THE WINE INDUSTRY UNCORKED
Byron, The Bay Area Critic
By the process of osmosis, you’re not instantly an expert because you live in Northern California when it comes to distinguishing the good, bad and the ugly when it comes to wines. Most can’t even tell the difference between a bottle of “Two Buck Chuck”(Charles Shaw Wine Sold at Trader Joes) and “KJ” (Kendall Jackson). While the bottles look alike, they’re different in many ways. This article is intended to give the basic wine consumer a little peek into the world of wine.
MAGNETS
Labels have a lot to do with the success of a bottle of wine. A good picture, graphic and of course a distinguishing or catchy name really impacts the popularity of a vineyard. Could a name like “Opus One” attached with hefty price tag be a bad bottle of wine?
If you’re into Zinfandel wines, you can’t help but to lured to the near naked body on the label of “Sin Zin”.One can’t help but to hope that there’s something in the wine that makes one lose all of the inhibitions. Perhaps best uncorked on a Saturday Night!
The large winemakers have the big bucks to make their way to the shelves of your nearby Safeway, Albertson’s or Raley’s. As we pass by and see the bottles of “KJ” (Kendall Jackson), Robert Mondavi, Clos DuBois marked down to 25% off their typical retail price, we can’t help but to take a gamble that it’s a good wine and if it’s priced right. It’s a $25 bottle of wine marked down to $9.99 and you have a dinner party that evening! We also tend to buy the label that we recognize if it’s priced right at the grocery story.
The major wineries market their products the same way McDonalds’s fast food restaurant chains once did. In my opinion, McDonald’s used the get them hooked while they’re young strategy. No, I’m not saying the wine industry is marketing wine to minors, just the over 21 year olds purchasing wine for the first time. They’re hoping that once you’ve tasted their wine, you’ll be back for more and purchase their more expensive bottles.
Notably there are some of us that gained our knowledge of wines from family, classes, articles, and internet or by speaking with wine experts.
PEELING BACK THE GRAPE
In order to get an understanding of wine, let’s peel back the grape and see what’s inside of making wine. First let’s look at some of the economic factors that go into the cost of a bottle of wine:
Vineyard preparation for growing
Property Tax for the Acreage
Growing Costs
Crop Insurance to protect against insects, weather, crop damage,etc.
Name recognition and demand for product (Supply/Demand)
How much wine is produced and the potential profit from the lot sold
Does the wine have a history of selling or being a hot commodity?
If there’s a distributor involved, what’s their cut?
Barrel (Quality, What’s been done to it, Type of Wood, Age, Used)
How much manpower was utilized when picking the fruit
How long the wine was stored and the climate it was stored in.
The equipment used to harvest and produce the wine
Quality of cork
Quality of bottle
Taxes involved based on alcohol level
Insurance needed if it’s sold at a retail outlet (Wineries are sometimes required to have over a $1M in liability insurance, just in case)
Shipping and delivery costs
Potential costs involving retail displays
Monies used to pay stores to actually put the wine on their shelves.
Advertisement and Marketing Expenses
The list goes on…
Now when you factor in the costs of growing the fruit and storage after it’s been bottled and you’ll realize that you’re getting a heck of a deal when you’re purchasing a bottle of wine for $2! (Perhaps we’ll investigate the why/how they do this at a later time)
LOCATION…LOCATION…LOCATION!
France refers to their wines by regions (aka appellation) versus by the type of grapes used. They do so because the region or location to which the grapes are harvested from distinguishes the wines. In the US, we of course know our wines by the grapes used in the processed such as cabernet, chardonnay, etc. In America, wineries can be somewhat deceptive regarding where their grapes are from versus where the wine is produced. In California, there are definite rules to the game though. If grapes come from a specific region a good percentage have to be from the area listed on the wine bottle label.
“Two Buck Chuck” first started off as a company that assists wineries in the crushing, production and bottling of wine. They later discovered that they can purchase surplus grapes from California vineyards and produce it on their own. That said, a bottle of “Chuck” will often reflect it’s a California Wine versus “Carneros - Napa Valley”
Each region or appellation may be ideal for growing a certain type of grape. As people do, some grapes enjoy hot and dry weather, and others enjoy cooler temperatures and perhaps a layer of fog.
On top of weather, the appellation may offer the grapes distinctive soil conditions. One has to prove to the government that they have distinctive soil and conditions in order to proclaim an area as recognized grape growing appellation.
Bottom line; know your grapes and the appellation that produces the best fruit.
MIXICOLOGY
Typically a specific grape is grown for a particular type of wine. For example, a Cabernet Grape is harvested for production of Cabernet wine. However, there are winemakers that like to mix things up a little bit by combining grapes for a unique flavor. These combos go by names such as; Meritage, Duo’s, Trio’s, etc.
Sometimes a winemaker will run short of a certain grape and mix it with others in order to keep production going. With some great mixology skills, a winemaker can often save the day with a unique wine that turns out amazing.
WHERE ART AND LOVE COLLIDE
There’s a fine art to making wine. It’s a lot of about the chemistry, however a lot to do with the passion of the wine maker. While the grapes do play an important role, there’s much more to the picture. The soil and the soil run-off in some cases tend to be very important factor. Nutrients from the ground and what’s nearby can influence the quality of a grape. It’s kind of like us humans…you are what you eat! In grape world, it’s all what the grapevines are ingesting. Vines, more specifically roots absorb the flavors and nutrients from the soil they’re growing in.
After the soil, it’s all about the root stock and the DNA of the vine. Often times a vintner will graft a multitude of DNA from different locations from around the world to produce what they feel is the ultimate grape that will eventually produce the ultimate wine.
The climate to where the grapes are grown has a lot to do with the overall product. Certain grapes are best grown in dry, moist, moderate temperatures, etc.
On top of climate the weather during the harvest year may play a more role in the development of the seed and ultimately the flavor for the grape itself.
LUCY AND ETHEL IT’S TIME TO GET STOMPING!
Its harvest time and the actual selection of which fruit to pick will reflect the quality of the wine produced. As a winemaker once showed me, there’s an ideal color of the seed and then sugar content level of a grape to harvest in order to produce various types of wines. Also hand selecting the fruit is very important. Some grapes are too large, too small or discolored. To produce the best barrel of wine requires good ingredients.
Carefully picked fruit takes more time→More time equates into more manpower→More manpower equates in production costs.→More production costs always equate to a more expensive bottle of wine. Notably, just because something is “hand picked”, doesn’t mean it’s going to be an awesome bottle of wine.
Once picked, grapes are crushed (Sorry hardly anyone stomps anymore. Stomping is just for the fun of it)
ROLL OUT THE BARRELS
Now wine isn’t just stored in any old barrel. The barrel world is a very complex one. Aging in oak typically imparts desirable vanilla, butter and spice flavors to wine.
Winemakers can order barrels with the wood on the inside of the barrel having been lightly charred or “toasted” with fire, medium toasted, or heavily toasted. The amount (depth) of charring has an influence on the wine. The decision regarding depth of charring is made on the basis of the grape variety used and style of wine desired. Barrels can also be ordered in different shapes and sizes or ordered made of Redwood or other woods.
Here’s just a snip it of the possible choices for a wine maker:
New or Slightly Used Barrel
100% French Oak Barrel…$2,000 each
100% American Oak
100% Hungarian Oak
French Oak /American Oak
French Oak/Hungarian Oak
Stainless Steel Barrel
A barrel can be used again for several productions. As they’re used, the oak flavor is extracted by the wine. The newer the barrel, the more flavor. By the time they have been used for about five years, they impart virtually no flavor to wine.
Frequently wine makers use oak chips while the wine is fermenting in an older barrel. Wood Chips do a good job of duplicating the job of the barrel, and most consumers can’t tell the difference. Notably, some countries have banned the usage of chips!
MUSICAL BARRELS
Some wine makers rotate their wine between barrels in order to get their best wine saturated by their best barrels. So, a white wine may go through 6 months in a stainless steel barrel and then move it to a new French oak barrel for a year and then move it to another older barrel until it’s bottled.
By doing so, they can free up their good barrels to be used with a new lot that’s been harvested.
THE STOCK MARKET
What is purchasing futures all about? It’s a lot like the stock market. You’re basically purchasing wine before it’s even bottled or released based on the winemaker. It’s kind of like buying stock in a company that’s just been listed on the stock exchange. While you may know the fine details about the company and its history, you’ll have no idea of just how well the company will do or if the stock price will increase.
Purchasing futures guarantees you’ll receive wine that’s perhaps been produced in limited quantities and perhaps a descent price for it. Often times a barrel of wine turns out better than expected and there’s more of a demand for it. Like company stock, the more demand…the more someone will pay for it. Wineries will often increase the price as it’s released.
Typically a winery will offer “barrel tasting” in order to give potential clients a taste of what’s to come from the production. Basically they tap into one of the barrels by sticking a turkey (sp?baster) inside and providing a wine sample.
SCREW TOP, BOX OR BOTTLE
More and more, we’re seeing wine bottles that have a screw top versus a traditional cork.The industry leads us to believe that a screw top is better because it seals the bottle better. However, to us wine consumers… it’s just not a fun to twist off versus popping a cork.
WINE TASTING
Most wineries will tell you that wine tasting doesn’t typically generate a large portion of their revenue. More or less a winery is just getting their name out in the community and using the tasting room to market their product. Once in a while someone will come in and buy a case or two, however mostly people are one stop shoppers and just out for a good time.
Knowing so, I’ve nearly always purchased at least a bottle of wine if the tasting is free. Of course, that’s if I liked the wine and the overall experience of the tasting.
Of course all wineries would like you to only stop by to taste their new releases and buy large quantities of their products. In fact, one winery in Napa that previously featured a fun “guess the aroma” game in their tasting room had suddenly removed it. It was a great stop along Hwy. 29 where you were handed blank list that corresponded with a numbered series of small covered glasses on the table in front of you. Each glass had holes in the top of it. Your task was to identify what you smell inside of each of the glasses. (For example, tobacco, lavender, etc.)
CORKING THE BOTTLE
Inclosing, there’s a lot to the wine industry and I’m sure not going to cover our uncover it in one article. Also, if most of the wineries do things one way… there’s no hard and fast rule to another one that’s doing something completely different. This story is also just one persons opinion on the industry itself.
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Written By:
Byron, The Bay Area Critic
www.BayAreaCritic.com
