Winebits 118: Grape glut, Piero Antinori, Franzia takeover

• Oversupply might be worse than thought: The news last week that the 2009 California grape crush was the second-biggest ever was tempered with predictions that this glut would be better managed than previous ones, which saw grape prices drop and wineries suffer during good economic times. Turns out that may not be true. I talked to a long-time California wine industry member last week, and he said the glut is not only dropping the price of grapes (and may force some wineries out of business), but could also affect how wine is made. Federal law allows 15 percent of non-appellation grapes to be used in appellation wines; that is, if a wine says Napa on the label, 15 percent of the grapes can come from regions that aren't Napa. I was told that an increasing number of wineries, looking to cut costs during the recession, will take full advantage of the 15 percent allowance. This was almost unheard of during the boom times.

• Italian wine history: Piero Antinori is one of the great names in Italian wine, and my pal Alfonso Cevola has a five-minute video of Antinori posted on his blog, On the Wine Trail in Italy. The sound isn't great, but what Antinori says is. Particularly fascinating is how Super Tuscans, the red blends from Tuscany that revolutionized Italian wine, came to be -- a reaction against the poor quality of sangiovese vines that were being planted.

• Franzia family gets Red Truck: And a host of other wines, after a company controlled by Fred Franzia of Two Buck Chuck fame took over the company that made the popular, inexpensive wine originally started by Cline. This is huge news, and not just because Red Truck sells hundreds of thousands of cases. It's another sign that the recession-fueled shakeout in the wine business is underway, as those with cash -- like Franzia -- move in on those who don't.

grape glut, Piero Antinori, Red Truck, Fred Franzia

Comments

[Alfonso Cevola]

Thanks for the shout out, Jeff. Sorry about the sound. They kept opening the door to the big room and there were people out there (journalists, no less) who were talking louder than usual (but normal for them).
Piero has a great perspective always looking 600 years back and 600 years forward.

And yes, there will be some bargains coming from Cali. The problem is the valuation some wineries have put on their stocks and the current position, regarding that, from the banks that are loaning the money based on that valuation. Oops.

More on that later.