valley Chenin Blanc is made from old vines on their estate which sits next to the famed "Three Palms Vinyard". The vines range in age from 60 to 30 years. The vineyard is roughly 8 acres and yields two tons per acre. The price is a mere $14 for this rare piece of Napa Valley history. For thirty years these grapes were sold to Beringer Vineyards. It shoudn't be surprising that these vines are so old. Very little Chenin has been planted in Napa recently.

Ballentine describes their Chenin this way:

"Our Chenin Blanc has a golden hue and aromas of citrus blossoms, honeysuckle, green and red apple, grapefruit, and vanilla. This Chenin is crisp and clean with minor notes of vanilla, smoke and toast. The stucture of the palate is full and silky with a crisp finish. The wine has a citrus and zesty character on the palate with notes of melon, apple, and floral blossoms. There is a full nature in the mouthfeel with an extremely slight barrel toast on the finish."

You have to admire the Ballentines for taking up the production of Chenin rather than ripping out these vines and planting Cab. It's gutsy. But then again this is a family that has been in Napa for over a century. They likely know what works. I think it takes this kind of perspective to go out on the limb they are with their Chenin.

And it's good for Napa Valley too. While no one would question that Napa Valley's present and future is built on Cabernet, this wine reminds us that Napa can do wonderful things with something other than Cab.

That Wine's Gonna Be a Star!!

With the success of the movie Sideways in bringing new consumers to wine, will more wineries begin to participate in Product Placement Marketing? I think so.

The problem with marketing via product placement is the same with using media relations: it's not always easy to quantify the impact of having your wine discussed in articles. It's equally difficult, in most cases, to gauge the impact of having your product spontaneously appear in a move. Surely some placements are better, such as when your product is part of the plot. But this is rare.

Clos Du Val winery in Napa is one winery that has used product placement marketing. According to Brooke Correll, Clos Du Val's VP of Marketing, the winery spends about $5000 per month to engage a product placement firm to get their wines in front of set designers and propmasters for TV and films. Add to this over 200 cases per year sent out for product placement purposes. You are looking at over $100,000 per year in fees and products to carryout this program.

(There is a good story on Clos Du Val's efforts here)

Clos Du Val has seen its wines show up more than 100 films and television shows, including The Sopranos and the movie 21 Grams. And sales were up after they begin this product placement strategy according to Correll.

Product placement has been increasing over the past couple years. When Tivo's Digital Video recorder began to take off early last year, there was a great deal of discussion among advertisers and marketers that product placement would naturally increase as a strategy to overcome those who were skipping past commercials with their Tivo remote in hand. There is no reason to think the practice won't continue to increase.

Wineries will get into the game. But clearly it's not a cheap game to enter. Don't expect to see that small, 2000 case winery showing up in lots of movies. But look for lots of Gallo wines and those of the other big boys.

America's Greatest Wine Event

I got my invitation to what might be the best wine event in America. It is, at least, the best wine event I've been too in the last 15 years.

The International Pinot Noir Celebration (July 29-31) takes place at Linfield College in McMinnville, Oregon. The small, rural town sits in the middle of Oregon Pinot Noir country. It's quaint. But the gathering that takes place there every summer attracts the most high profile Pinot Noir producers in the world and a collection of very appreciative Pinot lovers.

What has always made the IPNC a great event is the intimacy its organizers create the results from it somewhat isolated location and the small number attendees it allows. This year they will allow only around 700 attendees. In the past organizers have had to carry out a lottery to see who gets in. This year it is first come, first served for the $795 tickets that go on sale March 1st.

Each year a number of wine celebrities are on hand to lead seminars and talks. This year's include: Michel Bettane, France's most famed wine critic; MW Michael Broadbent, one of the greatest wine commentators of the past 50 years; MW Bob Campbell, teacher and editor of New Zealand's Cuisine Magazine; Andrea Immer writer and educator and once named "Best Sommelier in the U.S.; Elin McCoy, A writer who will soon be releasing    "The emperor of Wine: the Rise of Robert Parker, Jr."; Alexander Payne, Director of Sideways; Pierre -Antoine Rovani, the Wine Advocate's palate for Oregon, New Zealand and Burgundy.

The best event at the IPNC is the Saturday night "Grand Dinner". The meal is always spectacular, highlighting Oregon's best chefs. But the real fun is the wine. Traditionally, attendees bring with them some of their most spectacular wines, most of them Pinot Noir. Bottles get past around the room, trading of bottles occurs, bartering has been known to occur.

If you want to go, you really must sign up now and hope you are one of the first. Even getting on the waiting list is an accomplishment.

Alabama: No Wine, No Sex Toys

Perhaps I'm too close to the issue. Nevertheless, I've always looked at these anti-direct shipping laws passed in the various states and seen them as among the most silly and obnoxious laws any state could possibly think of passing.

Who is harmed by receiving wine via the mail? And who's business is it if I want to buy a wine that I've coveted for so long that is only available to me by asking it to be shipped? How can the state possibly find any interest in curtailing this act? Minors? Naw, that's not it. Taxes? Nope. The shipping of wine from out-of-state vendors doesn't make a dent in tax receipts. The possibility the wine is dangerous? That's no reason either. The laws are just plain dumb, discriminatory, and gifts to a a well-funded, money-infested, single-issue lobby. No law could be more stupid.

Well, smack me upside the head with a vibrator. I see I'm wrong.

The Supreme Court of the United States of America has let stand an Alabama law that prohibits the sale of sex toys.

Somehow the bans on direct shipping of wine don't' seem so monumentally stupid afterall.

"Pinot" is the WORD OF THE YEAR?

"Pinot" has been named the top "HollyWORD" of the year by the good folk over at the Global Language Monitor.

The Global Language Monitor "analyzes and catalogues the latest trends in word usage and word choices, and their impact on the various aspects of culture."

"Pinot" topped the list of words out of Hollywood that "profoundly influenced the English Language"

What does this mean for Pinot Noir. I guess you have to consider what words took this honor in the past and what those words did for America. The 2003 Word of the Year was "Wardrobe Malfunction"....Hmmmmm?

Wine Geeks Can Cause a Rash

I've been thinking more about the idea of how our own experiences overwhelmingly shape our response to popular culture. Again, the movie "Sideways" and my experience with it proves the right place to really explore this notion.

I can not think of any other film in which a hard core, wine loving, wine geek, along with all the language, props, knowledge and ceremony that goes into being such a wine geek, is the protagonist of the story. That is to say, I've never seen myself and many of my friends and colleagues portrayed on film.

It's a startling experience. At once you connect because you see yourself portrayed on film for the first time in a way that looks to you not to be a parody of the wine lover, but in real terms. Miles looks at the wine, describes it, and appreciates it in the same way and with the same language as I do, and as many of my friends do. You feel like your life is finally being portrayed in a way that demonstrates how a wine lover can be really into wine without being obnoxious or arrogant or just plain silly.

But then, as you read reaction to the film, you realize that the vast majority of people who saw the film see Miles as a comic figure, a charade, an over the top clown-like wine geek demonstrated in the odd obsession and arcane knowledge and silly ceremony that he brings to his wine drinking.

It's disconcerting to understand the the vast majority see something entirely different from what I see in Miles. How could this be?

I think the answer is that the vast majority of Americans will find themselves in a situation that guarantees they will fail at being Miles.

The wine geek is really no different than the budding Egyptologist. Like the wine geek, the Egyptologist has an extraordinarily deep interest in ancient Egypt, it's culture, its artifacts. But very few people will ever find themselves in a situation where they have speak the language of this kind of geek or evaluate the artifacts the Egypt Geek evaluates. So when they see this kind of person portrayed in film or in words, they view them as merely one who has found a rather esoteric interest. But wine is different. Most people will be confronted with a dauntinig wine list, or a wine geek talking a language they don't know, or a sommelier who is asking them to make a decision about which they no nothing. It seems the result is ridicule of what they are forced to encounter but have little interest in.

The lesson is be aware of who you are speaking with when you fall into your wine geek-inspired mood. Make sure you aren't forcing those around you to respond to something they have no interest in responding to. They'll feel like you just gave them a rash and this will only result in you and your interests being ridiculed.

Wine=Alcohol=Heroin ??

Dealing in degrees and dealing in subtlty is not what those in alcoholic recovery or the alcoholic recovery community to very well. This was made perfectly clear in an article in the New York Times on Sunday that asked if the Oscar nominated movie "Sideways" was really just a lens pointed at the antics of an alcoholic, rather than a wine lover.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I really don't think the notion that the Sideways character Miles as an alcoholic is really a hot topic in America. Alcoholism just isn't an issue in the movie. But, the New York Times article brings the issue into the discussion hopper of our culture.

What I take from the reading of this article is how our personal experienced and view of the world can lead us to extremism

In the article we are told, for example that Wine=Alcohol=Heroin. Deal with it.

But this is really akin to saying, A Rock=A Gun=A Nuclear Weapon. They are all weapons that can be used to harm. There's no subtly at all to his view of the world. The fact is that wine is not simply alcohol and alcohol is not simply heroin. This kind of naive statement is the sort you hear from fanatics of all types. Don't read from this that the work done within the Recovery Community is wrong. Read from it that while fanatics rarely have anything of use to offer to a reasoned discussion, they may in fact have something substantial to offer people whose lives no longer respond to reason and moderation.

But we have to remember that the fanatic is not the best type to offer critiques of society or culture. The Times article quotes Joan Clark, an alumni director of the Betty Ford Clinic who has had the chance to hear the reaction of many alcoholics to the movie:

"They said it made them squirmy to see somebody enjoying it so much," Clark notes.

And there sits the point: The Recovery community's reaction to this film is, properly, more an insight into those in the community than the movie. Exposure to something that only slightly hits home with them prevents them from even entertaining the idea that what doesn't work for them might be perfectly enjoyable to someone else.

"Sideways" and alcohol--Why Now?

Alder over at Vinography draws to our attention an very interesting article in the Sunday New York Times.

The heart of the article poses the proposition that the Best Picture nominated Sideways has a character that may be an alcoholic. From there various wine and recovery types address the question from various perspectives.

Alder suggests that the lack of discussion of this angle to the movie has to do with societal denial of alcohol's place in our lives and culture. This may be. But I think the lack of discussion of this topic is more a result of editing and the proximity of the Academy Awards next Sunday.

Had the movie created a clamor on this subject it would have been picked up by the media much earlier. And I've not seen any clamor emerging from any circles, including the recovery community. Though I may have missed it.

I think it's a matter of the Times needing to cover various aspects of the five Best Picture films and this is definitely an interesting angle. It's akin to the Times writing an article on mental illness among top executives in response to The Aviator being one of the nominated films. Now, whether the article will create such a clamor as to instigate a broader discussion on alcohol's place in the film, that might just be.

But, I don't think "Sideways" on its own causes movie-goers to associate the character of Miles as an alcoholic. They see a lot else going on in that Pinot-soaked head.

What I find most interesting about the article are two things: the way the recovery community is forced by experience to view any film that has alcohol as a main prop and the experience of viewing from my own wine geek perspective a wine geek on film, in front of my eyes, drawn and delivered by third parties that had obviously observed my kind and others like me in preparation for writing the original book and in preparation for making the film.

Inconsistent Thinking on Wine

If there is one thing alcohol produces in America, it's inconsistent thinking. Combine this with our general proclivity to open our mouth before we think and you have an explanation for the wildly different set of laws concerning alcohol in America and the disparate views on alcohol that range from "let's party" to "you damn sinner".

A recent editorial from KOMO 1000 in Seattle, Washington is a perfect example.

Washington State is considering a new law that would allow grocery stores to offer 2 oz samples of beer and wine to customers. Sampling of food is currently a legal promotion, but beer or wine. Why? Because it's alcohol.

Ken Schram of KOMO thinks this is a bad idea:

"Legislators can't pass tough-enough laws to keep people with multiple DUI's from careening around on our roads and highways, but they are positively tickled with the idea of passing out merlot and pilsner to folks out shopping for their groceries....I'm confused about why lawmakers find it so easy to pimp for the liquor industry, but find it so hard to pass tougher DUI laws".

Ken's never met someone who can get drunk on 2 oz of beer or wine. It's just that he's anti-alcohol. And he doesn't care, really, that the legislature is "pimping" for the liquor industry. If "pimping" for industry were his concern he'd advocate that no product be allowed to be sampled in stores as well as ask that all laws on the books that help broadcasters be removed.

Ken makes himself out to be part of that contingent of American's who believe that alcohol should be kept out of as many hands as possible...because it's alcohol and it's dangerous. But alcohol isn't dangerous on its own. What's dangerous are the people who abuse it. Now, how in the world do I reconcile that idea with my notion that guns should be far far less available than they are now and more difficult to attain? I usually state it like this: In the heat of the moment I'd much rather have a bottle of Merlot on the table between me and my enemy than a .45.

Bottom line, I don't like Ken Schram's reasoning. It's inconsistency in the employ of ideology.

Wine Consolidation in the U.S. is a Non-Story

I don't' buy it. What's all this talk of "consolidation" of America's wineries?

While the total cases produced by the various wineries and labels owned and marketed by corporate wineries is huge, the number of brands (and partcularly the number of quality-oriented brands) controlled by corporate interests is miniscule compared to the number of American wineries from which you can buy great wine.

Wine Business Monthly recently announced, "an overriding theme in the wine industry in 2004 was consolidation."

I'm not so sure it was a theme as much as consolidation was the word used to describe a couple high profile purchases in 2004. Constellathttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifion Brands got the Mondavi (the Icon), The Wine Group got Golden State Vintners (suppliers of bulk wine) and Diageo got the Chalone Wine Group (a collection of fine, medium-sized wineries). There you go...that's the "consolidation".

Consider the observation of Ste. Michelle Wine Estates President and CEO Ted Baseler: "We're still such a phenomenally fragmented business category. Most categories are tremendously consolidated. I don't think we're ever going to have that inn the wine business, but having a few large companies that drive the category is probably not unhealthy at all."

He's right. Large wine companies create economies of scale, resulting in more competition among large producers, all leading to better value for those who just want to drink wine and not think about it. For those who do want to think about wine while they are drinking it, there are more choices of true artisan wineries than ever before.

Consolidation, in the overall scheme of things, is of very little consequence for the hard core wine lover. But, let's look at it.

Who owns wineries that were once independent, quality producers before being purchased?

E&J Gallo Winery
-Louis Martini Winery
-Briddlewood Estate

Constellation Brands
-Robert Mondavi
-Franciscan Estates
-Mt. Veeder
-Ravenswood
-Simi
-Estancia

The Wine Group
-Concannon Vineyards

Beringer Blass Wine Estates
-Beringer
-Etude
-Stags' Leap
-St. Clement
-Chateau St. Jean
-Chateau Souverain
-Meridian

Brown-Forman Wines
-Sonoma Cutrer
-Fetzer

Kendall-Jackson
-Matanzas Creek

U.S. Tobacco
-Conn Creek
-Villa Mt. Eden

Diageo Chateau & Estates Wines
-Beaulieu
-Sterling
-Chalone

Allied Domecq
-Clos du Bois
-Buena Vista
-Haywood Estate
-William Hill
-Atlas Peak
-Callaway
-Gary Farrell

Heck Estates
-Kenwood Vineyards
-Valley of the Moon Winery
-

Jim Beam Brands
-Geyser Peak
-Wild Horse Winery

For those of us who prefer to delve into fine, artisan wines made by committed winemakers, consolidation is a non-issue. The only winery on this list that you have to be concerned about, and hope and pray it remains what it always was, is Gary Farrell.

Wine Vocabulary and the Style Debate

Among the many debates that motivate wine lovers is the one that pits lovers of superripe, high pH, heavily extracted wines against those who prefer more structured, nuanced, higher acid wines. Some people will define the debate as "Traditionalists" vs "Parkerites". Others describe the debate as between "terroirists" vs "NewWorlders".

Either way you phrase the debate, and it is a complex one that touches on every element of grapegrowing, winemaker and marketing, it is in essence a debate over style.

Spurred on by an extraordinarily knowledgeable friend who has written about wine for many years, I began thinking about the vocabulary used in this debate over style. More specifically, I began to think about how descriptions of wines play into this debate. So, I went to the Wine Spectator reviews.

I wanted to see if particular words showed up more often in reviews. I looked at two words: "Structure" and "Ripe". Now, clearly these two words describe different things. "Structure" refers to the framework of a wine which is often a function of acid, tannin and alcohol. "Ripe" is a description of the character of the fruit component in the wine. While "structure" is really one of the pillars of a wine, the idea of a wine being ripe is a descriptioon of the character of a component of the wine. Yes, they are two different things. But, in the context of the debate over nuances vs. big, these two words seem appropriately fitting.

What did I find?

Looking at 2,538 California Cabernets or Cab Blends that were awarded 90 points or higher by the Wine Spectator the following was found:

       "Structure" was used in the written description in 6% of these wines
"Ripe" was used in the written description in 41% of these wines

What does this mean? It's hard to say without doing significantly more digging. For example, I should find out how often "Ripe" is used for wines awarded 80 points or less. I should do the same research for wines from other growing regions. And I should look into the use of other words.

However, I can go out on a limb and offer some suggestions as to what this means. The Wine Spectator clearly believes "Ripe" is a word that is is more useful in helping to describe a good wine than is "structure". Also, the world "Structure" is not a noun that the Wine Spectator believes is useful in helping to describe the character of a wine. These conclusions shouldn't surprise anyone who has followed the evolution of California Cabernet. Over the years, winemakers have chosen to pick grapes later, getting riper fruit. The appearance of phyloxera resulted in the replanting of vineyards that in turn led to new, unfamiliar ways of dealing with viticulture in California that naturally led to riper wines. U.S. wine critics have promoted riper wines. Distributors, sales people, retailers, restauratuers, marketers and winemakers have followed the lead of the critics.

None of this of course means the wines are "better" for being riper. That's subjective. However, riper wines do have objective consequences. It will be interesting to see how the concept of aging wine and mature wines play into the definition of "great" in the future as it is learned that riper wines don't age into the ethereal wines that the traditionalists have loved for decades.

Women In Wine on the Boardwalk

"Women In Wine"
....A benefit to raise funds to combat Breast Cancer

April 9th
The Borgata, Atlantic City
Sponsored by Food & Wine Magazine & The Borgata

Viv has all the details. Good Cause. Good Wine. And they spread a lot of different poker games at the Borgata too.

Wine Media on Drugs

It strikes me as one of the weirder wine would acquisitions, but who am I to fault a company for wanting to play in another industry. Now follow this...

Decanter, one of England's and the world's great wine magazines reports that Harpers, the UK's oldest and again, one of it's best wine publishers, has been purchased by Ergo Science Corporation, an American pharmaceutical company that got out of the pharmaceutical business all together.

Harpers had been owned by Highbury, a primarily business-to-business publisher. Having sold all its interest in meds, Ergo was apparently looking for a new industry to take on. Why not publishing.

I only hope that Harpers remains as it is: a stellar magazine and website that reports on the business of wine. I particularly like its "Wines In the Weekly Press" page on its website. There they give a run down of what the Brits are writing about wine in their major newspapers and magazines.

So go take a look at Harpers. You never know what it will become once its on drugs.

We Know What Wine You Buy!!

In Dan Berger's latest issue of "Vintage Experiences" (a weekly newsletter that is truly indispensable) he highlights a rather disturbing marketing trend this is about to hit wine consumers.

He notes that Gallo will be adding Radio Frequency Identification tags to the wines it sells at Walmart. What this means is when you purchase that Gallo wine and pay with a credit card, Walmart and, presumably, Gallo will be able to know who you are, what Gallo wine you bought, where you live, where you bought the wine, how much you paid and any other information that Walmart currently has about past purchases as well as any other information tucked away on that electronic strip on your credit card.

Dan imagines this leading to marketers using the information to query you on how you liked the wine, trying to sell you more wine, predicting your future buying habits and more.

Most of us live with the knowledge that what we do and say and buy is probably known to somebody, more likely marketers than the government. We know this, but we tuck that knowledge away, undisturbed because to action's we'd have to take to prevent this kind of intrusion into our lives would be..well...life changing. So we live with it.

I suppose for the moment I don't have to worry about the wine element of it since I neither shop at Walmart (for ethical reasons) nor have I bought Gallo wines for many years (also for ethical reasons). But I'm sure it won't be long before my wine consumption is thoroughly chronicled in someone's database.

Wine Isn't Necessary

A letter to the editor in today's San Francisco Chronicle Wine Section hits on a conversation that comes up, oh, now and again: consumer distress over irrationally high prices of wine.

This particular complaint comes from Alan in Berkeley. In response to an earlier article's suggestion that one should just take the plunge when it comes to older California Cabs, Alan describes the experience as "taking a bath."

He points to the 1974 Heitz "Martha's Vineyard" as perfect example of the irrational pricing of wine. He bought his bottle in 1978 for $18. Had this wine appreciated in value with inflation, the current bottling (1999) should cost $52. Well it doesn't. To get your hands on the 1999 Martha's you have to spend $120.

How to explain this? Alan has some ideas:

"So what we're left with is the effect of two different sorts of "inflation" -- the inflated self-worth of the over-wealthy winery founders who concluded their first-release Napa Cabs could be "priced to ego" rather than to market, and the inflated hype at the consumer end that convinces too many that higher price equals higher value.

I'd be sympathetic to Alan's distress if wine were something we needed to heat our homes or run our cars or even if it were a necessary ingredient in bread. But it's not. Wine is a product that is purely a luxury, like Çoca Cola on the low end and a Picasso on the high end. There really is no reason to buy wine except for pleasure.

And just to make something clear, all wines sell out their "market price", which, unfortunately, is often too high for the likes of Alan, myself and others to afford. That brand new wine, all 250 cases, priced at $150 is perfectly priced if it sells out by the time the next vintage is released. And if it doesn't, it will be "re-priced" to move.

There really is nothing obscene, unfair, or inflated about wine prices. The complaints about the high prices of wine are generated out of frustration that the complainer's income doesn't allow purchase of the wines.

What Would Bacchus Do?

Michael Stajer has an excellent rundown of a really crazy perspective on the Wine Shipping controversy.

The source of the rather ludicrous assertions that Michael refers to come from one Reverend Mark Creech who claims, among other things:

  "Jesus would have never approved the actions of a bunch of greedy Internet wine retailers who were determined to distribute "strong drink" at the expense of the nation's children."

I presume Reverend Creech would say that Jesus instead would have approved of the actions of a bunch of greedy brick and mortar wine, beer and SPIRIT wholesalers who are determined to distribute anything at the expense of small farmers and artisan winemakers.

  But this really isn't important. The Lord Jesus isn't the God we should be concerned with when it comes to issue of direct shipping. I think we really need to have the God Bacchus weigh in on this issue.

Any Pagans out there who know: What would Bacchus do?

Wolf Packs Don't Hunt Wine

Rich at The Wine Cellar, a good blog with intriguing content, has a disturbing post. It's not his opinion that is disturbing, it's the implications of the post.

Rich refers in his post to the resignation of Eason Jordan, a CNN executive. Jordan was brought down by bloggers who spread word of an off the record comment he made at the World Economic Forum in Davos Switzerland concerning American soldiers targeting journalists.

The story that has emerged from Jordan's resignation does not concern the validity or absurdity of his off the record statement, but rather the power of bloggers. Jordan's rabid pursuit by bloggers and subsequent resignation comes after a similar episode that led to the downfall of Dan Rather of CBS news at the hands of bloggers.

   Rich of Wine Cellars casually asks, "How long before oenobloggers make similar marks?" 

Is the mark being made by bloggers a big red one that results when you go for blood?  Is the reputation of bloggers being pegged as unaccountable character assassins?

One thing is clear, in the scheme of things the work, no, the pleasure, being pursued by wine bloggers is truly inconsequential. We talk of wine's delights, of eating good meals, of crazy regulations restricting our ability to buy wine, and the crazy notions put forth by the likes of biodynamicists.

To contemplate whether wine bloggers might make a "similar mark" as the "ideobloggers" who write in the pursuit of strident agendas is a natural thought given what we are seeing from those on the righteous edge of the blogosphere or the those bloggers chasing fame through ruin.  The thought has occurred to me too whether wine bloggers might one day "make a mark". 

I wouldn't count on it. 

I've said it before and will say it again. The real work in wine reporting is being done by the full-time journalists who are consumer advocates, who help advance the knowledge of those in the industry, who report on the work of the world's progressive winemakers and grapegrowers. The best of these writers and reporters work full time reporting, they work with editors and they work with resources and contacts that come only after establishing reputations for integrity and hard work. With respect to the bloggers of wine, and there are a number of outstanding ones, they simply aren't there yet. Wine bloggers are still defining the scope of their vision at this point. They are still learning how to be consequential; how to garner an audience; learning what kind of information is desired in this forum.

I admire the tenacity that it takes for individual bloggers to run down a story, report the facts, and acquit themselves admirably in the process. I worry over the way the blogosphere can rapidly turn into a pack of wolves. Happily, I don't see this tendency among wine bloggers, even when we all see something terribly unjust or ridiculous in our little inconsequential world of wine.

Pinot Noir, Sex and the Backseat of a 65 Corvette

It being St. Valentines Day, I was looking for just the right post, or just the right words. to tie together the day of love and wine. No matter what I did, I couldn't think of anything except a wonderful article written a few years ago by Michele Anna Jordan for Wine Enthusiast Magazine.

Though unable to locate the provacative and inspiring article anywhere on the Net, I do believe I've found an excerpt from her memorable "Sex and the Single Grape" that boils the article's message down to it's core:

"Pinot noir has me in its velvet grip. Pinot Noir is sex in the back seat of dad's station wagon, or on the front of your boyfriend's '65 Corvette. It's the best sex you've ever had. Pinot Noir is the James Dean of wine; it's the wine women who love too much can't drink."

The article was an ode to the amourous qualities of Pinot Noir, to it's ability to inspire and, as I recall and as I am reminded by the above quote from Ms. Jordan's piece, to Pinot Noir's seductive qualities that spring from it clearly being the sexiest of all wines.

I'll do my part this evening, taking my beautiful Ginny to dinner and sharing a glass of Pinot Noir.

Happy Valentines Day

Review of the Wine Media: WINE BUSINESS MONTHLY

This is the eighth in a series of reviews of the wine media

WINE BUSINESS MONTHLY
(Disclosure: Tom Wark has written for Wine Business Monthly on two occasions)

The measure of any publication is made by evaluating it's ability to give you accurate information about the issues that concern you.

By this standard of measurement there is no single reason why anyone who works in the wine industry or with the wine industry should not subscribe to Wine Business Monthly (WBM).

In the 70 to 100 tabloid sized pages that arrive with each issue of WBM, the business of wine is covered. From Marketing and finance to technique and technology, no area of the wine business is left untouched. And what marks WBM as an essential tool is the original information and reporting that appears in the publication.

It's difficult in the age of instant communications to produce information that either isn't a retread of something else or isn't someone else's work. Add to this that trade magazines are notorious for reprinting press releases and patting it's industry on the back and calling this news. WBM has managed to avoid this trap by supporting the industry in it's unbiased approach to reporting on the issues of the day. To get any value out of a trade magazine you have to trust it isn't just shilling for an advertiser or a set of pals. WBM is valuable.

Yet make no mistake, this magazine is not for consumers. It is for those in the industry and perhaps those so devoted to their wine hobby they must also know what the latest opinions are on reverse osmosis or the impact of the Dijon clones' popularity on the nursery industry.

Each issue is broken into four sections and carries a main article. The most recent issue deals first with a "Review of the Industry" and identifies the top 30 largest wine companies and the "hottest small brands of 2004. In the wine making session there is article on terroir. The grape growing section concerns itself with the impact of global climate change on vineyards. Attorney Corbin Hutchins outlines what a "win" at the Supreme Court would rally mean inside WBM's Sales and Marketing section. And in the Finance and Administration section we find an article about the recent rash of ADA lawsuits against tasting rooms and how to avoid them.

Not exactly your, "Summer Brings Rose Colored Wine Bargains" articles.

In addition, each issue of WBM includes a number of news articles, highlights personnel changes, looks at the publicly traded wine companies and offers an exhaustive rundown of upcoming wine and wine trade events.

I have to admit that perhaps the most interesting, or at least my first look every issue, is the classifieds section. Each issue carries a number of real estate listings for vineyards and wineries throughout California and sometimes beyond that are on the block. In the current issue Robert Mondavi winery is listing over 2,200 acres for sale in Monterey and San Luis Obispo county...for those of you looking for a few acres. For those of you looking to make wine rather than grow grapes, the classifieds offers a profitable 25K case winery with substantial vineyards located in the Sierra Foothills: $5.1 Million (plus inventory).

For those of you who only read commercial or consumer wine magazines the first thing that strikes you when you pick up WBM is the complexity of the wine industry. On the outside, it is growing grapes, putting them in a bottle, describing the resulting wine in fabulous terms, then selling it. Open the pages of WBM and the type of ads alone communicate the vast number of issues and decisions that go into getting a bottle of wine on your table. For example, at what point in the planning and wine making process do you need to consider the ad from Newpak USA that offers "Savour Oak(tm):The Flavors of the Finest Barrels at a Fraction of the Price"? Which of the various nurseries advertising should you buy your budwood from?

A man named Lewis Perdue started Wine Business Monthly about 10 years ago. He since went on to sell the publication to a larger company and become a best selling writer of excellent thriller and mystery novels. The editor today is Cyril Penn. Cyril writes and oversees a staff of good reporters and crew of contributing writers who have tended to write about the insides of the industry for other publications. In addition, articles often appear from wine industry specialists and academics who report on research findings.

The cost of a yearly subscription is minimal: $39. However, you can access a great deal of past issue content at the Wine Business website. It is one of if not the best website that focuses on the business of wine.

Wine Business Monthly
http://www.winebusiness.com

 

Sorry, No Free Champagne

I'm not even sure what to make of this. Certainly it's the first wine-related email scam/fraud I've ever heard of.

There is an email being forwarded around the Internet that promises free Veuve Clicquot Champagne for all those who continue to forward the message to ten others. The email reads:

  Greetings Champagne Lovers!!

Send this message to 10 people, with a copy to champagne@veuve-clicquot.fr
Veuve Clicquot France will contact you in order to deliver you a case of
champagne in three weeks. They are doing this in order to enlarge their
database. It does work and you receive six bottles in 15 days. Salut a tous
les amoureux du champagne

The good people at Veuve Clicquot have responded with a posting on their own website that reads:

Dear websurfer,

A promotional deal is currently on the Net regarding a free offer of a case of 6 bottles of Veuve Clicquot champagne.

This is a hoax, totally beyond our control; and, of course, we are not the author. We do not gather any e-mail nor build up any database.
We strongly condemn the author of this hoax and hope that it will end.

Yours sincerely,
Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin

It strikes me as a pretty dumb sort of hoax. I guess with all the efficiencies of the Internet has resulted in, people have lots of free time on their hands.

Wine, Business and Success...It's About Trust

I try not to work on weekends, leaving these days instead for family and the home. But, when duty calls, I'm in the office. Like today. I'm preparing to give a presentation to a potential client on Monday.

The art of pitching work is not something that has fast and hard rules associated with it. It is very much something you do by feel. More often than not, I find myself in the offices or the cellar of a winery. They want to know what I bring to the table. What capabilities I have. This is what's most on their mind. But what they aren't thinking, yet what always weighs heavily in their decision to work with Wark Communications is if they like me and if they FEEL they can work with me.

Monday I'll present to an organization that would provide me with tremendous challenges and great professional rewards. The organization takes in to account a number of regions, vineyards, wineries and personalities. The potential project is one that will have broad consequences.

So, I'm here giving the presentation a great deal of thought. And it occurred to me

THE SUCCESS OF WARK COMMUNICATIONS IS BUILT NEARLY ENTIRELY ON TRUST.

-Good public relations practitioners aren't that hard to come by.
-Great industry and media contacts are hard to develop, but there are a number of people out there with them

So...

-I'm hired because clients feel they can trust me.
-My industry contacts are still stellar because I've proven myself trustworthy
-My vendors are happy to work with me because they trust my integrity
-I've learned to trust my intuition in determining what will have the most impact promoting my clients' wines and services.

I've decided that rather than bring all the digital bells and electronic whistles to the presentation, I'm going to arrive with a few company background packets and myself and that's it. Nothing else. And I'm going to simply chat with the review panel about my company and the state of the wine industry. My skills and talents and contacts needed to do this work are not in question. But if they feel like they can trust me, they will feel comfortable working with me, and Wark Communications will have a new client.

Success seems very closely related to trust. I'll go back and back to the same winery to buy that Zinfandel without having tasted the new vintage because I trust them. Fermentations' readers come back because they trust I won't waste their time. Communities and families flourish based on the level of trust that resides among their members. Politicians get re-elected based on the trust their constituents have in them.

Trust me. This is all true.

Detroit Free Press Slaps Down Wine Monopolists

Detroit Free Press Reporter Jennifer Dixon absolutely pummeled the Michigan Beer and Wine Wholesalers Association today in a series of articles that outline essentially how they purchase influence all across the Michigan State Government.

Trips to the Caribbean for Michigan lawmakers. Very generous campaign contributions. Millions of dollars contributed annually. And what do they get for their largesse? What would you think? Near monopoly status. The complete absence of any competition. A state government willing to go the supreme court to protect the wholesalers' interests.

I've watched the direct shipping battles pretty closely for many years. I've never seen one media outlet choose to go after the evil ones like Dixon did today.

Will it have any affect? Not as much as one would hope. It appears the Wholesalers association's governmental acquisitions are perfectly legal. What this means is that no matter what happens with the Supreme Court's ruling on the direct shipping of wine, you can bet everything that the Wholesalers, the Michigan legislature, the executive branch and the regulatory bodies will be working in tandem to assure that those crazy mom and pop wineries in Lodi, California don't get their way and start shipping cases and cases of wine to all the minors just salivating for their $25 Zinfandel.

Beer, wine wholesalers are life of politicians' parties

When the wholesalers' lobbyist comes calling, Capitol doors open

Michigan State law is at root of wholesale power

Michigan beer and wine distributors have it made. And they wine, dine and finance legislators to keep it that way

I'm too sexy for my wine...too sexy for the French

How in the world does this happen??

A good looking woman may not be shown in an advertisement in France for Bordeaux because she's "too sexy".

The French courts, in league with the anti-alcohol nuts, determined that the ad showing Catherine Gachet, a mother and vintner, was simply too sexy to pass the stringent French laws governing how alcohol can be promoted. So, another picture of her was shot with the glass of wine just a bit further from her mouth, while her "come hither" smile was replaced by an "I-can't-believe-the-photographer-ask-me-to-look-dorky" smile.

What interests me more than the complete and total sphincter-tightening ruling on the part of the courts are the actual legal arguments that must have been made in order to convince the judge the shot shouldn't be allowed to spread across the French media.

I want to hear the explanation as to why Mme. Gachet's smile is simply too enticing to be allowed to show up on billboards across France.

The French law upon which the health crazies based their arguments against the Gachet head shot states that promotional materials can only present "objective characteristics" in the promotion of alcoholic beverages. Furthermore, it bans any use of "qualitative" material. Basically, you can't say "hey, this is really good wine." Ads may not suggest the drink will bring pleasure, produce desire, make you happy, make you more beautiful, or make you less thirsty. Even the use of professional models is banned by the law affecting alcoholic beverages. The Bordeaux wine producers got around this by using the image of a vintner. Nevertheless, it appears the look on Mme Gauchet's face would have produced some sort of overwhelming desire among the French, and even suggested that there was some sort of pleasure associated with Bordeaux.

Ryan over at Vine Sugar has the story along with a good link.

PROOF The Wine Industry is BACK!

I can, today, officially announce that the "hard times" that had hit the California wine industry over the past few years is....OVER!!!

How can I know for sure? Today I received a postcard from Williams Selyem announcing: "your Williams Selyem allocation is in JEOPARDY"

What I'm being told is that if I don't buy some W-S Pinot by March 11, 2005, to be specific, I'm off the allocation list. Now, it's true that I've not taken my allocation for the past few years. Why isn't important. What is important is that this "notice" is the first of its type I've received in about three years.

Back in 1999 and 2000 I was on various wine lists and on a regular basis I would get "warning" letters that if I didn't buy up, I'd be off the list. Miss one release, and you are gone. Well, it looks like it's starting again. That's good news for wineries. It means demand is picking up.

Anyone want my allocation of W-S? At least I'll stay on the list that way.

Perfect Oppression and the 100 Point Rating

Some have argued that the very existence of a precise rating system such as the 100 point scale for wine is folly, that it assumes too much about our ability to observe a wine so closely as to detect any and all of its qualities. This argument embodies an attitude that shows great deference to the notion of human infallibility. And I like that attitude.

Other critics of the 100 point rating system for wine see it as a much more sinister implement and would agree with Anne Lamott when she declares:

  "Perfectionism is the voice of the oppressor."

I think she is right, to a degree. There is an oppressive quality to the notion of a perfect wine, described as is in the 100 out of 100 possible points. The source of the oppression, which by definition bestows a lower status on all other wines, comes not from the critic who declares the wine perfect and all others lesser drinks. The oppressors in the case of wine are all those who take someone else's declaration of perfection and apply it to the task of selling wine. By doing this they leave behind something more valuable than a perfect wine. They leave behind their own judgment.

God & the Idea of the Perfect Wine

Over at Mark Squires' Forum on erobertparker.com they are, once again, discussing the notion of a "perfect wine." I love this kind of discussion: Can a wine be perfect? What makes a "perfect" wine?

One thing that everyone agrees upon is that there is no objective measure of a wine's quality, let alone the qualities that make it "perfect". That is of course what makes this debate/discussion even remotely possible. When Robert Parker or the Wine Spectator rate a wine 100 Points (meaning perfect) I can guarantee they are wrong about that wine. Just ask 3 other people if the wine is perfect. If one says "no" well...discussion over.

But that's a lame point to make because it's so obvious.

What also interests me about the notion of a "perfect wine" is the implication such a score holds for marketing the bottle. I've never had the opportunity to help market a wine that scored 100 points from a top reviewer...from any reviewer for that matter. However, I can tell you what it would amount to. You switch from trying to get it on the shelf then helping sell the wine, to deciding who gets to sell it and who gets to buy it. That too can be a tricky question. But, it's not hard work.

In the end, any questions or discussion concerning a "Perfect" wine is at heart a philosophical discussion.

Perhaps a good place to start is with Rene Descarte who explained:

      * I am subject to doubt; therefore I am imperfect 
* I have the "idea" of "the perfect." This ideas must come from a perfect Being (God).
* The analysis of the idea of "the perfect" includes the existence of the perfect being

So I ask myself, if I am willing to offer a perfect score to a wine, must I myself be perfect? Or more to the point, if I declare a wine perfect, do I therefore have perfect expectations for wine and a perfect relationship with wine in general. I think my audacity in declaring a wine perfect must lead me to answer these questions in the affirmative: yes, I do have perfect expectations for wine and a perfect relationship with wine. So perhaps the original question that wasn't quite on point can be addressed: Yes, I am perfect insofar as I am the originator of the "idea" of perfect and since I am willing to proclaim that perfection is a possibility. Does this also mean there is no God...or no need for God?

I think Descarte would have observed those willing to offer perfect scores to a wine and declared, "But what does it mean that you have no doubts about this wine? Is this not more of a comment upon the your nature than the wine's?"

Had he been a student of wine he may have further asked, assuming the obvious that at some point in the life of the perfect wine it will no longer be perfect, if "perfection", by nature, is something that can also be fleeting?

When it comes to wine, by far the more important question is whether or not perfection is attainable, rather than if a particular wine is perfect or what qualities a perfect wine possesses. Yet, this most important of questions is rarely dwelled upon after a simple yes or no is the response. The reason, I think, we don't dwell long on the possibility of perfection goes back to Descarte's profound observation that: "    The analysis of the idea of "the perfect" includes the existence of the perfect being."