The Wine Curmudgeon

Winebits 259: Wine consumption edition

• French wine consumption declines again: But they still drink more than the rest of us, something that tends not to show up in these stories. A five-year study by a French agriculture ministry agency found that French adults drink more than six bottles of wine a month, down from about 18 in 1965. By comparison, the average American drinks about one bottle a month. Why have the French cut down? They’re “increasingly cautious about products that are dangerous in excessive quantities,” said a ministry spokeswoman.

• English buying less wine: By two percent over a year ago, according to figures from a British trade group. This is an amazing statistic, given Britain’s long history as a wine drinking nation, and it shows just how deep and difficult the recession has been there. A report spokesman did not hedge his comments: “Overall, the latest market report shows that consumers are continuing to tighten their belts and shop around for the best value in these tough economic times.”

• Wine.com customers love their Cristalino: It was second most ordered wine from the Internet retailer in 2012, and this was the sixth consecutive time it made Wine.com’s top 100 sales list. This does not surprise the Wine Curmudgeon, long a Cristalino fan, though it may surprise many in the business who keep waiting for wine prices to increase. In fact, the top 10 list was headed by an $8 Columbia Crest wine, and two or three wines on the list were really expensive.

The new CellarTracker -- improved and easier to use

CellarTracker, the on-line wine management and inventory tool, has long been the most effective way to record my wine drinking. It was straightforward, it was flexible (I could use it for my purposes, which are not quite the same as most wine drinkers), and it was free. What more could the Wine Curmudgeon ask for?

That’s why I was not happy when CellarTracker impressario Eric LeVine released the new, upgraded version and everyone had to switch  Yes, the original CellarTracker had its flaws and could be clunky, but it worked. And my experiments with the beta of the new version always left me unfulfilled.

Fortunately, my fears were overblown. The new CellarTracker does what what the old one did, and does much of it better. Meanwhile, its new emphasis on social media and sharing reviews with other wine drinkers doesn’t get in the way of its basic function, which had been a concern. More, after the jump:

1/2 pound of coffee or 4 bottles of wine?

Four of these?

Or one of these?

That's the question Starbucks' new product, the $80 a pound Reserve Costa Rica Terrazu Geisha poses. Buy one 1/2-pound bag or 4 bottles of quality $10 wine, like Bogle's petite sirah?

Winebits 257: Booze pricing, gift wine, wine investments

• UK minimum pricing: British doctors are convinced that raising the price of liquor will reduce alcoholism, using something called minimum pricing. Under one plan, this would raise the price of a £2.99 bottle of red wine (about US$5) £3.76 (about US$6). The British government is expected to announce its plan this week. What’s interesting about this for U.S. wine drinkers is that some states already have some form of minimum pricing, but not necessarily as a health measure. Rather, it’s part of the three-tier system, and is more law enforcement than anything else. When Americans want to deal with the health aspects of sin, we tax it, whether strip clubs or cigarettes.

• Ricky Ricardo wine? For all those men who forget anniversaries, birthdays, and the like. Or so seems the idea from the Safeway grocery store chain, which has launched a line of gift-wrapped wines. Because, frankly, can you imagine anyone else going to the grocery store store at the last minute to buy a pre-wrapped bottle of wine to give as a gift?

• Don’t drink those assets: The latest academic study finds that investing in wine is “is superior to equity, as it gives both higher return as well as lower standard deviation.” My math isn’t good enough to follow the entire discussion, but before we take our 401-Ks to the Live-Ex market, it’s worth noting there are only 17 years of data in the study. Which, of course, coincide with the wine investment boom but take in the last two recessions.

Amazon goes into the wine business

Maybe Amazon knows something the rest of us don’t. Maybe the world’s largest on-line retailer’s much awaited wine store offers something that isn’t obvious at first glance.

Because, frankly, the debut of Amazon Wine, announced yesterday, is underwhelming. Or, as one winery official told me “In looking through some of their selections, there are ‘no’ bargains. In addition, Wine.com seems light years ahead of them.”

More, after the jump:

Winebits 254: Wine prices, French wine, Asimov

• Aussie harvest: I suppose I’ll have to stop trying to teach journalism to the wine business one of these days, but one more lesson: The wine business in Australia is still in the tank (no pun intended), but a good harvest has increased the supply of grapes. The Aussies have cut the number of acres of vines by six percent, but production still increased three percent in the last harvest. And, given that the wine business is worldwide, more grapes in Australia helps offset shortages elsewhere. Without taking demand into account.

• Changing habits: Simon Kuper in the Financial Times looks at the changing role of wine in French culture, in which they are drinking less but apparently enjoying it more. And, lest anyone forget the paramount role the French play in wine, he writes: “In drink as in other domains, France still shapes global tastes. Around the world, wine has become the upmarket drinking option – the opposite of earthy, proletarian or peasant beer. Soon middle-aged male ‘wine bores’ will be as much a Chinese affliction as a French one.”

• “How to love wine:” Eric Asimov, one of the few members of the Winestream Media who understands what’s going on, has a new book. In it, he demonstrates that insight: “Uncertainty [in wine] means that you can say, ‘I don’t have to tell you precisely what you should taste in this wine or how many points it should score. There is something more ambiguous about this wine and I can’t really grasp it and I am okay with that.’ “ Would that more people who profess to be wine experts understood that concept.

Winebits 252: Glen Ellen, tasting notes, wine labels

• The end of a legendary brand? Glen Ellen, the brand that helped fuel the 1980s wine boom, has apparently disappeared and exists today only as part of another brand, Concannon. Both labels are owned by The Wine Group, which also makes Cupcake. Lew Perdue has the depressing details at Wine Industry Insight, Why depressing? Because Glen Ellen chardonnay was one of the first cheap and mass produced but well made wines available in the U.S., and those of us of a certain age used it to get into wine. If you held a party in the 1980s or early 1990s, you bought a bunch of the 1.5 liter bottles of the various Glen Ellen varietals.

• Stupid tasting notes: Blake Gray, writing in Palate Press, notes that tasting notes are some of the most difficult things to do if you write about wine. I know I hate writing them, and I’m terrified that after a while, the notes for all the wines I review read exactly the same. Gray offers some terrific advice, quoting Eric Asimov of the New York Times: Notes should describe the texture, freshness, and body of the wine more than fruit flavors. Asks Gray: “Who buys a wine because it’s described as tasting like peaches instead of apricots?”

• Not in New Hamphire, you don’t: From the state liquor law file comes this, where regulars are trying to decide if a wine called If You See Kay should be sold in state stores. The label, say critics, is obscene, crude and tasteless, and the wine needs to be off shelves. The Wine Curmudgeon thinks it’s just stupid, which is why I’m not a regulator. The story in the legendary New Hampshire newspaper, the Union Leader, is a hoot to read, and describes the label thusly: “The provocative ‘Kay’ label, when pronounced, spells out the four-letter vulgarity.” Wish I had written that.