Shipping wine from Europe

I’ve been remarkably resistant to ordering wine from tasting rooms, particularly those on the West Coast. For one, you are way too vulnerable to the tasting experience, the fun atmosphere and the exaggeration of quality. I’m not the only one who has been disappointed once I re-taste the wine months later at home.

Nonetheless, I succumbed to temptation while visiting France recently. After tasting 17 red and white wines at Maison Drouhin, I shipped home a mixed case of chardonnays. And, I did the same after visiting Chateau Beaucastel.

Cyril Ponelle, Maison Drouhin

Not until I got back home did I do the math. The Drouhins were available in the United States; some of the Beaucastels were not because the case included the 2012 vintage.

Three of the Drouhin chardonnays — Clos du Mouches, Marquis Laguiche Chassagne-Montrachet and Corton-Charlemagne — were $30 less in France. The 20% French tax was dropped and I didn’t incur the markups from a wholesaler and retailer. However, shipping costs added about $16 a bottle. I probably would have incurred a shipping cost had I bought them from a retailer in the United States since they are not readily available in my local market. Still, the wine cost less in France but not as much as I imagined.

I didn’t lose any money and I don’t have buyer’s remorse.

Champagne's bumper year

I just returned from France and I can say that just about every producer is happy with the 2022 harvest. This is definitely the case in Champagne, which suffered an 80 percent loss of crop in 2021 due to frost and early rain.

Harvest started on August 20, as determined by Comite Champagne. That’s significantly earlier but similar to picking times in other French regions. According to CC, quality is up and “potential alcohol on average is better than 10% by volume.”

A good season was critical to Champagne this year. High quantity will allow them to replenish the reserves to meet demand in the future. Sales are up nearly 10 percent, in part because of the pandemic that encouraged people to celebrate at home.

Bellacosa survives a test

Several years ago I interviewed Daniel Cohn who had just launched Bellacosa Cabernet Sauvignon in Oakville. Cohn had a business motto that intrigued me: make a $20 wine that looked and tasted like a $100 wine. He said he blind tasted the wine in restaurants and bars and people picked the Bellacosa over cabernets twice the cost.

I thought he had achieved his goal and said so in a column. I also tucked away a 2015 Bellacosa Cabernet Sauvignon in my cellar to see if it would age as well as some of the expensive cabernets.

I opened it the other day. It was absolutely great — still structured, alive and full of fruit. How about that….

The wine is selling for about $25 today, but it’s still better than wines twice the cost.

Tasting rooms less appetizing

Fewer people are visiting tasting rooms in California, but those who do are spending more.

According to Community Benchmark, tasting room visits are down from 2021 when covid-trapped people were seeking liquid escapes to wine country. However, wineries are reporting that average revenue from a visitor rose from $80-$100 to $110-$125.

At the end of the day, tasting rooms may prefer fewer but more discriminating people. Crowds often mean that people are there for the wrong reasons, so “invitation-only” tasting rooms result in more attention, more revenue.

The cost of premium wine tastings is often $50 or more. Long gone are the free tastings.

Which state drinks the most? You'd be surprised

If I had to guess, I would say that California or New York consumed the most alcoholic beverages per capita. But, I’d be wrong.

According to World Population Review, New Hampshire adults score the highest amount at a whopping 4.76 gallons a mouth per year.

New Hampshire has a number of wineries that probably boost that number, but one less deterrent they enjoy is no alcohol tax. or sales tax. Liquor is cheap there but property taxes make up for the government’s loss, I guess.

But New Hampshire doesn’t have a lead on drunks. That title goes to counties in Wisconsin

According to 24/7 Wall St., 82 percent of the top 50 drunkest counties in the country are in Wisconsin. That number was determined by a survey of men and women who reported they are heavy drinkers (more than a glass of day for women; more than 2 a day for men with five a day being a binge drinker).

The mystery of Sine Qua Non

Sine Qua Non, the California syrah that reduces even the most hardened wine collectors to spent lees, has no equal in more ways than one. First, it is probably the most collectable wine on the market even though it sells for more than $200 a bottle. No one seems to drink it — I recently read a story that estimated far less than 30 percent are consumed. Most sit like museum pieces in cellars of the most elite collectors who either sell them for profit or prominently display them for visitors to see.

Its winemaker and owner don’t agree to interviews or allow for any visitors. They don’t need any marketing or promotion — just the frustration of not being able to buy the product. Some people have been on the waiting list for years.

For years I wanted to taste the wine just to see what the fuss was all about. Finally, got my chance when a good friend and collector opened a bottle after I put together a program and tasting of the wines of the Languedoc-Roussillon region. He and his wife were headed there for a month. It was quite a generous reward.

Now that I’ve tasted the wine, I get it. I don’t think I have ever tasted a syrah of this caliber and that includes some the best wines from the northern Rhone Valley. Of course, stylistically it quite different from the massive syrahs made in northern Rhone. The Sine Qua Non is more extracted, more hedonistic. The 2011 Dark Blossom, blended with grenache and petite sirah, was loaded with forward and young black fruit flavors and layers of herbs and spice. Big tannins make it a keeper for sure. Even at 11 years, this wine could last at least another 10.

I may not be able to afford to buy it — if I lived long enough to get off the waiting list — but I’m blessed to have tasted it. It will go down as one of my favorite all-time wines.

The language of Oc: Languedoc

I find it odd that as much as I know about France’s wine regions, I know little about the Languedoc-Roussillon area. I’m about to change that.

In the last week, I joined five other people in an impressive tasting of 11 red wines from this region of southwest France. The wines were extraordinary and represent some of the best values in premium wine.

Languedoc is “the language of yes,” or the “language of the Oc,” short for Occitane. In the 16th century “oc” meant yes in this region of France. But it would be “oui” that the country would adopt much later. The Roussillon area was once part of Spain and today it still has the Catalan influences in culture and language. It represents only 10 percent of the wine produced in the Languedoc-Roussillon. But together they producer more than 30 percent of the country’s wine.

Still, try to find one in your local wine store. Even the best wine stores are ignoring this region. So, why aren’t we very interested?

Until now, the region made plonk. Wine producers were hobbled by phyloxerra and turned to importing juice from Algeria to make ends meet. Not until an AOC was created in 2007 did new producers focus on bringing quality to the region. Today there are many winemakers who are producing world-class wines. Gerard Bertrand is making terrific wines from several vineyards he owns. Other big labels include Chateau de La Negly, Domaine Gauby, and Chateau des Truffiers.

More than 70 percent of the wines are produced by co-ops, which I think hurts them in their goals. Using a common winery to vinify wines could force winemakers to take short-cuts. They can lose control of how a wine is made by a central winery eager to get every member’s wines into bottle.

The Languedoc is also leading the country in biodynamic farming. Producers like Bertrand are obsessed with it — and it shows in his impressive portfolio.

I’ll have specific tasting notes at a later date.

Direct-to-consumer sales dropping

Perhaps you, like me, were isolated in your home during the start of the covid virus. You couldn’t even go out to buy a bottle of wine without incurring the wrath of a spouse who insisted on you scrubbing down the bottle and disrobing in the garage. We can laugh at it now, but we were terrified of the unknown.

Retail stores remained open because when it comes to wine and liquor sales, there is nothing like fear to drive profits. When I was in Maryland, the highest day of sales didn’t come on New Year’s Eve — it came on the eve of a snow blizzard.

People stuck indoors and surfing the net also bought cases of wine online. If they didn’t order wines from their favorite West Coast producers, they found importers and clubs to get wine delivered to their doorstep. But as covid has weaved its way through our neighborhoods and people have relaxed their precautions, they are ordering less wine online. According to Wines Vines Analytics/Sovos Ship Complaint, direct-to-consumer sales (those which bypass the distributor and retailer) dropped nearly 13 percent in June when compared to the previous June. Wine sales normally slow in the summer because producers are reluctant to ship wine in warm temperatures, but nonetheless the drop signals a change in consumer habits.

The report also mirrored other research that shows consumers are paying more for a bottle of wine. The average bottle price is now $32.84.

Quick, send more champagne!

I love what a Fort Worth hotel is doing to make sure its residents don’t run out of champagne.

The Kimpton Harper Hotel, celebrating its first birthday, has installed a rotary phone in the rooms that assures residents will immediately get more champagne if they run out. In a partnership with Veuve Clicquot, the program will summon a bottle and special stemware.

Once the special celebration is over, the phones will remain but other champagne producers will join the fun.

Wine Enthusiast drops some regions for reviews

As a wine writer, I understand the impossibility of giving equal attention to every wine growing regions. As I work on a column about the wines of the Canary Islands, I have to question if anyone cares — or if anyone who does care could even find them. The same holds true for several states in this country that make limited-distribution wines.

So when the eminent Wine Enthusiast announced recently that it will no longer taste wines from a number of domestic and foreign regions, I understood why. Nonetheless, its decision will mean more difficulty in minor regions getting international attention for their wines — many of which are worthy of review.

The regions the publication targeted include: Bulgaria, Croatia, China, Luxembourg, Moldova, Montenegro, Morocco, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia and Switzerland. In the United States, it is dropping all states other than California, Washington, Oregon, New York and Virginia.

Having roots in Michigan and Maryland, I have tasted many of their wines that command high scores. Yet they are still rare. These wines won’t get the attention they deserve without national publications such as the Wine Enthusiast’s review.

Stonestreet adjusts to the elements

The changing climate around the world has forced grape growers into leaving their comfort zone in search of different grape varieties that will tolerate heat, experimenting with new vititcultural practices and modifying how they make wine. It’s a revolutionary era that will preserve the industry and introduce consumers to new wines. 

We recently interviewed Christopher Jackson, second-generation proprietor of Stonestreet Estate Winery, about how his family operation is adjusting. Jess Stonestreet Jackson and Barbara Banke launched the estate in 1995. 

Located on Alexander Mountain, the vineyards are already facing difficult growing conditions even without climate change.

Jackson said, “Over the last two decades, the extreme of winegrowing on the mountain have continued to grow in intensity. In 2004, recognizing the challenges in achieving physiological ripeness and high stress to the vineyards, we began implementing regenerative farming practices that could mitigate the growing intensity of conditions and foster resilience of the land and vines.” 

He said he has identified more rigorous rootstock and clone combinations to reduce the stress on the vines. But the producer also has planted drought-resistant varieties, such as assyrtiko, chenin blanc and malvasia blanca. How these grapes fit into future wines – as a blend or stand-alone – remains to be seen.  

With disappearing sources of water for irrigation. Stonestreet added reservoirs on the mountain to capture the rainwater. Since 2008, water use across Jackson Family wineries has been reduced 43 percent.

England's potential for more than sparkling wine

As consumers are becoming more familiar with sparkling wine from the United Kingdom, producers there are wondering if there is potential for still wine from chardonnay and pinot noir grapes.

A team of researchers from the University of East Anglia, the London School of Economics, Vinescapes Ltd and Weatherquest Ltd have studied climate changes with an eye to the future. Warming conditions over the last year has seen viticultural growth expend nearly 400 percent. The conditions are similar — if not better — than those in Champagne. The sparkling wines I’ve tasted from here in the last year are ever bit as good as top champagnes, a conclusion born from several blind tastings among friends.

Although the growing areas in southern England and Wales have warmed, they are still cool. While that is ideal of pinot noir and chardonnay grapes used for sparkling wine, they are not ideal of still wine that requires more maturity and ripeness from the grapes.

The team forecasts that certain areas in these regions are projected to become 1.4 degrees centigrade by 2040.

Dr. Alistair Nesbitt, the lead author in the study, said, “This expands the area of suitability for pinot noir for sparkling wine production, but also new areas will open up within the growing season temperature suitability range for still pinot noir production and for growing varieties such as sauvignon blanc, riesling, semillon and more disease-resistant varieties.”

Nesbitt saw potential in Burgundy- and Baden-style wines.

To demonstrate the world-wide changes, more established reasons are looking to plant less popular grape varieities to accommodate climate changes. I communicated with Christopher Jackson of Stonestreet Estate Vineyards recently and he said he has experimental plantings of assyrtiko, chenin blanc and malvasia bianc.

Producers across the globe are preparing for a significant shift in climate conditions. Not only are they looking for more drought-resistant grapes, but they are looking for new growing regions.

The wines of volcanic Canary Islands

My wife and I joined friends on a cruise of Portugal’s Madeira and Spain’s Canary Islands. Although we didn’t expect to find vineyards on the Canary Islands, we were surprised.

The islands were created by volcanic eruptions that have been active as recently as last year. Particularly noteworthy is the island of Lanzarote which had a great eruption in 1730. It last six years and caused major changes to the terroir.

Volcanic soil is very good for vineyards any where in the world, but the soil is particularly instrumental on this island. The landscape is so black it’s hard to imagine anything growing here. The vines are planted in individual depressions that are semi-encircled by stacked rock. This unusual configuration shields the vines from the cool winds. Obviously, the yield is low. To compete, winemakers must focus on quality.

Among the wines produced here is malvasia, Listan Negro, Listan Prieto.

Besides Lanzarote, the lsland of Tenerife and La Palma are also known for its vineyards. Here Malvasia Aromatica and Albillo Criollo is the primary grape.

I’m gathering some of these wines in the next few weeks and will report on what I find.

A pinot noir legend passes on

Josh Jensen, founder of Calera, died June 11 at age 78.. Anyone who has tasted his extraordinary pinot noirs or who has benefited from his conversation understands the significance of his accomplishments.

Jensen graduated from Yale and then Oxford. During his time in England, he fell in love with French burgundy and even worked a harvest at Domaine de la Romanee-Contee. He returned to the States to find the same limestone soil as that of great burgundies. He found it on the slopes of Mt. Harlan and in 1974 he planted Jensen, Reed and Selleck vineyards. Those vineyards became synonymous with pinot noir wines that came as close as ever to burgundy.

Jensen sold his winery to Duckhorn (www.duckhorn.com) in 2017.

I’ve sampled these wines for decades and they never have failed to impress me. Their mineral quality makes them unique. May he rest in peace.

www.calerawine.com

Glass prices influencing cost of wine

Wine prices are expected to rise quite a bit for a number of reasons. Joining problems in the supply chain, fires and weather impact is the price of glass.

Those producers relying on imported glass are experiencing high demand and short supply. Imported glass accounts for about 25 to 30 percent of the food and beverage industry — it’s not just wine that is impacted. One example is a case of empty bottles has gone from $10 to $22.

I guess we can call this a bottleneck problem.

Bordeaux sales up in the U.S.

Pandemics are evidently good for Bordeaux. The Bordeaux Wine Council (CIVB) reports that wines sold in the United States in 2021 increased 24% in volume over the previous year — the highest annual volume increase since 1985. Values increased 67%.

The U.S. is now the second largest export market.

This improvement is certainly a direct result in the suspension of the 25% tariffs on French wines. Consumers were reluctant to pay higher tariffs, but with that tax now lifted, they were eager to return to the Bordeaux market.

Bordeaux wine sales up

Bordeaux sales are enjoying a dramatic increase in volume and sales in the United States, thanks to a freeze on new import tariffs.

The Bordeaux wine council (CIVB) released figures that show 2021 sales to this country grew 67% — a new record. Volume rose 24%. Not only are Americans buying more wine from Bordeaux, but they are buying more expensive wine from this region. An improved stock market (until recently) and growing wealth among the most rich opened the wallets for many who looked for new buying opportunities during the pandemic.

No matter how big the increase, China still imports more Bordeaux, according to the CIVB. Oddly, sales of Bordeaux wanes in France.

Alsace wines to note sugar level

Consumers will finally be able to see the sweetness levels in Alsace wines. Beginning with the 2021 vintage, all wines from this eastern section of France will note one of four degrees of sweetness:

• Dry (sec): sugar content of the wine does not exceed 4 g/l

• Medium-Dry (demi-sec): sugar content of the wine is between 4 g/l and 12 g/l

• Mellow (moelleux): sugar content of the wine is between 12 g/l and 45 g/l

• Sweet (doux): sugar content of the wine exceeds 45 g/l

For centuries consumers have learned by experience what to expect from these wines. While a riesling can be dry, a gewurztraminer can be sweet. Only tasting a wine will reveal to the tongue which is which.

According to a press release, the labeling initiative was originally proposed by the Association of Alsace Wine Growers with support from the CIVA (Conseil Interprofessionnel des Vins d'Alsace or Alsace Wine Board) along with other wine professionals in the region

Most people don't follow wine etiquette

A OnePoll survey done on behalf of Woodbridge Wines shows that 67 percent of respondents aged 21 and above agree that is a proper way to drink wine — but only 17 percent say they “always” follow the rules.

Among the 2,000 respondents, the youngest generation claim to follow the rules most closely. Baby boomers basically say they don’t care any more.

Just to show you how out of touch I am, the men in the survey preferred mac and cheese with their wine; women liked to pair wine with wings. And those in the Northeast are most likely to add ice cubes to their wines.

The rules they say they have abandoned:

• Drinking white wine at room temperature instead of chilled

• Holding a glass by the stem

• Filling a glass only half way

• Sniffing a cork

The bottom line: there is no wine etiquette any more.

Top 10 wine values from the Wine Spectator

The Wine Spectator has announced its first Top 10 Wine Values of the Year. What a great idea since their other list contains wines that are usually well over $100.

Here’s the list of values:

The Top 10 Wine Values of 2021 are: 

1. Allan Scott | Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough 2021 | 93 points | $17 | 100,000 Cases made/45,000 Cases Imported | New Zealand

2. Castello Banfi | Chianti Classico 2019 | 91 Score | $17 | 40,000 Cases Made/23,000 Cases Imported | Italy

3. J | Pinot Noir Monterey-Sonoma-Santa Barbara Counties Winemaker’s Selection 2018 | 91 Score | $25 | 65,000 Cases Made | California

4. Bodega Numanthia | Tinta de Toro Toro Termes 2017 | 91 Score | $24 | 12,500 Cases Made/10,000 Cases Imported | Spain

5. Seghesio | Zinfandel Sonoma County Sonoma 2019 | 92 Score | $26 | 100,685 Cases Made | California

6. Alois Lageder | Pinot Grigio Vigneti delle Dolomiti Terra Alpina 2019 | 90 Score | $16 | 19,000 Cases Imported | Italy

7. Dry Creek | Fumé Blanc Sonoma County 2020 | 92 Score | $16 | 29,000 Cases Made | California

8. Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars | Chardonnay Napa Valley Karia 2019 | 91 Score | $34 | 26,400 Cases Made | California

9. Frei Brothers | Cabernet Sauvignon Alexander Valley Sonoma Reserve 2018 | 90 Score | $27 | 40,000 Cases Made | California

10. Cambria | Chardonnay Santa Maria Valley Katherine’s Vineyard 2019 | 91 Score | $22 | 52,000 Cases Made | California