When Organic isn’t Green

 Posted by  Marketing, Wine Making  No Responses »
May 162013
 

HypocrisyI’m afraid I’m becoming just a bit skeptical about all the organic and bio-dynamic wineries in Europe.  Not that they are trying to farm in a more “natural” way, whatever that means.  Often it just means that they let the weeds (sorry–native vegetation) grow between the vines.  Fair enough.

But it seems that once the wine is ready to sell, all bets are off.  Ideally, the wine would arrive in the market in recycled paper cases, lightweight bottles, and easily recycled packaging.  More often it comes in slick packaging that includes those wonderfully heavy bottles that make no sense from any ecological direction.

Hmpph.

Brand Australia Revisited

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May 032013
 

Next Chapter

After a notable absence, the folks from Wine Australia have returned to promote the wines from Down Under.  Members of New York’s wine media and trade were invited for an “in-depth look at the ‘Next Chapter,’” which included a walk-around tasting and a seminar titled “Australia: Classic, Contemporary & Curious.” Moderated by Wine Australia’s Education Director, Mark Davidson, the seminar panel also included Suzanne Barros, East Coast Market Development Manager for Wine Australia; Jeff Taylor, Head Sommelier for Elen Madison Park; and Tyler Colman, Founder/Author of Dr. Vino. Unfortunately, although scheduled to be on hand, Matt Fowles, Owner of Fowles Wine, was unable to attend due to problems with New Jersey Transit.

So, if the first chapter of Australian wine was all about critters and value, what is this next chapter all about?

Davidson opened up the session with the admission that the image of Australian wine has suffered a bit and further added that people had become bored with Australian wine. He then discussed the emergence of Australian wine from its earliest beginnings referencing a Monty Python skit in which such wines were described thusly: “This is not a wine for drinking; this is a wine for laying down and avoiding.” Davidson suggested that, from there, Australian wines entered a Parker-style era and that now, it was time to revisit Australian wines as they had re-emerged in a new era.

Picking up on this thread, Suzanne explained that many Australian producers were now planting southern European varieties due to their own personal experiences in working in these regions. More specifically, she discussed the similarities in climate such as that between McLaren Vale and Sardinia. Consequently, we are now seeing grapes such as Sangiovese, Tempranillo and Assyrtiko being grown in Australia. She also explained that, with climate change, producers are looking at varieties that hold their acidity.

As evidence of both the newer side of Australian wine and the more usual suspects, the first flight included Vermentino, Riesling, Semillon and Viognier, with Tyler commenting on the stylistic variations being seen among Riesling. He discussed that on his trip to Australia in 2009, he hadn’t seen much off-dry Riesling, but that it was nice to see one today (Grosset Alea Riesling 2012, Clare Valley, $20.00). Mark suggested that reaction to the high, searing acidity found in young Australian Riesling made such styles welcome, joking that, “Drinking Polish Hill Riesling young is akin to being electrocuted.” However, he indicated that off-dry styles wouldn’t be the dominant style found in the country.

The conversation then shifted to that of Hunter Valley Semillon, given its very unique style in the world. The Semillon in the seminar line-up was actually from the Barossa Valley (Peter Lehmman Margaret Semillon 2005, Barossa Valley, $23.00). While many of these are produced with some oak influence, some Barossa producers are moving away from the oaky approach and focusing on wines that show some development with age. When audience member, Mary Gorman, MW, wondered why Australians were looking to new varieties rather than on exploiting their existing strengths – namely Hunter Valley Semillon, Mark offered that Hunter Valley Semillon was difficult to sell to the average consumer.

The next flight was led by the Cullen Kevin John Chardonnay 2010, Margaret River, $75.00, which was indicative of the changing style of Australian Chardonnay. While power and richness still resonate, there is evidence of more elegance and less oak influence today than in the past. This was followed by the Mac Forbes Worri Yallock Pinot Noir 2010, Yarra Valley, $42.00, which suggested that Pinot Noir is being produced in a leaner style than previously.

The next two wines – a varietally-labeled Grenache (Ochota Barrels Fugazi Grenache 2012, McLaren Vale, $44.00) and Mourvèdre (Turkey Flat Mourvèdre 2010, Barossa Valley, $32.00), respectively – displayed not only beautiful complexity and restraint, but also a shift away from blends and toward single-variety wines.

The third and final flight was meant to showcase the diversity of Syrah/Shiraz, with wines from both cool climate (Victoria) and warm climate (McLaren Vale and Barossa Valley) represented.  Mark advised that the producers were intentionally making a statement by their choice of name on the label (Shiraz vs. Syrah).

Interestingly, while Mark spoke of the need to emphasize regionality as part of Wine Australia’s rebranding, this seemed to be less of a theme of the seminar. Additionally, the price of the wines shown in the seminar provided another clue about this new chapter of Australian wine – only two of the wines were under $15.00 and more than half were over $30.00.

After tasting through the wines in the seminar, it was clear that Australian wines have much more than fruit-forward characteristics; these are wines with depth and diversity. However, it is not clear whether these wines will be widely accepted in the market given their heftier price tags. While the seminar participants could recognize the quality of the wines, even they balked at some of the price points when compared to more widely recognized performers such as Burgundy or Hermitage. Only time will tell how this next chapter will end.

The Battle of the Bubbles Goes Bad

 Posted by  Marketing, Trade, Wine Tasting  No Responses »
Mar 182013
 

FacepalmIf you’re going to stage a blind tasting (or any other type of event, for that matter), you should do it right or not at all. Veuve Ambal’s Battle of the Bubbles left a bad taste in my mouth and it had nothing to do with the wine.

Members of the press were invited to “an exceptional and unique blind tasting of sparkling wines from Bugundy…” It turned out to be quite exceptional – exceptionally poorly run. Unfortunately, an event that held such promise became a lesson in too much and too few at all the wrong times.

After explaining that the wine was produced in the same manner as that of Champagne (Méthode Traditionnelle), the invitation posed the question, “Are you ready to challenge your expectations about Champagne and be amazed by a sparkling wine from Burgundy?” I was suitably intrigued and looked forward to the challenge. Would I be able to spot the Burgundian sparkler among its Champagne colleagues? I wasn’t sure, but I was curious to find out.

When I arrived I found only a few colleagues assembled, but, over the next 20 minutes it became extremely crowded. Relegated to the bar area in the front of the restaurant (the remainder of the restaurant was off-limits as the staff prepared for that night’s dinner service), there was insufficient room to move.  And, quite a few folks were obliged to stand. [Maybe they thought it was a Battle of the Bands?] So, we kicked off the event with too little space and too many people. Not an auspicious start, but I continued to keep an open mind.

After sitting around waiting for the masses, we were eventually formally welcomed and the event’s format was clarified. Each participant would receive a single flute, go up to the bar and have the first sample poured for them, at which point, they would taste the wine, before asking for the second blind sample. Everyone had been given a card on which to rank their preferences from 1 to 5 (with 1 being one’s favorite and 5 the least favorite).

Attendees were further advised that their rankings would be tabulated, with the results and all of the wines’ identities to be revealed via e-mail a few days later. [Another pet peeve was the misspelling of Nicolas Feuillatte in that e-mail, but I digress.]

The format itself posed its own problems; chief among them was too few glasses. Allocating each person with a single glass meant that we didn’t have the opportunity to truly comparison taste. Even when taking careful tasting notes, it is always preferable to be able to taste all of the wines together to be able to fully evaluate the nuances among them. [A point which is presumably important if the event is intended for people to rank the wines against one another!]

Even more egregious was the choice of stemware. The flutes were not at all conducive to evaluative tasting. Their hollow stems potentially caused people to warm the wine unintentionally simply by holding the glass. Moreover, the pours were quite small, which while not a complaint on its own, meant that most of the wine sat in the narrow stem instead of the glass’ bowl, making it extremely challenging to adequately assess the wines’ aromas. [Again, an important point unless I am I missing something here?]

Additionally, getting out from my table was simply impossible and even my colleague, who graciously schlepped from the bar to the table and back again, had difficulty getting past people without bumping into them or spilling wine. On occasion, we did luck out when the proprietor of the winery walked around with the next sample and poured at the tables, saving us from having to negotiate the crowds, but this was haphazard at best.

Equally haphazard was the passing of hors d’oeuvres. The event was held at Petrossian, a high-end New York restaurant known for caviar. While I know there is significant debate in some circles about whether Champagne (or similar sparkling wines) and caviar really are a match made in heaven, I was more than prepared to do some field research. But while servers were seen with trays of smoked salmon, caviar blinis and caviar mousse, after visiting our table once or twice, were never heard from again. Consequently, we each had a single taste of the three different canapés and I think we were the lucky ones. As veteran journalists, we didn’t expect a full meal (and certainly not one of caviar), but thought it was really strange to host the event at this particular venue if too little food would be served. [Perhaps we could at least have had some neutral crackers or bread on the table to cleanse our palates in between tasting?]

A few days later the e-mail arrived and I was quite surprised by the results, which placed Veuve Cliquot first, followed by the Veuve Ambal. While my table may not have been a representation of the total group, none of us had spoken favorably about the (then unknown) sample of Veuve Ambal. In fact, I had it dead last in my line-up. But, frankly, the results weren’t really a concern.

At the end of it all, I did discover that I have a preference for Moet & Chandon’s Imperial Brut, but would be nearly as pleased with Taittinger Brut. And, I’m still waiting to conduct that caviar-Champagne tasting research should anyone need a volunteer! I might even be willing to re-taste the Veuve Ambal under more conducive circumstances, but I will definitely think twice about attending any future battles.

The Continuing Adventures of the Smoking Loon

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Jan 312013
 

The Continuing Adventures of the Smoking Loon

The “Smoking Loon”. That’s what they called him. Nobody quite knew who he worked for, nor where his loyalties lie, but he was undeniably good at what he did…

Thus begins the fun promotion that Balzac helped one of our clients implement. As the namesake of their most popular wine, he represents the adventurous spirit in all of us. So, in honor of the Smoking Loon, They are offering a chronicle of his adventures, as penned by his biggest fans. It’s sort of a choose-your-own-adventure meets a serial story.

If you are interested in contributing a sentence that continues the tale from where it last left off, you can visit the promotion by visiting here (you’ll need to me a Facebook user). Each week they choose their favorite new addition and post it to that site. Join the fun, if you dare…

Thinking outside the Pairing Box

 Posted by  International, Marketing, Trade  No Responses »
Nov 122012
 
Ochoa sisters

Adriana Ochoa (left) and Beatriz Ochoa (right)
Photo Credit: Tracy Ellen Kamens

As head of marketing for her family’s winery, my friend Beatriz of Bodegas Ochoa in Navarra, Spain was visiting the New York area this week. We had arranged to meet up for dinner on Friday and, when I asked her what type of restaurant she would prefer, she merely stipulated that it be trendy and fun. I admit that I am a bit out of the loop when it comes to trendy, so I reached out to a friend who is more knowledgeable about the hot new restaurants and received a list of places to consider. The only problem is that, because they are hot and trendy, these restaurants were already booked, so the list was abandoned. As an alternative, I reserved a table at a slightly faded star, but in a trendy neighborhood.

Friday arrived wet and windy, with the requisite weekend traffic, further compounded by the President’s visit to town, all of which meant that it took Beatriz a full hour to travel the 10 blocks from the train station to her hotel. The reservation came and went, so we switched to Plan B.

The wonderful thing about New York City is that we have a ton of restaurants of every conceivable type (and even some inconceivable ones). Although she indicated that she was up for anything, Beatriz mentioned an interest in Mexican food, so we walked down Ninth Avenue in search of whatever caught our fancy. We paused to peruse the menu at a French bistro, but the fact that one of the items was called “Tuscan lemon chicken” made it difficult for us to take it seriously and we continued on our journey. Less than a block away, we found a lively Mexican restaurant and were seated immediately.

So, what else had Beatriz been eating since her arrival in the U.S.? Spanish food. Or, probably more appropriately erzatz Spanish food. And lots of it. It seems that no matter where a winemaker or other ambassador of a winery travels to, the conventional wisdom is to pair their wines with hometown cuisine – in this case, Spain.

As Beatriz and I continued to talk, it was clear she would have preferred that her distributors had been more creative when scheduling some of her dinner events. I’m all for the adage, “What grows together, goes together,” but this is a very limited view for the industry to take. Is this truly the message that we should be sending – that wines from Spain (or Italy or France or wherever) taste best when paired with food from Spain (or Italy or France or wherever)? Shouldn’t we, instead, send the message that wine can be paired with a wide range of cuisines? Especially in a place like New York, where we have such diversity.

And, the more I thought about it, it was a missed opportunity. Perhaps, it could be argued by some that some Spanish wines may seem a little out of place on certain wine lists, but wines from Navarra are primarily varietally-labeled wines – Chardonnay, Merlot and Tempranillo among others. These are wines that can easily transition to nearly any restaurant’s wine list, regardless of the cuisine’s origin. Moreover, as good quality wines at reasonable price points, Navarran wines seem to be a natural fit in this regard.

Yes, if I go to a Spanish restaurant, I would be more than surprised not to find the list heavily weighted with Spanish wines, but I’d love to see other options available to me as well. I might be in the mood for an Italian Vermentino to pair with my Gambas al Ajillo. Similarly, why not include Spanish wines on the list at a French restaurant (Rioja with escargots) or a Japanese sushi place (Rias Baixas with a tuna roll)? We have been trying to expand consumer’s palates and their pairings – getting them to explore such matches as red wines with fish. Let’s take this permissive attitude to the next level and think outside the cuisine box when hosting lunches and dinners with winery personnel.

The Glamour of Wine

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Nov 072012
 

ExhaustedI can’t tell you how many people have told me that they want my job.   And two weeks ago, I was open to offers.  I started by flying to NY for the Simply Italian tastings.  That meant that I got up at 4:30 PDT to catch a flight to NY.  The next day I was up at 5:00 PDT to  race over to the NY Public Library to start getting the tastings organized.  Among other things, I introduced the first speaker, my old friend Riccardo Riccicurbastro from Franciacorta, and also give the last seminar, on the wines of the Veneto.  In between I was running upstairs (seminars) and down (grand tastings) as needed.  Did I mention that we were also organizing a film shoot for the wines of Friuli there?  That night, I was at A Voce for a magnificent dinner with the Grandi Marchi wineries—and back to the hotel around 11 p.m..

So far, so good, right?

Next day, up at the crack of dawn to catch an early flight back to California, so that I could get some work done and teach my class at Napa Valley College that evening.  The class ended at 9:30.  That was a long day.  And it was made even longer by the fact that I raced back to the airport after class to catch a red-eye leaving SFO at 11:45 pm for Chicago, so that we could do the whole Simply Italian event all over again in the Windy City.   I arrived at the Hotel Sax in Chicago at 6:30 a.m. and had a breakfast meeting.  And yes, we also did the video shoot in Chicago.  By the time I wrapped up the Veneto session, I was pretty darn tired.  And that’s when the Grand Tasting began.  Four hours later, all of it on my feet, and I was ready to clean up the ballroom, and take the film crew to dinner.  Steak, of course.  It was Chicago.

In bed by 10 p.m., and the next morning I was back at O’Hare to catch a flight to SFO and drive home.

Four days.  Four flights.  Almost 10,000 miles. Three cities, two seminars, two introductions, one night class, two Grand Tastings, three business dinners (and a breakfast), two video projects (including two interviews with me) and one red-eye.

I slept pretty well on Thursday night.

Indigenous cosmopolitan: Prosecco Superiore goes “glocal”

 Posted by  International, Italy, Local Wine, Marketing  No Responses »
Nov 022012
 
Indigenous cosmopolitan: Prosecco Superiore goes “glocal”

Photo Credit: Tracy Ellen Kamens

Passing the microphone to moderator Luciano Ferraro, the reason behind Prosecco’s popularity became clear. Ferraro shared that his wife had described the wine as “’light, fruity and beautiful’” and further explained that his wife doesn’t even like wine. American journalist, Alan Tardi, concurred, saying that it was fresh, pleasant, low in alcohol, well priced and very versatile; in sum, it was “Italy in a bottle.”

As evidence of the wine’s success, Professor Vasco Boatto presented data, which showed significant growth of Prosecco (both Prosecco DOC and Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore DOCG) in value and volume. Figures from 2011 showed the product’s growth to be up 63% in value and 48% in volume, in the U.S. alone.

But, Tardi also mentioned that even though Americans have embraced Prosecco with open arms, they do not fully appreciate the territory where it comes from. He added that there is still work to be done in differentiating Prosecco DOC and Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore DOCG for American consumers.

Speaking to the theme of this year’s Vino in Villa event – Indigenous cosmopolitan—Enrico Finzi, president of Astraricerche, discussed globalization 2.0. While globalization 1.0 has created a homogeneity worldwide (think Coke or McDonalds), this new phase ushers in the opportunity to be “glocal.” Accordingly, globalization and local do not have to be at odds with one another. Rather, local traditions are being revived and exported out of their local territory while maintaining quality, providing a wider audience for these products, a “plurality of access.”

Building on this theme, the tasting event featured international cuisine from Japan and Russia and the main dinner paired Prosecco Superiore with food from one of Denmark’s top restaurants- Restaurant Kvægtorvet di Odense in Fionia. From the fjord shrimp with pickled cucumber and rye grains with pea purée to the roasted loin and fresh strawberries, the Prosecco Superiore rose to the occasion in each case. Proving that two seemingly disparate, artisan products – Danish food (almost all of the ingredients were brought in for the dinner) and an Italian wine – could find such synergy at the table.

The guys behind Wines ‘Til Sold Out

 Posted by  Marketing, People  1 Response »
May 072012
 

An email arrives from WTSO and you immediately begin to salivate. Perhaps your heartbeat races and your pulse quickens. Thankfully, this isn’t porn-related spam, but rather a doorway into a semi-secret world of seemingly unheard of wine discounts. At 30-70% off original retail pricing, these time-sensitive deals offer up incredible values on a wide range of wines from lower-priced, large production wines to some of the world’s priciest such as Napa Valley Cabernets, Brunello di Montalcino and Bugindian Pinot Noirs.

So just who is this WTSO that sends such great e-mails? Cracking the code, WTSO stands for Wines Til Sold Out, a members-only, flash sale wine site and the brainchild of Elliot Arking. Elliot seems to have appeared from nowhere if you believe his LinkedIn profile. This is somewhat true since Arking launched WTSO in 2006. However, it only tells part of the story. Arking’s full resume encompasses work with several successful companies, including the purchase of Roger Wilco Wine & Spirits, a retail wine shop in southern New Jersey, with his brother Joseph, in 1982.

His son Jamie’s profile is more complete, chronicling his career in research and development and strategic marketing after receiving a Ph.D. in molecular pathology and, later, an MBA in Finance. Jamie logged in time at healthcare and biotechnology companies, taking up residency in D.C. and then San Diego, among other places. Sounding more like a Wharton professor than wine salesman, Elliot explained that he told his son to “always be on the income side of the ledger.”

With his own 30 years of experience in brick-and-mortar wine sales, Elliot was uninterested in online retailing when his nephew (Joseph’s son) first suggested it. But, his aha moment came when he viewed an electronics website that sold only one product at a time. He thought the idea made sense and offered a great value proposition. Adopting the same concept, Elliot and Joseph unveiled WTSO in the summer of 2006, building up its membership slowly, but steadily, over time and learning along the way. About four months after the initial debut, he tweaked one of the offers to include free shipping and noticed a big impact on sales. As a result, all orders now ship free of charge.

By 2008, WTSO had become a serious venture, at which point Elliot began to nag Jamie to return to the east coast and join the family business. As Jamie tells it, “He told me to stop … (expletive implied) … around and get home.” So he did, taking on the role of WTSO’s Chief Financial Officer.

Jamie jokingly complains that he doesn’t get taken along on tasting trips, but claims that his palate isn’t as sophisticated as that of his father and Uncle Joe. Despite his mock indignation about being confined to spreadsheets and numbers, Jamie seems quite giddy with the way things have evolved; clearly proud of the company his family has created.

Today, WTSO employs 30 people and has over $70 million in annual sales. The website generates $52 million, with the balance coming from sales through their app and other social media. Although their mailing list is quite extensive, approximately 140,000 active members account for the majority of purchases, who continue to buy again and again.

Given the Arkings’ devotion to customer service, such repeat business is to be expected. What might be surprising is the level to which they will go to make their members happy. Along these lines, WTSO uniquely provides a money back guarantee; if the customer has a problem with a wine for any reason –even if s/he just doesn’t like it – they will receive a credit for that particular purchase. Similarly, in tracking customers’ comments on the site, they discovered that a member had identified a corked bottle several months earlier, but not reported it. Elliot immediately reached out and offered a refund, much to the astonishment of the member.

Rather than sharing his opinions, by design, wines are marketed with their respective press scores since Elliot prefers third party endorsement to add legitimacy to a wine’s quality. On rare occasions, if a wine has been purchased in sufficient quantity, it may show up on the site again and will also be accompanied by members’ ratings.

While some have been critical of the flash site phenomenon, arguing that the approach is unsustainable long term, the Arkings disagree. They feel that wine will always be available to be sold in their business model. Moreover, they stress the positive influence that their site has on individual wineries – offering an important distribution channel with high impact and high thru-put to the consumer, such as the sale of 1,000 bottles in a single hour on one occasion.

Elliot further emphasized that they buy in large quantities and pay right away and was quick to note that, upon purchase, they take delivery of all wines. Consequently, they have full control of the product (as well as the risk). This differs from some of the other flash sale sites that market on behalf of the winery, but don’t ever take possession of the products. This point of differentiation ensures that WTSO maintains the highest quality throughout the process, but also translates as good cash flow for the wineries which don’t make any money on inventory sitting in their cellars.

Additionally, Jamie suggested that they are helping smaller wineries find new customers that they wouldn’t otherwise find. As a follow up, he believes that their WTSO clients may ultimately become wine club members of a given winery, having been exposed to those wines through WTSO.

Looking ahead, Elliot admits that he takes a conservative view, begging the question, if it works, why change it, but does acknowledge the significant potential in growing their customer base. Accordingly, while there are no plans to add or alter the company’s activities, member acquisition remains a priority for the foreseeable future. All of which means that there might be a lot more people salivating over their inbox.

Which Wineries are Most Engaging?

 Posted by  Marketing, Trade  No Responses »
Apr 112012
 

VinTank WISMIThis week VinTank released their Wine Industry Social Media Index. For those of you unfamiliar with VinTank, they are a software company that provides social intelligence for the wine industry. In laymen’s terms, they help wineries see who is talking about them and why, and gives them the tools to make it easier for them to engage with wine drinkers. The Social Media Index is their foray into helping wineries judge how well they are communicating through social channels such as Facebook and Twitter.

So what?

Well, the wine industry generally lags behind the rest of the business world in connecting with the people who actually drink the wine they are selling. There are several factors why this is, but mostly it has to do with the fact that most wineries are still family owned and they just don’t have the resources (time or money) to spend on social platforms. The Social Media Index gives a glimpse into which wineries are doing it best and which have room to improve. This is great for the consumer because I believe that this will encourage more wineries to invest more in their social media marketing programs, providing a richer online experience and helping consumers connect with their brands.

Time will tell whether wineries actually take advantage of this potentially valuable resource.

 

Muscat Love

 Posted by  Marketing, Varietals, Wine Facts  No Responses »
Feb 242012
 

MuscatWe’ve watched the Muscat varietal creep up the ladder of popularity for some time now, and it has just made a big move.  Wines & Vines magazine reported this week that Muscat has officially ousted Sauvignon Blanc as the third most popular white wine varietal in America.

Nothing so far has displaced king-of-the-mountain Chardonnay which is the best-selling wine—never mind red or white– in the U.S. And Pinot Grigio (Pinot Gris) is holding at second place.

Who knew that Muscat—all sweetness and orange blossoms– was a prowress at heart.  A study by Symphony IRI shows sales of Muscat grew 70% compared to Sauvignon blanc’s 7% from January of 2011 to January 2012.

The wine is often labeled Moscato (its Spanish and Portuguese name) in the U.S. but goes by a large variety of names around the world.  It has enough synonyms to make your head spin. But one thing is clear:  this grape varietal is one of the oldest, if not the oldest, on the planet.  Jancis Robinson’s Oxford Companion says Muscat was likely the first grape farmed in France. It was wide spread in Roussillon in the 14th century. It is also Italy’s oldest varietal, where it flourished in Piemonte, land of the grand Barolos. Sorry, Nebbiolo, you weren’t always first!

But anyway, we digress when really this should just be about opening a bottle or two of this rising star and seeing what the hubbub is all about.

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