Fermentation: The Daily Wine Blog

The Voice of Wine

Do you recall the experience of being on the receiving end of a message so beautifully rendered and conveyed that it moves you; that it moves your mood and disposition to another key—up or down—and forces an audible awe from the depths?

The message delivered by the greatest wine you've ever tasted, spent time with and even shuddered upon tasting can't do this. And this is the limitation of wine that makes it a voice of accompaniment, not a standard bearer for authentic and momentous shifts of disposition.

This is a somewhat sad revelation for those of us that grant wine a place of significance in our lives. But the sad fact occurred to me today upon having spent time with an authentic pleasure, then following it up immediately with another, of a different type.

This is not so much a lament of despair for wine thought once to be more significant than I now know it is. I think that without wine to accompany moments of significance and simpleness, those moments would not stick in our mind as more important or transcending than they might otherwise have been. But  in the end we celebrate an accompaniment.

Wines do deliver a message. If you don't feel the absent Mistrals when you sip a cold French Rose on on a warm summer evening when the wind picks up with the descent in temperature then you have no business spending time with your own thoughts. But that message isn't nearly the same in character or as potentially moving as the intense preciseness of Jeff Buckley's "Hallelujah" heard late at night, in your car alone on a dark byway or, again, alone late at night as you wind down, or with your lover when not a spec of light kills the silence.

The creamy, otherworldly, elegant intensity of a 1985 Grande Dame may make an otherwise spectacular moment into something surreal and devotional, but it can't transform your disposition the way a reoccurring nightmare does upon it untimely and disturbing return or the way a reconfirming second kiss explains instantly and succinctly that she really is amazing.

This is the limitation of the voice of wine.

It's an expectations game. And here's what's important about all this: When we realize that wine, even at its best, is really no more than an accompaniment to things, moments, people and messages with greater potential for significance and articulate speech, we make wine into a far more useful messenger. We make it into a chorus; a choir. And that's a lot more than can be said for nearly every other inanimate object you know of.

The FERMENTATION 2008 Wineogram

Wine Business Mentors—Thanks You!

The first Thanksgiving was something meant to thank God for having survived the harsh elements of the New World. Personally, the past twelve months have seen a number of things in my own personal orbit both survive and fail. It has been a tumultuous year, to say the least.

But, as the Thanksgiving holiday comes upon us (seemingly out of nowhere since just a few days ago I think it was March), I start to think about those people for whom I'm thankful for having helped me and my career survive another year. I start thinking of my mentors

Bill & Sandra MacIver
Some of you may know or know of the former owners and founders of Matanzas Creek Winery, one of America's long-time great wineries. They were also mentors to me, which is strange because they were my clients and do this day it seems the other way around. Both Sandra and Bill are and were tenacious people in their own ways. But had it not been For Bill McIver's relentless pursuit of fairness for in the wine industry and his willingness to voice his view of the state of affairs within the wine industry and his willingness to call out those who sought to hamper the industry and its participants, I would have had no idea how to respond to the ongoing wine shipping controversies that I've been involved in. Bill's constant efforts and voice on behalf of a level playing field in the wine industry was both inspiring and, for me, professorial. Sandra's influence stays with me today in equal measure to Bill's. No other person taught me the value of of giving equal weight in business to one's intuition as well as analytical abilities. Watching her come to decisions of great importance by balancing these two qualities was disconcerting for me at first. Overtime, as she would explain herself and how she made decisions and as I watched her project (Matanzas Creek Winery) continue to gain in stature and profitability, I actually learned on the spot how to combine my two most important assets into a powerful force.

Gracelyn Guyol:
I pursued Gracelyn with a vigor that should have embarrassed me and given her pause and concern. But eventually, she took a chance on a guy with no wine experience who just graduated college and through him into her Wine PR firm, Gracelyn Associates. That was nuts. I knew little or nothing about wine or the wine business or Public Relations. But I must have show other qualities—maybe tenacity was enough. Over the next three years, Gracelyn was firm and encouraging with me and introduced me to people who would help make me competent at helping clients succeed. She was ruthless with a red pen, but also encouraged me to bring to her ideas that were well beyond left field. I never had a better boss who taught me more and prepared me better for a career.

I have many more reasons to be thankful and there are many more people who have helped my career as well as made being in the wine business a remarkable experience. But today, on the eve of Thanksgiving, I'm thinking about those people who actually made me substantially better than I ever would have been had they not come into my work life.

The Wine Tools Needed To Suvive An Ugly Economy

It is a truism that in difficult economic times, like right now, when the entire economy appears to be on the descent, still, businesses need to work harder just to stay level. The problem with this truism is that it's a truism and every responsible businessperson knows it. That means if they want to stay ahead of the increasingly difficult game, they need to work DOUBLY hard.

For America's wine retailers, this obviously means adjusting inventory to suit the changing buying habits of their clients. It means trying to keep lower inventories. It means It means looking for higher margin products that remain attractive to their clients.

But what about for those retailers that work only online or have an online presence in addition to their brick and mortar presence? In order to sustain that business they need to use every tool at their disposal to identify the habits, desires and need of online wine buyers.

This is why I have become very interested in Snooth's recently announced "Snooth Analytics". To quote from their announcement:

"The Snooth Analytics package provides never-before-available data on user behavior in an online wine environment. As part of the analytics tool, retailers and wineries can view data on the number of wines available, search results and detailed page view counts, clicks and conversion data, as well as a breakdown of the completeness of their wine listings on Snooth."

What retailers need to understand about this new Analytics Package that is part of the company's "Partners Hub" is that it is based on millions of consumer searches for wine at Snooth. In other words, the information on comparative pricing, key word searches, category price comparisons and conversion rates that retailers working on line must have at their disposal is based on a significant survey of online wine buyers.

Snoothis by far the largest (most visited) Interactive wine commerce website—look at this comparison of traffic growth for Snooth and their competitor Wine Searcher. Wine Searcher is not Interactive, but it still has more basic traffic than Snooth. It appears Snooth will, in 2009, become the THE most visited wine search site on the net. For now, it is the most visited site with interactive components.

Snooth is literally the most impressive and fastest growing interactive hub where consumer and the trade come together. But critical here is the valuable information that a retailer can obtain by working with Snooth, listing its wines on its site and closely monitoring the way Snooth's consumer users react to and interact with the retailer's product listings. If a retailer uses the new Snooth Analytics and Partner Hub fully, they can be in a position to be working doubly hard in what is becoming a terribly difficult economy.

There is going to be some serious shake out in the online wine world over the next year. There are going to be some survivors who go on to take significant market share they didn't possess at the beginning of 2008. And there are going to be online wine vendors that once seemed promising that no longer exist. I'm convinced that the survivors will be the ones that utilize the kind of tools that Snooth is providing.

Wine Wholesaler Cynicsim Defeated in Massachussetts

Yesterday a Federal Court judge in Massachusetts ruled that wine wholesaler-inspired, anti-consumer, discriminatory laws that seek to protect a very tiny cabal of powerful and well monied wine wholesalers is unconstitutional. How do you like that? I do!

The decision in the case of Family Winemakers of California v. Jenkins determined that a MA direct shipping law that was designed to appear even handed but was meant to exclude most out-of-state wineries from shipping into the state did not meet the requirement that wine shipping laws provide a level playing ground for in-state and out-of-state shippers.

That's all fine. But what's really nice about this decision is that it strikes directly into the heart of a cynical strategy that wine wholesalers have adopted across the country whereby they pressure willing lawmakers into passing legislation that appears to be even handed but in fact is designed specifically to lesson consumer access to wine and protect their own self interests.

In MA that self interest was protected by placing a limit on which in-state and out-of-state wineries could ship to residents. If you made less than 30,000 gallons of wine annually, then you could ship wine. If you made more than 30,000 gallons then you could ship only if you hadn't engaged a wholesaler during the past 6 months. How convenient that all MA wineries made less than 30,000 gallons of wine.

Family Winemakers of California and Tracy Genesen and Ken Starr of Kirkland & Ellis deserve a ton of credit for pushing this case forward. It was the first case to truly demolish the cynicism and lavish anti-consumer attitude adopted by America's wine wholesalers since the 2005 Granholm v. Heald Supreme Court decision.

The impact of this decision could be widespread. For example, there are states such as Illinois that put into place a capacity cap for self distribution of wine from wineries to retailers. Are those unconstitutional too? The MA case hinged on the specific comments made by legislators that the 30,000 capacity cap would help protect MA wineries. How that aspect of the case impacts the overall principles of the ruling isn't yet known. But it's important.

More info:

Family Winemakers of California Press Release
Free The Grapes Press Release
The Bostonist Story
ShipCompliant Blog's Story
The Judge's Ruling

Wine Samples...Not For Me, But...

This is a post that I think I've written for at least the 3rd year in a row. I write it annually because it's important and becoming even more important as wine blogs take on more relevance to the industry.

Main Message: FERMENTATION: The Daily Wine Blog does not review wines.

Key Message: Do what you do best and leave the rest to the experts.

The number of emails I get asking if I'd like to receive a media sample of wine is up to about 5 or 6 per week. In addition to these messages I receive probably four to five unsolicited wine samples monthly. The message I send to those who inquire first is this:

"Thank  you very much for thinking of Fermentation for your media samples program. However, we don't review wines at Fermentation. So, your sample would probably go to much better use if it is sent to another wine blogger who does review wines. However, I want to thank you for thinking of me as well as thinking of wine bloggers in general as you consider your wine sampling program."

Although I think I have a pretty good, well-exercised palate and although I think I write pretty good tasting notes that might help guide someone looking to learn more about a wine, the fact is there are far more capable, experienced and enthusiastic wine reviewers than I in both the wine blogosphere and traditional media. They are the people that need, deserve and should receive media samples of wine from wineries, importers and publicists.

My hope is that wine bloggers in particular will happily accept these samples and review them where it makes sense to them. Clearly there is no obligation to review a wine that is sent nor is there an obligation for any reviewer to write about a sample that arrives at their door. But where bloggers who do review wines are concerned, I urge you to accept these samples, and do so happily.

If it is the ambition of a wine blogger to become a resource for their readers where wine quality is concerned, then accepting wine samples, and not standing on ethical concerns in turning them down, is probably the only way you will ever obtain a broad selection of wines to turn your readership on to or away from—unless you have remarkably deep pockets.

As for wineries and importers and publicists, I can't see why you would not include wine bloggers on your media samples lists. If you don't, it's an oversight on your part that is hurting your employer or client. The only thing you need to do is the research to determine which bloggers accept wine samples and to determine what their focus is where reviews are concerned. This is the same work you've done for years where traditional wine media is concerned.

So, in conclusion, to those of you how have inquired of me as to whether or not I'd like a sample and to those of you who have sent unsolicited samples to me, THANK YOU very much. But more importantly, thank you for recognizing the importance of the wine blogosphere to the world of consumer wine education and enjoyment. However, you will get far more distance by aiming your samples as those wine bloggers that take on the serious task of reviewing wine.

Just Get To The Point

It's a fact of politics that when an issue is first raised and first discussed, proponents and opponents will make every argument they can think of in their favor. But as the process moves forward and the issue is discussed more intensely, all pretense of supporters and opponents tend to fall away and are replaced by arguments based in pure self interest. Tennessee and wine sales in grocery store is a perfect example.

"Here we go again. If it happens it's going to change the way everyone does business."
Lisa Andrews, Jax Liquors

This is all that matters to Ms. Andrews. Convenience, fewer auto trips, access to products. None of this seems to matter in Ms. Andrews' mind. It's all about her. She opposes wine sales in Grocery stores because delivering consumers more convenience and more access to wine is bad for her business.

Earlier on the anti-grocery store sales folks talk about minors more easily getting access to wine. That didn't fly. They talked about big stores controlling the marketing and providing less choice. That didn't work. Now it's all about Lisa.

It's something of a cynical and manipulative process that lobbyists and politicians have come to understand and embrace as a matter of course. But it's really a waste of time.

It sure would speed up the process of politics if advocates just came straight out and stated what their self interest dictated instead of messing around with convoluted claims that don't get to the heart of the matter.

Seven Notes on Chicago, Wine and Winter Coats

A few notes from my current sojourn in Chicago...

Note #1: Illinois Wine Consumers Rock
Illinoisans tend, in general, to appreciate, be connected to and understand politics better than other city dwellers. This was most certainly brought home to me as I've met a number of wine-loving Illinoisans who are not only irked by their recently reduced access to wine in the state, but seem to understand the nuances of why they were stripped of their access to wine recently. And the word is that they have no interest in sitting around and taking it for much longer.

Note #2: Obama Owns This Town
When I studied Diplomatic History in College I recall looking at many old photos of Moscow during the reign of Stalin. No matter where you went, you'd see the ruler's image on posters, sides of buildings...everywhere. Chicago is not much different today where President-Elect Obama is concerned, except for that small matter of Obama having actually been elected democratically. The Coming President's image is everywhere: posters, tee-shirts, banners, billboards. I don't recall ever seeing an American city so fully embracing a politician as their own

Note #3: Chicago's Arresting Development
It seems no matter what corner you turn in Chicago you are faced with a unique cityscape that is arresting. It's a matter of pride, competition and willingness where architecture is concerned. While architectural themes run through this city's many great structures, there is no common theme making most views of the city as far from monotonous as could be. It makes for slow walking, an arrested gate, many stops along the way and great city viewing.

Note #4...But Wouldn't Want To Live Here
I would a different person were I forced to live through a Chicago winter. Just the taste I got the past couple days of the cold, wind and snow reminds me of the "weather pussy" I've become having lived in Northern California all my life.

Note #5: A Great Wine City
Probably the best indication of just how great a wine city Chicago is can be understood by the amazing array of restaurants this city houses. It is fantasy land for the Foodie which means it is a relative fantasy land for the wine lover. Of course, Chicago's selection of wines seems to be much more partial to diversity than in my neck of the woods, where preference is given to locally made wines. Chicago impresses with its willingness to accept inventory from both east and west of it.

Note #6: Winter Coats Galore
Anyone looking to enhance their collection of winter coats ought to come to Chicago just for this reason. Upon telling a lovely friend of mine I needed a new overcoat, she insisted I wait to buy one until I arrived here. She was sage. The selection of fine winter outerwear on display in this city is remarkable. I picked up two.

Note #7: The Suffering Must End
As many of you know, Illinois recently barred its residents from purchasing wine from out-of-state wine retailers. It was a bad decision that cost wine lovers hear access to many wines, cost the state significant amounts of tax revenue, and further damaged the reputation of the state and, if possible, many of its lawmakers. The suffering of wine lovers that came with the new anti-consumer, anti-free trade, protectionist law must end. And by all indications that I've gathered since arriving, there is a good chance it will.

Embracing My Inner-Merlin

I've realized over the years that I would not be a very good practicing Christian. Nor for that matter would I be a sterling example of a practicing Druid, Muslim, Pagan, Buddhist or any other ISM or IST. My problem comes in making the effort to embrace that which I cannot see. Faith, to specific.

This isn't to say I don't touch the "Mystic" now and again. Rather, my own moments of embracing the Mystic happened to be almost always connected to people. I can't see love or intimacy or desire; but I know it exists. (I know what you are thinking—but let's move on anyway.)

This is not a lead up to announcing a conversion experience or public expression of a new love or a particularly transforming moment of intimacy. It's a lead up to talking about The Philip Stein "Wine Wand".

To quote from the little bejeweled tool's promotional material, "The Philip Stein® Wine Wand is a breakthrough device that uses natural energy to aerate wine, enhancing flavors and aroma almost instantly."

"The elegant wand with encapsulated glass jewels uses natural frequencies to perfectly aerate wine. By inserting the wand into a wine bottle/decanter for 5 minutes, or in a glass for 2 or 3 minutes, the Philip Stein® Wine Wand releases the wine’s natural aromas and flavors to achieve their full potential while not changing the taste you love. "

The makers also refer to this little implement at "mysterious"...and indeed it is.

Accepting this kind of thing strikes me as having to embrace my inner Merlin; as magic; Hocus Pocus.

I'm not opposed to Hocus Pocus. And I've always thought possessing magical powers might be pretty convenient assuming it came with no obligation to purchase cauldrons, expensive implements or inappropriate costumes. Nevertheless, I'm not one to pursue my inner hocus pocus. So this is why I was very skeptical of the "Wine Wand" when it was sent to me to try. Being opened minded and appreciative of the Wine Wand's efforts to reach out to me, I gave this new Wand a try. Luckily there are instructions.

"Pour a small amount of wine from a freshly opened bottle into two identical glasses, placing them several feet apart on a non-conductive surface (not glass or metal). Place the wand into one glass, wait 2 to 3 minutes and taste the difference! The difference is most significant with a freshly opened bottle since the aeration process starts the moment you open it."

What bothered me most about this Philip Stein Wine Wand was that it seemed to work. The difference between the two glasses of young Australian Syrah I tested it with were pretty easy to detect. The non-hocus pocus glass glass, tasted upon pouring, was more closed and tight than the Magic Glass where the Wine Wand sat for a few minutes. The Magic Syrah was fleshier, more aromatic and even somewhat tastier. 

But I'm still at a loss. what was it about the long glass tube, the glass jewels in the elegant little tube and its moment of stillness in the glass that created the Magic Syrah? I don't' know. I don't know what mystical (or natural) force to attribute this to. I don't know what "natural energy" is or how it accomplished this transformation.

This idea that "It works, but I don't know how and don't know why" is the sort of claim I've heard or read about in relation to many other things in my life. And it has always been policy to accept the claim, give the practice under consideration a try, then generally move on when my world is not rocked or even nudged the way it was claimed it was going to be. Hence my youthful and singular invovlement with Magic Mushrooms that were supposed to allow me to "float above your body and see reality the way it is, dude" according to a dorm-mate at Humboldt State University in 1985.

The Philip Stein Wine Wand is not for the faint of heart. It comes with a beautiful little leather pouch made of alligator, python or crocodile for a price of $325. Or you can obtain the authentic Black Carbon Fiber version that retails for $425.

Lawmakers Roger Wine Consumers and Retailers in Michigan

There is Shamelessness and then there i Shamefulness. While the Michigan wine wholesalers and Michigan Representatives Barbara Farrah and Chris Ward certainly possess the former, its the latter that they put on display today when they all worked together to introduce a Bill and pass it out of committee with the intent that no one would see them do it.

HB 6644 would strip Michigan retailers of their long held right to ship wine to Michigan residents via a common carrier as well as deliver it to customers using their own delivery vehicles. The bill, if it becomes law, will be a tragic disregard for, and slap across the face of, Michigan retailers—all for the purpose of protecting Michigan wholesalers from competition.

The very secretive bill that got rammed through the Michigan House Regulatory Reform Committee today was inspired by a Michigan Federal District Court decision from September 30th that ruled Michigan's prohibition on consumers purchasing wine from out-of-state retailers was unconstitutional. Basing her decision on the 2005 Granholm v. Heald Supreme Court Decision, Judge Donna Hood ruled that the state violated the U.S. Constitution by allowing its in-state retailers to ship to Michigan residents but prohibiting out of state retailers from doing the same.

While the wholesalers and the Attorney General both appealed the decision, it appears today that they realized their chance of winning that appeal was virtually nil. So, they decided the best thing to do was screw Michigan retailers as hard as they could by finding well paid state representatives to introduce the bill yesterday under the cover of darkness, then announce one hour before the hearing today that it would be discussed. No time at all for any consumers or retailers to mount any opposition.

What's shameful is that the Representatives Farrah and Ward, along with Michigan Liquor Control Commission Chairperson Nida Somona, were willing to hold the arms and legs of Michigan retailers and consumers and pin them down on the ground while the Michigan wine wholesalers went about rogering them good.

This kind of secretive politics engaged in by powerful businesses and encouraged by state officials is exactly why citizens are so cynical about politics.

HB 6644 still needs to come to a vote on the floor of the Michigan House. After that a companion bill in the Senate will need to be passed and then the Governor will need to sign the bill for it to become law.

If any readers know any Michigan residents that, upon hearing about this unethical turn of events, would be inclined to write the State Representative and ask them to vote against the bill when it comes to the house floor, they should point them to the Michigan House Representative Finder where they can determine who their State Representative is and what their phone and email address is.

In the mean time, I can't see any reason why anyone from any state might not want to express there outrage not necessarily at the content of this bill but at the fact that public officials like Nida Sonoma, Representative Barbara Farrah and Representative Chris Ward would be willing to support such an unethical attempt to take citizens and stakeholders out of the legislative process by helping push forward a secretive hearing that was meant to do one thing: make sure no one knew it was happening.

If you are interested in Expressing Yourself:

Representative Barbara Farrah (main sponsor): barbarafarrah@house.mi.gov
Representative Chris Ward (co-sponsor): chrisward@house.mi.gov
Commissioner Nida Somona: :mlccinfo2@michigan.gov