Value Wines in a Troubled Economy
Ξ May 20th, 2008 | → 0 Comments | ∇ A Day at a Time, Tasting Notes, Wine News |
Two articles came to my attention in recent days that frame an issue near and dear to those of us who enjoy wine with dinner every day: quality and price. With the dollar taking a beating against the euro, spiralling transportation costs, a faltering economy, with consumer debt as high as their confidence in the economy is low, and most importantly, increasing consumer prices across the board, discretionary income for luxury goods has fallen. In uncertain times we cut back on visits to the movie theater, dining out, and most certainly wine. And with respect to wine what are we to do, we daily imbibers?
The first of the two articles is Tough Times Help Redefine ‘Luxury’ by Vicki Smith. She writes, ” At The Wine Rack [Morgantown, W.Va.], where sales from the $10-and-under shelves are booming, Jocelyn Vorbach says aloud what most of her customers won’t: Friendships now have price tags, and dinner guests are gauged.
‘There are friends who get the $300 Caymus and there are friends who get the $10 bottle,’ Vorbach says. ‘They’re saying “I like them, but I don’t like them that much“‘.
But here’s Smith’s more relevant point, “Even wealthier customers are stocking up on bargain bottles, though they tend to purchase by the case.”
‘Before, they wouldn’t be caught dead with a $9.99 bottle in their presence,’ [Vorbach] says. ‘But now they will. As long as I tell them it’s a good one.’
All of this would be painfully academic were not for the second article, The Achilles Heal of American Wine by Michael Franz of the excellent wine site winereviewonline.com. So, what of the quality of that $9.99 price point sought by consumers in tough times? Mr. Franz writes, “There is a scandal in the American wine industry, and it isn’t what you might guess. It has nothing to do with the use of chemicals or scary additives. Nor is it about strange manipulative processes like ‘reverse osmosis’ or ’spinning cones.’ The scandal in American wine is that the United States produces remarkably few excellent wines costing twelve bucks or less.”
He goes on to explain exactly why, “A distressing number of affordable American wines lack complexity and are chunky and obvious, showing one vaguely sweet fruit note. And that’s all. No minerality, no hint of earthiness, nothing herbal or leafy.
“The simplicity of most affordable American wines extends not only to aroma and flavor, but texture as well. They are chronically lacking in structure from either tannin or acidity, and this applies to both whites and reds, with whites lacking ‘cut’ and reds lacking ‘grip.’”
Now before folks jump to the conclusion Mr. Franz is a wild-eyed Francophile terroirist consider that he tastes “between 8 and 9 thousand wines each year, considering them for review or judging them “blind” at wine competitions.”(ibid.) Further, he is the wine consultant for the Clyde’s Restaurant Group. Mr. Franz, along with his equally esteemed colleague Paul Lukacs, author of The Great Wines of America and American Vintage: The Rise of American Wine taste over 1400 wines annually to come up with their ‘core’ recommendations to the Clyde’s Group of 13 restaurants. And all the wines are tasted blind.
So how well did the affordable American wines do in the blind tasting? The news is not good. I encourage readers to consult the article for details surrounding Mr. Franz and Mr. Lukacs’ methodology, and especially their startling results. I believe you will find Mr. Franz’s summation sound. Which should prove a bit troubling for price-conscious drinkers. It does for me. The recent dust up between Alice Feiring and Matthew DeBord notwithstanding, clearly a small alarm bell has gone off. In these next few years of belt tightening I think it makes good financial sense that American wine producers begin to take a harder look at making a good quality $10 bottle of wine.
Admin
