Tag Archives: moscato

The Dinner in Barbaresco

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Greetings from Piedmonte, Italy! Yesterday began a week of touring and tasting with Brian Larky, founder and owner of Dalla Terra Winery Direct. His history and business model are pretty incredible, and I’m lucky to be able to spend time with him in his ‘other home’, Italy.

These trips involve a moderate sized group (usually 10-20 people), and are focused on immersion and education with the goal of bringing the gospel back to our home towns. Our group for this trip consists of mostly wholesalers, but a couple retailers as well, from throughout America (literally corner to corner). It’s always a great time comparing notes, making new friends, and learning new things.

First, a word of advice to anybody traveling to Europe: carry on your luggage. Of the fifteen people in the group, two get to have the joy of one change of clothes for the next few days. Lost luggage seems to be a growing problem, and as Rick Steves always says “The less you pack the happier you are.”

Day one was a gloriously long day, considering we landed in Milan at 8:30am with little to no sleep. Most of us powered through the whole day, but a few couldn’t resist the temptation of a little nap, especially when we checked into the simple but beautiful Albergo Castiglione hotel. After cleaning up and stretching out, we wandered the vineyards and took in the scenery. Maybe it’s the little kid in me, but I still find it magical that within a ten hour span I can go from Minnesota to a vineyard in Piedmonte.

The evening was spent with the fantastic Alberto De Gresy (we are about to visit his winery, so more on his wines later), who just celebrated his 60th birthday over the weekend. Wanting to continue the party, he invited us to his family house for a glass of wine, followed by Champage (from 6L) and dinner in the town of Barbaresco. Dinner was at Trattoria Antica Torre, at the far end of the one way street of the town of Barbaresco (right under the tower). The food was delicious, affordable, and traditional (“The pasta here is simply some of the best” said Di Gresy).

As the sun set the lights came on to illuminate the tower. The full moon rose in the east and fifteen new friends raised another glass.

What is TNBT? (The next big thing)

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Trends in wine are interesting, and going all the way back to Boone’s Farm and Lancers we can track popular styles and maybe even hypothesize about why these trends emerge.

The rise of White Zinfandel from the 1970’s well into the early 1990’s showed a desire for the sweet tooth, but also a desire to pull the cork on a a bottle of wine as a show of sophistication.  Entering the early 1990’s, the ‘louder is better’ style of California Chardonnay took over, partially because people wanted to move away from “pink and sweet” but also because, as a single glass of wine, a butterbomb Chardonnay could be impressive (the same way that a Journey concert was better when louder).  Additionally, many of these Chards had as much residual sugar as the White Zins people were moving from!

The shift to Pinot Grigio coincided with the rise of the Food Network, Emeril’s TV show, and the books of Michael Pollan … in other words as people began drinking more wine with food they found that acidity (thus Pinot Grigio) was their friend.

So what is next?  Here are some possibilities:

BONARDA?
An obscure grape from an up and coming country (Argentina) could very well break through the pack.  We don’t for a second think it will take over in the world, but in terms of potential percentage growth Boarda is particularly interesting.  The taste profile falls somewhere between Barbera from Italy and Malbec from Argentina … in other words, a familiar enough style to not scare off the public.  The food friendly-ness is outstanding.  The name is easy to pronounce.  And due to all these factors the wine mavens of the world have started to seek it out.  We’re pretty sure we corner the market in Bonarda with Elsa, Ichanka, and Las Vides.

MOSCATO?
Moscato sales rose an amazing 91.4% in the 52 weeks ending 10/16/10 according to national retail tracking data (in the same period overall market growth was 4.9%).  This rise included the wines of Moscato d’Asti as well as Moscato produced in other countries (sparkling and non-sparkling alike).  Is it simply a matter of White Zin drinkers moving to Moscato? Possibly, as shown by a 7.4% decrease in White Zin sales in the last year according to Neilsen. The most affordable Moscato is our book, 99 Vines, is making a splash where it is sold. Meanwhile our gems from Asti, Italy (Sarracco, Rizzi, and many more) continue to rocket in sales.

TORRONTES?
Is Torrontes the next Pinot Grigio?  To give perspective on the power of this category: in the 52 weeks ending January 8, 2011, Pinot Grigio sales in the United States totaled $751 million, compared to White Zinfandel’s $425 million!  This Pinot Grigio consumer base is highly coveted, and some trends are showing them moving toward one of The Wine Company’s favorite grapes: Torrontes.

Why?  Some speculation: a similar weight, a similar mouthfeel and aroma  (though a bit “larger” in style), a pronouncable name (this might be why Viognier sales have never taken off), and an up and coming country of orgin (Argentina).  One wine critic said “Torrontes is like Pinot Grigio if Pinot Grigio actually tasted good.”  Zing!  Leading brands at The Wine Company include Elsa, Urban Uco, and Don Rodolfo.

There is no way to predict some of these trends, and maybe grapes like Bonarda will only enter the public lexicon if “Sideways 2: Argentina” gets made.  Regardless, we think it’s worthwhile to keep leading your customers to the front end of new trends so at the very least you can take credit when the next big thing (TNBT) takes off.