When it comes to watching football, I am most definitely not
one of those guys on the couch you see in the beer commercials. There may be a
couple of brews in the fridge for special occasions or for friends who demand
them, but for me football on the tube is as much about wine as it is about the
game — a chance to multitask with two things I really enjoy.
Dorian at Budget Vino asked me not too long ago to write a
column about some of the interesting aspects of the wine business, and asked
for my perspective as a vintner. Being
involved in wine, and having to work with some people whose stock portfolios
are almost as large as their egos has opened my eyes to many of the business’
idiosyncrasies, and painted a rather skewed image of the California wine industry as a whole. One of the most absurd things to me about
this industry is that the type of wine that should being produced and what the
public is actually interested in is not always the same thing. So as a result, the wine business as a whole finds
a way to correct for the shortfall.
For instance, Chardonnay currently saturates the entire wine
market from the North Coast all the way down to
Santa Barbara,
and it’s very difficult nowadays to go to any tasting room in the state and NOT
find a Chardonnay on the list. Most
wineries see Chardonnay as their “cash cow”, a guaranteed quick buck that will
keep the revenue flowing in just enough for them to stay afloat, regardless of
the quality of their wine. To them, it’s
priceless to have simply because the American public eats it up. When I was watching the AFC championship game
last weekend, I was damn sure there was going to be a commercial at some point
during the game starring a certain Indianapolis Quarterback giving invaluable
information. Priceless? I’m not so sure.
The problem with the average American wine drinker is that
they dislike change. Chardonnay took off
in
California 30 years ago; people liked it, and have been loathe to try something new ever since. Despite the incredible array (and quality) of
Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Viognier, Pinot Gris, Gewürztraminer, Albarino and even
Grenache Blanc and Roussanne produced here, it seems most drinkers like to stick
with what they have always bought. Nobody
wants to give something else a shot, even just once. As a result, winemakers are trying new ways
to change Chardonnay to make it trendier, different, and just simply “less Chardonnay-like”,
if that makes any sense (it doesn’t to me). “Un-oaked” Chardonnay is the new buzzword, and believe it or not, this
still outsells practically every other white wine produced in California.
As you might guess, I’m pretty tired of Chardonnay. This is not to say that there aren’t good or
even great Chardonnays out right now – and there are – but there is so much of it now on the market that what
is being produced nowadays has really seen a dramatic decline in quality in my
opinion. Consumers have been buying Chardonnay
forever, producers know this, and as a result deliver a product that oftentimes
barely makes the cut in quality by and large. But do consumers care? No. This is why there is no incentive for producers
to increase the quality (and spend more money in the process) – the product
sells by itself!
In my mind, there are only a handful of regions that can
(and should) actually produce stellar Chardonnay here in California. So why then is it the most consumed wine in the United States? Chardonnay is a grape originally borne from the
limestone soils of Burgundy,
France, which is a cold, windy, mountainous place. Snow is very common in the winter. There aren’t too many places like that in California outside of
the Sierras. And yet, Chardonnay is the
#1 white grape produced in the Napa Valley, which has volcanic soils, typical
summer temperatures over 100 degrees, and hardly ever sees snow in the winter. Nevertheless, it is still grown,
and nevertheless, the public still buys it. Sure, it’s a different style
of Chardonnay from the French style, but why settle? Why not grow a grape that can actually do
well in the California
climate? The answer is that up until
about a decade ago, no one tried.
I recently tasted a few wines from 2006 and the early 2007s coming
out of Sonoma, Napa, Monterey, and Lodi. Of the 52 wines we tasted, 20 were Chardonnays! That’s nearly one-half of an entire white AND
red tasting. And how many Rieslings,
Albarinos, Sauvignon Blancs, and other whites combined? 6. There
is certainly a lag time between what types of wines are being produced and what
is being consumed, and I think that with more and more Chardonnay being grafted
to other varieties in recent years, we’ll see more alternative white wines
replacing Chardonnay on your local BevMo shelf. But right now, in a nutshell, this is why the market is the way that it
is, and why the consumer keeps on buying Chardonnay.
Of all of the wines I tasted, two stood out the most. Both where white, and both were not Chardonnay. One was a Riesling from Dos
Hermanos vineyard in Lodi. It was off-dry and certainly had some
minerality to it, with flavors of lemon, honeysuckle, limestone, and a metallic
character to the finish that was very interesting and altogether pleasing. I am usually pretty repulsed by the often
mouth-puckering sweetness of Riesling, but I’ve recently discovered several
that have terrific balance between texture and body, like this one. I also really enjoy the effervescence that
comes from Riesling wines, and this one was especially crisp and tangy and was
overall a very satisfying wine. Also, Riesling
is such a good food wine with non-traditional cuisines, so try it with a spicy
Thai dish or Cajun food. I think you’ll
be pleasantly surprised.
The second wine was a Monterey County Albarino, and I’m not
just tooting my own horn here. There are
few places in America suited to grow this small white grape originally from the Basque region of Spain. Albarino requires a long, drawn-out ripening season
and a cool maritime climate punctuated by ample sunshine. The Santa
Lucia Mountains
in Monterey provide
a terrific setting for growing this grape stateside, as the cold wet winds
coming off Monterey
Bay chase early morning
fog, allowing long summer days to ripen the grapes well into November. The wine is very flavorful, with nuances of grapefruit,
orange citrus, leechi nut and a very slight creaminess that I’m sure will win over
many Chardonnay drinkers. It is great
with fish and fowl alike, and in my opinion is as good for a picnic as it is
for Thanksgiving dinner. Not much
Albarino is being grown right now in California,
so if you can find a bottle definitely buy it. However, I do believe we will start to see much more coming out of the Central Coast in years to come.
So how does this relate to football? Now that I think about it, it really
doesn’t. But I will say this: Next
Sunday, give the underdog a chance and root for the alternative. Chances are that the majority of America is
getting pretty tired of New England winning it
all (4 of the last 7 Superbowls), and the Pats are 14-point favorites this year. Is anybody really surprised that they are
18-0 and vying for a shot at history? It
seems now that they are virtual shoo-ins to the playoffs, and though they
certainly have the talent and the ability to go undefeated the entire year, I for
one would like to see an upset. The Pats
need to be knocked off their pedestal.
Because talent cycles so much in the NFL, I am convinced the
Patriots’ domination will be short-lived. A future challenger awaits, and will one day take New
England’s’ place. The
public is similarly destined to find an alternative to the seemingly unbeatable
Chardonnay, though it may take some time. Albarino or Riesling may not win this time around, but with enough
public support, they just might down the road.
As for me, I’ll be watching the Superbowl next weekend,
hoping for a great game with another great bottle of wine. And it most certainly will not be Chardonnay.
