Winebits 808: Sparkling wine, three-tier system, wine bottles

This week’s wine news: The country’s best-selling U.S.-made sparklers, plus a defense of three-tier and a new eco-friendly wine bottle

• Oh so popular: Yes, premiumization has run amuck. So what are the best-selling U.S.-made sparkling wines? A bunch of supermarket stuff costing around $10, of course. But that’s the wine business, yes? Liz Thach, writing in Forbes, lists Andre, Cooks, Korbel, and Barefoot for both volume and dollars – hardly the high-end stuff we’ve been led to expect. She seems surprised, too. The story mentions a couple of reasons for this, including the popularity of these wines for cocktails. But we can’t overlook the supply chain: Most wine in the U.S. is now sold in supermarkets, and these are supermarket wines, as opposed to the more expensive California stuff.

• Speaking of which: Our friends at the Wine & Spirits Wholesalers Association, who venerate the three-tier system the way I do good writing, says we still need three-tier despite all the calls for change. The reason? How else will retailers be protected from fraud, minors trying to buy wine, and the like? Their source is a sting conducted by the Massachusetts booze cops, which found the underage can buy alcohol illegally. Shocking, yes? My other favorite part of the release is the WSWA’s charge that on-line wine sales are a monopoly, and that monopolies aren’t good. Shocking, yes? Especially since the 10 biggest wholesalers control two-thirds of the U.S. market.

• Good idea; crummy release: Ron Rubin, a well-respected producer in California, sent out a news release about its new econ-friendly bottle, which may or may not be made of glass. It’s supposed to be completely recyclable, lighter, and smaller; I assume it’s a new way to make a glass bottle, but nothing actually says that. If you’re going to tout a product that is supposed to be better than what currently exists, then just don’t say it is. Say what it is and why it is. Otherwise, what’s the point?