A Welcome Note
Several new subscribers have hopped on board this week, so first I want to welcome you and thank you for reading! I hope you find interesting, fun, and useful content here that makes it worth your time and attention. I post usually 2-3 times per week about a range of wine-related subjects here: some very industry-specific, some extremely nerdy, and some directed to folks just beginning to explore wine. Most of what I write is free for everyone, but I offer a few special features as a thank you to those who support me as paid subscribers. I also have a section called Water into Wine, which focuses on my personal journey from vocational Christian ministry to the wine industry. If you are only interested in those posts - or if those are the ones you don’t want to receive - you can opt in and out of specific sections using these directions. If you have wine questions or topics you’d like me to address, don’t hesitate to ask in the comments, send a message, or email me at stacey@justasmidge.me.
Now, On To The News
I’ve written a number of times about differences in European and “New World” (i.e. not European, i.e. North and South America, Australia, New Zealand, Africa) labeling. The short version is that European wines have traditionally been labeled by place, while New World wines are more typically labeled by grape varietal. But that wasn’t always the case! Perhaps you can imagine a California wine industry in which Pinot Noirs are simply labeled Carneros or Russian River Red, and everyone just knows that Calistoga White is a tropical, relatively low-acidity Sauvignon Blanc. Not only is that not the way the U.S. industry developed, we started out in the vein of one of our most utilized and most questionable talents as a country: co-opting names from elsewhere. Enter names like Hearty Burgundy, Mountain Chablis, and Johannisburg Riesling. If you wander into the boxed and jug wine areas, you might notice that some of these names persist, and of course, a number of producers of low cost American sparkling wine continue to give wine pros and French people apoplexy by calling their wines Champagne (or the nonsensical “California Champagne”). But overall, the serious parts of the industry shifted to labeling by grape varietal. Read more about that history in the Robb Report.
The European tradition of labeling only by place and often as little else as possible didn’t exactly lend itself to transparency about what was in the bottle, but now the tide is turning. New laws in the EU are requiring that more information be available to consumers - often by way of a scannable QR code on the bottle - and wineries around the world are following suit. In general I think more information is always good. As someone who interacts with consumers directly about wine, I’m also aware of how little many people know about what goes into wine, and how scary technical terms can sound when one doesn’t know what they mean. Will transparency make people more or less anxious about what they’re drinking? That remains to be seen.
More on the impact of wine on overall health, from the perspective of a wine reviewer who tastes 3,000 wines a year. The industry definitely has its risks. On the other hand, after I switched professions and went into wine, my blood pressure went back to a normal and healthy range, I stopped having digestive issues, my spine started functioning more or less reliably, and my alcohol intake actually decreased. So, I guess it depends on your starting point and what you can observe about the alternatives.
Now apparently people who are trying to control their alcohol consumption at events are “zebra-striping,” which we used to just call “drinking water.”
Wines in kegs are gaining traction, but will customers buy them? Kegs are good for environmental sustainability and minimizing costs, but wine drinkers aren’t exactly known for embracing new trends. My take: kegs are a great option for restaurants and bars that sell enough volume to go through the wine within the shelf life of the keg, and for wines that are intended to be consumed when they are young and fresh. I would drink Diatom Chardonnay or Ridge Three Valleys from a keg any day of the week.
French wine production is down due to climate complications, but it may even out the gap between supply and demand and ultimately lead to a more profitable industry.
Improve your blind tasting skills with tips from this Guildsomm podcast. So helpful!
Drink this: a list of 15 great Cabernet Francs to try.
Please don’t drink this: Professional sports-branded wines from Mano, straight from…Kansas City? We had the Bengals version in the store where I used to work, and let’s just say, you’re not buying the wine, you’re buying the bottle.
Housekeeping
Thanks again for reading, and for liking, sharing, commenting, and subscribing to this newsletter. Below the paywall you’ll find the features I mentioned above that are my thank you to paid subscribers. I appreciate all of you who help support my writing and my journey in wine!
The Best Thing I Drank This Week
This week I discovered a new-to-me but not really new local producer,
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