Wine judging season is here, and I always find it interesting to see competition results and then try to interpret what they mean. Most of the time, there are no big surprises. As judges, I know we sometimes think we’re sending a message to the winemakers about liking this style or that, but in reality, the winemakers think we’re crazy. Very few winemakers agree with any results—except the ones that won big: “If I won, the judges were great, and if I lost, the judges were a bunch of idiots.”
When winners are announced, the surprises are always the most fun. As judges, we look at each other and say, “Did we really do that?” Recently, at the West Coast Wine Competition in Santa Rosa, the big surprises were the white sweepstakes winner and runner-up. Neither were actually from the West Coast, but they’re imported by West Coast wineries, which made them eligible for the competition. The best white wine was a Riesling—that, in itself, is a surprise—and what’s more, it’s from Australia (a fact that shouldn’t surprise regular readers of this column, because I’ve mentioned how good the Australian Rieslings are several times).
If American winemakers would get their act together and make truly dry, Johannesburg-style White Riesling, I think American wine drinkers would cherish it—and even buy it. Unfortunately, our Rieslings are labeled as White Riesling, but nowhere on the label do they indicate the level of sweetness in the wine. After trying a half dozen or more Rieslings and finding every sugar level known to man, consumers get confused and say, “The hell with it. We’ll go back and drink Chardonnay. At least they’re all dry, and the only variation is the size of the oak tree they put in it.” Consumer confusion, as it’s called (by at least me), is what’s so far killed the Riesling and Gewürztraminer markets. When made properly—dry and fruity—they’re wonderful and, if made consistently, I believe would be far more important in the marketplace.
By the way, the winner was Black Swan Southeastern Australia Riesling, which is very widely available for the grand total of $8. Yes, $8 not $80. (Add this to my assertion that wine quality isn’t based on price but by availability.)
The runner-up wine was a Sauvignon Blanc, and it, too, was from down under—but a little farther south in New Zealand. This is just further proof that the Kiwis lead the world in producing great Sauvignon Blancs. Chasing Venus is $16 retail, which is a little high compared to most California Sauvignon Blancs, but well worth every penny.
Sauvignon Blanc is another one of those varieties that’s been lost on the American wine consumer because of confusion. Try 10 different Sauvignon Blancs, and you’ll find at least five or six different styles, especially when assessing the degree of herbaceousness or grassiness. Many often exhibit a more tropical fruit character, which is not what Sauvignon Blanc is all about.
Other highlights of the competition were the five gold medals won by Mount Akum Winery in Fair Play (in the Sierra Foothills), Trentadue right here in Sonoma County and V. Sattui from the lovely Napa Valley. Four golds each were garnered by Gallo, Jeff Runquist Wines and Navarro Vineyards, which always does consistently well. One percent of the wines earned Double Gold, 11 percent Gold, 35 percent Silver, 30 percent Bronze, and 18 percent no award. What does this say? If you didn’t get an award, you’d better clean up your act.
It also says the Aussies and Kiwis have obtained a significant market share based not only on price but quality. Speaking of price, I’d like to mention a recent study, conducted by the Stanford Graduate Business School and the California Institute of Technology, to relate price and the perception of quality. At Stanford, brain scans (MRIs) showed that, “the more apparently expensive a wine, the greater the activity in the area of the brain thought to relate to pleasure.” In the follow-up study, without any price information, subjects all rated the cheaper wines more highly.
A report from the Association of Wine Economists (AWE) shows that, in 17 different studies, nonexperts consistently preferred cheaper wines—and even “experts” were only marginally more likely to choose pricier bottles as superior. The AWE’s conclusion is that, “both prices of wine and wine recommendations by experts may be poor guides for non-expert wine consumers.” Hallelujah!
I have another bone to pick. Every time I go out to dinner in Petaluma, I’m appalled at the lack of support restaurants there give to Sonoma County wineries. It’s as if they’re actually in Marin County and don’t expect to be supported by local wineries. It seems logical to me that, if restaurants want local support, then they should support locals. At Dempsey’s, a Restaurant and Brewery, the wine list goes like this: Reds—California, Portugal, France, Russian River, Argentina, Napa, Sonoma Coast, Ukiah, Paso Robles and Alexander Valley. Whites—California, Sonoma County, Mendocino, Dry Creek, Santa Maria, Russian River, California. Considering they could be all Sonoma County, but remembering they are a brewery, what can you say? By the way, the food isn’t international cuisine, so why should the wine list be that way? I wonder if price may be an influencing factor? Another restaurant that touts its local wine list but falls far short in practice is the new Café Bella, which even had Knight’s Valley located in the Napa Valley. For shame, not knowing your local geography.
In closing, don’t forget your homework. With all the new, very dangerous information about plastic water bottles, it’s even more reason to drink from a glass bottle—you know, the kind wine comes in.
