Here’s a surprising statistic:
70% of the 250 million cases of wine sold in the U.S. is controlled by families. This is an estimate by David Freed, chairman of Napa-based wine industry financer The UCC Group, quoted in the North Bay Business Journal report, “Wine Industry in midst of new wave of buyouts” (Jeff Quackenbush, Oct. 15, 2007). What makes that percentage so large? The huge wine mega-business, Constellation Brands, is family operated.
U.S. Per Capita Wine Consumption Picks Up Speed
Though wine drinkers now outnumber beer drinkers for the first time in U.S. history, winemakers take heed: our wine train has been very slow to leave the station and lags far behind other countries.
1934: the year after Prohibition, just 0.26 gallons of wine were consumed per American.
1946: Consumption jumped to 1.00 gallons – but dropped back to 0.67 gallons the next year!
1967: Twenty-one years later, it reached 1 gallon again —1.03 gallons of wine per American. Maybe thank the hippies for that.
1980: We topped the 2 gallon mark at 2.11. During the decade, Americans went wild with 2.43 gallons of wine per year, but by 1989, dropped back down to the starting point, 2.11!
1990-1999: In 1990, we were each drinking 2.05 gallons, but kept drinking less through most of the decade. 1999 saw us drop to 2.02 gals.
2000 – 2004 The new century saw a steady uptick in wine consumption—in 2005, at 2.37 gallons. Still not as high as 1985, 1986, or 1987—but chugging along.
2005 – We break the 3 gallon barrier weighing in at 3.09 gallons. Maybe thank the “Millennials” for that, those 20-29-year-olds who have embraced wine enthusiastically.
Our Wine Train vs. Others
U.S. 3.09 gallons
Italy: 16 gallons per capita
France: 14 gallons
Australia: 5+ gallons
If you want to attend THE wine country event, try getting tickets for the Napa Auction in early June. Last year, attendees raised $9.8 million, with a record set for a single bid by John Thompson of Woodside California. He paid $1.4 million for the Staglin Family Vineyard lot. That included a luxurious trip to Napa Valley and Italy, wine, and a Maserati Garen Staglin offered up at the last minute to anyone bidding more than $1 million. Other auction lots included wine from legends like Screaming Eagle and Harlan; four vintage cars, including the first Lexus hybrid luxury sedan ever; dancing lessons from celebrities from “Dancing with the Stars”; a walk-on role in the t.v. series “Ugly Betty”; and vacations to Montana and elsewhere. Comedian Dana Carvey was master of ceremonies—we don’t know who will be onstage this year.
Why are more and more wineries “going green” in the vineyard with sustainable and organic viticulture techniques? Why are they adopting solar technologies and calculating their “carbon footprints?” The experience of Dan Morgan, founder/winemaker of California Wine Club alumnus Morgan Winery, sheds some light.
When Dan starting planting his Double L Vineyard in the Santa Lucia Highlands of Monterey County in 1996, he soon saw his three little children playing among the vines. The idea that their playtime would include pesticides didn’t sit well with Dan and his wife, Donna. Not too long afterward, Morgan Winery adopted totally organic farming methods, the first vineyard to do so in the appellation.
Winemakers, like anyone else, want a healthy environment. They want to treat the land that is giving them so much with care and respect. With sustainable practices in the vineyard and cellar, they also hope to win the trust and appreciation of wine lovers who are looking for a great bottle of wine with a “green” pedigree.
To help wineries find their way to sustainable, the non-profit California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance (CSWA) gives workshops on sustainable farming. One of the most popular involves a self-assessment. Winegrowers fill out evaluations of their current operation to determine the kinds of sustainable viticulture practices that might fit into their viticulture. “The beauty of the California Sustainable Winegrowing Program is its simplicity,” Bill Cooper of Cooper-Garrod Vineyards says. “A couple of hours for the self-assessment questions, then you review the results and pick the areas that you want to improve first. With the new, on-line version, it is even quicker and easier.”
More than 1,000 wineries and vineyard enterprises have participated in these self-assessment workshops since 2002. Other CSWA education events have attracted over 5,000 vintners and growers in various parts of California wine country.
California wineries going green include:
Sunstone Winery in Santa Barbara County. It has used no herbicides, fungicides or pesticides since its planting in the early 1990s.
Pedroncelli in Sonoma County. This small family uses cover crops and puts grapestems and pumice back on the soil.
Madrone, located in California's Sierra Foothills Gold Country. This family owned and operated winery has erected birdhouses for owls to rear their young—and it's not as simple as you might think. “There’s a science to it. The perches must be a certain distance from the right hand side of the hole in the box because when the little owlets take their first flight, they have to have somewhere to fly to,” says winemaker/owner Paul Bush. “So they won’t use the boxes unless there is someplace to land back home. You put the perch to the right, because the owlets fly to the right.
Handley Cellars near Mendocino. Milla Handley inagurated her sustainable farming practices in 1990.
Bargetto Winery of Santa Cruz. It installed solar panels to operate its vineyard pumps several years ago.
Domaine Carneros in Napa's Carneros region: This sparkling wine house installed the largest solar collection system of any winery in the world, leading California wineries to solar.
Drytown Cellars in Amador County. They took advantage of significant tax incentives to install solar powering for their entire wine facility.
Medlock Ames of Sonoma County. As leader in sustainable farming, this winery features a corridor through the vineyards for wildlife and has just hired miniature cattle to munch the cover crops between rows of vines.
The list goes on, as the world of wine becomes a leading source of “green” practices and sustainable agriculture in California. As winemakers become more adept at producing all organic wines of character, expect to see more such choices on your wine shop shelves. Salud!
Are you a red wine drinker, or a white wine drinker? Do you prefer a big Zin to a thin Pinot Noir?
Do you know which varietal would win your vote?
Knowing how you would "vote" in an imaginary varietal election is something for wine lovers to ponder. Having a preference in the wines we choose can come from experiencing many wines. Or, it may arise from no experience at all.
If you have given yourself the gift of exploring all kinds of wine, from Napa Cabs to Argentine Malbecs,
Santa Barbara Pinot Noir to French Burgundies, your taste buds have shaped your preference.
If you have had very little experience of wine, but "know" you "always" prefer Chardonnay -- well,
it may be time to take a real look at the candidates.
Some of us grew up in households where mom always had white wine, so we do too. Or, Cabernet
ruled the conversation, so our cellar is full of Cab. It is easy to follow the path others have left for us.
Or, maybe a movie convinced us of our preference. Did Sideways make you a confirmed lover of Pinot Noir? Is that love true?
A joy of wine is that your varietal preference is an expression of your true individuality and something to cherish. If you know the wine you REALLY love, you can enjoy some wonderful explorations.
There may be wine clubs devoted to just that wine, or wine groups. You can search that wine out in all the different regions where it is known to grow well, and compare them, and find your favorites among your favorite wine type. You can even have a "Varietal Vote Party" where everybody brings their favorite "candidate" for a group caucus.
Uncork your vote, and enjoy your preference!
Here are some wine numbers to consider:
• It takes about 2.6 lbs. of fruit to make a bottle of wine
• One bottle of wine contains 25.6 ounces or four glasses of wine
• A vineyard that yields five tons of grapes per acre can produce around 3,800 bottles of wine per acre
• Wine barrels hold about 300 bottles of wine
With wine lovers out numbering beer drinkers in America for the first time in history,
here are some suggestions on how we can enjoy wine in 2008:
1. Drink moderately. Wine is a powerful entity. Too much can not only ruin your
evening, but affect that of others, too. Know thyself -- and know your limit.
2. Use wine in cooking. Try out some of the great recipes here at cawinespot and elsewhere.
The best cooks tell us always to use good wine for your recipes. And it's fun to serve the
same wine with the meal!
3. Enjoy wine with chocolate. I do! There are certain red wines, especially Merlots with chocolate overtones, that are terrific sidekicks to a half glass of wine at the end of a long day. And guess what? Both dark chocolate and wine have been found to have anti-oxidant properties important to good health. How much fun is that?
4. Have a wine tasting party. Make it really fun by having a bit of information ready about each wine,
inviting a friend or friends to bring an appetizer suitable to each wine, tasting wines "blind" and having guests guess which one was the Zin or the Cab or the Syrah ... it will be a party they'll remember.
5. Try wine at dinner in a restaurant. I know. It's often expensive and sometimes comes attached to a snooty server person. But it's a great chance to try something new, with a meal you might never cook.
Snooty sommelier? Ask for someone else to serve you, a person who is willing to collaborate with you on the best choice. Too expensive? Order by the glass, but avoid the "house" wine that is typically some
knock off blend.
6. Explore international wines. Even though the dollar is slipping, there are still bargains to be had
from "New World Wine" countries like Chile and Australia. Check it out.
7. Have a glass of wine with dinner. See what goes with your run-of-the-mill daily meals. Brown rice and vegies? Maybe Syrah or Sauvignon Blanc. Hamburgers? Try Zinfandel. Experiment. You are the only
expert at this tasting, since it's your meal, your kitchen and your wine!
8. Find a wine you like, and buy a case. You're likely to enjoy several advantages from your case purchase, including, perhaps, a discount on each bottle of wine; the pleasure of experiencing the
wine at different stages of its development (if you open a bottle each month); and the joy of knowing that
every time you go into that case, you're going to uncork a wine you really like.
9. Explore some high priced wines, and buy a bottle of your favorite for a special occasion. This way, you'll have on hand a wonderful treat to celebrate both the expected and unexpected. It will be your secret surprise to share.
10. Take the time to savor your wine. Wine is a most sensual experience that employs our senses of sight, smell and taste. Treat your glass of wine like a mini-vacation -- a quiet time, sitting back and relaxing,
is something we could all use every day. Salud!
Research at the University of Pavia in Italy has found that both white wine and red wine may help prevent the proliferation of streptococci associated with tooth decay and sore throats. Even small amounts of wine consumed daily may prove to be an effective antimicrobila agent in the mouths of humans.
source: Wine Spectator, Oct. 15, 2007
So many people who visit wine country say that after one or two wineries, wine tasting becomes one big, long blur.
It doesn't have to be that way ... if you're willing to spit.
Spitting out wine, rather than swallowing it, is what those who want to know more about wine will do.
It's exactly what allows a person to taste -- and savor, and truly experience -- a good number of wines in one day, without feeling woozily boozy.
Yet, if you go to a tasting room at any winery in Napa or Sonoma or Santa Barbara, what do you see?
Folks who have absolutely no intention of spitting out any portion of their pour (which, incidentally, may have cost them anywhere from $5 to $30 bucks).
Either, they don't know there is a spit bucket; they know a spit bucket exists, but are too embarassed to ask where; they've seen what can happen with a spit bucket and want to avoid getting near one (as in the movie Sideways); or, they don't understand that getting inebriated is not the point of wine tasting and, in fact, destroys the point: to lucidly savor a variety of wines you wouldn't otherwise encounter.
If you want to try something revolutionary next time you go wine tasting, ask the server to put that spitoon right in front of you at the tasting bar. Take a sip of the proffered wine, swirl it around your mouth to grok its fullest flavors and textures. And then spit it on out, wine lovers! It can turn a day of wine tasting into
a day of wines you can remember.
White, red, and rosé wines should be swirled before-hand and then several times more over the course of consuming what's in the glass. Swirling aerates or "opens up" a wine, making it smell and taste more pronounced. But because really vigourous swirling can also cause the alcohol to smell excessive and overpowering, fortified wines such as Port should be swirled gently. Finally, Champagnes and sparkling wines are usually not swirled, the theory being that the bubbles propel the aromas upward, mitigating the need to swirl.
source: www.pageaday.com
