Transparency in Wine: Are Consumers Ready To Know What's In The Bottle?

We keep hearing about how the new wine consumer, AKA the Millennial, demands transparency and authenticity in products they purchase. There have been numerous articles and blogposts detailing this shift in marketing approach.

At the same time, there has a marked increase in online discussions and articles about how the grapes are grown and about the winemaking process in the cellar. The organic, biodynamic and natural wine niches have become so popular, they will soon no longer be niches but will become relatively absorbed into mainstream winemaking practices.

All of the above, has led to a new level of transparency from winemakers about what exactly goes into that bottle of wine you are drinking with dinner.

Randall Grahm, owner of Bonny Doon Vineyards, has been a trail blazer in this movement as he has been so many times before in the wine world.
I recently sampled a bottle of Bonny Doon Central Coast Syrah 'Le Pousseur' 2006 $18. This was a great domestic syrah with exuberant blackberry fruit upfront as well as a solid mineral quality & firm acids to provide balance.

This is the list of ingredients listed on the back label: Grapes, tartaric acids, tannin and sulfur dioxide.
Other ingredients used for winemaking: indigenous yeasts, yeast nutrients, cultured yeasts, copper sulfate, untoasted wood chips, and French oak barrels.
At time of bottling, this product contained: 58 ppm total SO2 and 25 ppm free SO2.

I applaud Randall Grahm's candid admissions, as well as his evolving winemaking style.
I am thinking that many wine lovers would cringe if they knew how many additives are routinely added to commercial wines, even more so if they also understood why the additives were being used.
My line of logic is that people who are attempting to eat healthier and purchase fewer processed foods, are probably going to eventually start caring about wines that are less 'processed' as well.

My question is this: Are wine consumers ready to know more about what exactly what's in the wine bottle? If so, what will they do with this information and how will it change winemaking styles as a result?



*The Bonny Doon Syrah 2006 Le Pousseur was received as a sample.

The Wine Business & The Law of Attraction

The wine business is a cruel and shallow money pit, a long-stemmed hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and weak men die like dogs.

Somebody gave me this quote when I first went to work for a wine distributor in 2002. Before that time, I had worked as a beverage director for a restaurant group and even did a short stint in wine retail. Since 2002, I have held sales management positions within wine distribution and wine import companies.

Late last year, I launched my own little California based wholesale/brokerage company, where I focus mostly on the natural, biodynamic and organic wines that I love so much.

I laughed at the quote and hung it over my desk for years.
It was obvious hyperbole and yet, that little grain of truth was undeniable. I always tell new wine sales reps that if they can make it through the first 18 months, they will probably survive.

And I advise them to never take any of it personally.
Not the restaurant or retail wine buyers that don't show when you confirmed the appointment weeks ago and have an important winemaker in tow. Not the accounts that either don't pay or late pay.

Of course, all of the above happens less frequently the longer you are in the business because through seniority or just smarts you are able to do business with only class act accounts, who rarely engage in the above behavior.

That's not even delving into the constant pressure and politics from your own company's management to sell, sell, sell the wines of whichever winery is the squeaky wheel that week.

And as evidenced below, each player in the wine business has their own gripes, whether winemaker, restaurant or retail buyers or wine critic.


Tom Wark wrote a recent post about Naomi Brilliant, owner at Roshambo Winery.
Naomi has decided to hang up her winemaking boots and focus on organic farming. I am sad to see her go. I do not know Naomi personally, although we are connected online and I used to sell her wines in Texas years ago. She seemed to be just the kind of young iconoclast the staid wine world needed. Naomi said she loved making wine but not selling it.

And yes, quite frankly, selling wine can seem a slog at times. But I have also had the opportunity to meet some amazing people, both wine buyers and winemakers, over the years. These people and the chance to travel to beautiful vineyards around the world more than make up for the temporary setbacks and disappointments.

Those of us in the wine business are fortunate really, compared to many other industries. Especially those of us who deal with artisanal wines, whether imports or domestic. Many of our consumers read books, travel to expand their minds and shop at farmers markets.
Not to mention that most of us truly are wine geeks and love all the romance and the history that our wines contain.

I have definitely been grateful that my current wine portfolio ( Savio Soares Selections and Darcy & Huber Selections,
) for CA seems to attract some of the most interesting and forward thinking wine buyers. I enjoy my meetings with these accounts, I learn and laugh and we share stories.

I believe that the wines I represent attract these buyers. And I think they see that I am truly passionate about these wines, they are not just another product in a bottle. They are not to 'fill' another empty space on the shelf at the lowest price. They come with an interesting story and so they attract interesting people.

Drink Local Wine Debate: A Harbinger of Change?

Lately, I have heard several California trade buyers, from SF restaurants mostly, indicate that they have been instructed by their bosses to increase their local CA wine offerings.
The perception being that their lists were out of balance and favored imports over CA wines. And the inference being that this was 'politically' unacceptable.

And a few months ago, Jon Bonne from the SF Chronicle, wrote an article about local wines in the San Francisco marketplace that created a storm in a teacup reaction.

And here is a quote from the recent K&L Wines newsletter:
"...Then there was the sort of inconvenient fact that I don’t really like California wines, and I really almost never drink them...
All that would have to be put aside. Because, you see, I am a recently emerging eco-maniac. And part of my turning green, along with the bulk organic soap of a previous article, is a commitment to buying and drinking locally whenever possible, an idea that is certainly gaining fervor."
Elisabeth Schriber, K&L Wines

Don't get me wrong, I support the local wine industry and agree in principle from a ecological perspective that drinking local makes very good sense. But part of me feels like this smacks of the freedom fries debacle of a few years back (never been fond of knee-jerk political expediency).

I want to drink more wines that are made in CA. But I also want more CA winemakers to make wines in a style that I enjoy.

What would be really interesting is if this press attention and trade buyer bailout behavior becomes a harbinger of change to come.
Restaurant buyers have admittedly becoming reliant on imports for their attractive price to quality ratio, but also for their stylistic differences. CA wines tend to be full of big fruit and high alcohol, which makes them challenging to pair with food.

I am realistic. I know CA is a warm climate but that does not necessarily mean that every wine must have an alcohol level 14.5% and upwards to 16%. Or that they have their flavors drowned in toasty new oak or designer cultivated yeasts.

So this is a call for more CA winemakers and winery owners to stop and think before they create yet another fruit and oak bomb, crafted to land high scores. If they want more of the wine world's 'tastemakers' (i.e. restaurant sommeliers) to buy their wine, then they should consider if said wine is food friendly and well-priced.


All of that being said, there are obviously some wonderful and interesting wines being made in California. As regular readers of MyDailyWine already know, I prefer wines that are made from organically grown/chemical free grapes and just as importantly, wines that have not been overly-manipulated in the cellar (via massive sulfites, micro-ox, designer yeasts,etc).

I will keep on drinking plenty of imports because I love them and crave diversity. I will also endeavor to increase my local wine love this year.

Here are a few local CA wines to check out:
Clos Saron
Coturri
Bonny Doon
La Clarine
Scholium
Ambyth
Donkey & Goat
NPA (Natural process Alliance)
Lioco

My Spanish Holiday: Brief reflections on food and drink

Jamon, Jamon, Jamon, oh how I love thee! Iberico only thanks.

As my holiday in Spain (and a brief sidetrip to Fes, Morocco) winds down, I am reflecting back on my holiday season libations.

In Seville, it was easy and pleasurable to drink fresh fino or manzanilla sherry with most meals, with the occasional local beer for a refreshing change.
The tangy, salty, nutty tasting sherries went perfectly with the local fried or marinated seafood and olives I ate every day. Serious lip-smacking goodness.
Pulpo Galiciano (tender octopus in paprika laced olive oil)




In Morocco, it was mint tea every day, all day. Which was a delicious diversion from my usual vinous route. The exception was a joyous and impromptu (for us anyway) Christmas day lunch at Cafe Clock in Fes. If I did share some anonymous cups of wine with anyone that day, it will remain a secret, as wine must be in Fes. Mad respect and much love to all the other adventurous spirits we befriended that day at Cafe Clock: Mike, Max, Aimee, Philomena, Nancy, Lisa, Evelyn, etc.

The gorgeous terrace area at Cafe Clock in Fes. Delicious camel burgers!



In Barcelona, I have usually ordered local cavas or beers. My occasional request for decent casual house wine or wines by the glass has been disappointing. One exception was the crisp Txakoli I had at a Basque style tapas bar in the Barri Gotic district.
Good cheap house wines and by the glass offerings are abundant in Paris and I forget the rest of Europe does not always follow suit.
But I digress unnecessarily, because the cava has been wonderful in Barcelona. Not to mention, the delicate orange and cinnamon liqueur (made by Cistercian monks in Spain) I enjoyed with my pine nut and marzipan treats last night at Caelum cafe.

Baby squid & olive oil fried eggs from El Quim, La Boqueria Market


Roasted leg of cabrito