When it dawned on me just how lucky American wine consumers are today. Really.

I am not going to bother to quote you all the statistics and studies which are readily out there if you Google away but I will put it out there: America is currently the most significant consumer wine market in the world. Period. For now (yes, we are all eying China and Asia). But for now… America drinks volumetrically more wine (or depending on the study you read is about to drink more wine) than any country on earth (not per capita but as a nation), and we have been the most profitable wine market for several years. All of this is good for the consumer… and so, you ask, why? Continue reading »

Ask a handful of involved wine folks about the status of the AVA system in the USA and you are likely to elicit as many guffaws as tears. Things are a mess. You have several folks in northern Napa (Calistoga to be exact) who had put things on relative ice while they sort out their ‘issues’. Curious? Read on: Evans, Wiggins stand up for Calistoga AVA. And the reality is it’s no closer to really being resolved. But, things have opened up again recently.

The legitimacy of an AVA is the topic of more than a single blog, but at the end of the day, the concept of standing for something more than geographical boundaries would make sense. Continue reading »

The current economy, radically different from the pre-October 2009 version, has had some dramatic effects on wine sales and wine in general out in the so-called real world and much of what you might well have intuited out there is likely to be true. Let’s explore.

According to an October positing on Decanter Online, “Napa Suffers at High End,” ultra premium wines, especially those higher end babies from Napa Valley, are taking a real hit out there. 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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It is inevitable that people die. As we become older death is more tangible as our contemporaries, rather than just older relatives, older friends and folks you read about in the newspaper, pass. Professionally, the true impact is felt when you lose colleagues that you know, respect and admire. Recently these losses have been tough on the wine business, as we have lost what seems a large number of folks. Or maybe it’s just that they are people I knew, knew relatively well, and respected even more.

The past few months have taken from us Robert Mondavi, Didier Dageneau, and most recently David Lett. There are others, many others in fact, but these three icons are people whose lives personally touched mine. Words can’t begin to express the loss sustained, and the leadership void that each of these gentlemen leaves in their “back yards” of the Napa Valley, the Loire Valley and the Willamette Valley. All were influential advocates, spokespersons extraordinaire and visionaries for their collective vinous passions. My encounters with them over the years, always excitedly anticipated, were striking, instructive, educational, and memorable. Continue reading »