Fermentation: The Daily Wine Blog

Are You Drinking Your Bourbon??

Today is my annual check up. And I don't mind.

It's the day I get to hear an expert say to me, "Drink your bourbon every day, Tom."

My doctor's read on the literature is that the moderate consumption of alcohol, not just wine, is connected with a number of good things things that promote longevity. A few years ago when he asked about my alcohol intake (he was naturally concerned since I work in the wine industry), I told him "no, I don't drink daily." He was surprised, again, because I work in the wine industry.

"No, not daily, Doc. I do like to have a bourbon more often these days, though."

"Well, Tom," he said looking me in the eyes quite seriously, "I recommend you drink a glass or two of bourbon every day."

This kind of advise really does make up for the poking and prodding that accompanies your general medical examination of a man.

This kind of recommendation was not the case 20 years ago, before the 60 Minutes "French Paradox" broadcast and before there seemed to be 5 to 10 news stories a year about how moderate consumption of alcohol would prevent everything from heart disease to warts.

Twenty years ago, when I first started monitoring closely the news on alcohol, the big news was Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. It seemed to be talked about everywhere and not a few folks in the wine industry worried that between strict calls for not a drop of alcohol during pregnancy and constant calls for hasher drunk driving laws as well as lower BAC levels for drunk driving, that the wine industry could be put in a tail spin as folks just decided that alcohol was too much trouble to deal with.

Anyone reading this who was in the wine industry in the late 1980s and early 1990s, just think about the difference in attitude between then and now as it concerns alcohol.

As I get older (I'm 44), I've found that the affects of alcohol come on me faster and with less intake. I'm not a big fan of drunk or tipsy. It's just a feeling that never appealed to me. This surely has something to do with my desire to see alcohol levels in wine come down. But it also accounts for my lowering intake of alcohol in general. What I can't explain, and neither can by doctor, is that the "tipsy" feeling I'm liking less and less as I age does not seem as pronounced when I have a glass of bourbon versus when I have a glass of wine.

"Mad Men" is a great new series that debuted on AMC. It depicts the men and women who work in a high powered New York ad agency circa 1960. One of the appeals of the show is their attempt to get the attitudes, lifestyle, and accoutrement of the era correct. One thing that stands out is the drinking. These guys drink during lunch, have bars set up in their offices that get lots of use and they tend to have cocktails, usually more than one, between the time they are seated and the time the orders are taken.

I can't figure out how they could have possibly lived that way. But even if the show over does this aspect of the pre-social revolution era when men were men, men were drinkers and men who weren't drinkers weren't real men, there would still be too much drinking for me to imagine as part of my life.

That said, I still like the fact that later today a doctor, a good doctor, will look me in the eyes and tell me (after I'm instructed to exercise more and smoke less) that I should drink bourbon every day. Despite my lower alcohol intake, I really do like having a professional's recommendation that I enjoy my Maker's Mark daily.

Teen Spirit

Morbidity and Mortality Weekly (YES, that is the name of a publication. Wouldn't you have liked to be in on the meeting when the powers that be over at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention who publish it all got together and decided on that name!) is reporting that Spirits is the drink most often chosen by teenagers.

Forty Percent of those participating in the study identified spirits (meaning bourbon, vodka, etc.) as their preferred drink. Beer came in second.

But here's the news: ONLY AROUND 2% OF THE TEENS SURVEYED IDENTIFIED WINE AS THEIR ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE OF CHOICE.

Surely this has implications for policy making. Surely this finding has implications for policymaking on the issue of the direct shipment of wine.

Hat tip to Megan at Wine & Spirits Daily for identifying the story.

Ask For that Sweet Caress

Do you know who Randall Dunn is?

For those of you who do, bear with me.

Dunn is one of the most respected winemakers in America. He built Caymus Special Selection. He defined the meaning of mountain-grown Cabernet. He helped put Howell Mountain on the viticultural map. He consulted for the likes of La Jota and Pahlmeyer. His Dunn Vineyards Howell Mountain Cabernet was identified by Jim Laube as one of a very few produced at the time to be a 5-star wine and among the very best California has to offer. Robert Parker likes to give his wines 95, 96 and 97 points.

Randall Dunn also believes "The current fad of higher and higher alcohol wines should stop."

This was the message contained in an e-mail (read it HERE) Dunn sent out to the American wine media a couple days ago. Coming from a man as respected as Dunn, the result of the electronic shot across the bow of American winemaking and American wine criticism was to get LOTS of people talking.

That accomplishment alone gets this message from Dunn nominated for E-mail of the Year.

Very simply, Dunn is saying that the trend toward 14%, 15% and higher alcohol wines is 1) destroy the ability to taste terroir, making drinking wine with dinner less enjoyable and resulting in less wine being sold in restaurants. Though he believes its the wine media that is encouraging winemakers to producer higher alcohol wines, he lays it at the feet of consumers to stop the trend:

"It is time for the average wine consumers, as opposed to tasters, to speak up....Ask for wines that are below 14% when you are out to dinner.  The reactions are fun, but the results are not good for United States wines.    The sommelier usually comes back with a French or New Zealand wine....Consumers – wake up and get active.  Reviewers -please at least include the labeled alcohol percentage in all your reviews, and try to remember that not everyone is spitting."

Dunn has taken a bit of a beating for his disparagement of high alcohol wines over at the e-RobertParker wine forums. What I glean from those who don't like Dunn's message is that he should understand that everyone has their own palate and it's not right to say that high alcohol wines are bad because they simply are higher in Alcohol.

One of my favorite things about wine reviews and criticism and commentary in general is we get to see folks take a stand, which it strikes me is exactly what Dunn, and Robert Parker, are doing.

As it turns out, I really hate being left out of a good old fashioned piling on of opinion. So, allow me my 2 cents: Those who disagree with Dunn and who defend the high alcohol wines, particularly those in the 15%+ range are simply wrong. Unless it's Zinfandel or Port, a 15.5% alcohol wine is not good. It may not be bad. But it's not good. Though I can appreciate a firm slap in the face, that never feels nearly as good as a sweet caress on one's cheek.

The defense of these absurdly high alcohol wines is amusing at best, particularly when you get to the point when the defender gets to the point of using the phrase "physiologically mature”. Start stepping away slowly, never turning your back on them, when you hear a defense put up with these words as the basis for the defense.

Here's hoping that many more folks in the media and many more consumers take Dunn's advice and start asking for a sweet caress rather than a slap in the face.

25 Years of Substance Over Style

Wine & Spirits Magazine announced that with its Fall 2007 edition arriving on newsstands at the end of this month it will celebrate 25 years of publishing.

Of all the consumer wine magazines out there, Wine & Spirits is the least flashy. However, it's also among the best. Next to most of the other tabloid sized wine magazines, W&S with its regular size almost looks outclassed next to its competitors. Yet, what you've always gotten with W&S is great editorial! These are the folks who scoop of James Bear Awards for their writing.

The magazine has also gained an outstanding reputation among folks in and around the wine industry for a number of things they've done.

Their annual wine restaurant poll is always very closely looked over by wineries to see who is selling the most to restaurants. I once worked with a winery who every year partly evaluated their success by seeing how far up the rankings their Merlot, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc placed in the W& Spirits Restaurant Poll.

Each year W&S releases their "Wineries of the Year" awards that are always very thoughtful, never obvious and are a coveted reward for wineries.

At roughly 75,000 in circulation W&S is not a huge publication. But I'd hazard to guess that its readership is among the best informed and savvy of the wine drinking population. The publisher, Josh Greene, prides himself on putting out issues that "focus more on the substance of wine than on style." That's not talk. It is the case.

Wine publishing is not an easy business. It's a real niche market that will never produce a hugely circulated magazine. Advertising is always a bit of a struggle to come by, regardless of the quality demographics of the wine magazine readers. And there is always a good deal of education that must be stuck into stories along with reportage in order to assure that the casual reader, who is important, isn't turned off by the language and minutia of wine. You've got to figure that if you've stayed around for 25 years then you are doing something right to overcome these hurdles.

Congrats to W&S Magazine.

I Love LouLou

I love LouLou!...Well, I don't know LouLou, but I do love her blog...a foray into Peter Mayle-type reporting on entering into living arrangements in new lands.

LouLou describes here blog, Chez LouLou, this way:

"I started this blog in January 2006 to share the experience of living in this beautiful part of France with others (including the challenge of bureaucracy) and to have a place to write about my passion for cooking, wine and food."

LouLou's writing and reportage is a really well done "through-my-eyes" encounter with a new way of living. The fact that she's taken with her new South of France home, community and life doesn't hurt. What you'll find at Chez LouLou are lots of great photos of this encounter, recipes, tips, descriptions of what life in France means to an ex-pat and regular infusion of subdued thrill with being where she is.

What prompted me to finally write about Chez LouLou was THIS: I can't wait to try this recipe for Caramelized Onion, Roquefort and Parmesan Tart.

It appears over time that LouLou has increased her blogging output. This is a good thing. There is a wonderful authenticity to LouLou's posts. Concentrating mainly on her daily life in her new French home, the reader is sucked into that daily life through photos of her garden, the foods and goodies she regularly consumes and the wine that is never far away.

This blog leaves a smile on my face every time I look it up to see what LouLou is doing.

Sound Familiar?

"Supporters of prohibition say that the cost, no matter how high, is worth the price to save families torn apart by the scourge of alcoholism. Despite a cultural ideal that frowns on drinking, alcoholism is a major problem at every level of society. The consequences are particularly severe among the working classes, where men often spend large portions of their meager daily wages on booze while their families go without adequate food or shelter."

Sound familiar?

It should, this could have been written word for word in a newspaper somewhere in New England or Indiana or Georgia circa 1916.

It comes from a recent UPI story out of India.

India appears to be considering the same noble experiment that America undertook over 80 years ago.

Recently Prohibition was instituted in the Indian state of Haryana. In April, the state of Kerala banned the production and sale of Arrack, a traditional brew made from the sap of palm trees.

India has a population of more than a billion people and a fast growing economy. It, along with China, is one of the great export markets many wine producers in America and elsewhere are looking toward for real growth in sales.

It seems to me the unfortunate affects of alcohol abuse have to be pretty bad to consider, let alone implement, Prohibition in a state or entire country. By all accounts, the abuse of alcohol was pretty ugly in parts of the United States prior to 1919 and the installation of national prohibition here.

One tool to combat alcohol abuse that exists today that didn't exist in 1919 is the mass media. Delivering a message and promoting a message is much more efficient today than it ever was. But even with this and other modern tools to combat societal problems, enacting a total prohibition on alcohol must be pretty tempting particularly for a politician. Leaders make names for themselves with with bold steps; by putting in place plans of action; by responding to the needs of many people.

Were more states in India to ban alcohol it's quite clear that crime and corruption would increase. Criminals, like politicians, are adept at answering the call of a citizenry.

It will be fascinating to watch the course of events in India and to see if their experiment can take a different course than America's.

Can a Film Help Popularize $175 Napa Cabs?

There's a good deal of Hollywood Intrigue surrounding the cinematic interpretation of the famed Paris Tasting that put California on the maps. There are apparently now two rival productions in the works that will bring the story to movie theaters.

"Bottle Shock" is set to go into production staring Alan Rickman as Steve Spurrier and Bill Pullman as Bo Barrett of Chateau Montelena while "Judgment of Paris" is the "official" film based on Jim Tabor's book "The Judgment of Paris.

"Bottle Shock" focuses on Chateau Montelena (which made the winning Chardonnay)
"Judgment" focuses on Stag's Leap (which made the winning Cabernet)

Talk of lawsuits are in the air. It's believed the film that gets into the theaters first will usually do better than the one that comes second. The story of the dueling movies may turn to be more intriguing than the subject matter of the two films as there is word that the Barretts of Chateau Montelena are funding "Bottle Shock" that focuses on them. However, that may or may not be true. The director of "Bottle Shock" is Randy Miller who's "Marilyn Hotchkiss Ballroom Dancing and Charm School" opened the 2006 Sonoma Valley Film Fest.

Who knows, maybe these movies will do for $175 Cabernet Sauvignon what "Sideways" did for Pinot.

It's not 1933 Anymore...is it?

For anyone who has not been following the attempt in Illinois to re-write the wine distribution laws in that state so that distributors are granted even more power than the state already grants them, a new development has occurred.

A new association of wineries calling themselves The Illinois Winemakers Alliance has formed in part to oppose Illinois House Bill 429.

HB 429 does a variety of things:

1. Allows out-of-state wineries to ship to Illinoisans
2. Allows in-state wineries to ship to Illinoisans
3. Allows wineries making up to 25,000 gallons of wine to distribute 5,000 gallons annually to retailers and restaurants
4. Prohibits wineries making over 25,000 gallons of wine to distribute directly to retailers and restaurants
5. Prohibits Illinoisans from purchasing wine from out-of-state retailers..
6. Allows Illinoisans to have wine shipped to them from in-state retailers

The reasons consumers are against this bill should be obvious. They are being stripped of a long held right to buy from out of state wineries. But when you couple this with the fact that in-state retailers may still ship to Illinoisans you can see the unconstitutional implications of the proposed legislation. To quote from the Granholm v. Heald Supreme Court decision:

"States may not enact laws that burden out-of-state producers or shippers simply to give a competitive advantage to in-state businesses….If a State chooses to allow direct shipment of wine, it must do so on evenhanded terms…”

However, the new Illinois Winemakers Alliance, while opposing this anti-consumer provision of HB 429, is also opposing the bill because it strips some Illinois wineries from selling directly to retailers and restaurants, even in the small amount that the bill allows smaller wineries to sell. These wineries that make more than 25,000 gallons annually and that would no longer be able to sell direct to retailers and restaurants, would be put at the mercy of Illinois wholesalers—who are the only ones who could sell these wines to the trade but are under no obligation to distribute these wines. Put simply, Illinois wineries making over 25,000 gallons of wine would be at the mercy of Illinois wholesalers to get their wines in restaurants and on store shelves. What if no wholesalers want to distribute these wineries' wines?

You can see why the new Illinois Winemakers Alliance, that represents wineries producing nearly half the wine made in the state, are against HB 429. And you can see why wholesalers just LOVE this legislation.

Currently HB 429 is sitting in the Senate Rules Committee awaiting action. It has passed the house and would likely pass the Senate if it ever gets out of the Rules Committee.

HB 429 represents the kind of regressive direct shipping and wine legislation that has popped up all over the country since the Granholm Supreme Court decision. What's most interesting is that NO consumers are asking that this kind of legislation be passed. And no wineries are asking that their ability to sell directly to retailers and restaurateurs be diminished. As always it's the wholesaless that are demanding this legislation.

With regard to the anti-consumer legislation proposing that wine lovers no longer be allowed to buy wine from out of state retailers, it seems counter-intuitive that wholesalers should have anything at all to say about this. Wholesalers don't interact with consumers. They don't sell to consumers and they don't buy from consumers. They don't talk to consumers and they certainly don't listen to consumers. Why are they always the one's proposing legislation that affects consumers?

When was the last time you saw wholesalers actually do something beneficial for consumers?

They talk a big game about providing lots of choice by distributing so many wines in so many states. Yet, there's no way they can rival the number of wines that are made available to consumers via direct means. Furthermore, they spend millions of dollars opposing consumer access to wines through campaign contributions, writing anti-consumer legislation and opposing reasonable direct shipping legislation.

There is one theme that runs through all the actions of wholesalers whether they are opposing direct shipping to consumer or the ability of wineries to sell direct to restaurants and retailers: Their actions are all meant to reduce the power of their competition.

It's as though they know something very fundamental about themselves and their business model and the market place. It's as though they know that forced to compete in a level market they'd lose that competition. Luckily, they've had the states on their side since 1933 when prohibition ended and most states mandated that producers of wine sell to wholesalers who would then sell to retailers and restaurants. In essence, the states have been protecting wholesalers from themselves for nearly three quarters of a century.

It's not 1933 anymore..is it?

Tom Wark is the executive director of the Specialty Wine Retailers Association.

It Tastes Like "The Velvet Britches of Jesus"

You see lots of pictures of labels and bottles on wine blogs. Naturally they tend to accompany reviews. It's pretty hard to do anything different with these kinds of graphics. And this is why the What Would Mikey Drink blog caught my attention.

Mikey, from New York City, has been at the wine blogging thing since September 2005. You've got to like a guy who, reportedly, at the age of 8 can taste a Red Burgundy and proclaim it tastes like "the velvet britches of Jesus."

Another reason to get a kick out of this blog is that each shot of a label or bottle that accompanies his reviews comes with a shot of Mikey himself integrated into the shot. I think that's kinda cool. Reminds me of Gary Vaynerchuk on dope. (He kinda looks like Gary, Too.)

"What Would Mikey Drink" focuses on reviews of wines. This isn't unique. But among the things I like about his approach to reviewing wine that is different from many other wine bloggers is the diversity of wines he looks at. There is no particular focus on a price, region or varietal. You are as likely to get an '04 Aussi Grenache as you are a 1999 "Jackass Vineyard" Zin as you are a Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru.

Sometimes Mikey includes the price, sometimes he doesn't. Note to Mikey: INCLUDE the price of the wine.

"What Would Mikey Drink" is real good wine blogging.

Survey Results: The Meaning of Wine Blogs

What's the meaning of Wine Blogs (according to those who read this one)?

The survey we launched last week attracted 172 responses, a decent sized sample. Here's what I've discovered is that meaning:

To FERMENTATION Readers Wine Blogs are a very trustworthy source of wine commentary and information that is apparently craved on nearly a daily basis that also rival wine magazines as the source they'd turn to for reliable wine reviews. Wine blogs are most appreciated for their regular updating, the independence of the voices behind them and the interaction they, leading the readers to turn to a good number of other wine blogs.

It should be no surprise that readers of wine blogs give a fairly ringing endorsement to wine blogs. But with that bit obviousness out of the way, let's look at some details that don't jump out of the survey numbers.

Below are some of my observations. CLICK HERE TO SEE ALL THE RESULTS.
(If you are a wine blogger, there is note at the bottom of this post for you)

THE REVIEW SEEKERS
Among those who cited "Reviews" as the subject that most attracts them to wine blogs, they were far more likely than the average survey taker to name Reviews On Internet Wine Forums as their preference to get reliable reviews of wines. And, they were much more likely to have purchased a wine after seeing it reviewed on a blog. Yet, they were much less likely to name "Interaction via Comments" as one of the elements of the blog format that most attracted them. What I'd love to see is this question asked of readers at blogs that actually do publish reviews.

MY WOMEN....BLOG READERS
Because there appear to be so few women readers of this blog I wanted to try to get some idea about them. They are much more likely to work in the wine industry than the average survey taker. They are also much more likely to other gossip, fashion and food blogs than the average survey taker and less likely to read sports and political blogs. I'm not sure what to make of this. If I want to attract more female readers (and I do!) should I perhaps add regular posts about wine country gossip? I could snap pictures of snappily dress women at wine events. But it turns out women are also more likely to read food blogs. Maybe more food and wine posts?

HEAVY READERS
This I found Interesting, of those who say they read more than five blogs regularly, there was no significant difference in the way they answered the other questions. No correlation to gender, where they work, their age, education, etc. These folks are only slightly more likely to use a "Blog Reader" to view their favored blogs. These folks appear simply to have a greater desire for diversity.

BLOG FANS
Of those survey takers who named Blogs as the place most likely to find reliable wine reviews, the only significant difference between them and other survey takers was that they tend to be much younger, tend to call blog-based information more reliable and are heavier blog readers.

It turns out that by parsing the data from this survey I don't find too many significant differences between classes of answers, suggesting that the straightforward results of the survey are a pretty good snapshot of this blog's readers. The question remains, what is the difference between FERMENTATION readers and the basic class of blog readers?

So here's what should be done: IF YOU ARE A WINE BLOGGER, EMAIL ME (tom@warkcommunications.com) AND LET ME KNOW IF YOU ARE WILLING TO PUT A PROMINENT LINK ON YOUR BLOG TO A NEW SURVEY SO THAT WE MIGHT COLLECT A LOT MORE DATA ABOUT A BROADER RANGE OF WINE BLOG READERS. I'LL SET UP THE SURVEY.

Middle Aged Males & the Fermentation Wine Blog

The results of the recent "Meaning of Wine Blogs" survey held at this blog will be released here soon. However, in a run up to that I need to talk about what the survey represents. Actually, I mean to say WHO the survey represents.

Let's look at the demographic data of those who took the survey.

GENDER
82% male
18% female

AGE
14%—21-30
36%—31-40
24%—41-50
18%—51-60
8%—Over 60

INCOME
4%—Under $25K
11%—$25-50K
35%—50-100K
25%—100-150K
9%—150-200K
17%—Over 200K

EDUCATION
4%—High School
7%—Junior College
49%—Bachelors Degree
35%—Post Grad Degree
5%—PhD

WORK OR STUDY IN A WINE RELATED FIELD
56%—Yes
44%—No

What you are looking at is good snapshot of the FERMENTATION Reader: Greater than average education and income, mainly male, just south of middle aged and likely to work in or around the wine industry.

What's interesting is if I look at the demographics of survey takers based on whether or not they identified themselves as working in the wine industry or not, there is very little differences between the two groups. What I think this means is...A wine geek is a wine geek, regardless of whether or not they work in the world of geekdom.

Is this overall profile of the FERMENTATION blog reader very similar to the average wine blog reader? I do think it's different, but not hugely different. I'd guess that the average wine blog reader is younger than my reader, has a slightly lower income and perhaps less likely to have a Post Graduate degree. And of course, the average wine blog reader is less likely to work in the wine business than the FERMENTATION reader.

Creativity and Consolidation in Wine

It's hard to walk away from an event like the Wine Industry Technology Symposium and not be impressed by the commitment to creativity that seems to be firmly in place within the wine industry. While creativity has long existed on the producer side and still does, I'm thinking more about those who are convinced that a creative application of Internet technology will change the way wine is sold, marketed and embraced.

Trying to argue with those who believe and act on this view is futile for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that they are correct. But...what kept going through my mind as I drove home from yesterday's WITS is how many of the various applications of technology on display yesterday will actually be in place and used in a year or two.

Innovation—and that's what we are talking about—does not always lead to riches, fame and success. In fact, innovators often end up as sign posts to a new way of doing things, rather than the folks who actually capitalize on the new ways of doing things and the ones who deliver practical application of new ideas.

I'm particularly thinking of the social networking innovations that seem to be championed by new companies and new evangelists at every turn. You can't deny that the Snooths, WineLogs, BottleNotes, and VinoRatis of the world are on to something that is potentially quite powerful. The aggregation of drinkers and drinkers' thoughts represent a new and potentially status-quo-upsetting way of providing wine advice and recommendations.

But I'm also positive that all of these companies can't survive the slim differences that separate their models for harnessing consumer content. In  fact, I'm sure that there must be consolidation among them so that what emerges will be only a couple or three that can deliver a large, enthusiastic, active, engaged contingent of citizen-critics who, together, help decide what's worth drinking.

How this consolidation among the "Wine 2.0" companies will take place I do not know, accept to say that money, equity and cojones will define the folks that consolidate them into one useful and active service.

On the other hand, the application of Internet technology that I'm sure will proliferate are those services that make money for wineries by helping them sell more wine. Whoever makes it easy for wineries to immediately move boxes of wine will be showered with attention and success. Ironically, those folks who have the upper hand in this are the progressive retailers who possess both on-line and brick and mortar outlets who buy lots of wine from wineries and move it through an efficient and far reaching Internet presence.

The other winners? Firms that make it easy for wineries to commit to the Direct Sales channel, companies that push buyers to winery websites, and firms that help get the wine easily and efficiently into the hands of consumers—logistics companies.

WITS, combined with the Wine 2.0 event earlier this year, have served to move interest in technology's impact on the wine trade to forefront. People are thinking about how to embrace the various services. Which should they invest in? Which should they pursue? How these questions are answered, particularly by wineries, is going to determine who the winners are and how consolidation occurs.

Who Trusts Wine Bloggers?

This blog does not publish reviews of wines. That fact makes this blog fairly unusual in the world of wine blogs as many, if not most, do indeed review wines.

It's for this reason that I find the following results of the just finished survey conducted of readers of this wine blog most interesting:

Q. Have you ever purchased a wine after seeing it reviewed on a wine blog?

YES: 68%
NO 32%

If you are a wine blogger and review wines on your blog, consider these findings seriously.

If you are a winery that utilizes 3rd Party endorsements as a method of marketing, consider these results seriously.

...............Are you finished considering these findings?

Good. It shouldn't have taken too long to understand the implications.

Now, given that most wine bloggers are not "professional" wine critics, you should probably consider this question: Why are folks SO WILLING to take the advice of a wine blogger who is quite likely to have no professional experience evaluating wines for the consumer?

The answer clearly has something to do with trust. So consider the answer to this question that also appeared on our recently completed survey of FERMENTATION readers:

Q. Generally, how trustworthy do you believe the information is that you read on wine blogs?

Extremely Trustworthy: 9%
As Trustworthy As Any Other Medium: 85%
It's Not Very Trustworthy: 6%

There is a lot going on in this response that needs to be considered and I suspect I'll be considering them in the future. But for the moment its enough to point out, in conjunction with these results, that the number of readers of wine blogs is growing and there is no reason to believe that each new reader of wine blogs will be substantially different from those that are reading wine blogs now.

Answering Wine Complication: Get It Down Their Throats

The Wine Market Council, an industry organization concerned with broadening the appeal of wine has re-launched its WineAnswers.com website.

In the press release that announced the re-launch I found this piece of information fascinating:

"with an estimated 259 million cases consumed last year (in the U.S.), many Americans still feel that wine is too complicated and don't have the answers about wine service and enjoyment."

Of course that begs the question, how many is "many Americans." The Wine market council provided the answer:

"2006 research from the Wine Market Council...found that 35 percent of Millennials share this concern, as do 2 percent of Generation Xers and 18 percent of Baby Boomers."

I don't know about you, but it strikes me that if only 18% of Boomers surveyed said they think wine is "too complicated" or that they "don't have the answers about wine service and enjoyment," then we are doing a damn good job of educating the public. This means that 82% of those surveyed did not think wine too complicated. Seventy-one percent of Gen Xers have a handle on wine and 65% of Millennials aren't confused by wine.

I'm surprised the number of those millennials who think wine is "too complicated" isn't much higher than reported.

WineAnswers.com has  goal of being "the ultimate online, interactive guide to all things wine." Wow! Now that's a goal. Some personal life trainers and self-help types advocate that we create a series of small attainable goals that we can reach with some effort then move on to the next. Wine Answers takes the opposite track by creating a goal that is truly monumental.

If the folks behind WineAnswers.com have the resources to really promote the heck out of the site I see no reason why they couldn't make an impact. However, it's really rare to see a non-commercial website put much promotion at all behind their efforts. Frankly, there's nothing alike a few hundred thousand dollars to get a new web site on people's radar. But, given the statistics on who thinks wine is too complicated, I'm not sure the effort is really necessary.

I personally think there is  very simple formula for increasing people's confidence when it comes to wine: Make really good wine that is REALLY well prices. In other words, get the wine down peoples throats. The more, different wine you drink the more confident you become.

Wine Blog Survey Ending Today

The current survey on wine blogs and how they are used will close down today at 5pm.

If you have not yet taken the survey, I urge you to so.

CLICK HERE TO TAKE THE WINE BLOG SURVEY

The results will be posted as soon as possible.

Thanks very much to those who have participated.

Go Ahead And Do It!

Now's as good a time as any!

Go ahead. do it

Take the Survey on How and Why Wine Blogs Are Read

The survey is only a few questions long and shouldn't take more than two or three minutes max. Your answers and identity are strictly confidential.

We'll be publishing the results of the survey next week.

Thanks very much in advance!!

The Taste of Things To Come

My take on it is that over the past two years there has been a  building buzz in wine circles about whether or not the high alcohol, big, juicy, soft wines have run their course. I'm hearing more and more people take the "run its course" position. Even more have fessed up to really tiring of this style of wine that's been building for the past decade and a half. I can't help but wonder if this rising concern will lead to a diminishing of the phenomenon itself.

I think it will. But that makes no difference. What would make a difference is if the "anti-big" feelings started busting out into the non-wine geek world. When this starts happening it's only a matter of time before the people singing this "anti-big tune don't turn out to work in the wine industry and aren't card-carrying wine enthusiasts. They're the folks who buy most of the wine.

I see signs this is starting.

SPREADING THE WORD
Just today Forbes On-line runs an Elin McCoy story on high alcohol wines. Darrel Corti at Corti Brothers in Sacramento, California just came of the high alcohol closet with a fairly loud announcement that his revered wine store and deli will be looking to put only 14% alcohol or less wines no his shelf.

If that's not enough, let me relay a personal anecdote. Last week I was in a gourmet market that has a wonderful wine selection. I'm browsing and two women with a cart stop in front of the Pinot Noir section. They've got about four cases of really good beer in their cart. Lady 1 says to her partner, "we have to have at least a couple of bottles of wine."

Right away I know she's not  a wine geek because members of our club would never utter those words.

Lady 2 picks up a Russian River Valley Pinot, looks at it then hands it to her friend and says, "I think I've had this. It has a nice label!" Lady 1 takes the Pinot Looks at it and says, "No, look, it's 14% alcohol.That's too high."

What!!??  Too high? Hell, that's down right modest....She didn't think so.

Now, this isn't proof or even  positive indication of anything really.  But when you put all this together with the knowledge that this high alcohol meme seems to have worked its way across the wine trade, the only place it can go is outside the wine trade. I think it's starting too.

OBSTACLES TO BALANCE...THEY ARE EVERYWHERE
What if vintners did start to react to this and concerned themselves with making lower alcohol wines? The problem is they may not be able to. There are a lot of obstacles in place.

Dan Berger in his newsletter Vintage Experiences today also wrote about high alcohol wines. He identifies five things that have conspired to support the high alcohol trend:

1. Replanting after phylloxera and using Vertical Shoot Positioning trellising which increases sugars
2. The Use of Super Yeasts
3. Global Warming
4. Longer Hangtime
5. The desire among winemakers to make more impactful, richer and softer wines.

It's easy enough to transition away from the Super efficient yeasts. And you can't do anything about Global Warming next vintage. It might be an effort also to transition to a different trellising system, but it can be done.

The  problem is going to be how to get lower alcohol's without shortening the hangtime and how are you going to control what might be an inevitable hint of "green" from the slightly less ripe grapes?

I'M NOT DRINKING ANYTHING FUCKING GREEN!"
I can probably count on both my hands the times in the past decade I heard a reviewer, winemaker, wine marketer or writer praise a "green" or under-ripe element in a wine:

"It has a touch of green, bell pepper quality, but the solid, rich fruit overcomes it and integrates it nicely into the wine"

This is just about as kind as they get. And, I don't see a sudden appreciation of "green" coming down the pike anytime soon. So what are they going to do about that.

Given the institutional biases in place, it would be akin to asking a crack addict to "move away from the rock" to ask California winemakers to "accept a little green" in their wine.

What winemakers who want to  break the habit are going to have to do is use technology until industry-induced cravings for "pure fruit" slowly go away. That could take a while. We're not just talking about a little heroin addiction or nicotine habit. We're talking about the kind of dependency that takes over lives regularly: making a living and supporting a family.

These winemakers who have adopted high alcohol winemaking have made lots of friends among consumers and sold lots of wine to folks who have found a good friend in soft, unctuous, creamy Merlot. At every level, from $5 to $100, there are herds of folks who look at this style of wine and believe this is how great wine is made. They probably think this is how all wine is to be made. And they just keep coming back for more—and bringing friends with them.

But...If the masses start thinking alcohol could be lower and the wine would still taste good, then some of them will slowly change their ways. And they are starting to think it,  I think.

BEGINNING A SLOW CYCLE
This is a slow cyclical process that naturally goes slower as more and more people adopt wine. It's harder to move the tastes of a larger group than it is a smaller group. So the cycling through styles will go slower too. White Zinfandel took off when there were fewer wine drinkers in the market. But as the market for wine drinkers grew, the move away from White Zin happened much more slowly than the adoption.

The move away from High Alcohol will be even slower.

What will be truly interesting will be to see what emerges on the other other side.  It won't be austere. But it won't be the California Cabs of the 60s and 70s either,  when alcohols ran in the 12.0s to 12.8s normally. We are going to get some sort of synthesis. I'm not convinced that the American palate will spend much time on "vegital" flavors. It doesn't seem to be a direction we've ever gone in on the path to what's palatable. I think instead our palates are more likely to embrace elements of bitter, but perhaps only the soft edge of bitter.

That style of wine (ripe fruit, good acid, a hint of the flavors from the bitter palate and moderate alcohol) would suit me just fine.

Of course this all begs the question, if American's are just fine with high alcohol, creamy, big wines then what's the problem?? Leave it be.

DRESSMAKERS AND WINEMAKERS WILL RULE THE WORLD
Wine is just like fashion. The fashion designers and those who work in the world of fashion just can't help themselves: They must set the trends and dictate the styles. Like fashion, wine is a world built on aesthetics. It's about pleasure, personal expression, extravagance, and disposable income. Bottom line: Wine, like art, fashion, film making and music, is art. For centuries it has been the artists and their crew that sets the artistic trends. It's something about the nature of a person who places greater than average emphasis on unnecessary and extravagant pursuits of pleasure by working around it or focusing on it that makes them comfortable with dictating taste.

That's the problem. We can't help ourselves but tell others what to drink. If all goes well, we'll be telling others to drink more moderately alcoholic wines. And for the record, I see nothing at all wrong with that attitude. Why shouldn't it be the folks who really care about wine to be the ones who help dictate what kind of wine they will generally have easy access to?

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Is "Terroir" Worth $12,000?

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When I see them I know what is implied by "wine.com", "sex.com", "travel.com" "sanfrancisco.com" or "zinfandel.com". Without even looking at what's behind these URLs I can feel pretty confident I know what I'll get if I do go look and so would the average person.

But what would the average American expect upon being confronted with "Terroir.com"?

I'm willing to bet that outside the hardcore wine community, the response to this URL would be something along the lines of, "Wow...what a terrible speller!"

Perhaps the adventurous horror film buff by investigate this URL. Or a hopeful fancier of terriers might look it up in hopes of finding a new venue to upload the latest shenanigans of their beloved "Chrissi The Wonder Terrier".

Now...within the hardcore wine community and withing the French speaking world, something different happens. I suspect this URL would be considered something of value. How much value?

Well, to a bidder named consommateur the "terroir.com" url is currently worth $12,000.

This is the current high bid for the somewhat obscure word at an auction for the web address currently underway at AfterNic.com. I can infer that the bidder is French speaking, which goes by to my theory that this particular URL would be of much greater value to an entrepreneur working inside the French-speaking world. What surprises me is that the bid is ONLY up to $12,000. Again from a French perspective, this is pretty good on-line real estate.

What's really interesting about the whole issue of URL valuations is what people THINK a domain is worth. The same AfterNic.com allows me to do a search of URLs for sale at the site. Looking for URLs with "wine" in the domain and sorting it for price (what they are asking) returns some pretty interesting results as well as what appear to me to be some pretty inflated ideas about the nature of Internet Real Estate Values:

wineries.com—$850,000
winecellar.com—$345,000
guidetofinewine.com—$250,000
history-of-wine.com—$184,800
cyberspacewine.com—$250,000
ctwine.com—$99,000
winehouse.info—$90,000
americanwine.com—$80,000
jugwines.com—$50,000
winebuying.com—$25,000

Terroir.com for $12,000 is starting to look like a bargain.

Of those URLs listed above "Americanwine.com and "Winecellar.com" and "winebuying.com" all look pretty interesting to me and I can imagine a number of interesting business models that might benefit from being associated with those web addresses. In fact, "winebuying.com" almost looks like a bargain.

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Wine Blogs & Wine Enthusiats...Together At Last

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Wine Enthusiast Magazine has waded into the world of blogs by utilizing a great industry resource: Jim Gordon.

The new blog is entitled, UnReserved—a pretty darn good name for a blog that based on the first few posts will be living up to that name.

Gordon is a journalist. He's been a journalist for quite some time. Jim was senior editor at the Wine Spectator, was Editor at Wine Country Living, and is currently the editor of the venerable trade publication Wines & Vines. I would imagine this blog will be a nice outlet for a journalist of Jim's caliber and access since not nearly all the stories that come his way and ideas that occur could possibly make it into print.

The current post on UnReserved is about the Two-Buck Chuck Double Gold surprise at the California State Fair Wine Competition. It surprised a lot of folks and probably helped sell an extra 100,000 cases or so of the Trader Joe's brand. Jim posses the questions:

"How could this happen? A clearly simple, undistinguished wine is picked by multiple judges as a standout in its class, over presumably stiff competition?"

His answers to the question are pretty interesting and come with a blind tasting of the Two Buck Chuck.

What's nice to see is that in it infancy there are folks commenting on the UnReserved Blog already. My hope is that this continues as it seems likely that this blog will attracted a fairly sophisticated group of readers.

I did notice that there is yet no blogroll on the nicely designed blog, though the willingness to link out of the site is clearly there. This suggests a list of recommended blogs, wine sites and resources will eventually arrive.

UnReserved is a nice addition to the blogosphere and continues the growing interest in this medium by professional writers, journalists and wine publications, a trend I expect to continue.

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Chipping Away At Old Wine Attitudes

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It appears that the European Union is on track to institute a variety of winemaking and wine marketing reforms, assuming the top winemaking countries don't find a way to shoot them down. What I find fascinating is the rationale for the opposition to the reforms.

Among the reforms:

-The EU will remove 500,000 acres of the "least viable" vines. This is roughly the amount of all of the vines planted in California

-Oak chips use will not be permitted

-Varietal designation may appear on the label.

-Some wines will be allowed to carry a geographic designation with only 85% of the grapes coming from the region stated on the label.

Sound familiar? If should if you are familiar with California wine. These reforms would essentially put European winemakers on par with their New World counterparts. It would, in essence, allow Europe to take that one hand out from behind its back when competing on the world stage.

The "Traditionalist" response is summed in this quote:

"Quality wines have been built around a tradition using certain rules, and these should be kept and respected. This cannot be changed just like that.”

In fact, things can be changed "just like that" if the EU can muster the political support. And they should be. What the traditionalists fear is that the high quality wines of Europe will see their reputation diminished by others who now may produce wines with the Bordeaux, Rioja and other famous geographic names on the bottle that don't have to use the same standards that were in place when these regions became famous for their wines and created wines of a particular style based on those standards.

The real problem here is a misunderstanding and even a disrespect for the consumer and wine lover. Those folks who know and and appreciate what has been called quality in Germany and France and Italy will still find the high quality wines. They'll see out those wines that reflect the kind of "authenticity" they are looking for. Of course a new kind of burden will fall on the traditionalists to better communicate what sets them apart. They'll need to explain why their use of 100% oak barrels is preferred. They'll need to explain the intellectual significance of using 100% estate grapes.

Meanwhile, the liberalized, "New World" regulations will allow European vintners to more easily deliver to market the kind of wines and labels that many in the New and Old Worlds seem to want and seem to understand. The ripping out of over-cropped, crappy vineyards should eventually allow the EU to stop subsidizing the production of industrial alcohol from wine grapes.

I like these reforms.

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The Culture of Snippetry

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One of the question on the survey I'm currently running (TAKE IT NOW) asks you to think about how many blogs you read regularly. Even  when writing up the survey I hadn't thought about this in a long time. So, I went to my trusty Bloglines page to count them up: 70, exactly. Fifty-five of these are wine blogs.

I check these blogs, all 70, daily. It's a testament to the power of "skimming", a way of accumulating information that Bloglines and other information aggregators clearly endorses.

The fact of the matter is I could probably keep track of double this number of blogs given the way I can skim a head line or first paragraph of a blog post and easily determine if I want to read further. But it occurred to me that there are hints all about the media of a move to endorse "skimming" as a way of taking in information, as opposed to reading--particularly reading in full an entire article.

THE THEORY OF SKIMMING
I think this trend is particularly clear in newspapers. More and more will bold out the first paragraph of a story, giving it even more importance that it already is required to have by standard journalistic conventions to carry. In fact, some newspapers have gone to adding a single sentence or combination of words between the headline and lead paragraph that is not a subhead and not a lead paragraph, but rather an invitation to "get the gist" and move on.

As for books, tell me if you've noticed this: with non fiction it appears chapters are getting shorter, include more headings throughout the chapters and now often have pull quotes in boxes on the page.

Have we fully become a Culture of Snippets?

SNIPPETRY AS A WAY OF LIFE
Of course the standard wine review is the ultimate snippet. The vast majority of wine reviews in magazines and newsletters and even on blogs is either a snippet itself, usually no more than 100 words or is made up of a string of even smaller snippets.

It's all about our attention span, isn't it?

I don't know enough about brain biochemistry to really know if they can actually be "re-wired" or if they can become accustomed to taking in data in a particular way or in a particular format. But if they can be, I wonder if many brains are becoming wired to take in and more effectively digest data in small bursts...in snippets.

THE WINE JOURNAL THAT WOULD NOT WORK IN A CULTURE OF SNIPPETRY
I once seriously considered becoming involved in a publishing venture in which on bi-monthly basis we'd deliver a journal-like publication (think "The Paris Review" in size) that examined in depth 5 wines. It would have  been the ultimate "wine review" that started with the history of the grapes, region and winery in general, went on to specifics of the vineyards, winemaking, cellaring and marketing, and concluded with a contextual and complete evaluation of the wine. Those of us considering this venture realized that each of the five "reviews" in each issue would easily span twenty pages.

Given the Culture of Snippetry in which we seem to live today, I'm guessing this format for examining wine might attract 12 subscribers, 6 of them "mercy subscribers" based only on friendship.

SNIPPETRY AND BLOGS
I'm both a victim and practitioner of snippetry. So I'm really in no position to decry this development. But it does have implication for the way we bloggers compose our posts if we want them read and for readers of blogs who want to scan many blogs. The fact this, this post alone has probably run too long by a factor of five.

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Survey: The Meaning of Wine Blogs

Why do you like wine blogs? Do you like them?

How do you read them? What do you look for in a wine blog?

I've been wondering what you all think of wine blogs in general and how you use them. So I thought I'd ask...in the form of a survey.

Your identity and your responses to "THE MEANING OF WINE BLOGS" survey is confidential. So, have at it. Let me know what wine blogs mean to you!

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The Principle of Control

Over at the Dover Canyon Winery Blog, Mary Baker points to something that she calls "Tennessee Hypocrisy". Besides the catchy phrase, it's a pretty accurate description of a new law the state has put into effect that will have everyone who buys beer carded, but not if they buy wine.

It would be a happy day if this were the first bit of legal and ideological hypocrisy that was produced by those who are in charge of the sale and distribution of alcohol in the United States. America's wine distributors, who were first given equal weight in the process of wine sales in America after prohibition and then purchased complete control over the years, are no strangers to hypocrisy.

In fact, I'd argue that there is fundamentally no possible way any entity can maintain iron fisted control over any system without embracing hypocrisy.

The principle goes like this: In order to control a system of commerce, an actor in that system must maintain that the system serves all the actors equally. Meanwhile, the controlling actor in the system must work to assure the system only serves them.

This is a neat and tidy description of the alcohol distributors' relationship with the state-mandated three tier system. For example, when distributors and their representatives maintain that direct sales of wine must be curtailed in order to properly serve the interests of America's minors, they actually serve themselves by asking that all sales first go through them. 

Or when alcohol distributors claim that wineries must not be able to sell directly to retailers because it would curtail the procurement of state taxes, they don't mention that this requirement assures that all sales go through them.

Or when alcohol wholesalers claim that retailers should not be able to ship across state lines because it will also up-end the the states' ability to collect taxes, they don't mention that this prohibition only benefits the alcohol distributors.

Mary hits on a slightly different type of hypocrisy built in to the distributor-controlled system of wine sales. However, it is hypocrisy none the less and a good, instructive read.

Wines & Vines Delivers New Website

The venerable wine industry trade publication Wines & Vines has announced its redesign of its website. And they did very nice job.

For quite some time the W&V website was a bit chaotic. And that's too bad because the publication does a great job of producing useful, insightful articles on everything wine.

The new site features sections containing headlines, news briefs, columns, features and a calendar. Most of the information is generated by staff, rather than taken off the newswires or other sites.

One of the best features of Wines & Vines has always been their educational pieces; articles that really teach folks in the wine business how to do things better. A perfect example is Tina Caputo's run down of how writers and editors prefer to be pitched story ideas: "Top Editors on What Makes a Great Wine Story".

If you are working at a winery and have been given the PR duties, this is an article that is of tremendous value.

Congrats to Wines & Vines. Great new site.

The Battle To Define Down the Meaning of Abuse

A new study shows that at some time in their lives "30.3 percent of adults have abused alcohol or suffered from alcoholism at some point in their lives."

That's all? Just 3 in 10 have abused alcohol? I find that hard to believe. But wait, what does "abuse" mean?

According to those who wrote up the study over at the  "National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism", the term "abuse" is defined as "those whose excessive drinking leads to personal and professional problems." Bridget Grant, the lead researcher on the study, also defined abuse thusly:

"The hallmarks of alcohol abuse are interpersonal problems, financial problems and problems in daily living due to excessive drinking."

There's nothing I like more than a crisp, clean, obvious, unambiguous definition of a word or phrase. They keep you out of trouble and they make communicating much easier and more efficient.

In my world, a "personal problem" related to "excessive drinking" would be having a harder time getting out of bed after an evening of sampling through one too many new French Rose imported by Kermit Lynch. I would also consider it a "problem in daily living" that I had to choose to stay the night at a friends house because  after sampling more than 15 wines with a seven course meal I just didn't feel like it was safe to drive home.  These are definitely problems of a personal nature to me.

Despite my somewhat dubious perspective on this survey, I do find this statistic an interesting one:

"alcohol abuse and alcoholism rates were more prevalent at higher income levels. Of those making less than $20,000 a year, rates of alcohol disorders were 23.9 percent. For earners of $70,000 and above, the rate was 41.4 percent."

Does this mean that low income folks simply can't afford to buy alcohol? Does it mean they that low income affects negatively one's appreciation of alcohol?

In any case, I'm not concerned with folks like me who sometimes drink enough to find themselves impaired. I'm really not. And to lump folks like me or others, who very occasionally drink enough dry rose at a 4th of July picnic to find themselves impaired enough to ask someone else to drive, into the harshly and judgmentally negative category of "abusers", is really not very useful. 

Now, if we are talking about chronic over indulgence, then we have an issue. Then we have something that if it isn't treated or reversed you can really have some problems.

Now...where's that bottle of Rose! Damn it. I can't find it. I can't find my glass either.

10 Things That Makes America a Great Wine Country

Ten Things That Make America A Great Wine Country

1. Zinfandel
2. Kermit Lynch
3. Appellation America
4. Thomas Jefferson
5. Wineries in every state
6. The Internet
7. America's Laissez Faire Palate
8. American Technology
9. Anderson Valley
10. The 21st Amendement

The Taste of Knowledge

I  think there are folks out there for whom it would be truly shocking to learn that having knowledge about wine does nothing to enhance or detract from its sensory pleasures. Yet, this seems to me, as well as to philosopher Kent Bach, to be unquestionable.

Dr. Bach considered just this issue in a 2004 address at the "Philosophy & Wine" conference in London. (pdf) The address was essentially an exploration into how we humans process information we get from our senses vs information we get from our ability to reason. Hint: They interact, but are not the same.

This issue is perfectly suited to explore in the context of wine because wine is studied and discussed and intellectually digested far more often than your average consumable. It's unique that way.

Yet, the fact of wine's taste being altogether different than wine's ability to inspire contemplation makes you wonder just how much good all this talk of wine by folks who sell wine is doing? Would the average wine drinker be more encouraged to drink more wine and try more wines if we weren't incessantly discussing the wine's terroir, fermentation regimes, its storage vessels, the character of what stops and closes up the wine and the enlightenment of the folks who work to make wine?

What if marketers, as a whole, just started talking about the way the wine tastes?

It's something to think about. For one thing, we tend to believe that more information is better. But at what point is more information simply too much and detrimental to creating demand and promising pleasure? That line is certainly different for everybody, but I'll bet there is a fuzzy line of demarcation that, upon crossing, we can be pretty sure the information's benefits have started to transform into detriments for the average person.

I don't know where that general  line of demarcation lies. I have some ideas about it that tend to guide me, but I can't always be sure. I'm much better at understanding when the information needs to stop flowing if I'm in front of a wine geek. That's easy. Its usually when they absolutely must get to bed because they have to get up early tomorrow.

I recommend the Bach Paper highly. "Knowledge, Wine & Taste: What Good Is Knowledge in Enjoying Wine" is a great little read that will help you distinguish between the various things we are actually doing when we pursue a passion for wine. For the wine marketer it might be a nice reminder of the kind of impact you can have based on the way you talk about your product.