Tag Archives: wine

Paul Jaboulet Aîné joins The Wine Company

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In 1834, a full 100 years before the introduction of the A.O.C. system, Antoine Jaboulet began to transform a sleepy region into one of the most important quality winegrowing terroirs in the world. Since that time, the estate has become the benchmark in the Northern Rhone, and the iconic Hermitage ‘La Chapelle’ being responsible for some of the greatest wines ever produced.

Ten years ago, the Frey Family purchased this historic property and committed tremendous effort and resources to improve upon the already legendary estate. They immediately started converting the estate vineyards to biodynamic principals and encouraging sustainable practices from every family grower they work with. With each successive vintage the purifying effects of these natural agricultural improvements can be felt and tasted.

This is one of France’s finest estates; the crown jewel of the Rhône Valley. Oenologist and Proprietress Caroline Frey, alongside Winemaking Director Jacques Desvernois, are producing THE authentic standard for quality Syrah across the Northern Rhône. We at The Wine Company are incredibly proud to present Paul Jaboulet Aîné to our Minnesota partners.

Wine and food pairings: hints and tricks

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“The first thing that must be said about matching food and wine is that almost any wine can be drunk happily with any food — within reason.”

— Harvey Steinman

Harvey is right. When presented with one wine and one plate of food, you’ll make it happen because you don’t have a choice. And few wine and food combinations are so astronomically horrendous that you run screaming for the hills, napkin still tucked in your collar. However, the amplification of enjoyment that comes with following a few simple rules will pay back a hundred fold in your memory of that particular dish with that particular wine.

Food and wine pairing works on principals of harmony on one hand, and contrast in the other. In other words, “like with like” can produce magic, as you’ll read, as does contrasting differences. To help facilitate this, we’ve broken this into easy to understand pairings.

SAVORY WITH BOLD
Rich dishes that are highly seasoned and have deep flavors are complimented with wines that have equal richness. They mutually enhance each-other. Full bodied Caberenet and Syrah matches to the bigness of red meat from a charcoal grill. Lobster with melted butter is supreme with a big Chardonnay.

SPICY WITH LIGHT
The rise of interesting dishes with influences from China, India, Thailand, Laos, and Indonesia is great to see. A whole new palate of flavors is now easily available to American food lovers. With dishes like these, a lighter bodied wine plays off the spices and complexity, dancing with the flavors rather than knocking them out. For particularly hot dishes (anything involving Thai chilies, for example) a lighter bodied wine with some residual sugar works wonders, gently putting out the fire. For a spicy Chinese dish try a Mosel Riesling to experience this great flavor dance.

REGIONAL WITH REGIONAL
What grows together goes together. If you’re cooking a Provencal meat dish, find a wine from the Southern Rhone. If it involves truffles, seek out wines from Piemonte. A roast of ham, potatoes, and sauerkraut? Alsace or Germany. If your recipe has a regional basis, often the wines of that region match hand-in-glove. In our office, we often do wood fired pizza with Tuscan or Southern Italian wines. For Swiss Raclette, we pull out Swiss wines. The deep cultural connection between the foods and the wines, especially with old European regions, is evident with just one bite and sip.

FATS and PROTEIN WITH TANNIN
Tannin is the chemical compound in a wine that causes your mouth to dry out and not re-salivate. It’s not only found in many full bodied wines, but also strong tea and walnuts (think about it … it’s not exactly refreshing to eat a handful of walnuts). Tannin, at a molecular level, is mitigated by fats and proteins. Both are literally changed by coming together, forming balance that makes the tannin less evident and the fats less ‘fatty’. Thus, a young and tannic Cabernet tastes devine with a marbled rib eye steak. Having a Barolo that is biting back at you? That’s why you keep good cheese at hand. The whole ‘wine with cheese’ thing is all about making relatively tannic wines easier to enjoy. Try it out by sipping a tannic wine and holding it in your mouth, swishing it around, for 20 seconds. Then nibble on some cheese, and have another sip and do the same thing. Presto. Food and wine pairing 101!

FRAGRANT WITH DETAILED
Another theory on food and wine pairing is to match the personality of the dish with the personality of the wine. A dish with big, forward, and agressive flavors needs a big, forward and agressive wine. Likewise, with finely prepared food presented with precision and enormous fragrance, a wine with a similar personality is needed. Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc are considered supreme food wines because of this … the detail of the wine plays off the fragrant aspects of a good dish. Perfectly prepared seafood with complex herbs and citrus are right at home with detailed wines.

ACIDITY WITH ACIDITY
When a dish with high acidity (red sauce on pasta) is served with a low acid wine (California Merlot), disaster happens. After each bite and sip, the wine tastes more and more soft while the food tastes more and more acidic (bordering on metallic). They push each other apart. But serve an acidic dish with an acidic wine (red sauce pasta with a Sangiovese from Chianti), and they go mano-a-mano. One doesn’t overwhelm, and they play well together.

SALTY and FRIED WITH SPARKLING
Because of the brightness, detail, and acidity of Champagne it’s one of the finest food pairing wines on the planet. Want to experience the ultimate pairing? Try Champagne with potato chips. Anything fried and salty with the bubbly is a quick route to happy town.

GREENS WITH GRUNER
Vegetarians (or just lovers of salads) have always had it tough with wine pairings. Folic acid, prevalent in green veggies (and abundant in artichokes, broccoli, brussel sprouts, and leeks), causes strange chemical reactions with many wines, making them taste falsely sweet. It’s a strange sensation, and one you should seek out at some point just for the experience. Luckily, Austria brings us delicious wines made from Gruner Veltliner, the one grape that seems to have magical properties when it comes to pairing with green veggies. For a splendid and healthy evening, do a kale salad with pinenuts, currants, and parmesan paired with a fine Austrian Gruner Veltliner.

SAVORY DESSERTS WITH SWEETER WINE
Here is the secret to dessert wine pairings: the wine ALWAYS has to be sweeter than the dessert. If you stick to this rule, you’ll hit a home run every time.

“If food is the body of good living, wine is the soul.” – Winston Churchill

Need more ideas? Be sure to check out our exhaustive list of wine and food pairings.

Photo: Wine Folly.

New to The Wine Company: Chateau Mirambeau of Bordeaux

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From Portfolio Manager Wil Bailey: “At The Wine Company we have historically tread very lightly in the Bordeaux arena.  Too much emphasis on scores for our tastes, astronomically high markups due to a plethora of middle men, bidding wars on the top wines from the top vintages, discount bins for the wines/vintages not hyped by the critical press.

As our model is finding excellent, consistent, interesting wines which offer superb value vintage in and vintage out, it just seemed Bordeaux might not be the best place to spend our time looking around.

But Larry observed a little more than a year ago that it seemed we were really missing some opportunities in Bordeaux.  If we COULD find a small set of producers offering wines to us directly with consistently excellent quality and value we could be heroes (just for one day, and I, I would be King, and you, you would be my Queen, and nothing, nothing could keep us… sorry, a little, involuntary David Bowie digression).  In any event it seemed to Larry that instead of being a region to avoid, perhaps Bordeaux was the perfect region in which to prove our mettle.

With that gauntlet in mind we are extremely happy to present to you the wines of the Despagne family at Chateau Tour de Mirambeau.

The estate is located in the district of Entre Deux Mers, although as that specific appellation is only allowed on the label of white wines, the red wines here are classified as AOC Bordeaux.  The Despagne family has been growing grapes on the Mirambeau property for over 250 years, but it was only in 1969 that Jean-Louis Despagne devoted himself fulltime to making estate wines.

At under $15 retail the Reserve White and Red are exactly the sort of value we have been looking for in Bordeaux. The White is 40% Sauvignon Blanc, 40% Semillon, and 20% Muscadelle.  It’s so much more interesting, floral, and juicy than the other (largely lean and green) Bordeaux Sauvignons around this price that we hope it changes your whole perspective on White Bordeaux in general and gives renewed credence to this historical blend which seems to have fallen to the wayside of Sauvignon Blanc blended with yet more Sauvignon Blanc.  The Red is 80% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 10% Cabernet Franc.  Only 20% of this wine ever sees any barrel at all which seems to work perfectly for the naturally smoky, plumy nature of this tasty little overperformer.”

To find the wine at Minnesota retailers, please contacts us and we’ll lead you in the right direction.

Chateau Tour de Mirambeau
Reserve Blanc
40% Sauvignon Blanc, 30% Semillion, and 30% Muscadelle

Chateau Tour de Mirambeau
Reserve Rouge
80% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 10% Cabernet Franc

Chateau Tour de Mirambeau
Cuvee Passion
Bordeaux Reserve
Same blend as the reserve rouge, plus aged for seven months in new oak

 

Pairing wine with heirloom tomatoes and sweet corn

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The summer of 2012 has been a hot one in Minnesota (and the hottest on record nationally). Combine that with an early spring and suddenly we are in the midst of sweet corn and heirloom tomato season!

We polled some members of our staff for their wines picks to go with our traditional Minnesota summer bounty. Here is what they said:

“For tomatoes Brandywine, Cherokee Purple and the White Wonders are some of my favorites.  Wedged and mixed on a plate with fresh basil and Balsamic their individual flavours bounce off each other.  Just salted is good too.  Add Buratta cheese and you’ve a meal.  As to wine my choice is Sangiovese.  The tomatoes punctuate the fruit of the wine.  Chianti is the way to go but choose a lighter appellation; Fiorentini or Senesi.  Rosso di Montalcino works great.” – Larry Colbeck

“Fresh Minnesota Sweet Corn = CCC (Colbeck, Corn, Chardonnay).  A fresh corn dish that Larry & Colleen prepared for my husband and I some years ago continues to be a family favorite in our house this time of year.  Fresh sweet corn stir fried to bring the natural sugars to their purest peak then integrate some fresh thyme and a few other supporting ingredients, now pair it with a White Burgundy (from Macon) absolutely heavenly!” – Robbin Hilgert

“When buying sweet corn off the back of a pickup truck a stones throw from where it was picked mere hours after it was picked, it really only needs a little butter and salt. Even the perfect medium rare ribeyes take a back seat on the plate. Something this good should be accompanied by a wine that matches the season.  I’m a sucker for Gruner Veltliner and Italian whites like the Ottella Lugana this time of year, but I’m overly fond of the Gamling and McDuck Chenin Blanc at the moment. There were all of 80 cases made and I seriously doubt that such a limited production wine has been doted over more by a winemaker. Santa Ynez fruit but very Loire inspired. It’s not often enough I get to use “California” and “balanced” in the same sentence. Not an easy find, but worth the trouble to find.  Before the basil tries to go to seed on me again I will be making Caprese at least a couple more times. As often as possible I will be pairing it with the Selvapiana Chianti Rufina. This is a wine that made me fall in love with Chianti all over again. I urge you to go find your own bottle. Run, don’t walk.” – Josh Landy

“Corn — I like my corn still crunchy, so cooked only a few minutes (perhaps a few more if you’re grilling it). This way it is remains sweet and has great texture. Any longer and for me, the corn’s integrity is lost. I also don’t eat much butter as a condiment- its just not something I grew up on. So, for me a toasty, creamy, butter-ish Chardonnay is the way to go here- I go straight to California for this one! And that Trefethen Double T sure seems like it would fit the bill perfectly! However, I think it would be perfectly acceptable to go even more toasty if that is youre personal style!  Tomatoes — I have fond memories when I was young of spending time with my farmer grandfather and eating tomatoes warm from the sun, right off the vine. Fresh juicy tomatoes are a summer highlight for me! With tomatoes I like a higher acid red. In the summer I gravitate towards Spain for red since there are so many great higher acid reds at an affordable price! I suggest Volver or Sierra Cantabria Crianza, as, I admit, I love me some Tempranillo!” – Gina Borella

“I love Minnesota sweet corn season!  I like to prepare mine by husking them, par-boiling, then placing them back into the husks and finishing them on the grill to bring those roasty-toasty flavors to the Summer table.  Of course, finishing with a hefty dose of Danish butter and a dash of salt enhances the perfection!  My wine of choice for this type of preparation would be an unoaked California Chardonnay, very attractively priced such as Clos La Chance Hummingbird.  With smoky foods, I really love to enjoy clean and fruit-focused wine…the delicious citrus, pineapple, and tropical flavors in this Chardonnay, along with its full body and slight tanginess is the perfect sip for this Minnesota favorite.” – Julie Bollig

“Inama Soave Classico! This wine has the acidity to put a Black Prince in its place while holding a viscous palate that loves the starchy quality of a nice ear of corn. The notes of ripe pear in the mid palate compliment nicely both the sweetness of the corn and the rustic quality of the Prince.  A perfect summer wine all around but paired with these two one would think some mind reading was going on.” – Tom Lloyd

“Give me a chilled-just-right Austrian Riesling.  Generous fruit, bracing acidity and low(ish) sugar.  Boy-oh-boy…the pleasures of late August in the upper Midwest enhanced by the fruit of Austria.” – Jeff Nelson

What are your thoughts? What will you be pairing with tomatoes and sweet corn?

Photo courtesy of Flickr user libraryman

Understanding Soave Classico (and why it’s not just ‘Soave’)

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Want to learn a neat little trick about Italian wines? We can summarize it with one word: Classico.

There are plenty of terms on wine labels that are used without care, concern, or regulation. In America, one of those terms is “Reserve” … anybody can use it, anytime, anywhere. And for most of the world, they could put ‘classic’ on a label without anybody’s permission.

But in Italy, the term “Classico” means something very clear. The term “Classico” on an Italian label refers to the old, historic, original center of a region, often with a history that traces back to Roman times. It is in these historic vineyards that often the best wines of a region are produced.

For instance, the region of Chianti is quite large, encompassing a large swath of land from Pisa and Florence to the North, to far south of Sienna. But Chianti Classico is only in the heart of the region, between Florence and Sienna, and it is here that the historic cultural home of Chianti lies.

A dramatic style and topographic difference between Classico and non-Classico regions can be found in Soave, located just outside of Verona. The traditional grape variety of this area is Garganega, which makes a style of wine that is textured, rich, and beautiful (and the best examples show a kick of acidity making it one of the best food wines around). When Garganega is grown in the volcanic soil of the Soave Classico region it expresses the true terroir of the region, but when it’s grown in the outlying plains (and bottled simply as ‘Soave’) it can sometimes be truly wretched. (There are always exceptions to this rule, however.)

The problem? They both say “Soave” on the label, so unless you know that “Soave Classico” is basically a totally different wine you might be dismissing a category based on drinking some of the industrial-produced swill that is in the market under the ‘Soave’ moniker.

It’s best to learn about these things by hearing the passion and descriptions of those that live there. Check out our little video below of Stefano Inama showing the differences between Soave and Soave Classico, as well as discussing the terroir of the region.

The view from atop the Soave Classico hills. Notice how dramatically flat the regular ‘Soave’ region is compared to the altitude of Classico. The soils are opposite: Soave Classico is volcanic while the flat lands are more loamy and clay.

The famous castle of the town of Soave.

A fine way to finish off the day with Stefano Inama.

Curious about Inama Soave Classico? Please fill out this form and we’ll get back to you with more information.  [contact-form] [contact-field label=”Name” type=”name” required=”true” /] [contact-field label=”Email” type=”email” required=”true” /] [contact-field label=”I am a …” type=”radio” options=”Minnesota consumer,Out of Minnesota consumer,Minnesota retailer or restaurant” /] [/contact-form]

 

Eating “tipica” in Piedmont, Italy

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Traveling in the great wine regions of Europe is not only an exercise in enjoying fermented grape juice, but also the typical dishes of the region. The fact is, as wine lovers, we are also food lovers and throughout Europe the two are tied together.

It’s easy as Americans to forget the rather unreal diversity we have in all of our metropolitan areas back home. From sushi to pho, to steak houses and traditional Neapolitan pizzerias, to chain restaurants and hot new chef start ups we can find anything, anytime. Many would call the culinary diversity in America a wonderful thing, but others find it overwhelming.

Traveling to areas like Piedmont allow a person to experience the regional cuisine of a very particular spot, and consistently try the wines of an area with the traditional foods they are intended for. This is, hands down, the best way to learn about a wine culture.

In Piedmont, there is a grand history of a few particular dishes. When paired with the correct wines (traditional varieties such as Arneis, Dolcetto, Barbera, and of course Nebbiolo) the sum is greater than the parts. A few of the typical dishes include:

Carne cruda di Vitello Fassone battuta al coltello
(“Raw meat of a special type of veal, knife cut)

Piedmont is a region of game and hunting, as well as farming. Historically, due to lack of refrigeration (but in the winter it can get very cold here), some of the best cuts of meat are served chopped and raw … think steak tartare with meats such as veal or tuna. When knife cut rather than ground, the richness of the fat of the meat is amplified, making for a tremendously delicious dish. Add a bit of lemon juice and olive oil and you’re good to go.

Throughout PIedmont, this dish is often served with tuna (or ‘toro’). The tuna traditionally came from the coast south of Piedmont. The didn’t have great wines on the coast, and Piedmont had a lack of salt for preservation, so a symbionic relationship was formed. Since salt was being shipped to Piedmont, packing some tuna was a natural next step, hence you find tuna as part of the traditional foods of this land-locked region. Pretty cool.

Raviolini del Plin al Burro e Salvia
(“Ravioli ‘pinched’ with butter and sage”)

I don’t know the particular history of this dish, but you find it throughout Piedmont. Very simple: pasta with browned butter and sage. The ‘pinched’ ravioli is the traditional serving of the dish, but I’ve seen it done simply with a pile of linguine as well. Absolutely delicious with the traditional Barbera varietal.

Crostini al burro e acciughe
(“Crostini with butter and anchovy”)

Again combining the traditional salt-packed seafood with the incredible butter to be found in Piedmont, this is a simple appetizer that will now become a regular in my household.

Locali salumi e fromaggi
(“Local salumi and cheeses”)

Here’s the simple formula for great European travel: 1) never drink wines from outside of the region you are in, and 2) always enjoy an excessive amount of the local cheeses and cured meats. If you simply do these two things, you’ll have a cultural experience that will help form the memories of the trip and will amplify your experience.


Understanding Oregon Pinot Noir: the OPB documentary

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Our love of Burgundy at The Wine Company is well known, and that love of top notch Pinot Noir has led us to naturally embrace the wines of Oregon with a passion, including such great producers as Argyle, Bergstrom, Domaine Drouhin, Eyrie, Left Coast Cellars, Bethel Heights, Owen Roe, Penner Ash, Solena, Saint Innocent, Torii Mor, and more. It’s quite a portfolio, covering an entire range of styles and personalities.

Learning about Oregon Pinot Noir used to be difficult without visiting there (which, in the end, is the best way to learn about any wine region). But the next best thing has happened for Oregon wine: none other than Oregon Public Broadcasting has produced an incredible hour long show highlighting the story and the people behind the Oregon wine industry.

One of the best parts of this documentary is telling the incredible story of Eyrie Vineyards. Interviews with Diana and Jason Lett, and footage of David Lett in the 1960’s and 70’s, helps with understanding the context of what he was up against. Knowing his story, and the story of many of the producers profiled, simply makes Oregon wine taste better (context is key in wine, a subject of a future post).

In today’s “sound bite” society, it’s rare to find anybody with the patience to sit down and watch an hour long documentary on their computer. But trust us when we say this: if you want to understand Oregon wine further, this is a must see.

Oregon Public Broadcasting “Oregon Wine: Grapes of Place”

Enjoy!

Pairing wine with oysters

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Later this evening I’ll be gathering with the MNFoodBloggers group at Sea Change Restaurant, learning about the growing, handling, opening, and enjoying of oysters. Of course we’ll be bringing some wine along as well, so it’s a good time to review the basics of wine and oyster pairing.

The old adage “what grows together goes together” is commonly bantered about in the wine world and often there is truth in it — think about the herb-rich roasted meats of Provence with a good Grenache, or Oregon Pinot Noir with Salmon. With oysters, this marriage of food and place is especially keen, for when pairing wine with briny bivalves it helps to have a wine that can balance these exquisite but distinctive flavors. To keep this post short and sweet we’ll focus on three key regions and styles of wine.

Muscadet AOC, France
The Loire River is a grand meandering giant, originating in deep central France, initially flowing north, then taking a left turn on its way westward toward the ocean. Riding through the Loire Valley, you pass by the most opulent display of 17th century wealth you could imagine … this is an area for lovers of castles, history, and romance. As you get closer to the ocean, the geology changes and you get a whiff of sea in the air. It is here you enter the region of Muscadet.

The grape in this region is Melon de Bourgogne, and it is one of the classic pairings with oysters of all types. In fact, in the Montparnasse region of Southern Paris, where some of the great oyster bars of the world are concentrated, Muscadet is often the only option for your beverage. The salinity of the air imparts itself onto the grapes, making for a fascinating back-and-forth of flavors that harmonizes like few food and wine pairings do.

Picpoul de Pinet AOC, France
On the other side of France, against the Mediterranean Sea and southwest of the city of Montpellier, is the region of Picpoul de Pinet AOC.

It is here the Picpoul grape makes sharp, sturdy, green-tinged and sometimes harshly acidic wines. But in the hands of a great grapegrower and winemaker, this harsh edge can be tempered and corralled, resulting in one of the most refreshing and bright white wines you can experience.

Some of the vineyards of Picpoul de Pinet literally border oyster beds. In the evening, when the winds start to whip up and kick the heat of the day away, you can taste the salt in the air. Obviously, this ends up on many of the grapes and literally puts the taste of the sea into the bottle. Again, just like with Muscadet, the proximity of sea to vineyards, combined with the freshness and brightness of the wine, make for a stunning combination.

Getariako Txakolina D.O., Spain
Say that ten times fast (especially after a bottle of wine)! This is a region practically unknown to American wine drinkers just ten years ago, but thanks to repeated attention by the likes of Eric Asimov with The New York Times (who in 2010 wrote a particularly good article about the region) it is now in the lexicon of many.

(That doesn’t make it any easier to say. The proper pronunciation is something like “GET-thar-rkoh CHOCK-oh-lee”.)

Like our first two examples, this one is all about geography. The Basque region is on the northern edge of Spain, over the mountains from Rioja. It is here that a seafood culture of amazing quality and style exists, and the citric and minerally wines of Txakolina are poured endlessly with squid, octopus, and of course oysters.

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The wines pictured above are the Domaine Les Hautes Noëlles Muscadet, the Chateau de Pinet Picpoul de Pinet, and the Txomin Etxaniz Getariako Txakolina — all great examples of the regions discussed, and all imported directly by The Wine Company. They are available from Minnesota retailers (contact us to find a shop near you), or to the rest of the country through Artisan Vineyards.

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Check out a neat little video our own Nicholas Livingston put together on wine with oysters. The images are from one of our regular in-office oyster parties that we do a couple times a year, and you’ll see Larry, Robbin, Angela, and many others enjoying the delciousness that only oysters can bring.

Wil Bailey on how he selects Rosé

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Wil Bailey, portfolio manager for The Wine Company, has the kind of job that elicits laughter and jealousy at parties: he travels the world and tastes wine. What he will be the first to tell you, however, is this is far from an easy job. Especially with the way The Wine Company does it.

Most wholesalers get into a groove with key suppliers and importers. The old “wine as commodity” formula is simple: keep the same wines, year after year, pumping through the pipeline and grow the business. We do it differently.

By investing in sending Wil to Europe every year, we get to make a fresh selection of our European selections as well as choosing each rosé wine to bring in.

Check out this video of Wil explaining his process:

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.