A Question of Glass

Plenty of thoughts and reflections have crossed my mind over this compressed wine course and I have learnt so much. As we come to the end of the course, I cannot help but reflect on the first day of class where we were generously presented with our very own Gabriel-Glas.

I decided to do a little more research on the wine glass industry and the perennial question:

Does tasting wine out of a specialized goblet really affect the taste of the wine?

My original intuition was that different wine glasses make a huge difference in the ultimate enjoyment of whichever wine one is drinking. Buying into the marketing of the wine glass producers, I do believe that different wines require different shapes of glasses to ensure that you are drinking and tasting wines at the optimum conditions. I mean, do you really want to drink a glass of Domaine de la Romanee Conti with an Ikea glass? I want a burgundy wine glass for my burgundy!

Yet, as I dug a little deeper, I discovered that there is actually a whole body of research and literature that indicated that there is no discernible difference between glasses that could impact wine taste for the average wine consumer!

A key article on this was written in August 2004, Gourmet by Daniel Zwerdling – Shattered Myths. I would suggest taking a few moments to read the article unless you belong to the group below:

“In fact, you might want to stop reading this article if you’ve gone to a Riedel tasting and left as a convert. Because studies suggest you’ve been brainwashed.”

Although there is a huge body of scientific research that categorically state that there is no difference, I personally still would like to make a case for drinking wine out of my Gabriel-Glas and/or Riedel. Drinking wine for me requires the romance of a good wine glass. Where I can, I continually resist drinking out of a sub-par drinking vessel. I am not advocating drinking different wines from different glasses all the time. But I would advocate drinking from a well-made glass. Somehow, drinking from my Barolo from a coffee mug just doesn’t do it for me. Because:

“Riedel and other high-end glasses can make wine taste better. Because they’re pretty. Because they’re delicate. Because they’re expensive. Because you expect them to make the wine taste better. And that, says Brochet, can make all the difference”

Mr. Shu and the Vines of Mendoza

In her guest appearance in class, Amanda mentioned how the Chinese businessman who bought the adjacent vineyard (unsure if I remembered his name correctly) was particularly interested in having a wine with his name and signature on it. To him, it is a mark of prestige - something that he could give as a gift to friends, family, and business associates.

Turns out, a couple of entrepreneurs realized that there are other high net worth individuals like Mr. Shu out there, and set out to create a business around them: the Vines of Mendoza. While on my GST in Argentina, we had a chance to meet with one of the cofounders, Pablo Riili.

The company began with the purchase of 250 acres of land in Mendoza's Uco Valley, and is built around the concept of private vineyards. Wealthy wine lovers have a chance to become wine makers of their own by purchasing anywhere from 1 to 10 acres of land, which Vines of Mendoza then professionally manages. Come harvest time, clients who choose can work directly with the company's winemaker (a GSB alum, Santiago Achaval) to make their own custom small batch wine. The model is as hands off or hands on as the client chooses. Some people make only a small number of cases a year for friends and family and sell the rest of the grapes on the bulk market, while others actually work with distributors to sell their wines commercially. Vines of Mendoza will work with you at each step of the process (farming, harvesting, fermenting, bottling, labeling, and even exporting/distributing), regardless of what you choose to do.

This business stands in pretty stark contrast to Ben's post about the guy who started his own winemaking business with no money, given that the smallest plot of land Vines will sell you (if I remember correctly) costs something around $150,000. Still, the business was interesting to me as a different model than a traditional vineyard or winery. It caters specifically towards people who want wine with their own label on it, and like the idea of being involved in the winemaking process (including many with families who see traveling to Argentina to help with winemaking as a fun family project).

One question I found myself asking is how much different my wine would actually be than the wine of the person in the next plot over from me, given that Vines of Mendoza is managing them all and sharing much of the equipment and resources. Would "Jennifer's Wine" really be all that unique? In the end, it probably doesn't matter. Its much more about the novelty factor of being involved in the winemaking process and having a bottle I can point to as my own. You know -- I bet I could even fool myself into thinking that I enjoyed my own wine more than a 1989 Chateau Lafite Rothschild. :)

Source:
http://www.vinesofmendoza.com/our-story

Wine Additives - Friend or Foe?

When it came out last class that artificial coloring is added to many wines, many people in the class gasped. I certainly felt a sense of disgust. Yet, I wasn't completely surprised. Last year on my GST, an executive from one of the large Argentinian wine groups we visited described their line of wines particularly targeted at millennials. For this brand, they wanted to accent particular flavors, so to get a wine with a flavor of tea leaves, they'd actually steep tea bags in the wine vats (of course without advertising this)! The idea is that now the flavor was so distinct that any young guy could pick up a bottle, take it to his girlfriend's father, and sound sophisticated as he waxed poetic about the notes of green tea in the wine. The story may seem exaggerated, but it gives you some insight into the brilliance (and perhaps disingenuousness) of the marketing plays by some winemakers.

The case for adding artificial coloring is much the same. Mega Purple, a grape concentrate produced by Constellation, is added to many wines to make their coloring more intense since many consumers have been conditioned to believe that darker wines are better. Furthermore, the additive also masks certain unwanted vegetal flavors and adds a fruity finish. While this previously might have been accomplished by blending the wine with another varietal, Mega Purple is far cheaper and a little bit goes a long way (hence the name).

Based on a little research, its unclear how many wineries actually use it. One source estimates its being added to over 25 million bottles annually [1], and not just by cheaper labels, but also in bottles upwards of $20. Its tough to determine which wineries actually use it, since no one wants to admit to it (although the article says it has from two sources that you'll find it in Yellowtail wines), but I think its safe to say we've probably all consumed it at some point.

I think the bigger questions is how should we feel about this? On the one hand, Mega Purple is basically just grape juice concentrate - its not a truly unnatural additive in the same way that silver nitrate is (Kingston Vineyards was caught using trace amount of this toxic chemical to mask a sulfur smell in its wines). This means that its probably not going to affect my health in an adverse way. Yet I feel like I'm being duped, or at minimum, being sold an inferior product. This might not affect the buying decisions of someone at a $5 price point, but it definitely would at higher prices. If I'm going to pay for what I consider a more expensive bottle ($20+), then I don't want my wine maker to be cutting corners. What's most distributing to me about the Mega Purple addition is not the color change, but the fact that most sources I read say that it causes the wines to which its added to all have a similar taste. Much of the fun of wine is the variety among different bottles - no two are the same! If you eliminate that by making wine that tastes good to the masses but is exactly the same with every bottle you uncork, then suddenly wine drinking loses its enjoyment for me. Plus, for vineyards, wine suddenly becomes a commoditized product because there's no space to differentiate on taste!

As more news about Mega Purple emerges (if it emerges), it may actually add value to the the organic wine movement. As people become more aware and concerned about additives in wine, they may push for organic wine in the same way they've begun to push for organic foods.

Wine and Climate Change

As someone going in to a career largely motivated by mitigating the effects of global climate change (renewable energy/clean tech), I’ve often wondered during our class what the effects of global warming will be on the global wine industry.  As we’ve discussed in class, some of the best wine grape growing regions in the world are in areas with cool-to-moderate seasons and few extremes (too hot or too cold is generally bad).  What happens when these regions warm and experience more severe weather events?

Fortunately, a few industry professionals have put together some robust academic studies predicting the effects of a warming planet on wine regions.  In particular, the studies I reviewed are by Adelsheim, et al, in the November 2016 Journal of WineEconomics and Mozell and Thach in the December 2014 issue of WineEconomics and Policy.

Adelsheim notes that climate change is likely to result in earlier harvest and periods of water stress (droughts).  For example, in Bordeaux, harvests are typically in October and have moved to September.  They may more earlier in the month or into late August in the future.  As far as droughts, limited water stress is apparently good for the quality of grapes but reduces yield.  If droughts are extreme or prolonged, they can impact the survivability of the vines and result in long-term impacts.

Perhaps more concerning to Adelsheim is the volatility or extreme nature of weather events on a warmer planet.  Historically severe fires, floods, frosts, and hot spells can move entire regions out of balance and change the calculus for which grapes grow best in which areas.  He suggests changing the varietal composition to produce grapes that perform best in warmer areas, and to extend growing areas in regions that are typically on the colder end of the vine growing spectrum.  For example, he notes expanded growing areas in New York’s Finger Lakes and in the Pacific Northwest.

Mozell and Thach have more than a dozen recommendations for vineyards to adjust to a warmer planet.  Tactics such as nighttime harvesting, canopy management, and drip irrigation.  These tactics may run in the face of traditional growing practices (some growers scorn irrigating vines), but may be necessary to protect harvests and yields.

Wines Blogs

Did you like the idea of following a blog to learn more about wine? I wanted to check if there were any interesting wine blogs to follow after this class is over, and realized that there are hundreds of them! Many with similar value propositions (learn more about wine, food and wine recipes and pairings), but also some blogs that I found very creative (for instance, blogs created by photographers that love wine and use photography to communicate different wine experiences). I found this landscape of wine lovers wanting to share their experiences and knowledge around wine very interesting, and at the same time saw how big companies are using this same blogs and its branded blogs as a marketing tool. We talked in class about the use of influencers and social media marketing for wine, which is becoming more and more common as a marketing strategy in several other categories as well, not only in consumer products, but broadly use in consumer products. It’s interesting to see this trend and how marketing has evolved in this categories, how people don’t want to listen to the “big company” talking about its brand, but to a person giving a “recommendation” about a brand, and how important is for brands to recognize this and be strategic about it, in order to create a marketing strategy that truly speaks to its target group.

If you’re interesting in wine blogs, here are a few that I found interesting:

1.VinePair

If you like infographics as much as I do you’ll love this one. Great infographics for a wide variety of topics related to wine.

Link: https://vinepair.com/tag/infographic/

2. Wine Folly

Lots of fun facts and tips about wine, in easy to read posts.

Link: http://winefolly.com/blog/

3. IWA Wine Blog

Here you can learn everything about wine accessories, and buy them if you want.

Link: http://blog.iwawine.com/

4. Social Vignerons

Here you can find infographics, wine and food pairing tips and recipes, interviews and more.

Link: http://socialvignerons.com/

5. Vindulge

Find interesting facts about wines, as well as food and travel lifestyle posts.
Link: http://www.vindulge.com/

What does luxury mean for Duckhorn?

In her presentation on Wednesday, Carol Reber emphasized that part of Duckhorn's strategy is to maintain its luxury focus. She noted that the investment thesis driving TSG's investment in the company was predicated on the consumer shift towards luxury wines, and that the luxury wine industry is ripe for consolidation. This led me to ask myself, what does luxury mean for a winery? Traditional luxury players across a number of categories like Chanel, Hèrmes, Christie's, and Soho House, define luxury as aspirational, and they achieve the element of aspiration through exclusivity. They ensure their products are coveted around the world through prohibitive pricing and limited distribution. While the high price points allow these brands to generate high levels of revenue, the prohibitive pricing often means that their growth rates are slow and steady.

Today, however, there has been an unprecedented dramatic shift in the luxury space. Many traditional luxury players are struggling to attract younger consumers - the millennial generation. This shift, which some attribute to the rise of the sharing economy, has led to the emergence of modern luxury companies. Modern luxury companies, which include the likes of Everlane, Glossier, Harry's, and PUBLIC Hotels to name a few, are built on the premise that luxury should be accessible to all. Their products are priced affordably, but the product quality and experience afforded to the consumer differentiate them from the rest of the pack.

I'm curious to learn more about what luxury means to Duckhorn. What will its strategy to maintain its luxury angle be, and how it will continue to exhibit impressive growth rates while also remaining a luxury brand? The release of Decoy, the $25 entry-level bottle of wine, suggests that Duckhorn values accessibility. Marketing and branding is becoming increasingly important for the younger consumer, and Duckhorn will need to continue to innovate in order to resonate with consumers of all ages and continue to scale.

Survey: Wine Consumer Preferences

I figure this would be interesting fodder for thought. Winebusiness.com conducts an annual survey of wine drinkers on how they buy wine and what their preferences are in making purchasing decisions. The results below are from their 2016 survey, and if they release 2017 results at the same time as they did for their 2016 results, the new data should be revealed in just a few days, on Dec 6th.

Below are some of the highlights: