BRAMBLES: Storied Wine

"Wine for lunch?"  It was just a simple, Cal-Provencal chicken breast and salad with feta, but the early summer day quietly demanded a lazy, unpretentious quaff.  "But, we have nothing chilled", she may have said.  No problem.  Just grab a bottle of light bodied, high acid juice from the dark, cool space below and prepare it for the quick chill.  Ten minutes is all that it will take, because we are going to crisp-change the temperature of a cellar-ed bottle, a cool survivor that is still found in the 60+/- degree range even on this summer day.  A Portuguese vino verde gets wrapped in wet paper towel, slipped into a plastic bag(so it doesn't attach to anything else), and laid in the freezer.  As the wet paper quickly chills, it directly transfers cold to the bottles liquid, and within a few minutes it's near perfection for this particular lazy day dejeuner.  It could have been any bottle(sparkling demands even cooler temps), but chilling improved the presentation, focused the physical properties and the bright character of this particular modest bottle of imported white wine.  We could almost imagine the warm and gentile breezes of  a Lisbon seaside cafe.

A sea of familiar brands or a wine adventure?

 Current domestic commercial reports indicate a slow down of overall wine sales, but that is not the case with wines produced in the golden state of California.  Even with import selections increasing daily, this nation's top wine producing state still dominates from a position of strength, with wine shipments increasing by 3% over the previous year. More direct to consumer markets are open in more states than ever before, and wine trends in restaurants continue to bolster the national sales. Another constant that remains is that the most widely popular brands, those comfortably priced, widely available selections, are still mostly produced by large, industrial beverage corporations.  Fans of venerable Louis M. Martini, or MacMurray Estate or J Vineyards may be surprised to learn that these labels are owned and operated by the largest wine company on the planet, E & J Gallo, of Modesto.  Perhaps your 'go-to' is great value ne'gociant  Cameron Hughes, or a Girard, or Tamarack Cellars; they are all popular labels of Sonoma Counties' own, Vintage Wine Estates.  Even that convenient Bota Box wine, or widely dispersed Gnarly Head zinfandel are products of long established Delicato Family wines of Manteca.

 Distinguished brands that are pillars of the state's Napa wine history, Beaulieu Vineyards, Beringer, Chateau St. Jean, and Stags' Leap Winery are today all Treasury Wine Estates of Australia properties.  And that popular Meiomi Pinot Noir, as well as iconic, Robert Mondavi Winery are currently part of the largest imported beer company in the U.S., Constellation Brands.  Bottles such as these and countless others are effectively commodity brands, guided by investors who may have never touched its soil or fruit. Mostly, they can generate standardized industrial products, striving for consistency and market-share that's utilizing a shrinking distributor(wholesale) market. But, another thing they may share today is that at one time in the not too distant past, just about all of these brands were a single artisan's dream; regularly producing a genuine and honest reflection of a unique place and time(it was a good year!).

Cheers to another great story!

 Today there are over 685 bonded wineries in Sonoma county, the vast majority being very small producers, those holding on to that artisan's dream from vineyard to cellar. Way back in the late 60's the region had supported fewer than 60 federal licenses. Over these past decades many artisans have been drawn to the songs of local vineyards and its winemaking, many of them found just down the road. They may have names not seen on our favorite retail wine shelves or home town wine lists, but there is a good chance that here is where a wine lover or adventurer can find that summer California dream.  Should you pick up an honest bottle or two, you may find authenticity using the quick chill method back at the yurt or the lodge, and have a story to tell.

Raising a glass here for more than a decade;
 and Salute!

WineLinks:
  https://discovercaliforniawines.com/
  https://sonomawinegrape.org/

BRAMBLES: That's Life!

And, so it begins anew, again

 Awakenings. You probably started that dedicated journey some time ago, pushed to explore ways to express those innate impulses that follow, naturally. Under the sun, you feel the appetite for growth. You begin to leaf  (or could have initiated, say,  a wine blog); hesitant at first. What of the vermin, the critics and skeptics; what of the demands of consistent demonstration, that regular attempt to prove value at every turn. Even as you may have had strings of lessons earlier in vine life, you find that in your adult life subsisting on the grape(vitis vinifera) qualities had become a passion, a profession.  Innately,  you feel the ever compelling need to share many lessons you nurtured along the way.  Each spring, each renewal, we are again reminded of this productive cycle of the European grape vine.  A new beginning that follows each harvest, bringing with it a new promise, a yearning,  a new awakening.  It is a renewed life, one that uniquely benefits from each of those many seasons grown before.

Aged bush-vine or 'goblet' pruned zinfandel 

 In Ervin Drake's, 'It was a very Good Year', Frank remembers, 'my life as vintage wine from fine old kegs', 'it poured sweet and clear'.  Contemporary consumers don't generally age their wines; we being an immediate gratification society. Most bottle aging, it is said, occurs on the way home from the retailer.  And, in truth, current consumer market wines are typically ready to drink earlier in their bottle evolution due to decades of advancements in viticulture and oenology, the science of wine-making. It could be enough to have Frank drink anything he would pull from the shelf, since overall quality has continued to improve in our lifetimes. But remember, for those who are planners, aging a bottle can be a joy in collecting and also pay harmoniously mature and delicious benefits.

Spring frosts bring an early burn to new shoots 

 In the retail market there's also an awakening of consumers: more multi-generational wine drinkers who have traveled abroad, and may have explored in vogue dining while keeping up with the latest social craze. And, they drink up easier access to the marketplace with off-premise and direct-to-consumer growth. There's an awakening of producers, too.  Large multi-national corporations standardize qualities of the sourcing and production of the vine, while tacking to harvest the latest wine market trends.  And, more machines are toiling in the global vineyards than ever before, even as growing sustainability is echoed in the rows of vine.  And, there is also an awakening of the vine.  Globally, we continue to invest finding where each vine variety grows best, and how unique characteristics of site and climate are reflected in its best wine.  More controlled yields, standardized regulations and continued research in the many distinguished research academies that continues to nurture global grape growing. It's a world-wide awakening.

Traditional wine retail off-premise

 'It was a very good year', and like just about any year(let's be Frank) there were many segments of market up-swing.  Fortunately, more Americans are drinking wine than ever before, although much is made of millennial population slow down( think fads(prosecco, rose', white zinfandel,etc.).  Current data reports that strong market growth sustains from boomers and gen x(a growing population), and yet, across the country it's still only 10% of the adult population that drinks 90%(appox.) of the wine in spite of increases in popular wines by the glass service and on-line growth.  Wine tourism is on the rise, as well.  Currently, there's early bottling of our last harvest, even as bud break awakens in the groomed vineyards that are blanketed with flowering cover crops(providing nutrients, breaking up compacted soils).  As spring welcomes us, this is a great time in the life cycle of the vine to visit uncrowded estate tasting rooms.

  As the warming sun stimulates that precious need to get active, the vine across the northern hemisphere( the southern globe began 6 months ago )begins again. We consumers are already awakening, making bright plans: that garden Easter, kids to summer camp, a family escape from the doldrums of a wet winter.  Our shared history creates that extended record, for the vine, for the wine industry, and for its consumers.  And, it begins again each spring, from the continued beginning; this too is our awakening.  That's Life!

Raising a glass to the awakening!

Cheers!

WineLinks:
  https://sonomalibrary.org/locations/sonoma-county-wine-library
  *Celebrating 30 years of service to the NorCal wine community!
  http://www.mendowine.com/events/index.php
  *Leaders in family-owned sustainable viticulture
  https://cannedwinecompetition.com/
  *Inaugural awakening in alternative consumer packaging
  https://www.decanter.com/wine-reviews-tastings/canned-wine-405876/

BRAMBLES: Drinking In the Changes

Unseasonably mild, the mustard cover arrives early. 

Drink. Drink it all in. Go ahead, and try something new.  But, importantly, drink what you want. The choices are as limitless as imagination because today wine consumers are seeing more small, exotic brands, more unique varietals, from more distant places than ever before.  Who knew that today you can search and find a nice bottle of the Italian red varietal Vespolina on our local retail shelves, or even secure an austere, small production award-winning New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc from a web-universe on-line site?  Can't get to New York's Finger Lakes' AVA wine region this year?  Well, that coveted small production Cabernet Franc can be shipped from the producer direct to your door!

Recently released Direct to Consumer Wine Symposium data announced that DtC grew to a value of more than $3 billion in 2018(over 6,000 million cases!). Sure, prices have gone up, but that's still a number 6 times larger than 2011 when this blog started.  Just a few decades ago, California wine producers were limited to shipping consumer direct to just 13 reciprocal(tax) states(wineries would show a color-coded U.S. map, and then turn disappointed visitors away). To date, only five(5) states now prohibit direct-to-consumer wine shipments: Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi and Utah.  Of course, that's not without increasingly complicated and burdensome bureaucratic regulations for the small wineries.  And, on the bright side, it has given birth to a new integrated industry: Compliance.

It has also given thousands of small producers an effective alternative to local on/off premise retailers, and those limited placements with out of state wholesale distributors. In the current Direct to Consumer Wine Shipping Report, almost half of 2018 shipments were from small producers(less than 1000 cases), and only about 1% were generated from large producers(over 500K cases, annually).  But, the increased opportunity to sell more wine effectively in more places to more wine loving customers comes increasingly at a cost.

Texas(a big market) is currently tightening regulations and required reportings' for wine shipments originating from out of state. Remote wine sellers with shipments into Iowa with revenues above a new threshold must now collect state and local taxes, and apply for permits; also its applicable to shippers with more than 200 state transactions. Also starting this month, North Carolina requires producers holding wholesale and direct-to-consumer permits to report more sales(and customers) frequently and now use a newly revised annual excise tax form.

Discover & celebrate along the Texaswinetrail

Locally, our Wine Institute reports above average yields of good quality fruit across our sunny California wine-grape growing regions in 2018. And Sonoma wineries and grape growers continue to make great strides in their target of responsible, environmental sustainability.  To date, almost 89% of vineyard acreage has been 3rd party certified. Demand for our wines remains steady across the domestic marketplace, in part due to increased consumer opportunity.  In 2018 Sonoma AVA wineries sold over $655 million thru Direct to Consumer channels, an increase of 21 per cent above the previous year. With about half of the DtC domestic volume originating in Napa AVA's, our Cabernet neighbors saw a comparative increase of only about 8 per cent over 2017.

Their average bottle price reached more than $36 above an average DtC Sonoma wine. According to Chet Klingensmith of Wines Vines Analytics, "Napa County seemingly priced itself out of the market(DtC) in 2018."  While we wait for those prices to correct, we can still find values abounding from throughout the diverse marketplace.  It may be that El Dorado AVA Zinfandel, or a newly discovered Loire Muscadet(white), or even an obscure Piemonte's Brachetto(red). All we have to do is search and inquire and take a chance to drink in the changes.


Salute!

WineLinks:

  https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomaspellechia/2019/01/26/10-of-u-s-wine-retail-sales-shipped-direct-to-consumers-in-2018/#52f01a9d2c44

  https://www.winebusiness.com/news/?go=getArticle&dataId=208688

BRAMBLES: Harvest Dreams

Inspiration surrounds us.  We see it in the glory of our environment, hear it carried on the wind across the seascape, and find it in the abundant humanity of to soon departed beacons like sister Aretha,  John McCain and Neil Simon.  It's imagination absorbed, raising our own aspirations, prompting us to dream.  As this years annual winegrape harvest gets underway across our Northern Hemisphere, whiffs of the incentive are once again found in every vineyard and cellar.  This is the year many dedicated artisans will make great, definitive examples of their unique proprietary wines.  Those are dreams that they actually harvest.

Another harvest cycle now gets underway, so it is a good time to sneak a peak at marketplace changes.  As recently reported in the drinks business, a Jordan survey found that Zinfandel remains a popular 'gateway varietal'(one that is getting newbies into wine), because we generally like wines that are perceived as smooth and fruity. Yet, Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon remain the 'go to' leading varietals for most returning consumers. Even as direct to consumer market segments continue strong sales growth, and new packaging such as wines in cans still gains momentum in our markets, red Zinfandel is sadly languishing.  Like most popular, flavor-of-the-week varietals today, most of the flat Zinfandel volume is being produced by large industrial producers of one note selections, while richer price points continue to deter inquisitive neophyte consumers.  And, we are drink more wine per capita than ever before(thank you)!

Perhaps its association with sweeter white Zinfandel(white outsells red), or the lack of distinctive flavor designations have influenced consumers to look to other more popular varietals.  Yet Zinfandel, proudly California's grape, remains a mystery to even the most regular of consumers.  We've heard of its genetic relationship to Italy's Primitivo, and perhaps marveled that Croatian sibling Crljenak ancestry goes back almost 3000 years(think Greek), but today's Zinfandel is just not growing in our markets.

Uneven ripening and sugar levels

In spite of a string of outstanding premium California  vintages, in the Sierra foothills, in Sonoma and in Lodi, uneven ripening Zinfandel still has most of its volume and acreage in the bulk fields of our Central Valley.  When dry farmed and in lower production yields found in Mediterranean climates from vines that grow like trees, Zinfandel produces wines that are multi-faceted and memorable.  Back in 2012 I noted, " when ripe, it can be an exotic walk through a berry bramble, almost savory and sweet at the same time.  Aromas of ripe berries and spice are common, along with the brambly undercurrent of flavors that offers hints of herb and pepper spice". 

These terrific food wines complement and contrast a range of dishes, and particularly like tomatoes as long as its alcohol is in balance. Look for Primitivo's from Italian producers like Luccarelli or Cantine san Marzano, or to Amador County AVA's Cooper or the Jeremy Wine Co.  Sonoma County's Seghesio or Carol Shelton or Cline Cellars continue to produce fine value Zinfandels at modest price points.  And, Ridge, Ravenswood and Rosenblum, know as the '3r's of Zinfandel', continue to produce very fine premium products that echo the unique places they are from.

Subject to the whims of Mother Nature and the sites on which it is nurtured, Zinfandel can be a haunting mistress for wine lovers in search of inspiration. It remains a true canvas for the gifts of talented winemakers who adopt an intimacy with the varietal and its place.  One advantage to our diverse and competitive marketplace means that minor varietals like Zinfandel tend to hold their price points compared to popular varieties, and offer consumers a chance to search out quality values.  When they are found, label-loyal consumers can return to those complex, satisfying examples that are a true reflection of so many harvest dreams.

Salute!

WineLinks:
http://www.discovercaliforniawines.com/californiawinemonth/
http://www.lodiwine.com/
https://zinfandel.org/events/zinfandelstories_napa/

September is California Wine month!

BRAMBLES: On the Way

Down the road and On the way. In the soft afternoon light, meandering thru a bucolic Russian River Valley lately dressed with opaque evergreens and plumed golden grasses, it presents itself, a strikingly varied and unfolding viticultural edge landscape.  Drawn around the next curve, its multitude of coastal hills surround that lazy serpent of a river, with ever changing pockets of flourishing orderly expanse. This region provides a mild maritime-influenced climate, filled with even smaller micro-climates; offering a long agricultural history that had once celebrated hops and prunes, peaches and apples among its rich bounty. But, it is premium winegrapes that drive its agri-commerce now, and with that predictable summertime Pacific fog lurking; you can feel and smell its chill, posed to advance inland. Sea breezes introduce that regular summer evening cooling here, allowing for an inspiring ride in the late lazy day's decline. It is on the way.

Across its more than 16-thousand bearing acres, the waning light highlights the vines developing fruit set, now cooling down to signal time to end the cycles work day.  These acres of mostly pinot noir and chardonnay(about 2/3rds of all) will rest at night and their un-ripened acid strength will reserve into the evening.  Tomorrow will introduce another day, like the one before and those that will follow, to continue its adolescent photosynthesis. Benefiting from millions of years of geologic shift and upheaval created here its many varied soils with exotic names like: Goldridge sandstone loam, Arbuckle, and Huichica. Add fanned alluvial's and volcanic to the undulating landscape mix and you have some of the most diverse regional grape growing soils in the entire world.

More brands, more choices, more consumers

Pinot noir likes these conditions of freely draining soils, rapid evening cool-downs and regular ripening sunshine. Its invigorating adaption in this unique environment had attracted pinot visionaries and artisans to the region, perhaps beginning with Joseph Swan and Joe Rochioli back in the early '70s.  The regions established pastoral attributes were recognized by immigrant farmers back in the late 19th century, with names like Foppiano and Martini&Prati, and Kanaye of Fountain Grove. Local pinot noir's consumer market, too, has grown rapidly over the last few generations, introducing an increasing range of varietal products and a variety of price points to trending neophytes.  More vineyards get planted to the numerous clones of pinot year after year, and its county-wide average price per ton now has ballooned to over $3600(that's about 60 cases of wine).  Neighboring chardonnay is lucky to break $2000. on average. Established as an American Viticultural Area(AVA) in 1983, the Russian River Valley today supports around 1800 growers and producers, most of whom are small family enterprises. They are either artisan or commercial, and some with the prestige/notoriety to be occasionally both.

Of Sonoma counties 17 AVA's, the Russian River Valley is among the most widely planted.  Even with some of its definition sub-divided over recent decades, it remains quite varied, rising from almost sea level to above 1000 feet; encompassing the fanning plain, the reach, the ridges, the hills and the river valley itself.  There is such diversity of not only soils and micro-climates here, but also grape varieties, with zinfandel, savignon blanc and other 'interesting' varieties added to the end of cycle harvest.  Those supporting and artisinal varietals, however, can't compare to the fame and fortune brought to the Russian River Valley from its current signature varieties of chardonnay and pinot noir.

Consumers flock to new brand introductions

Even with no two vineyard settings exactly alike here, pinot noir needs only a few essential nutrients: nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus.  To thrive, it also requires visionaries and risk-takers along with a little sunshine at the proper times.  And to be successful, it needs a character reflection of the uniqueness of its special environment.  The French would call it 'terrior', everything that goes into making it noteworthy.  Now further down the RRV's sustainable road, passing one after another boutique producer, the cool down accompanies the fading light.   For those past few generations, pinot noir and chardonnay have brought limelight notoriety to this alluring landscape, and as our standards remain high and consumers are drawn to the next turn in the road there will be more on the way.
Salute'

ValueWines;
Balletto Estate Grown Pinot Noir, 2015 Russian River Valley; bright, balanced and length, oh my!
Bogel California Zinfandel 2015; air out its red fruit nose, and a blackberry, casis and spice weighted palate of balance and length.
WineLinks:
 -http://www.everyvine.com/wine-regions/region/Russian_River_Valley/

 -https://russianrivervalley.org/

BRAMBLES: Changes to Spring

Morning breaks over vineyards, Margaret River, Western Australia

Budbreak, the annual growth cycle re-birth of the European grapevine, vitis vinifera, is awakening our North Coast vineyards and gardens.  Just as the chard wildfire area's landscape recovers, springtime flowers that abound can renew our hope for the future of not only our local communities, but our area wine industry, as well.  Wine and its commonwealth throughout its long human history has continued to be truly uplifting, an annual reflection of the best of our human spirit and our artistic creativity, in the vineyard, in the cellar and around the global table.  This then demonstrates the annual fertility of our spirit, the awaking of Mother Earth, and the changes ready to spring.

Spring vineyards of Sonoma 

Old is New Again. Back in 2008,  Ehren Jordan, having gone from Turley Wine Cellars, to his  vineyard-select Fallia wines, and then to his Day zinfandel's, was SF Chronicles 'winemaker of the year'.  Now, he is also making wines at Zenith Vineyards of the cool Willamette Valley, exploring its silty-clay soils for award-winning pinot noirs and other intriguing non-mainstream varietals.  Another former 'winemaker of the year' at Stagling Family, Celia Masyczek, has also broadened her ambitions, and today is another widely respected consultant for many boutique, emerging North Coast labels. A generation of contemporary artisans such as these, scores of them, continue to re-new us, while locally, creatively exploring new wine industry frontiers. These then are the complex building blocks of regional vineyard growth and marketplace evolution for today's renewing industry.

Back in 1998, Wine Spectator selections for top-rated wines of the year had 7 of the top 9 that were French(red & white). By 2008, their top rated wine of the year(#1) was produced in Chile, Casa Lapostolle's Clos Apalta. Similarly, Wine Enthusiast opted for another top southern hemisphere selection that very same year.  Over the last generation of vintages, more & more top rated wines are today coming from emerging, diverse and non-traditional global locations.  As an international market continues to emerge, this global recognition reflects the wider propagation of the quality standards for wine for consumers, especially for those in the value marketplace.

Sonoma now has 18 AVAs, adding Petaluma Gap

Notable growth continues to renew interest. Up north, the Oregon Wine Board reported recently that economic impact of its wines in the Beaver State has increased by as much as 67% from three years ago, totaling today more than $5.6 billion.  As you may expect, similar growth is reviving an expanding industry for their related employment, investment and wine tourism.  Conversely, recently the winemag, Decanter reported that US exports fell sharply in 2017(20%), supported mostly by a fall in the value of the dollar against the Euro.  So somewhere the market grows, while simultaneously other, sometimes traditional consumer habits wane.

Closer to home, a flowering of  diverse wine events also introduces our annual springtime revival. Nearby Sonoma Valley Vintners organize our invitation to hold their annual Visa - Signature weekend, April 6-8. Bringing its creative happiness to the masses, more than thirty members of the Mendocino Winegrowers Alliance sets up April 07 in San Francisco's Fort Mason Center, for the annual Taste of Mendocino. Locally. it is the intimate, A Taste of Olivet, April 14, that shares the fertile heart of the historic Russian River Valley. Beyond, wine enthusiasts can get further out and head northeast for a beautifully bucolic El Dorado Passport, the annual Sierra Foothills adventure, which begins April 21 thru April 29.  Spring showers bring more than just flowers for wine lovers.

Industry growers, producers, and its changing marketplace are just like wine consumers: the environment continually evolves.  From increased national wine sales to our Sonoma's growers cultivating towards an ever evolving commitment to 100% sustainability(a national first),  we all benefit from a fertile, living  industry that enjoys an annual renewal.  Constant in change, it is the sure sign of a growing spring in our wine country.

Salute!



Wine Links:
  http://eldoradowines.org/passport/
  http://www.olivetroad.com/events
  http://sonomavalleywine.com/signature-sonoma-valley/
  http://www.tasteofmendo.com/
  https://www.winebusiness.com/
  https://sonomawinegrape.org/about/sonoma-county/

BRAMBLES: Chances Are...

Raise a glass with friends and try something new

Chances are that during that holiday party you will see old, familiar friends and a few new faces, too.  And then, there are all the folks you will greet.  There will be wines that you have enjoyed before, and perhaps a few that you know to avoid....just like those other holiday celebrants. But among the surprising collection of holiday treats there will be probably a few wines that are unfamiliar, creations that you have no prior experience with.  In that celebratory environ we have a great opportunity to introduce ourselves to something new that can change our world of wine perceptions, and as a result expand the choices we identify in the marketplace or the printed terror that is a restaurant wine list.  No formal introduction should be necessary.

'Chances are 'cause I wear a silly grin the moment you come into view; chances are you think I'm in love with you.'

Riesling pairs well with Asian inspired appetizers

Chances are when joining good company this holiday season, we will be in good cheer and ready to raise a glass or two. So what is expected in that glass?  Is the choice by color or a familiar varietal?  Or perhaps we choose something comfortable and familiar. There was a time when such gatherings brought together 'anything but chardonnay' sippers, and 'only cabernet' dandies.  Today as the global market expands, new choices await, like Chile's Carménère,  or a delicious Cabernet Franc from the Loire Valley of France, where the appellations of Bourgueil or Chinon will reward the curious searcher.

Chances are there will be bubbles, always bubbles.  Proseccos of northeastern Italy and cavas of Catalonia continue to present high standards of quality and value to celebrating consumers, and this holiday season is no exception. White wines too present choices beyond chardonnay(which can be in your cava), offering tastes of world travelers like Pinot Gris/Grigio or dry Riesling from Australia with a chance to join a party.  Again, the Loire Valley's Chenin Blanc from Vouvray or Savennie'res can be a delightful revelation in a glass. Chances are you may ask for two, even as you started as just one.

Chances are that as we escape our vino comfort zone, we'll find a new love.  Increasingly, the result may help the casual wine lover discover to what it is that they really like about wine varietals from unfamiliar places, and as a result, more about their personal wine preferences. Go ahead, take a chance. Chances are you'll find something good.

A world of wine awaits exploration

Predictions: Red blends will continue to be popular.  Consumers should continue a trend of 'trading up', even as the comfortable $10 threshold remains strong.  Chances are market growth will continue for those $20+ bottles where brands increasingly become important. International values should remain strong, as wines of emerging countries, like Bulgaria(world's second biggest wine producer in the 1980's) or Uruguay's high-tannin Tannat grape, find new markets. On-line retail will continue to grow with sail wind from Amazon(which consumers should notice), and there will be continued consolidation within the heavy weights of the industry(consumers should not notice).  As varietal and country of origin selections expand, consumers should find innovative packaging choices continue to grow green. Sustainability in any relationship is after-all what it is all about.

'Well, chances are your chances are awfully good!
Lyrics: Al Stillman c.1957

A Happy and Healthy New Year to All!  Cheers!!

Wine Links:
http://www.bulgarianwine.net/
http://www.winesofuruguay.com/

BRAMBLES: Taste This!

Austria's 'Heurigen' culture invites a celebration by the glass

A discovery in a glass awaits! Hundreds of wine tasting rooms dot the bucolic landscape here in North Coast wine country, and thousands more nationally, all offering the opportunity to find something pleasing and inspiring presented in the glass.  In spite of the hospitable invitation, a common reaction may be, "why should I visit a rich guy place to pay inflated prices for a widely available wine?"  Fact is, that most of the wineries are small producers(comparatively), looking for the precious opportunity to introduce the uniqueness of their quality brand. The big guys dominate the marketplace and distribution, so little guys need to get creative to gain fans of their wines. Locally, by now you have probably heard or read of the devastating wild fires that enveloped the North Bay's Wine Country in October of 2017, so now especially it is an opportunity to aid their recovery and entrepreneurial development along with our own delicious discoveries. Perhaps unlike ever before, it is a wonderful time to 'taste this'!

Fact is, there is sensual pleasure directly associated with a wine tasting experience.  That joy of anticipation, the lifting of the spirit as you approach the pristine setting, and the excitement of discovery are only the beginning.  Once inside, be it a mysterious cave or a patio with an inspiring view, or a neat interior that gets your design juices flowing, the variety and types of tasting experience can be varied and as comfortable a fit as our unique sense of style.  There are stand at the bar community tastings, sit-ins at the casual comfort of a salon with new friends, or the ritzy upscale private tasting to temp our tastes.  Each has its own attributes, but all aspire for the same result: to create a new fan, an ambassador for their brand, whether it be from the few bottles you take away or the unique wine club you can adopt.  Many times, the selections offered at these smaller venues can be found in scarse other places, offering the buyer the bragging rights of 'exclusivity'.

Tasting in moderation is a sensual social activity

Each experience gives the taster inside information, a chance to talk with someone in the know to get the selections story.  That makes it a personal connection.  Because we taste subjectively(our own taste preferences), we can be influenced by what others say about the wine, or how the wine is presented(try to avoid places that tell you what you will taste), or even the heavy perfume carried by another guest.  Our unique palates with all those individual taste memories can also be effected by spicy jalapenos or that yeasty beer from lunch.  After all, it is an exploration, a personal discovery of what we like and don't like, enhanced by being in a cheerfully social situation.  We are at the same time challenged by our nature by not wanting to be the one in the group that does not like something. Tastings present the opportunity to fall in love with something new, and the special memory it carries when that same wine is enjoyed at home or with friends.  It simply makes emotional sense to try and get the most for ourselves from such a personal adventure of discovery that can be shared, and then repeated as often as possible.  Up lifting and jovial, wine tastings are intended to be a sensual pleasure, for the eyes and nose and palate that can also educate the affable consumer.

Discovery in a glass is social and educational

Of course alcohol repetition has its disadvantages too.  The taste buds tire, individual selection memories get foggy, and that impaired driving can really change your life.  It then makes sense to limit tasting venues, employ the convenient spit buckets, drink water as well, and use a friendly designated driver where possible.  In reality, tasters need a plan for their discovery.  Throughout the calendar there are numerous regional wine country events that help organize your outing and provide a special social reason to indulge, like the upcoming WineRoad's, Winter Wineland or Sebastopol's, 'Meet the Makers Tours at the Barlow'. These special events invite us to get out and meet new friends, enjoy the festive community atmosphere generated in the many inspiring venues, and ultimately, to indulge in the socially-personal discovery of 'taste this'.

Raising a glass: Prost and Salute!

WineLinks:
https://www.wineroad.com/
https://thebarlow.net/barlow-tours-meet-the-makers/

BRAMBLES: Resilient Drinking?

Like an aged farmer, old zinfandel vines have seen it before.

In those early hours nothing else seemed to matter.  Survival was what bulldozed everything else. Lack of sleep gets replaced by adrenaline, fear of the unknown draws you closer to someone, anyone. For the local wine industry, the first days of the October firestorm brought with it the heavy concerns of loss of precious resources, including vineyard life.  Ultimately for some a question is raised, "what do you drink when threatened by a wild fire"?   For many of us the answer is of course, "everything"!  We lift a glass to present our sorrows, and cheer then for the resilience of the long-lived grape vine.

theblaze.com

Part of the life of man since Neolithic times, nurtured in Asia Minor and the Mediterranean, the domesticated grape vine, Vitis Vinifera, is ingrained as part of classical antiquity.  Over its cultivated existence the vine has proven to be buoyant and tough, an example of flora that can be quick to recover.  Near the end of the 2017 grape harvest the vineyards of our wine country encountered historical stress and destruction due to savage fires that consumed locally almost 200,000 acres in Sonoma, Napa, Mendocino and Lake counties.  Fires that burn around the grapevine trunk are likely to kill the vine, but most vineyards survived, dealing with many dark days of smoke and ash. These same smoke compounds can be found in toasted oak wine barrels, and those ash residues can be rich in nutrients potassium and calcium. Now, across the North Coast AVA the vineyard's top soil has changed.  Inspection, soil testing and needed nutrients to feed the soil will follow, along with constant monitoring for the vines foreseeable future.  Just under that exterior bark of the vine lies its vascular system, thru which it gets life sustaining water and nutrients.  If undamaged the irrepressible vine should recover, but as with all injuries it will take time.  Those vineyards that were lost will take years to grow back, and premium grape farming will survive.

A brighter spring in Carneros AVA

Across its long, cultivated history the wine vine has consistently demonstrated the ability to recover.  It is by its nature a survivor, driven almost singularly to reproductive growth. Combined with a historically sparce 2017 harvest throughout much of Europe, the once inflating industry is now facing yet again new challenges within the expanding global marketplace.  This cycle, too, will recover.  But, it will take time.  Just like us, the rebound from a traumatic health event will change things in our life cycle and will take sometimes many years to return to what had been familiar. As a long time local grape farmer once said to me, "we have seen it all before". 

Burgundy vineyards cycle a return to 'normal' in 2017

As we move forward, there will still be good local wine on the shelf or wine list, and consumers may even be influenced to expand their wine knowledge or regions of interest. Just like the vine, the local industry will endure and rebound, and eventually the wild fires of 2017 will be in the rear-view mirror.   As of this writing it is still burning in the hills somewhere.  Locally, the hum of fire fighting aircraft is slowly being replaced by the distraction of abrupt jackhammers and heavy equipment.  Locals continue to renew normal routines, and fortunately, cellar workers return to their craft.  Yet the smell of smoke lingers in the air, and we remain vigilant just like the wine growers on Sicily's Mt. Etna.  They make good wines there, too.  Now that's historically resilient drinking!
Salute!

Wine Links:
  https://www.winesandvines.com/sections/printout_article.cfm?article=feature&content=158351
  https://www.thedrinksbusiness.com/2017/10/global-wine-production-to-fall-to-56-year-low/
  http://winesofsicily.com/

BRITISH COLUMBIA: Beautiful Bottles Too!

Okanagan's Gray Monk invites

Way up north in neighboring Canada, skirting the 50th degree parallel north from the Niagara escarpment in Ontario with its calcerous soils and continental climate, to British Columbia in the west with its distinctive alluvial soil landscapes stretching across its more than 600 miles, Canada is making world class wines. Near the northern edge of where the vinis vinifera will ripen, recent generations are making tremendous advances in producing what can be the very best examples of established wine varieties. The grape varietals are dominated by Pinot Gris and market pleasing Chardonnay; you'll find Merlot and Pinot Noir, and those typical international varietals are here too....Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Riesling and Gewurtztraminer, etc.

Regulatory control comes in the form of the industry's  1999 Vintners Quality Alliance, or VQA; wines so declared have a minimum of 95% of the grapes coming from the region(GI) stated, and an 85% minimum from the declared harvest year(which is important when northern weather suddenly turns).  The board controls grape varieties and ripeness, applied winemaking standards, established sensory and chemical criteria, and consumer labeling. Standards have not been established for vineyard density, yeast types for fermentation or wine aging, thus allowing for continuing experimentation and innovation.  Wines labeled VQA are distinguished as typical of their grape variety and recognized growing region.

Today's British Columbia wine industry has grown from a handful back in the 1960's, to more than 350 province wineries today, producing an annual economic impact of around $3billion.  The vine acreage in the province has grown as you may expect; more than 10,000 acres planted to more than 75 varietals.  Those established quality national standards, the broad diversity of the B.C. landscape and cuisine, and growing consumer demand have helped to promote this emerging wine region.

Within the most productive of wine Canada provinces, there are boutique wineries of the southwesterly Gulf Islands;  the maritime climate challenged by the pioneers of Vancouver Island so close to an international metropolis; there's the mixed soils of the fertile, east-west oriented Fraser Valley that follows the great river; heading east to the emerging border region, the Similkameen; and further eastward to the bountiful, semi-arid Okanagan river valley with its alluvial soils.  British Columbia would seem to have it all.

One of the warmest regions in all of Canada, it lies in a broad rain shadow of the Cascades;  the Okanagan Valley is blessed with hot long days during critical ripening cycle. This world-class growing region today overwhelmingly produces most of the wine from a most picturesque and outdoor lifestyle province, with wines increasingly recognized on the world stage for their acid-driven purity and resonate qualities.  Hours from metro Vancouver, it is one beautiful region for eco-tourism, too.

Keelowna Okanagan Lake

Ice wine may be the historic marketing tool for the wines of these provinces, and as historically accurate as it is, this too is changing. World-wine producers in the extreme northern latitudes have long found something special about picking frozen berries left on the vine thru the depths of winter. Freezing dehydrates reducing water content, sugars concentrate, in frigid conditions the fruit is laboriously picked berry by berry.  Here, without varietal restrictions, these wines are sugar heavy, but strive for an acid balance, drop by drop, to create a delicious nectar, one (expensive) bottle at a time.  Unfortified, Canadian ice wine tends to be low in alcohol, with broad flavor profiles that invite experimentation even in this historic category.

Even with their Prohibition-era alcohol laws there is evidence that the industry is growing in a progressive, positive direction, Oh sure, they have the same problems of expensive land and expensive labor, and strong, physically-separated provincial identities.  But, they also have climate change increasing chances for reliable, regular ripening, and sustainable farming the new norm.  There is the increasing fame of their world-class wines, and the increase in foreign investment, as well as sustained overtures for more favorable trade & tariff laws . With a current measure to regulate beer sales at fast food restaurants, can a chilled glass of British Columbia Riesling at the local Canadian Taco Bell be so far behind?  Those would be some beautiful bottles.

Vancouver, a City of Glass, or two!

Cheers!

Wine Links:
http://www.okanaganwines.ca/
http://similkameenwine.com/
http://www.winebc.com/

BRAMBLES: Taste This,...Maybe?

Winds of change in rural Sicily DOC

Looking back, we have left more than a few empty bottles behind in 2016.  There was that delicious wine holiday in Sicily, and some very important family events, which were all richer in part because we enjoyed them with a glass or two of good wine.  It was another year of growth and value exploration with our tasting groups, and the enriching opportunity to improve the experience of wine for hundreds of thirsty consumers.  It was also the year when I closed two tasting rooms.

They were small brands, to be sure, often described as craft, artisan or boutique.  None the less, they offered wine consumers a real choice, and for the savvy, a few authentic local values.  One of the rooms was a collective, that gathering of small producers with no brick & mortar location of their own.  As a result of that limitation(and others), they typically produced less than 3000 cases and swam at their peril in the premium wine shark tank. Each was a slightly different business model, but all had a vignerons' passion fanning their sails.  In the end, after more than 5 years at a prime commercial location, they could not generate enough foot traffic to keep it moving forward.

The other was a single artisan brand, the juicy love affair with a former "Winemaker of the Year", with a recognized name for the informed and a mentor to many in this industry.  This brands business model was different, as it had wholesale distribution contracts with many states wine suppliers, and a greater quantity of premium product to promote in more places.  It has a brand manager, and a marketing manager, and even a direct to consumer manager.  Ultimately, the operating cost of a physical retail location in a new commercial marketplace outweighed its local popularity.  It is a very tough market out there; sadly, the numbers did just not add-up for continued investment in a retail storefront.

By any measure, competition across the retail marketplace is increasing for California wineries, she who produces about 90% of all of American wine.  In Sonoma County AVA alone, the number of wineries has doubled from a generation ago, yet with agri-limits the counties premium growers only farm about 6% of its beautiful, rural landscape.

Winter pruning of vines in the Loire

According to a recent Nielsen survey, the State has held its own; showing a continuing and healthy growth rate in global retail sales. Danny Brager, senior vice president of the beverage alcohol practice at Nielsen announced at the recent Unified Wine and Grape Symposium, " I almost can't think of any other consumer category where there is such a huge choice today.  If (wine) consumers can't get something, they will find something else."

Imports from foreign wineries have also continued to increase in volume and value during the last measured calendar period.  Growth in the bottle marketplace increasingly results in consumers having more choice than ever before, and that is a delicious thing for the informed value hunter. In spite of the wealth of these cheaper, value imports and a growth in national competition, shipments of U.S. wines continue to grow in volume year, after year.  Furthermore, there is an indication that entry level consumers are 'trading up'; last year the average bottle price of a U.S. wine exceeded $10. a bottle for the first time in recorded history! 

Knowledge is power for todays wine consumer

A recently released annual industry $urvey from a prominent lender, the State of the Wine Industry Report, predicted marketplace growth in premium imports in the year ahead.  Additionally, millennial's are expected to move in greater numbers away from red blends and increasingly towards pricier wines(+$10).  The dark umbrella remains as labor issues in the vineyard are anticipated to continue to be of weighted concern for the wine industry, even as the survey predicts a strong sales year in premium wine categories.

Whether the long established cooperative business model, or a singular artisans' passion, or even a modest brand in a broad portfolio managed by a beverage behemoth, it remains a challenging industry even for the optimistic producer. After all, there is a new brand(domestic or foreign) available to domestic consumers almost everyday, a new flavor of the week as consumers follow a trend, new on-line retailers and discount brokers to tempt neophyte wine consumers.  That new favorite may come from Chile or the Santa Maria AVA, from sustainable Sicily or from Rattlesnake Hills AVA of Washington state. For consumers, informed choices make for better wine experiences, and better wines in comfortable price points will increase not only bottle sales, but the broad variety of global values available to new wine drinkers.  Maybe we just have to taste a little more and let the wine speak.

Salute!
Tasting Values:
Leitz "Eins Zwei DRY"  2015 Rheingau Riesling Trocken(dry): Lemondrop, lemondrop!