It appears that sales are slowly improving on the higher end. Most winemakers I’ve talked to seem to think things are turning around, but it will be a long time, if ever, before they return to their previous highs. I’m not sure I’m brokenhearted about that, since I never did think a $70 bottle was as good as a case of gin or brandy for the same price—and spirits go a lot further. I hope you haven’t forgotten the price of wine is based on availability, not quality.
At two recent wine competitions I’ve run, this fact was made bluntly clear, as several high-end wines (Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir, specifically) got their butts firmly kicked by less costly wines. Be a winemaker and blame it on the judges, or be a judge and say, “Hey, I didn’t make it, I just judged it!” You can view the results of the last three competitions at VWM-online.com. The only thing missing is the wines that didn’t get a medal, for fear of embarrassment. The wineries know, but you don’t.
The second big issue has a bit more thorns, and that’s crop size. Early spring reports had all growers crying because of weather problems, especially rain at bloom. Following up through the summer, the damage seems to be a little more hit and miss. If you were in the wrong place at the wrong time, you had a major crop loss, while others nearby were hardly scathed. Remember that farmers are always closer to calamity than success. Even a great crop and price could be better.
Additional spraying due to the prolonged rains also increased costs to the farmer but certainly helped the chemical companies and vineyard management companies, so the Ford and Chevy dealers, along with tractor dealers, might be smiling again after this season—if the wineries pay the growers and the growers pay the vineyard management companies. (Non-payment is happening more than you’d think.)
To follow up with my feelings that I’m getting old and the world is leaving me behind, I can only shake my head and wonder where common sense has gone. Adding another 5,000+ acres to an already ridiculous 55,000+ acres for a tiger salamander really doesn’t seem logical. I’m not against endangered species acts, but if we keep this up, we’ll be the endangered species that can’t do anything to make a living. Do you really believe John Barella’s potential quarry had a part in the nightmare?
While we’re at it, Annapolis is a battlefront again. If you’re not familiar with this less-than-a-hamlet in the middle of nowhere, take a Sunday ride—and bring a lunch and something to drink, or you’ll starve. Yes, the headwaters of the Gualala River area are certainly very sensitive for maintaining the river as one of the best steelhead rivers in Northern California, but with the planting restrictions already in place, I think the vineyards would cause far less damage than the funny-looking tomato plants that are the predominant crop.
I’m not in love with Premier Pacific, a highly financed and questionable vineyard management company. I’m referring to some very shaky things it’s done in Oregon. Maybe 1,800 acres in Annapolis is far more than needed in the marketplace over the next few years. I haven’t seen Premier’s projections, but I have seen Artesa Winery’s, a Cordoníu Winery from Barcelona, Spain, that wants to plant vineyards in Annapolis. It’s always treated its growers well and farmed its land well in the Carneros District.
Returning to some other thoughts about judging, it’s become very clear that the cork industry has worked hard on its “corked” or “cork taint” problem. Cork taint gives wine a wet horse blanket, musty newspaper smell that even if you can’t smell it (you need a severe sinus problem not to), you can taste it.
A few years ago, I’d get between 50 and 150 corked wines at a competition of 1,000 to 1,500 wines. That was definitely unacceptable. And now we’re only finding about 2 to 3 percent of them are corked, which I guess wineries feel is all right. With the answer so obvious, I think even that’s too high. How would you like to spend $50 or $100 for a bottle that’s corked? Sure, the winery would replace it if you were lucky enough to live in Wine Country, but otherwise what do you do but probably bad-mouth the winery for something beyond its control. Ah! The perfect answer, which you’ve heard from me many times before, is screwcaps! With great interest, I read that one of the truly high-end wineries in Washington, Hogue Cellars, is now going 100 percent screwcaps. Talk about seeing the light! The older I get, the more I hate corks.
Last, my friends, a short story: Years ago, I hunted with a tiny little guy, nicknamed Scarecrow. The minute we’d get back to camp, he’d say, “Gotta have a glass of red paint,” his words for red wine. Well, he was years ahead of himself because just recently, a Pennsylvania winery (yes, Virginia, there are wineries in Pennsylvania) released a can of red paint. It’s a one-gallon paint can with a valve like other Chateau-la-boxes and holds very close to five bottles. Oh, by the way, it’s drinkable by most standards, however at $35 you might want to stay with some of our California Chateau-la-boxes. And if you haven’t tried any, lower your nose and give them a shot. Maybe that should be your homework assignment this month.
