With summer and harvest behind us, things seem brighter this year after a few very bad seasons. Yields were good and prices were fair in most cases. Does that mean everyone is happy? Of course not. Growers are never really satisfied and winemakers, well, who knows? Will wine prices sneak up and consumers not complain after being spoiled the last few years? Without a doubt the prices will go up since they’ve been stagnant for a significant amount of time. The good $15 bottle will now inch up to about $18 and so on. Will Trader Joe’s still be able to sell good wines for $4.99? Probably yes, since Argentina and Europe are still around. South Africa is poised to jump in also. And yes, there are many good wines available out there.
Since it’s time for a little levity, I ran across some very good wine-related sayings: 1. Alcohol is not the answer, it just makes us forget the question; 2. At my age, I need glasses (wine filled, of course); 3. I tried cooking supper with wine tonight—but it didn’t go so well. After five glasses, I forgot why I was in the kitchen; 4. Don’t forget to buy Mom a bottle for Mother’s Day. Remember, you’re the reason she drinks; 5. (on a billboard) WINE. Now cheaper than gas—drink and don’t drive; and 6. The secret to enjoying a good wine: Open the bottle and let it breathe—if it doesn’t look like it’s breathing, give it mouth to mouth. I’m not sure who comes up with all of these, but thank you, anyway.
OK, now a little fun with numbers from a new website: NorCalwine.com. Which counties have planted the most new vineyards in the past five years? Did you say San Joaquin? It’s added 10,800 to now total 71,403. How about #2—Fresno added 9,651 to a total of 41,808; Monterey added 9,595 to total 45,110; Sonoma added 8,777 to total 57,056; and Napa added 7,332 to total 45,801. Mendocino only added 2,092 to total 17,173. You know Mendocino, the county above us that’s trying to get some recognition but can’t figure out how. (See my last couple of columns.)
Now, what about varieties? The #1 is no surprise—Cabernet Sauvignon with 5,555 new acres in Napa, San Luis Obispo, San Joaquin and Sonoma counties. Pinot Gris is #2 with 4,383 mainly in the big valley; Zinfandel with 1,478 in San Joaquin and Amador counties. And Sauvignon Blanc is making a comeback with 1,234 acres in Monterey, Sonoma and Lake counties. More about Sauvignon Blanc later. What about the new kids on the block? Try Albariño, Pinotage, Symphony, Dornfelder, Aglianico, Tannat and a bunch of different Muscats.
I’m most happy about the return of Sauvignon Blanc, since I started planting it back in the early 1980s when I thought Chardonnay was going to be over-planted. How wrong I was and now still wonder what pleasure people find with licking butter off an oak stick. Oh well, different strokes for different folks. The next big challenge will be for the growers to learn how to grow Sauvignon Blanc without losing the grassy character it’s known for. I hope we’ve learned a lesson from New Zealand. There’s not much of a market for the tropical fruit style, as we’ve learned from the past. It will all depend on the grower using the right trellis and other cultural practices, picking at the proper time, and then not letting the winemaker screw it up.
Unlike Shiraz, we’re way out on the learning curve with Sauvignon Blanc, now let’s use those lessons. The consumer confusion created with Sauvignon Blanc in the 1980s and 1990s shouldn’t be repeated. When consumers buy Sauvignon Blanc, they don’t want to have to guess if it will be grassy or not. Let’s get our act together, girls and boys.
Consumer confusion is also responsible for the demise of one of the world’s great white wines—Johannisberg Riesling. With sugar levels ranging from virtually nothing to syrup and not any good way to tell from the bottle, we all said “baloney” and went back to Chardonnay and now Pinot Gris where at least we’ll know it’s dry or very close.
There are some wonderful dry Rieslings on the market, including Bogle at about $10 and Chateau Tanuda (Australia) at about $15. You typically don’t say “Australia” and “Riesling” in the same breath, but Clare Valley makes some wonderful ones. Reading the label is generally no help because the actual sugar level can be altered by the acid level when it comes to taste. There are also some wonderful Rieslings coming from the state of Washington from producers like Chateau Ste. Michelle. If I had to pick an area for making many wonderful wines (other than Sonoma, of course), it would be Washington. Some absolutely wonderful red wines including Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Shiraz are available from many different producers (check Maryhill out as an example).
Today’s market is being inundated with the so-called floral wines, meaning Muscato styles and flavors. The millennial drinkers really like the floral and sweet styles as proven by the results from the Next Gen Wine Competition, where the Muscato style wines garnered several gold medals as well as the sweepstakes white and bubbly. I personally think it will be a short-term fad, but only time will tell and I’m usually wrong. My taste buds seem to dance to a different drummer, or I’m just getting old—a real possibility! So I’ll stick with my favorites: Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris, Shiraz (Australia) and Zinfandel. I’ll definitely add Riesling to this list as soon I know what’s in the bottle. I’ve seen a scale of dry-to-sweet on a label with an arrow to indicate what’s in the bottle. I think that’s a wonderful start.
To close, I’ll add my greatest fear for the near future: As wine prices start to go up, restaurants will continue to raise prices and I really won’t be able to afford to go out and enjoy a good wine with my meal. And, heaven forbid, corkage might go up—at which point it should be called “screwage.” I think it’s meant to punish you for having the guts to bring your own wine to a fine establishment (at least in their eyes). And remember it doesn’t matter if the glass is half-full or half-empty; there’s clearly room for more wine. OK, off to your homework.
