Category:Wine trends

Update: Wine prices 2022 – have prices started to drop in time for the holidays?

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

sale price tag
Will retailers start putting discount prices on sales tags?

Three more signs wine prices may be easing

In August, I wrote – perhaps more hopefully than I should have – that the law of supply and demand could finally be catching up with wine prices. And now there might be evidence of just that.

The key here is that each harvest brings more wine, whether it’s needed or not. This is much different than manufactured products; if there’s no demand, the company just stops making the product. Wine doesn’t work that way. As my long-time pal and noted wine executive Dan Peabody famously said, “When the new crop of grapes comes in, you have to move out the old to make room for it. You just can’t keep it around and wait for it to sell.”

So far, as noted the last time, wine has been able to find a way around this problem. But maybe not much longer:

• Remember all those stories about poor harvests this year in France? Not really. The 2022 harvest will be 18 percent bigger than last year and four percent higher than the five-year average. Which means wineries need to move the current vintage out – even at lower prices – to make room for all those grapes.

• One of the leading wine consultancies says demand for the most expensive wines – which has propped up the market for the past several years – is slowing, and that slowdown will start around the holidays.

• Check out inventories, both at retail and on-line, and there are lots and lots – and lots — of older and previous vintages. The only way to move those wines is to reduce prices, and I’m already seeing a little of that. One previous vintage $25 Italian wine was half-off at one Dallas retailer.

Does this mean we’ll see lots of sales and markdowns over the next three months? It seems more likely than it did six months ago. Regardless, it looks like there mighty finally be a crack in the dam that is holding up higher prices.

TV wine ads: I’m Brosnan, Pierce Brosnan

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

This Spanish Cava ad tries to poke fun at itself, but doesn’t quite pull it off.

There’s a delicious irony about this commercial, which otherwise seems to be just another of the “Oh, it’s a TV wine ad for the WC to criticize” variety. I’m told I missed a chance to meet Pierce Brosnan at the commercial’s media event in Florida.

Who knew?

The ad, which ran on Spanish and European television, was part of a Christmas tradition for the old Freixenet, the Spanish producer of what used to be top-notch inexpensive Cava (but which has since been consolidated and no longer makes top-notch inexpensive Cava). Dallas’ Janet Kafka, one of wine’s legendary marketers, worked with Freixenet back then. When I asked her for details about the ads, she emailed me: “But we used to do a launch party here, even though the ads weren’t shown in the U.S. And yes, Pierce Brosnan starred in one and we had a big party! I think you were there, no?”

No, but that’s OK. I probably would have let slip that I wasn’t overwhelmed by Brosnan’s James Bond, embarrassing both Janet and myself.

To the ad: More of the same. To its credit, it tries to inject humor into advertising that usually doesn’t have any, and even pokes fun at itself – both for wine and Bond. But it’s just not funny.

Ad courtesy of KuFeL78, via YouTube

“Will Gen Z save Merlot?”

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

grim reaper with scythe
“Merlot… oh merlot. …”

Once again, the grim reaper is chasing merlot

Merlot, as a varietal wine, has been in its death throes for what seems like decades. I even asked, in 2016: “why does it look like merlot may be on its way out as a varietal?”

And merlot’s predicament has only become worse since then. I wrote a freelance piece last year that looked at the reasons for the decline, focusing on producers who still treat the grape with respect. The consensus? Merlot’s heyday as a varietal wine is long gone for a variety of reasons, none of which have to do with a certain movie that is not mentioned on the blog.

Now, there’s more evidence, from the Wine Opinions consultancy in its September newsletter. It asked its panel of wine drinkers how often they bought certain wines, and merlot was the big loser. It posted a 12 percent decline in “net purchase frequency,” the biggest drop of any varietal in the survey. The only consumers who showed an uptick were those under 40, who bought 2 percent more merlot. Hence, the Gen Z headline, courtesy of Wine Opinions’ John Gillespie.

The decline came at the expense of cabernet sauvignon and red blends, and anyone looking for a reason for the demise of merlot as a varietal need look no further than red blends. Merlot was always the fruity, less difficult, and less expensive red wine option, and the blends – sweet even — have replaced it for people who don’t want to drink cabernet. It’s probably not a coincidence that pinot noir, which is now commonly made as a soft red and not as traditional pinot noir, was the other big winner among survey respondents after red blends.

The irony about all of this? That the amount of merlot harvested in California has remained remarkably consistent over the past decade or so, which doesn’t make sense given its declining popularity. But that’s because merlot is going into the red blends and pinot noir – being used a the blending grape it has always been used as in Europe. The more things change, right?

Yes, nutritional labels fit on wine bottles

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

Gazela nutrition facts label
Damn! Only 87 calories. Who knew?

The Gazela vinho verde found space – why can’t others?

Almost everyone – including the federal government – has come to the realization that wine needs ingredient and nutritional labels. But there is still resistance from wine, because that’s the way wine works.

Hence, this post, and the picture at the left: A nutritional label on the Gazela vinho verde.

I contacted the Gazela importer to find out why the producer (one of Portugal’s biggest) added the label. If I hear back, I’ll update the post.

But it’s easy to figure out why: Just 87 calories, which is about three-quarters of a typical glass of wine (and fewer than light beer); almost no carbs; and no fat. My only complaint is that the alcohol content (a measly 9 percent) is stuck up in the upper left hand corner of the back label; it should be next to the nutrition box.

So, yes, Gazela and parent Sogrape have lots of ulterior motives to add the information. Obviously, they’re going after the younger, hard seltzer demographic, which sees that beverage as a more healthy form of alcohol than wine – less calories, less carbs, and so forth. So the box is letting those consumers know that Gazela is just as “healthy” – fewer calories, even. In this, vinho verde has always struck me as the perfect wine alternative for all those hard thises and hard thats.

So, given wine’s resistance to nutrition and ingredient labels, I don’t much care how many ulterior motives Gazela and Sogrape have. Results matter, and this is one more crack in the anti-label wall.

Count ‘em: There’s almost one wine drinking “holiday” for every week of the year

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

man looking at calendar
“Let’s see. When can we fit in Cranky Wine Writer Wine Day?”

Be sure not to overlook National Mulled Wine Day – as well as almost 50 others

The Wine Curmudgeon has discovered why – despite the evidence – so many people think Americans get drunk on wine very night.

That’s because there are at least 49 days, weeks, and months designated as some sort of wine drinking occasion. I write “at least” because searching for them and counting them was a bit overwhelming. As near as I can tell, there is at least one wine “holiday” every week, more or less. There’s even a Google wine calendar, just like those for religious and national holidays..

That would include National Wine Day, Idaho wine month, and sparkling wine week. Most common varietals, as well as those almost no one has ever heard of, have their day. That includes furmint and marselan.

Most of these occasions, obviously, are marketing gimmicks. They’re cheap and easy to do, don’t require purchasing expensive ads, and usually need nothing more than emailing a news release. I must have gotten a dozen or so for “National Red Wine Day” last month.

And why not? Get an influencer to post a picture to Instagram — #LanguedocDay, baby! — and you can boast to the client that their campaign was a big hit.

Full disclosure: We used this tactic for Drink Local Wine when we were getting the organization started in 2008. We “designated” the second week of October as “Drink Local Wine” week, and though the organization hasn’t been active in years, the week remains on the Google calendar. So I guess it must have worked.

Do these other things work? Who knows? But given the way wine marketing doesn’t do much these days save irritate me, it’s probably not any worse than anything else. And I did write about Furmint Day on Feb. 1, didn’t I?

Update: Wine availability, and why it makes so many people angry

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

Man in wine store
“That bleeping wine writer. Why doesn’t she write about wine that I can buy in the store next to my house?”

Once again, the WC tries to parse this availability thing and restore calm to the wine drinking universe

The following is mostly a true story. The names were changed to protect the guilty (though I doubt they would even notice):

Big-time wine writer (not me): “So, you have a question about wine availability?”

Reader: “Yes, and I am furious. You never list any wine shops in my city. What’s wrong with you?”

Wine writer: “Well, there could be a lot of reasons for that. What city do you live in?”

Reader: “I live in City A. Are you being paid not to list any shops in my city?”

Wine writer: “Of course not. No one in City A carried the most recent wine. But there are shops listed in City B. That’s right next to City A, isn’t it?”

Reader: “Why should I have to drive there? This is all your fault.”

Ain’t wine availability grand?

I’ve been grappling with this subject since I did my first wine story in the 1990s. It almost wrecked a friendship with one editor, who refused to believe that every store didn’t carry every wine – because that’s how it worked for everything else. And I did lose a wine writing gig because another editor never understood that, and just assumed I was lazy.

So if I had trouble explaining the concept to editors, the above-detailed story should come as no surprise. I’m a wine drinker. I go to a wine shop. So where the hell is the damned wine?

Would that it were that easy.

The most important thing to understand about wine availability? Just because a wine is in one shop in one city in one state doesn’t mean it will be anywhere else in the world. There are a variety of reasons for that – three-tier, the whims of shop owners, how much of each wine is made each year, and the politics and foolishness that are inherent in wine. But regardless of the reason, it’s about the only absolute in wine availability.

My job as a wine writer is to find and write about wines that are – all together now – generally available. Otherwise, what’s the point? Many of my colleagues write about wine that almost no one can buy. This might make them feel special, but they’re doing a disservice to their readers.

And – all together now – generally available means that a decent independent wine shop in a medium-sized city should be able to find the wine. I won’t write about a wine unless I get the sense that’s the case.

Because, as much as I would like to, I can’t guarantee the wine will be in a shop in City A. No one can. Given the flaws in the system, be glad if you can drive to City B to buy it.

More about wine availability:
• The dilemma of wine availability, why you’re so angry about it, and why it just won’t go away
• Ask the WC 14: The wine availability edition
• Eric Asimov and wine availability

Is spitting the dirty secret behind wine’s generation gap?

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

wine spit bucket
Maybe spitting isn’t as hip as the wine business thinks it is.

Let them swallow, and maybe they’ll figure this wine thing out

The Wine Curmudgeon has solved wine’s generation gap. It’s spitting.

This came to me the other day after reading Alisha Miranda’s piece in Pix.wine, when she detailed the difficulties in learning to spit wine: “I couldn’t fathom spitting out good, free wine.”

Cue light bulb moment.

Wine is telling young people, who see a $20 bottle of wine as something to be respected and savored and appreciated, that they have to spit it or they really aren’t wine people. Is it any wonder they think wine drinkers are crazy and move on to something else?

Actually, I should have realized this years ago because I’ve seen it dozens of times – in my classes at the old Cordon Bleu and Dallas College, at wine seminars at the State Fair of Texas, and almost anywhere I’ve done a wine tasting. When I get to spitting, everyone starts laughing (and laughs even harder when we get to sniffing).

In fact, I can only think of one other thing that requires spitting, and that’s chewing tobacco. Which, frankly, is not the comparison wine needs to make.

So how do we get around this spitting thing?

How about we let young people drink wine the way they want to? Yes, revolutionary, I know, and especially for a top-down business like wine, where our betters not only tell us what to drink – scores! — but how to do it.

And this might even work. One of my Cordon Bleu classes was particularly young and male, lots of caps on backward kinds of guys, and they thought it was pretty funny when I said they should spit when we did our first big tasting.

So many of them swallowed, lost their train of thought (to be polite) and came to class the next day feeling a bit off (to be polite). Said one: “I guess there’s a reason for spitting.” And they did, too, for the rest of the class – without the need for me to be snotty about it once.

Experience is often the best teacher, yes?

Photo: “Hip to Spit Bucket” by jamesonf is licensed under CC BY 2.0.