In the fall of 1987, just after I had passed my MS exam in the UK, a celebratory jaunt to Burgundy followed to keep the good times a’rolling. My good friend and fellow MS, Madeline Triffon, joined me for a few days before she had to blast back to the States. I recall fondly a dinner in Beaune, where upon her requesting the wine list, it was handed to me, and when she ordered the wine, the bottle was presented to me. Despite my repeated plea that she be allowed to accept and taste the wine, the apoplectic chef sommelier couldn’t visualize, much less internalize, that a woman could be in charge of the wine ordering ritual. Continue reading »

And no, I am not talking about fault lines in California, Mexico, Japan or even… of late, Chile. The ‘plates’ I am referring to have to do metaphorically with the dramatic shifting in the UK wine market and the fact that France no longer appears to be most anyone’s favorite when shopping these days. Not first, second, third, or now even fourth… are you amazed?

In restaurants, when I was first learning about wine in the late 1970s (yes, back in the proverbial day), it was all about French wine. Bordeaux and Burgundy were the pinnacles, and yes we tipped our berets to the Loire Valley, the Rhône, and a few bits and pieces of Provence and the Languedoc. We studied and consumed Italy at the peripheral level (Chianti and Barolo), enjoyed our token Germans, and locally were fiercely proud and supportive of an emerging local but, at the time, globally insignificant California wine industry. Continue reading »

I was glancing through the myriad emails that come my way this past week when I saw a headline in Wines & Sprits Daily.com that read: SOME FRENCH PRODUCERS USING NEW WORLD TRICKS. Needless to say, I was intrigued. It’s not a secret that French wines have been having a hard time of late selling in the American market and it’s not exclusively due to the tough time the dollar is having versus the euro. Continue reading »

Yes indeed the third Thursday of November is upon us shortly and with that comes the annual (albeit less and less awaited) arrival of Beaujolais Nouveau. Pardon me if I don’t get too excited. Maybe I am too old? Too jaded? Or just too pragmatic?

When I started in the biz in the late 1970’s the yearly nouveau season was touted as big event and indeed it was. The wines, made from the Gamay grape in the French region of Beaujolais via a process called carbonic maceration, are unique- fresh, vibrant, electric fluorescent magenta in color and effusing aromas and flavors of fresh banana, bubble gum, gushing strawberry, grape, and raspberry fruit all enveloped in smooth soft to non-existent tannins (a resulting byproduct of carbonic) and easy to drink… going down as easy as Kool-Aid but with a bit of a kick and often a prickle of spritz from the carbon dioxide trapped in the wines as they are bottled, sold, and shipped off. Continue reading »

I have to say that I was both troubled and frustrated by a recent article I read about the state of the state in Champagne, France. This part of the world, about 90 miles northeast of Paris, is home to what is arguably the world’s most revered if not most cherished bubbly and the de rigueur accompaniment to most all great celebrations globally. Being a delimited area, there’s a supply and demand factor surrounding pricing which ebbs and flows based on a few factors including, the world economy, what there is or isn’t to celebrate and… well, maybe just a little bit of greed? Read on… Continue reading »

Sometimes dramatic things happen with very little fanfare. Such is the case of a fairly significant change in law in France that went into effect on July 1st. According to a little box I came across when reading Gourmet Magazine’s July 2009 issue (page 25 to be exact!), the new VAT (Value Added Tax) on food (but not on alcohol) has been reduced from a very high 19.6% (where alas it still will be for wine) to a far more modest 5.5%. This is a huge victory for French restaurateurs who have been lobbying for years that they should be levied at the same rate as fast food outlets which were only being levied that 5.5%. Does this mean that fast food wasn’t considered food? Hmm… one has to wonder… Continue reading »

Or perhaps as confusing, when is a Syrah not a Shiraz? Great query. Perhaps as great as: when is a Pinot Gris not a Pinot Grigio or when is a Sauvignon Blanc not a Fume Blanc. Confused? You’re not alone.

Grapes that have multiple monikers are perplexing. Perplexing not so much in their names but in what those names actually translate to in the bottle. All are pairs of synonyms, if you will, in wine speak. As actual grapes, there is zero difference between any of those pairs: Syrah and Shiraz, same thing (grape). Ditto for Pinot Gris and Pinot Grigio and Sauvignon Blanc and Fume Blanc. And the reasons for the name differences have historically much to do with the physical origins of said grapes or a style. Shiraz is the Anglo-Australian name, if you will, of Syrah, which is French, while Pinot Gris is the French name of the same grape which is Pinot Grigio in Italian.  Robert Mondavi coined the term Fume Blanc in the late 1960’s to distinguish his dry style of Sauvignon against the sweeter versions (mostly blended out) that had existed in California prior. But over time and with wine becoming more popular, wouldn’t it be nice if we could extrapolate style and wine expectations from the names and confuse people less. Let me explain… Continue reading »

Of course, the answer to that question, without context, is: it depends. In this case, the well posed question stems around the truth or fallacy of wines being less expensive in Europe than they are here. I was reading an article by Katherine Cole of the Portland Oregonian entitled “Why wine is less expensive in Europe.” After reading her compelling article, my answer would be… depends.

In the article, the author points out several compelling reasons why wine can be less expensive and often is indeed less expensive in wine rich Europe. For one, wine is often, as in Spain, considered food from a taxation standpoint and, as such, not subject to the extreme levies of spirits. It’s not unusual to walk into a tapas bar and be able to order a glass of simple and tasty wine for the same price (or less) as a plate of any tapa, ración or bocadillo. Literally the equal of a buck or so, if not less, at times. Marvelous.
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Over the past few weeks I have been asked a lot about what to expect this year in terms of countries and regions who are poised to capitalize, if at all, in the current economic environment. A great but loaded question.

There are many factors which contribute to what is selling and what isn’t. A country may be ‘up’ volumetrically but ‘down’ in value. For example, if people are buying more French wine at lower prices (Alsace, Loire Valley, Languedoc) but are eschewing their normal desire to drink classified Bordeaux or Cru Burgundy, well, the cases could, in theory, climb while the actual dollars sag. This has been a case in point of the Australian market in the USA and England over the past couple of years that the Australians are keenly aware of, and in the process of aggressively addressing. A recent conversation had over dinner with some key head honchos for ‘Brand Australia’ (Wines of Australia) clearly pointed out this dynamic and addressed a few of the table’s questions on how they plan to respond. But it’s unfair to pick on the Aussies as they are certainly not alone in such a conundrum. So who is benefiting?

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When I first began my wine studies, it was all France, France, France. France, by definition at the time, had the benchmarks (Bordeaux, Burgundy, Rhône etc.) and they also had the muscle-flexing claim of regularly being the largest wine producing country, a mantle that they have owned… until now.

With the 2008 harvest, the center of gravity has shifted and Italy, based in part on the recent successes of Pinot Grigio and Prosecco in the American export market, has retaken the reins as being the largest wine producing country after a ten year second place finish. Amazing! Continue reading »