Fermentation: The Daily Wine Blog

Booze & Presidential Politics

Recently Hillary Clinton strolled into a Fort Wayne, Indiana bar and proceeded to very publicly throw back a shot of whiskey and chase it with a beer.  Call me a political cynic but I'd take even money on the proposition that there was a fairly substantial discussion on the bus with her advisers prior to arriving at the bar as to whether or not the presidential candidate should drink...and if so, what she should drink.

I'm willing to further bet that during this discussion the question of whether or not Clinton should have some wine was not even brought up. I'm willing to bet the question was "Whiskey or Beer?"

Here's the thing: on the campaign trail wine is something of the kiss of death, politically, for its elitist reputation.

I went googling for a photo of Clinton with wine and Obama with wine and McCain with wine. Nothing. Poor Obama is already so associated with elitism I suspect that he'd cancel any campaign stop at this point that even held the possibility of seeing him holding a glass of wine. Hillary has made her "Beveragoligical" proclivities clear with her whiskey throw back and public sudsing. McCain? Well, his connection to beer is pretty strong. His wife, Cindy, sits on the Board of Directors of her family's Arizona Beer Distributorship, Hensley & Company, which has been very generous to his campaign.

There is some evidence that wine drinkers are more likely to vote Democratic and beer drinkers more likely to vote Republican. However, this appears to have more to do with issues of gender and socioeconomic status than real drink preferences.

Nevertheless, don't expect any of the current candidates to make a public display of wine drinking. The image of a candidate swilling Chardonnay just has too many negative, elitist connotations in our culture. You know, the pinky-out, I'm-better-than-you, high-falutin-limo-sitting, down-my-nose-looking kind of image that most candidates rightly understand doesn't go over too well in flyover country, let alone in the less liberal areas of the coastal states.

But that's not to say that candidates don't receive support from drink-associated folks. Obama seems to have the support of this group that wanted to encourage folks to "have a glass of wine on the patio and talk about changing the country." However, no one has produced a wine that celebrates Obama, but they have produced a beer.

Meanwhile, the alcohol industry seems willing to support the presidential candidates, though not show too much partisan support. As of March 1st, the Beer, Wine & Alcohol industry has given Clinton $228,000, McCain 160,000 and Obama $158,000 in donations. This number will skyrocket after the the two parties have chosen their nominees.

I can imagine if any of the presidential candidates came to Sonoma or Napa for a public event they just might, possibly, maybe, perhaps show themselves with a glass of wine in hand, risking national humiliation for the opportunity to connect with locals. However, Napa and Sonoma are so completely democratic in make up that the only reason for a presidential candidate to come to this neck of the woods is to slip behind closed doors and privately scoop up some of that wine-soaked money.

So then, we are left with the old, tired stereotype that wine is elitist and beer/whiskey is "of the people". I'm not sure what it would take to rid us of this stereotype. But I do know that it won't be shaken this political season.

Nakedness & Having Your Way With Wine Blogs

The following comment was recently posted on the Fermentation post that announced
the American Wine Blog Winners:

You have a very nice blog. I enjoy the information and access to other blogs. I'm a new blogger... have you seen the naked woman on the newest Imagine Wine label? Check out www.imaginewine.com. It is beautiful. I tasted the wines recently at the Santa Ynez Vintners Festival too and the wine is good and a great value, but has to be bought off the internet.

I get this a lot. Folks posting seemingly flattering comments with a suspicious plug for their own winery or wine product or blog, or even not so suspicious plugs but very blatant plugs. I understand why it's done. Believe me, I do.

But here's a hint for those of you who want exposure on Fermentation:

1. If you maintain a wine blog, just email me with the name and URL of your blog and I'll post it in the blog roll.

2. If you are a winery and think there's a really good reason why I should investigate your wines and story, pitch me a story via email with your idea and tell me the most compelling reason why I should let my readers know about your wines and winery.

3. If you produce a wine-related product or have a wine-related service that you think Fermentation readers will want to know about, tell me in an e-mail what is unique, compelling, significant or relevant about your service or product.

Alternatively, you can let me know that there is some element of female nakedness associated with your blog, winery or wine-related service or product and I'll probably take notice.

Bottom Line: Blogs are like any other form of media. They may be interested in what your story is. Interested enough to write about it, even. BUT...assume you need to make the effort to pitch the story in a creative and compelling way.

Offering up female nakedness might work with me at Fermentation, but it's unlikely that other wine bloggers are as easy as I am. Make the effort. Do the research. Pitch the story directly.

Words I Want To Use

I spend most of my day not with people, but with words. Working as a publicist I use them constantly in the enormous amount of writing I do. Add to that my blogging (and now my occasional Twittering) and you realize that for me the search for just the right word is often the task in front of me.

More often than not I'm searching or word related to wine and drinking. There are words related to these categories, however, that I can't recall ever using. And yet, I like these words for one reason or another. Maybe it's the way they sound. Maybe its their specificity. I don't know.

But here are the
10 Words I'm Trying To Find A Way To Use in a Press Release Or Another Professional Capacity

1. TIPPLE—verb: to drink (intoxicating liquor), esp. repeatedly, in small quantities. I always get an image of a grandmother as one who tipples. I can't imagine buddies hanging out at the gym saying to one another, "Let's tipple tonight".

2. SWILL—verb: to drink greedily or to excess. I always think of this word in its verb form, not the noun form. I love the sound of the word. Also, it's one of those words that sounds like the action it describes.

3. HOOCH—noun: liquor illicitly distilled and distributed. Another very pleasing sounding word. However, I can't imagine how I'll ever fit this into a press release. Unless...what an interesting brand name.

4. POTATION—noun: the act of drinking. I've been looking for the right opportunity to both say and use this word in an appropriate way so that the readers or listeners will appreciate its use. Every time I try, however, it seems affected. Too bad. It's a good looking word too.

5. LARDER—noun: a small storeroom for storing foods or wines. It's a somewhat archaic and obscure word for describing where one keeps their drinking wine. It also has the unfortunate quality of reminding one of Crisco. Still. I need to find a way to use this silky sounding word appropriately.

6. SOUSE—noun: A period of heavy drinking. A somewhat uncommon if not slang use of this word, but nonetheless one I'm trying to slip in somewhere.

7. PALLIATIVE—adjective: moderating pain or sorrow by making it easier to bear. It's probably easy to see why I've had a hard time sneaking this word into a press release or promotional document. But it's hard to deny that in some cases, a few glasses of wine can indeed have a palliative effect on one's disposition.

8. GUZZLE—verb: to drink, or sometimes eat, greedily, frequently, or plentifully. What a great word, isn't it. Just the sound of the word. Looking at the letters together you think it's going to have a harsh sound when you say it, but it actually sounds quite nice when said in the right tone, even with that hard G.

9.SLAKE—verb: to satisfy a thirst. The only problem with this word is that it seems to imply the quick throwing back of a liquid and as we know those of us in the wine business don't advocate the quick drinking of wine, but the savoring of wine. Still, there are ways around that connotation and I suspect of the ten words here, this is the most likely one to be used without trouble in a press release or other form.

10. DIPSOMANIAC—noun. a person with an irresistible craving for alcoholic drink. Just a fancy way of saying "alcoholic", right? Unfortunately, yes. But I'm committed to finding a way to use this word in a sentence or phrase that does not have the offending and negative connotation connected to its actual meaning. Even better, in terms of how this word actually sounds is using its adjective version: dipsomaniacal. I love this word.

A Cache of Wine Info Worthy of Access

I was reminded recently of an amazing resource of which we all ought to be aware.

Josh Hermsmeyer, dedicated winemaker and blogger, sent me a note letting me know that on March 28 the Sonoma County Wine Library will be hosting a talk by Steve Heimoff, author of New Classic Winemakers of California. Steve will be discussing winemaking with five of his New Classic Winemakers including Randy Ullom, Eric Cinnamon, Merry Edwards, Greg La Follette and Michael Terrien. The even will no doubt offer fantastic insight into the current state of winemaking in California.

But what I was reminded of was the Sonoma County Wine Library.

It has been a while since I thought about this wonderful resource, let alone visited the place (it is located in the Count Library in the town of Healdsburg).

These days we scour the Internet seeking the info we need on wines, winemaking, wine history, etc. But here at the Sonoma County Wine Library lies a treasure trove of fascinating historical and technical data on the wine industry.

I recently wallowed in Wine Library's on-line resources, snooping around to remind myself of the various nuggets it held. The nuggets are many.

To-date the Wine Library has not placed its contents on-line. Rather, it delivers abstracts of its contents based on searches. This is a shame. As much as I adore libraries with their rows and stacks and old paper smells, most of us look to the Internet for our research needs. What a boon to the the world it would be if rather than being able to retrieve abstracts of the Library's contents we could retrieve the actual contents and read them on-line. This of course would take a tremendous effort and gobs of time and money to accomplish. It would take an industry willing to step up with enormous amounts of funds to see the scanning begin and finish. Yet I'm convinced that such a project would be of enormous value.

Josh is the current president of the Sonoma County Wine Library. I wonder if this topic has come up in the various board meetings. Surely funding of the library is tight. But what a legacy Josh might leave if he and others led an effort to take the contents of the library and put them all on-line.

The contents of the library are somewhat eclectic. Without too much self indulgence I have to relate one find that made me laugh. In searching the Library's content on-line using as a search term the name of the first PR firm I ever worked for (Gracelyn Associates), up popped a press release I wrote in 1992 on behalf of the firm. It was a release meant to draw attention to the firm, rather than our clients. A bit of self promotion, if you will. A part of the press release showed up as a result of the search:

New study shows outcome of '92 election may rest on grapes - August 1, 1992

Preliminary results of a new study show that the quality of an election year vintage in California's vineyards may influence which party wins the White House more than economics or foreign policy. The exhaustive study, conducted by Gracelyn & Burns over a two-hour period, shows that in years when California experiences a good to outstanding harvest, Republicans tend to take the White House. In average to poor election-year vintages, Democrats are more likely to head the executive branch. "This revelation is startling," said Gracelyn Guyol, founding partner of Gracelyn & Burns, a food and wine public relations agency based in Northern California's premium wine country. "This changes the entire dynamic and meaning of politics in America. Politicians should be watching the grapes instead of the polls as the election draws near."

I hadn't thought about this press release in years. It got tremendous pick up in the media, including the Wall Street Journal. I remember suggesting we do this tongue in cheek press release to Gracelyn, the owner of the firm and thinking she'd say no on the spot. She laughed and said, "Let's Do It!" There is much much more than just old press releases in the Sonoma County Wine Library's contents. Here is a wonderful story on what one might find there. The content deserves to be made accessible. Perhaps one day.

The Implosion Begins!

Let me see if I have this right...

On the one hand, wine retailers across the United States are telling alcohol regulators in every state that they'd like to enhance their operating budgets by paying an annual fee to ship wine to consumers in those states. They'd like to help fill their state's coffers with funds resulting from the remittance of taxes on the wine they sell and ship to consumers in their state. These retailers would like to voluntarily submit themselves to the legal jurisdiction of a remote state as well as allow their books to be audited at the notice of the regulators.

On the other hand, the Wine & Spirit Wholesalers of America want alcohol regulators to commit a significant amount of their valuable time looking for an alleged band of adult wine lovers who are claimed to be committing the sin of buying wines they can't find in their own state, from a retailer in another state. Further, the WSWA wants these alcohol regulators to spend their valuable budgets looking for these supposed scofflaws in their own states as well as tracking down the alleged sellers in other states. Of course, wholesalers aren't mentioning that this would take significant time and resources away from actually carrying out the core mission of these alcohol regulators: making sure licensees in their state are following the law and attempting to assure licensees don't over-serve their drinking patrons.

Get More Money for their states and their budgets...VS...waste time protecting wholesaler profits???

Hmmmm? Tough one, isn't it.

Yet this is the silly suggestion that the head of the American wholesaler cartel actually made in the form of a press release today as well as in letters to Attorneys General, governors and alcohol regulators in 50 states.

In case anyone reading this has missed the point of the American Wholesaler Cartel, allow me to remind you: PREVENT AS MANY AMERICANS FROM ACCESSING ANY WINE UNLESS WHOLESALERS FIRST MAKE A PROFIT ON IT.

Damn the regulators and the efforts they make to maintain an orderly and safe market for wine and spirits. Damn the states and their need to raise revenue. Damn the consumers who only want to obtain the wines the wholesalers feel these folks don't need to have. JUST PROTECT OUR PROFITS.

I wonder if WSWA and the wholesalers ever tire of being ridiculed?

I don't think so. The American wholesaler cartel appears to never tire of having their face rubbed in it. They lose lawsuit after lawsuit. They get slapped down by the Supreme Court of the United States. They get caught in their misogynistic ways. Their arguments against direct shipping are put to bed with efficiency and ease by person after person. But none of this is enough for them it appears. Now, they whine like a little girl who just soiled their Sunday dress and run off crying to daddy asking him to put down his tools and stop doing his job, so he can clean the mess the little girl made all by herself.

If anyone is wondering, it's only going to get worse for the wholesaler cartel as they continue to spin out of all control.

But what I'm really wondering is who in their right mind at WSWA gave the approval to issue a press release that actually criticizes the the most powerful newspaper in the land merely for an offhand quip a wine writer made in its pages? Is there no one at the helm at WSWA? All they have to do is call me and I can recommend a number of fine PR professionals who will tell them the utter depth of stupidity that move represented. But allow me to recreate this act of stupidity...just as an object lesson in how not to run a communications program.

To quote from yesterday's WSWA press release that whines about the alleged "Illegal alcohol trafficking and open disregard for state liquor  laws":

"Wolf even cites a prominent New York Times wine writer openly sympathetic to the unregulated-shipping cause, who recently opened one column: “I have a confession to make.  I am a lawbreaker.”

Wrote Wolf in response to the remark: “That a newspaper of record would publish such comments in the clear light of day, we believe, ought to trouble any regulator, lawmaker or law enforcement official.”

Tell you what, if I ever recommend to one of Wark Communications' clients that they criticize the New York Times in a press release, please have someone come to my home, drag me out of bed and beat me senseless.

Finally, I fear I'm forced, out of the knowledge that my good readers love a bit of humor, to quote from the letter that WSWA's CEO Craig Wolf wrote and sent to alcohol regulators, the top law enforcement officials and the Governors (yes, the following quote actually ended up in a letter to GOVERNORS) in all fifty states:

"As you are well aware, the sidestepping of state-controlled alcohol distribution channels causes a host of negative effects—the inability to collect taxes, the absence of a face-to-face transaction that addresses myriad regulatory aims, and the very real possibility of introducing tainted or counterfeit product into your marketplace, to name but a few.”

Tainted Products? Now the American wholesalers are protecting us from tainted wine? I've got news for them. This is not 1926. No one is making tainted wine in a bathtub with grain alcohol and red food coloring, slapping a stopper in it and running it across the river to avoid Elliot Ness. And just when was the last time a wholesaler broke open a case of Opus or Dom Perignon or Russian River Valley Chardonnay to make sure it wasn't "Tainted"?

I think we may be witnessing the end of a long sad saga as the implosion begins.

It's Time We Joined Together—The Open Wine Consortium

It is most often the case that single individuals are the cause of change or the inspiration for change in (and the evolution of) the wine industry. This is not unique to the wine business.

However, it must also be noted that associations, organizations and, yes, CONSORTIUMS can and have pushed issues forward, and caused significant change in this industry. The California Wine Institute, Family Winemakers of California, Wine America, AWARE (for those of you who remember this group), Specialty Wine Retailers Association, Coalition for Free Trade and Free the Grapes all represent groups that bring together like-thinking people to pursue change and have been successful in their efforts.

There is a new organization that is in its infancy, but which I believe possesses the potential to also bring significant change to the wine industry.

THE OPEN WINE CONSORTIUM is bringing together folks who embrace the change that technology in particular has wrought within the wine business and that it will continue to bring. As with all significant changes, these tech-driven changes in the wine industry has caused something of a fragmentation among those who both embrace the change and those who have at best only dabbled with the possibilities that new technologies can bring to sales, communications, publishing, and marketing in the wine business.

The OPEN WINE CONSORTIUM aspires to be the group that funnels disparate interests and technologies and people into a more cohesive and activist agent that can consolidate the changes and technologies into tools we all can use and understand to make winemaking, wine consuming and the wine business more efficient and vital.

IF YOU ARE IN OR ALONGSIDE THE WINE BUSINESS, IF YOU USE NEW TECHNOLOGIES TO COMMUNICATE, SELL, MARKET OR PRODUCE WINE, IF YOU HAVE NOTICED THAT THE WINE INDUSTRY AND THE CONSUMERS IT SERVES ARE DABBLING IN SIGNIFICANT, TECHNOLOGY-DRIVEN TOOLS....

    ...THEN YOU SHOULD JOIN THE OPEN WINE CONSORTIUM.

Traditionally, organizations have embraced bureaucracy. The Open Wine Consortium will also, insofar as there will have to be directors, boards, committees and working groups to drive its initiatives. But understand too that just as the technology that drove this new Consortium into existence is in fact propelled by a 21st century notion of openness, so too will the Open Wine Consortium take on its chosen challenges with a philosophy of openness that is supported by the new technologies it hopes to harness for all to use and help further change the wine industry.

If this organization is successful, what we'll find are the traditional, more established elements of the wine industry—its associations, symposiums, businesses, conferences and people—adopting and approaching new technologies and new ways of thinking that will lead to more intimate ties between producer and consumers, quicker integration of open standards for data configuration, quicker embrace of the newly minted and tech driven wine companies and a wine industry more willing to embrace the changes that the broader culture has already dove into face first.

JOIN THE OPEN WINE CONSORTIUM

Putting Your Heart Into Wine PR

While my intuition and survey of the industry tells me that a smaller percentage of wineries these days are committed to engaging in a robust program of sending wines out to critics and magazines for review, I'm of the belief that this form of marketing one's wine is quite sound and should be pursued in many a case.

However, I'm equally of the belief that a bottle of wine that shows up at a magazine's or critic's door that only has a bottle in the package long with a simple product sheet is really a wasted opportunity. Rather, wineries should consider sending along with that review sample a full range of materials...and STUFF.

It's common practice, as well as essential, that every bottle of wine sent out for review at least have with it information on the suggested price of the wine and the amount of the wine produced. This is, however, the least that can and should be sent out with the wine.

Some critics and reviewers out there may not like my suggestion that the box the wine comes in be filled with more than just wine and an easily retrievable piece of paper that gives the basics on the wine. This is probably especially true of those who received hundreds or thousands of samples each years. To those critics who are reading this, I offer my apologies.

Consider first the reason for sending a bottle of wine out for review: You are first hoping the wine will be positively received, but then you are hoping that positive reception will make into print or 1's and 0's. One thing to keep in mind about this is that it is the very same goal every other winemaker has when they send out their wine for review. This leads to an interesting question: Your wine is very likely to appeal to the reviewer equally as well as MANY other wines they review. That is to say, your wine is likely to be assessed with a very respectable 88 or 89 or 90 points—just like many (a hundred?) other wines they receive. Yet, the reviewer or publication only has so much room their publication or web site devoted to reviewing wine.

Why yours and not another's?

The point of the package you send to a reviewer is not merely to get your wine reviewed, but to get that review into print. Put another way, the point of sending a wine out for review is to create a compelling case that readers should know about his wine.

Does a simple bottle with a price and production numbers on it do this? I don't think so.

So here's the thing: When putting together the package into which your wine will be placed and sent off to the reviewer or magazines, consider what could accompany it that will make a compelling case for the wine; that will make it more interesting than the others they receive; that will suggest the wine tells a larger story.

What kinds of things might doe the trick?

Consider going with full disclosure. That means a product sheet with ALL the information. And I mean ALL INFORMATION. I'd put the following on your information sheet:

Vineyard, vineyard location, Google map link or image, vineyard size, age of vineyard, name of vineyard manager, soil composition, growing season history, trellising method, date pruned, date of verasion, date harvested, brix and pH at harvest, average tons per acre, average pounds of fruit per vine, clone, rootstock type, etc, etc.

And we haven't even gotten to winemaking methods and post bottling analysis of the wine.

Why so much information? Why full disclosure? Remember, the idea is to tell a story, not just deliver a wine to a critic. It's true the information may be discarded by some. But each each of these details tells part of the story of the wine. Each of these details has the potential to spur an intriguing thought or idea in the mind of the reviewer. Each of these details gives the reviewer more information to translate for their reader. In the end, all this is done in the service not just of celebrating your wine, but of getting it reviewed AND into print.

Save for the potential expense, I can think of few reasons not to include this kind of information along with your wine as well as a myriad of other information...and items.

What else could be included to help tell the story of your wine to a reviewer you hope will turn around and re-tell the story? What about...A portion of a pruned cane, a leaf, a canister of dirt from the vineyard. What about photos of the vineyard? What about a block by block map of the vineyard? What about photos of the vineyard crew? The list goes on and, again, we haven't even gotten to the winemaking part of the story, let alone the items and information that might address the character of the wine.

This advise is probably most appropriate to those wineries that don't always see the wines they submit for review actually show up in print. That, I suspect, is a very large percentage of those that send their wines for review to different reviewers and publications.

I can't tell you how many winemakers and marketing types have explained to me that they've simply given up on sending wines for review to the media. Yet it is undeniable that a positive review can be extremely helpful in selling the wine as well as getting those who sell your wine interested in it. But if you are going to use samples as part of your marketing activity, doesn't it make sense to put your heart into it?

The Next Wine Movie (trailer included)

One of the two forthcoming films about the 1976 Paris Tasting, Bottle Shock, has made its debut at the Sundance Film festival. Below is the official trailer for the film. There are initial reviews of the film out too. Not many of them are terrific

FROM VARIETY: "A peculiar demand placed on the cast, from Farina in Paris to Pine, Rodriguez, Taylor and Pullman in Napa (and Rickman in both locales), is credibly reacting when tasting vintages, sending the visual clue that a great wine is at hand. Rickman plays the snob to human scale and never to exaggeration, while Miller lets Pine and Pullman go overboard with unevenly calibrated perfs. Taylor and Rodriguez, despite one ridiculous love scene, pull off big-screen charm. Production is slick on a budget (though using Napa spots as a location substitute for France is an obvious flub), and plenty of visuals serve as little more than commercials for California wine country."

FROM CINEMABLEND: " Is there room in the world for yet another movie about wine?  If the movie is Bottle Shock… then nope. Director Randol Miller has assembled an amazing and talented cast, but he uses them on a disjointed script which never seems to find its focus."

FROM FILM.COM: "With the runaway success of Sideways you just know the general public is ripe for a good wine movie. Even better, the concept here (at first blush) is even better than Sideways and the filmmakers have gotten Alan Rickman involved too. So how did things go so terribly wrong? Well, they violated rule No. 1 of storytelling: they forgot what story they were trying to tell."

FROM PHILLY.COM: "Director and co-screenwriter Randall Miller insisted in a phone interview that Bottle Shock is "as close to the truth as possible."

 

In that case, the screenplay from June that I read must have undergone major surgery before shooting started in August. Even so, big chunks of truth apparently have been jettisoned for wider cinematic appeal, and an invented love triangle has been added."

I for one plan to withhold judgment until I see "BottleShock". What I do know is that one more film about wine is nothing but good for the wine industry in general. 

Deconstructed Wine Reviews

So,  a certain percentage of those little advertisements we see on shelves of retailer outlets that we call "Shelf Talkers" are speaking with a forked tongue, according to the Washington Post.

This is not the first time this issue has come up. I recall a similar news story making the rounds a couple years ago.

In this case, the Washington post looked at 100 different shelf talkers and found that:

"Accuracy varied from shop to shop, but overall, 6 percent of the signs either advertised a score that was higher than the one the wine actually had received or invented a score for an unrated wine.Nineteen percent referred to a different vintage from that of the wine for sale. A vintage mismatch could be chalked up to sloppiness rather than deliberate misrepresentation, but it can be just as misleading. In our checks, the vintage available was usually unrated or had received a lower score, though there were occasions when the actual wine displayed had received a higher rating."

Before anyone extend this little bit of nastiness into a general discussion of the problem with the 100 point rating system it should be noted that just as much fraud could occur were there no such rating system.

That said, a 25% inaccuracy rate on in-store shelf talkers really has to be called a failure by any measure.

I've designed and had printed shelf talkers...more than I care to own up to. But I've never once put a score on them that the wine did not earn. That said, I have built shelf talkers that make use of the dreaded ELLIPSE (...)

Let me show you how that's done:

"Appealing...yellow apple, tropical fruit...Drink Now"

This is an "ellipsed" version of this review:

"85 Points—Simple yet appealing with yellow apple, tropical fruit and a touch of fruit cocktail. Drink now. Tasted twice with consistent notes"

Is this accurate? Yes. But barely. And this is not even the worst example of the use of an ellipse on a shelf talker or an advertisement. I'm proud to say I've not ever been convinced to go over the line.

However, this would be over the line...way over the line:

"The vineyard is a good one...Flavors of Blackberries and Cherries"

Unfortunately it could come from this review:

"82 Points—A troubling wine. The vineyard is a good one, but this Cab is hot and overly ripe, with stewed flavors of blackberries and cherries. There's a heaviness that doesn't work, especially at this price"

This is not a specific example of something I've seen before, but I have seen stuff just as bad.

The point of course is that an old review on a new wine might be bad, but it might not be the worst kind offense.

Sugar and the Mental Gymnastics of the Wine Drinker

I often wonder about the personal dynamics a person undergoes when their prejudices bump up against a reality that puts the lie to those prejudices. It turns out I find myself in just such a position. What I've found is that it's best to embrace one's convictions and let go of long held prejudices if peace of mind is one's goal.

The prejudice: Simple Palates and Novice Wine Drinkers Like their Wine Sweet. Experienced Palates and Dedicated Wine Lovers Like their Wines Dry.

The Reality: Ive discovered that of late, no matter when I'm in the mood for wine, I find myself reaching for something sweet. And not just a slightly sweet Zinfandel, but a really sweet ice wine or dessert wine; Sauternes, Late Harvest Zin, Semillon infected with Noble Rot. The list is long, but it's sweet.

I've found myself of late sipping Austrian Ice Wine and Sweet German Riesling as I go about my business in the office in the late afternoon. It is incredibly pleasant and has the additional bonus of usually being quite low in alcohol.

Yet on more than one occasion I've got this image of myself in my mind of an old lady sipping her afternoon sweet sherry. I don't particularly like that image, I think because it doesn't square with my long held opinion that I'm amongst the wine loving elite that drinks "serious" wine.

I wonder to what extent expectations of what it means to be a "wine drinker" weigh on those who may not consider themselves among the elite, but really do like their wine sweet. I wonder if these folks simply don't want to be associated with the "Sweet Palates" and Old Lady Sherry Drinkers and as a result turn to drinking beer or bourbon.

I've always viewed sweet wines not only as being for those who aren't "SERIOUS" wine drinkers but also as a "gateway wine" that can draw the uninitiated into the "Serious Wine Drinker" fold. In fact, whenever I open a sweet wine I make sure I give my kids a sip. My hope is they'll grow up with good thoughts about wine running around their head.

My solution to my own prejudicial contradictions is to embrace them. I will drink these damned sweet wines as much as I want and I'll do it with a smile on my face. And if anyone wants to call me less than serious about wine I can just as easily pour them a glass and dare them not to like it. Getting to this place in my mind actually took some mental gymnastics. But I got there with my self respect intact and with my superior attitude intact too.

I wonder however if that superior attitude that many serious wine drinkers have doesn't too often drift out into the world of would-be-wine-consumers and turn them off.

I think it must.

On to the next Ice Wine....

The Department of Online Wine Policemen

In addition to being in the business of taking enormous amounts of venture capital, as well as selling wine on-line, Wine.com now has apparently set up a division within its company that I suspect is called: "The Department of Online Wine Policemen.

As was pointed out by Rich Cartiere at the Wine Market Report and made available HERE and by Alder at Vinography, Wine.com has begun ordering wine from out of state retailers and having it shipped to Wine.com in Washington State. They've then taken those shipments over to the Washington State Liquor Control Board and insisted that the state of Washington take action against these retailers. And they did just that. In fact, the Washington State Liquor Control Board's actions, particularly in conjunction with other states, has forced a number of wine retailers to stop shipping to Washingtonians.

Many have suggested that this is a matter of "Tattletale" and actions on the part of Wine.com that are remarkably anti-consumer. In fact, if you want to see what folks have been saying just go read the comments at Alder's blog or at the Wine Spectator bulletin boards or at Mark Squire's bulletin board.

But here's a little tidbit that hasn't been brought up. The State of Washington has no jurisdiction when it comes to out-of-state retailers. Rather, the only people who are at risk when a consumer buys and has shipped to them wine from an out of state retailer is the consumers. It's the consumer who is at risk for "importing untaxed liquor".

This explains why in all the letters that the Washington Liquor Control Board sent to out-of-state retailers at the behest of Wine.com's Department of Online Wine Policemen "REQUESTED" that the retailers stop shipping, rather than demanding they stop shipping.

Now, it might be that Wine.com's motivation for carrying out sting operations against its fellow retailers was its concern for public safety. It also might be that given Wine.com's model of having residency in every state and not shipping over state lines had something to do with it's aggressive move against its competitors. Who knows.

But here's what I do know. As long as Wine.com is going operate a Department of Online Wine Policemen it really should turn its attention to consumers who are buying from out-of-state retailers rather than from Wine.com, who could ship the wine from within Washington.

Now, I don't think the Wine.com Internet Wine Police Force is going to go after the only people, consumers, that the state of Washington can actually touch with enforcement actions. I don't think they'll do this because, well, that would be stupid. However, I honestly wish they would do this. If they did, there would be no need for Wine.com to worry further about the state of retailer-to-consumer shipping because there would be no more Wine.com. Consumers would get one inkling of the actions that Wine.com had taken and never patronize them again.
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Tom Wark is Executive Director of the Specialty Wine Retailers Association 

The Paradigm of Wine

I love reading predictions, particularly those that come at the beginning of the year. They usually are very good recaps of those trends that flew just below the radar the year before. Laurie Daniel of the San Jose Mercury news has a nice set of predictions for the wine industry in 2008. They amount to higher prices on imports due to the weak dollar, the "greening" of the wine industry and more transparency in wine packaging and the emergence of wine from obscure places. It's a very read.

But reading it, I began to notice that Laurie did not make note of any significant structural changes to the wine industry. By that I mean changes that change the way we interact with wine, the way we sell wine and the way the wine industry actually functions.

This shouldn't be a surprise since paradigm shifts in any industry or discipline are rare to say the least. Also, they tend to happen slowly, gradually coming into being. But have you ever wondered just what kind paradigm shift could arrive in the world of wine that would result in a structural change?

This is a pretty straightforward industry. Grow a crop, process it, market it, get it to market and sell it. This basic format has been with us for centuries. And it won't ever change. What changes and what brings around apparent paradigm shifts are revolutions, technological or attitudinal, in the way we approach this very straightforward industry.

Are any such changes coming or are we in the midst of any now?

Growing Grapes: To date it appears that photosynthesis still rules the day. I don't see any paradigm shifts in the works. Organic grape growing is not a shift. If anything it is retro in nature.

Making Wine: Again, fermentation is still king here. Technology simply allow us more precise control of the process. The recent emphasis on BIG wines isn't so much a paradigm shift but a reminder that the winemaker has control over the process in a way they did not in the past.

Marketing Wine: Despite the different ways we now have for marketing wine (meaning, how we communicate with those who will buy it) it always comes down to the same thing: "Hey, buy this...It's really great!!".  Explaining why the wine is great is where the creativity comes in. But I suspect the English Port barons who brought the wines into England centuries ago at some point turned to their customers and said the same thing: "Hey, but this. It's really great!!".

Getting Wine To Market: Here's the paradigm shift. The combination of common carriers and Internet sales is changing everything. The laws still need to catch up with the technological capability and the desires of the customers. They'll catch up. There's just too much to be gained by all concerned for them not to. This paradigm shift is a blow to the state mandated three tier system, but it's not a blow to the general system of using wholesalers, who will always be needed to bring wines to market.

I was talking to a colleague about this subject and they suggested that I hadn't given consideration to one possible paradigm changed: The retirement of Robert Parker, Jr. Would the elimination of the Wine Advocate really bring about a radical shift in the wine industry? I don't think less wine would be purchased. Nor do I think marketers and consumers would stop relying so much on reviews and scores...they'd get them from others. What would change, I think, is that certain wineries could not depend on Robert Parker to be their marketing and PR agent. But that's no paradigm change. Wineries go through PR firms and marketing agents pretty quickly the way it is.

The Wine Czar Has Arrived

Inspired by Paul Gregutt's excellent story on the meaning of wine terms, I began fantasizing about being named the American Wine Czar and being given complete control over wine regulations in the United States. I've fantasized about this before but given the wonderful fantasy it is, the topic deserves an update.

My first set of acts as the American Wine Czar are:

THE OLD VINE" REGULATION
Any wine produced in the United States that carries the term "Old Vine" or "Ancient Vine" or any other derivation of these terms that imply the vines are actually much older than average must have have been made with 100% grapes grown on vines that have been in the ground for 75 years or more.

THE VARIETAL REGULATION
Any wine sold in America that carries a varietal designation on the label must be made with 100% of the named variety.

THE DIVERSITY REGULATION
Any company that sells wine to consumers that is not also a producer must carry at least two wines from no less than five different states.

THE CONSUMER WINE PROPERTY REGULATION
Any consumer that takes legal possession of a wine may ship that wine to anyone anywhere in the United States unfettered by any agency or law of any state.

THE SPINAL PROTECTION ACT
No wine sold in the United States may be contained in a bottle that weighs more than 25oz.

The "HANDCRAFTED" REGULATION
No wine sold in America may carry a back label that asserts the wine was "hand crafted" unless documentation is submitted to the Wine Czar that verifies the wine was actually produced entirely while being held in the hands of one or more employees of the producer.

THE "RESERVE" DISCLOSURE REGULATION
The term "reserve" may be used on any wine label of American-produced wines only if on the back label the producer explains why the wine in the bottle is of higher quality than all other non-"reserve" wines made by the same producers.

THE "100 POINT" ACT
A 100 Point rating scale may only be used to rate a wine or promote a wine or to advertise a wine if the person or company assigning the rating is able to explain the difference between an 88 point wine and an 89 point in purely aesthetic terms.

Thank You, Thank You, Thank You

Every time I hear about a California winery putting up national ads for their wines and brands I think to myself: "THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU"!

Beringer of Napa Valley has launched a TV (and print) campaign to that began in November. I'm currently unaware of any other national broadcast campaigns from a California winery. If they exist there can't be many of them. The point is, any national campaign for a CA wine brand delivers residual benefits to the entire CA wine industry in the form of increased visibility for what one might call "California Wine Brand".

Its not easy playing in the $6-$10 a bottle market. Those who stick to this price point are looking for value i the way of better prices and are willing to switch brands to find it. Advertising gives a band that little extra edge that is consumer confidence. When a consumer is convinced in some part by advertising into buying a CA wine and when they like that wine and feel their money was well spent they remember this was a CA wine they were happy with. That translates to "I liked that other Beringer Cab, let's try another CA wine."

In a San Francisco Business Times article on the ad buy, Beringer VP of Marketing Barry Sheridan said the ad buy was:

"a breakthrough campaign. You won't see very many other luxury wineries of our stature and quality making this kind of investment in the creative and in television."

Doesn't this almost sound like a dare: I double dare you to match this buy! I hope other wineries take the bait. There is no amount of advertising that can hurt the California wine industry.

Most Interesting Wine Stories of 2007

The 2007 calendar year is coming to an end an that prompts me to think harder about the past two months, to make assessments and to try to learn some lessons before we move on the perfectly lovely arbitrary notion of a "new year".

The wine new of 2007 when looked at retrospectively turns out to be truly educational as well as a signal of what to anticipate in the coming year and years. Here are my most interesting news stories of 2007

Ernest Gallo Dies
You don't see a death like this every year. The man was 97 years old, the patriarch of the most important wine organization in the world and had led a company that literally spanned the entirety of the modern history and development of the modern American wine industry. I can get kind of morbid when these types of passings occur and start thinking who among us has the potential to illicit the kind of full on pause when they pass and the kind of jaw dropping awe when we are forced to consider the meaning of their lives to our industry. I can think of only one living person in the American wine industry who possessed similar industry personification potential.

The Case of Wine & Family and Books
The reception that Julia Flynn Siler's "House of Mondavi" received did not totally surprise me. W hat surprised me was that it was published to begin with and received such wide distribution. Though probably  a case of my being blinded by being inside the forest rather than in the clearing, I'm still stunned at how well this book on the travails and successes of the Robert Mondavi Winery did. Most books sell few copies. This book sold MANY copies. It's a testament to Flynn Siler and her publisher. But it should also be message: the goings on in the wine business ARE interesting to those outside it. I see the success of "The House of Mondavi" similar to the success of Sideways: There is ample room to exploit the goings on of the wine business that will be of great interest to the general, beer and coke drinking society.

$162 Billion and Counting
That was the amount that MKF Research determined the American Wine Industry contributes to the economy. This is a big Frigg'n number and was not lost on policy makers in Washington when it was unveiled there in January. It's hard not to take seriously an industry that generates this kind of contribution to the economy. When you combine this revelation with the related revelation that America will soon become the largest wine drinking country in the world and all sorts of ideas start swirling in your head from the change that has overcome our culture to the willingness of non-traditional wine producing states to support their developing industries to the potential to use the American wine market to explore new ways to promote and market wine.

Gary Vaynerchuk
It's very difficult to predict the course any public personality will take in the future, particularly Gary's. But it's important to note things about Gary's success with and and as a result of WineLibraryTV: 1) It has been a very long time since a true "personality" has emerged from the American Wine Industry that has the potential to transcend the cynical gaze of the industry itself and appeal to an audience of "regular people". Gary is doing that. 2) Gary emerged from an online presence. I think he'll eventually shed his association with the world of wine online. But the fact that he burst on to the scene in the form of ones and zeros is significant to a lot of people and should be significant to a lot more people.

"Screw'em"
That was the message that emerged from the Illinois Legislature during the middle of the year as lawmakers their bent to the will of wholesalers and striped Illinois consumers of the right to purchase wine from out-of-state wine merchants. The push to keep wine from being shipped from out-of-state retailers to Illinois consumers was a truly cynical effort on the part of nearly every organization involved. The same effort was made in Oregon, where it failed. And it was the same effort that succeeded earlier in places like California, New York, Michigan and Texas, all states where lawsuits are in place opposing this kind of anti-consumer and unconstitutional lawmaking. The successful effort in Illinois to screw consumers raises a very fundamental question: What will it take to demonstrate conclusively that state-mandated monopolies that deliver unchecked power to wholesalers are not just wrong, but almost always result in immoral results?

No More Wine X
I'm not sure how many people remember the brief impact the story of Wine X Magazine closing d own made. But I do. I think I remember more vividly because I know the publisher pretty well, I understood his vision for the magazine, I recall the rancid reaction from the wine industry when it first emerged with its truncated and off the cuff reviews. Wine X never became a big name publication. It never competed with the Wine Spectator, Robert Parker, etc. But it did change the way many people think AND write about wine. Darryl Robert's short, sometimes hilarious wine reviews that often used pop culture references or compared wines with body parts, music and celebrities is something you see in lots of places now. It doesn't matter if you like this practice. It only matters that you recall what magazine opened the door to allow it to become popular.

Turmoil Caused By Costco
When Costco convinced a Federal Judge in Washington State that it was unconstitutional for a state to allow its own wineries to sell direct to retailers and restaurants but force out-of-state wineries to use wholesalers to get their wines to market all hell broke loose. In 2007 we began to see the results of this. Naturally, America's wholesalers hate this development. It opens doors behind which they know lies the the shredded remains of their faux necessity. Nevertheless, the ruling changed a lot of things for a lot of people. In Virginia, a serious winemaking state, wholesalers convinced legislators to take away their wineries right to sell direct to retailers. In Illinois the legislature curtailed local wineries' ability to use "self distribution" to their hearts content and even stripped the larger wineries of their right to do any self distribution. It's important to note that these negative reactions to the ruling were all taken for the specific reason of protecting wine wholesalers from protection. But it's more important to note that the ruling will and is leading to some of the most interesting innovations that will have a huge impact on the American wine industry.

There were other important stories in 2007. There may be more to come. But these are the ones that really made me stop, sit up and think.

Whimsy

One thing you don't see on TV too much is Napa Valley being dissed. It's even less common to see Sonoma be hailed over Napa. Yet this very occurrence was brought to my attention today in the form of a recent episode of Grey's Anatomy.

Derek, played by Patrick Dempsey, is soliciting advice from Mark, played by Eric Dane, on whether he should take his girl to Napa or Sonoma for a couple days. The advise he gets back is straight forward: Sonoma, because there are less tourists and smaller hotels.

I know...it's a small little item, but...damn, you just don't see that sort of thing often on your average network show.

And I'm not suggesting it's a Sideways-moment that will catapult Sonoma in to the American consciousness. I think what we probably have here is a case of one of the writers having probably recently had this very discussion and they thought they'd pass on the seemingly insider kind of knowledge to the show's script.

But this is a reminder. The power of popular culture and its icons to influence American's views of the world is immense. The movie "Sideways" and it's effect on Pinot Noir sales is only the latest example. Before that we saw "60 Minutes" catapult the sales of red wine based on their coverage of the health benefits of the beverage.

The point, of course, is whimsy. No one as far as I know anticipated the effect that Sideways would have, even though many knew this movie was being released. One never knows what kind of popular culture event might ignite an idea or industry or wine or region.

Wine & the Pornographer

Over the past few weeks we at Wark Communications have been working on a catalog that presents various wines. It took a certain getting used to the idea, but after working on the project for a while and thinking about it, what became clear was that wine catalogs are all about sex.

Well, not the messy —let's make children—"hand me the smokes, dear"—kind of sex. Rather, creating this kind of catalog is all about turning the switch on a person's passions and desires; making them crave; asking them to give into their most vinous carnality.

In the first place there are the visuals. I believe that good, sexy graphics are the key to getting the motor running of most wine lover. That's not to say that visuals alone will seal the deal and convince them to jump in bed with a sexy first growth. But, a well composed shot that hints at the pleasure to be had by embracing an Old World vixon like Comte de Vogue sure does get the motor running for many a wine lover.

In the course of designing this catalog we scattered slightly revealing bottle shots of great wines that could be had throughout the pages. The idea is simple and not new: use graphics to help them decide they can possess these sexy things.

Then there is the copy that accompanies photos that are the spine of the project. Think Penthouse Letters.  It's there to make the reader crave; the copy is there to help the reader justify the spot of saliva that ran of their mouth as they skimmed the alluring photos. "That's right, that Comte de Vogue is exactly what you think it is big boy, it's a smooth, velvety goddess that you can keep wrapped up for decades and will make you burst with delight when you finally decide to consume it entirely...go for it. It's yours."

And then, of course, there's the money shot: "Robert Parker: 98 Points".

That feels good, doesn't it!!

Did I feel a little bit like a pornographer in the course of helping create this catalog? You bet! In fact, without embracing one's inner-smut monger, you just can't create the kind of product that will make a wine lover stand up straight and take notice.

Intimidated By Wine

I bet there was a time when the White House, under no circumstances, would have served a California wine at a State dinner for a visiting leader from Europe. That time would have been long ago, but nonetheless I'll bet there was a time. And the reason is probably the same that explains how Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius could have been led to make this comment about her state's wine:

You should be thankful we don’t make wine in Kansas. If you ever see Kansas wine, don’t drink it.”

OUCH!!

For some reason, people tend to get self conscious about the quality of their home state products when faced with someone from a place that serves as an icon for that product.

In the case of the Kansas Governor, the unfortunate quip came out of her mouth while in Washington State at a fundraising event for the Washington Governor. I suppose it's the notion that fine wine has always had a way of bestowing some sort of sophistication on those associated with it, be it as a producer, drinker or representative of a place where the wines are understood to be outstanding. Governor Sebelius clearly didn't want to be associated with an industry that did not have the reputation equal to that of Washington States. She was intimidated.

The Kansas governor, if asked about either Washington Wines or Kansas Wines or the comparison of the two really should have responded this way:

"Kansas may not have a leg up on the great wines of Washington...Yet. We grow more than 20 different wine grapes in the state and our wines are getting better every year. Give us a few years and I'll be happy to bring the Kansas wines to a tasting alongside Washington's."

Given the unknown limits of technology and the advances in viticultural techniques, wine regions like Kansas can produce outstanding, regional, unique wines if they are encouraged to pursue winemaking. That encouragement really should be coming from the the State's political leadership.

The problem that Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius faces is that technology and science don't appear to have developed a cure for Foot-in-Mouth Decease.

"For Immediate Release"

We send out press releases at Wark Communications. Of late, many of them and for various clients. I don't like press releases very much mainly because they are 1) impersonal and 2) even when the list of those folks you are sending them too is well vetted and well developed over time, it still feels like using a shotgun to blast a whole in the door when a simple knock will do.

But to this feeling I have to add that I really do enjoy writing them if only for the challenge of having to accomplish so much with them. For example, I need to satisfy the client who themselves often must see that various people and entities are included in a press release if only to cover their political bases.

In writing the release I have to be conscious of the fact that no matter how compelling the or interesting the content, many folks will never get past the first paragraph. That puts a lot of pressure on that first paragraph and the headline.

The press release, as an information piece and stylistically, lies somewhere between the used care salesman shouting in your ear over the TV and the sober "just the facts" reporting of the daily paper's business section. That's not an easy balance to achieve. So I do enjoy that challenge too.

Then of course there is the challenge of writing a press release that needs, to the extent it can, to draw the eye of a variety of reporters, writers, and bloggers who while they all clearly have some interest in the wine media also have a different audience of general approach to writing about wine. If you can't do this with a single press release, then you need to write two, possibly three release on the same subject that will appeal to different types of wine journalists. Or, in lieu of that, you need to find a nifty justification that you can use to convince yourself that this single press release will appeal to everyone.

After more than 17 years of writing, reading and editing and receiving press releases I have a decent idea of what kind of subject matter will really get attention. But in all honestly, it's only "a decent idea".  For example, a couple days ago I helped write and released a press release about a lawsuit that a winery had won here in California. It was an obscure lawsuit that in effect staved off the creation of a defacto "franchise law" here in California. I used BusinessWire to distribute the press release electronically as well as sent it to a small, but specific set of wine writers that tend to be interested in industry news.

Later in day, after it was released, I get a call from my account manager at BusinessWire who tells me that this release was the third most most read and most accessed and read release sent that day. That's a pretty impressive accomplishment. Hundreds of releases are sent over the wires by BusinessWire daily and only two were accessed and read more often than this one about an obscure California lawsuit. This just goes to show that even when I do my job well, I'm not always clear why it was done well. Just writing the previous sentence and looking at it gives me the willies. But it also indicates that the art  craft of the press release just might be an example of abstract art, rather than realism.

I worry too about the reputation of the press release. In fact, I worry about writers having this feeling about press releases:

"Inherent in the press releases is an assumption that a writer can be enticed not only into tasting the wines, maybe also into visiting the winery, and possibly into blithely believing in what the release says. The intent is to get the writer to write about the winery, favorably of course. I know that press releases are supposed to perform the function of promotion and to impart information—I know it because in the past I’ve gotten paid to write them. But that did not stop me from feeling insulted by the press releases coming my way.

I’ve even had unsolicited wine sent to me. I cannot imagine how to explain having written a tasting note that agrees with a press release concerning a free bottle that I had received, even if I knew that I hadn’t cheated—to me, the perception of a conflict of interest is damning enough."

These are Thomas Pellechia's words, a write, teacher and blogger at Vino Fictions who I read religiously because he thinks so well and communicates his thoughts even better. Thomas has very, very little respect for the press release. Though I think Thomas' view of function and usefulness of the press releases is tied of too closely to his own concern for his integrity, I do think his general view on what the press release is and can be, I also think his view of the press release is not too uncommon.

So, I thought I'd lay out exactly what I think the press release is and what I think it can do, at least from the perspective of a wine publicist.

1. The press release is a way of saying the same thing to many people at once.

2. It can be influential, informational or simply promotional. (most are the latter)

3. The press release needs to be intrusive in order to be effective. People need to see it.

4. The press release should give the recipient pause and force them to reflect...if only momentarily,

5. A press release MUST further a larger goal of the issuer of the release.

6. A press release should have a point of view, otherwise it's a probably a bad news story.

7. At its most tactical, a press release can counter the developing conventional wisdom.

8. Usually, the most you can hope for with a press release is to keep the the issuer on the media's radar.

9. Often times, a press release is used only to satisfy an organization's internal political needs.

10. The best press release inspire the reader to do something.

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.

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