Wine Writers R.I.P.?

Alder Yarrow had an interesting — and upsetting — post yesterday over at Vinography. It’s called “Tough Time to be a Wine Writer,” and to tell you the truth, Alder sounded a little down in the dumps. He wrote about how wine magazines and newspaper wine sections are folding as advertising dollars evaporate and the jobs dry up. As a wine writer myself, it’s worrisome to see the words “wine writing” and “panhandling” in the same article!

Unemployed wine writer

Alder may well be right. If the Ship of State is going down, then so will all the deck chairs sink with it, including wine writers. On the other hand, we have the inspiration of President Obama. But there may be nothing he can do in the short run, and the short run looks pretty bleak.

On the Cecchetti-Racke Merger

Yesterday I blogged on Greg La Follette selling his Tandem brand, and I quoted him as saying there could be “a bloodbath for small wineries” because they don’t have the time or money to travel the country to sell their wine.

This seems to be the rationale behind the Cecchetti-Racke joint venture announced yesterday. The key sentence is “Cecchetti Racke will be reviewing their current distribution network in all markets across the United States with an eye to maximizing the company’s portfolio of wines.” Roy Cecchetti is an industry veteran who’s built up many a brand in the past. With his brother-in-law, Don Sebastiani, he launched Pepperword Grove, and later he created two  inexpensive brands, 39 Degrees and RedTree, whose price points are in the comfort zone of today’s value-oriented wine consumers. The man knows how to sell in a down market.

Chill with Obama’s chile

There’s been a lot of talk about what kind of wine Barack and Michelle will serve in the W.H. but here’s a recipe for the President’s own homemade chile. Personally, I’d drink beer with it, not wine, but that’s me.

The link also contains a video of Obama’s 2001 appearance on the Chicagoland version of Check, Please!, a PBS-aired television show hosted here in the Bay Area by Leslie Sbrocco. Maybe all of us unemployed wine writers can get new jobs as restaurant critics. No, wait, there won’t be any restaurants if this thing gets worse. Oh, well…

Be thankful I don’t take it all

Wine Institute Chairman Bobby Koch sent out an emergency email late yesterday to all W.I. members, as well as the media, urging “immediate action” in writing Gov. Schwarzenegger to oppose his proposed excise tax increase on wine. “lost jobs at our wineries” will be the result, Koch says. There’s a real note of desperation in his tone. It’s not just that a tax increase will hurt wineries, it’s that to do so during this perilous economic downturn might be the straw that breaks the camel’s back. I’d hate to see a tax increase on wine, but with California’s $40 billion budget deficit, it’s going to be hard for the Legislature not to scramble for every dime they can find.

I spoke with Greg right after the sale was announced. To quote from the press release: “Pete Kight, proprietor of Quivira Vineyards & Winery, has acquired Tandem Winery in Sonoma County in partnership with Tandem owner/winemaker Greg La Follette, who remains with Tandem and will focus on winemaking and viticulture.”

This is an important transaction, not only because Greg, who is De Loach’s executive winemaker and consults all over the globe, is an important winemaker, but also because it testifies to the financial difficulties facing so many family wineries, as well as the nation. On a more personal basis, Greg is a standup guy and an inspiration to an entire generation of younger winemakers.

S.H. Why did you sell?

G.L.F. My Dad fell ill with cancer, and it’s expensive, healthcare being what it is, so I needed the money. Dad had some shares [in Tandem], and Pete Kight came forward and said, “Not only will I buy your dad’s portion, but I’m interested in Tandem as well.”

Will there be anything different at Tandem?

Absolutely! I have more funding now. I don’t have to have a day job and work 100 hours a week, and have this be my weekend and evening job anymore. I now have a day job and it’s called Tandem. That is so cool. The quality of my life will improve, which translates into the quality of my wines being at least what they were. We could actually buy some vineyards and build a winery and really honor the growers who have been behind me for so many years.

Are you still with DeLoach?

To some extent. At some point I will depart entirely, but at the moment there are some really great young people I want to mentor. And DeLoach has been very good to me.

What is the impact of the recession on small family wineries like Tandem?

They’ll have a hard time dealing with this economic environment. It requires boots on the ground, pressing flesh with distributors. The big guys have the resources to get out there with key accounts and meet with them, but the little guys don’t have the time or money to get out there to Miami or Chicago to meet with people and say, Here’s why you should buy our wines.

How serious could things get?

We may be in for a bloodbath for small wineries. No one is looking after them. They’re being left to their own devices. You’re talking about a winery a week that’s being sold or went belly up: Flowers. Stevenot. Sebastiani. The wine industry needs a lot more expertise in the financial sector than it has now.

[This is Steve] I don’t know about you, but I was SO proud watching today’s swearing-in of President Obama. He was led through the Capitol by my former Mayor, Dianne Feinstein, and my former congresswoman, Nancy Pelosi. In the small world of San Francisco, our lives have crossed. These are two classy dames, in the words of the late, great Herb Caen. May history shine upon them and upon our new President.

I was up in Sonoma late last week for my annual tasting of the new Kendall-Jackson Grand Reserve and Highland Estates wines. I do this each year with Randy Ullom, who’s K-J’s chief winemaker, and the man responsible for overseeing the winery’s vast production of millions of cases. (I profiled Randy in my last book, New Classic Winemakers of California: Conversations with Steve Heimoff.)

The Grand Reserves are reserve-style varietals that are priced a few bucks higher than K-J’s Vintner’s Reserves and are worth the extra cost. Like the V.R. wines, they’re produced in significant quantities (except for a spartan 1,000 cases of a North Coast Sauvignon Blanc). The Grand Reserve tier is a solid one; this year I gave 90s and 91s to the Chardonnay, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, whose suggested retail prices range from $21-$27, but in reality you should be able to find them for less than that.

It’s the Highland Estates line, however, that always impresses me. Not that many people realize Kendall-Jackson produces such high-quality wines, in such miniscule quantities, at such fair prices. The highest production, on the 2007 Camelot Highlands Chardonnay from Santa Maria Valley, is only 3,700 cases, but most of the wines are well below 1,000 cases. These are truly artisanal wines. Randy has explained to me how the team — which certainly includes Jess Jackson — studies potential vineyard sites for years before making the decision to go ahead and bottle any one of them. Currently, there are 13 Highland Estates wines, including 3 Chardonnays, 3 Pinot Noirs, 1 Syrah, 2 Merlots, 3 Cabernet Sauvignons and 1 red Bordeaux blend, called Trace Ridge. These are serious, pampered wines that can compete with almost anything in California. Pricing on the Pinots, Chardonnays and the Syrah is below $35, making them real bargains. The Bordeaux reds get up to $50-$70, but they’re easily as good as wines costing far more. (The Trace Ridge, at $125, is the outlier.) Two things to know about these wines are that K-J uses only grapes grown in premium coastal regions (i.e., NO Central Valley or Lodi), and that the K-J philosophy is to provide quality for less money than the competition. If all this sounds like I’m shilling for K-J, I’m sorry, but this is a great company, and you have to give credit to Jess Jackson’s impeccable taste.

I also stopped by Hartford Court to taste through 9 of their new 2007 wines, with Don Hartford and winemaker Jeff Mangahas. (Hartford Court is part of the Jackson Family of wines.) If you’re not familiar with Hartford Court, it’s because they keep a low profile, but I can tell you that this is an extraordinary winery producing some of the most distinctive Chardonnays, Pinot Noirs and Zinfandels in California. Don Hartford explained how they source fruit only from vineyards with forceful personalities that, somehow, manage to be different from their neighbors. This is, of course, the essence of terroir. You need only to taste the nervy elegance of the Seascape Chardonnay, or the Chablis-like limpidity of the Stone Côte Chardonnay, or the power and authority of the Hailey’s Block Pinot Noir, to understand that these are wines of intricate authority.

My full reviews on all these wines will appear in upcoming issues of Wine Enthusiast.

I’m here in the nation’s capital for the big Obama inauguration, making the rounds of parties, balls and fêtes, and man, is it exhausting! One thing after another, with not enough sleep. Just yesterday I was asking Michelle how she stands up to the constant commotion and shmoozing. And she always looks so good! We were in the Bedroom Suite of Blair House — you know, the one where everything’s in pink pastels — having a glass of Chard (K-J V.R.) while the tailor was putting the finishing touches on the I.G. (Inaugural Gown). No, I can’t and won’t say anything about it, you’ll just have to wait to see it like everybody else! Except I can tell you it’s STUNNING and nobody but nobody could look better in it than M.O. At one point The Man Himself popped in to say hi. He was with Rahm (who looks even more feral in real life than he does on the telly). They were going out for a jog and Barack had on these grey cotton sweatpants with wide blue sidestripes and a light blue T-shirt with PEBO in red letters. That’s short for “President-elect Barack Obama.” After he and Rahm left, Michelle joked that the girls are already calling him PEBO or “PEBO Daddy”! So that’s a little inside gossip. Now stay tuned for some big news: I have learned the contents of the Obamas’ wine cellar! And it’s not all K-J. They have a lot of Alsatian Riesling (Michelle’s fave) and some Barolo (which she says she’s learning to like under the tutelage of her personal wine guru, Karen MacNeil) and also some Zinfandel and Pinot Noir, not to mention Champagne. I asked Michelle what Big O. likes and she said he’s down with Napa Cabernet, but that he also has a thing for a good microbrew (which we already knew). She confided, “He’s never acquired a taste for liquor, but he’ll have a cognac after a nice dinner.” Back home in Chicago, they have some Illinois wine, but Michelle said they don’t really like it, and probably won’t be having it in the White House.

Another thing Michelle was working on was the menu for the Inauguration Day luncheon. For all you little people not important enough to be invited, here it is:

Seafood Stew
Duckhorn 2007 Sauvignon Blanc
(My Wine Enthusiast score: 90)

Pheasant and Duck served with Sour Cherry Chutney and Molasses Sweet Potatoes
Goldeneye 2005 Pinot Noir
(My Wine Enthusiast score: 92)

Apple Cinnamon Sponge Cake with Sweet Cream
Korbel Special Inaugural Cuvée
(untasted)

I asked Michelle what she thought of Tom Wark’s remark last week that “I don’t expect…any public display of wine loving on the part of Barack Obama.” (She was fully aware of it, because she reads the major wine blogs every day.) She disagreed. “Wark’s a smart guy, but he’s wrong on this one. Barack will be the wine President,” she said confidently. She wouldn’t provide details, but it’s clear that we have friends in the White House, after eight low, mean, dry years of chili and milk.

Most consumers don’t know it, but the Portuguese cork industry is one of the most ferociously defensive businesses around. For decades, they’ve had this massive P.R. army extolling the virtues of cork, warding off every conceivable attack. Even before there were viable alternatives to cork, their minions were assuring us that no effort was being spared in the cork forests to keep animals from peeing on the bark. As for cork’s TCA rate, well, it was miniscule, and getting lower all the time. That this did not accord with the experience of critics, including me, who were getting taint rates of about 5%, was irrelevant. The cork industry wanted everyone to know that they were on the side of the angels.

Then alternative closures started appearing, and the cork industry had to re-double its efforts to stay relevant. About that time, I started getting regular invitations to visit Portugal, courtesy of the cork manufacturers. Hell, every writer/critic did. (For the record, I’ve never accepted a junket.) I guess the idea was that a free vacation in Europe would warm our hearts and make us write nice things about cork.

Now, the industry has a new argument: It’s greener than any other closure! That’s according to this study that “clearly shows the environmental superiority of natural cork stoppers over alternative wine closures,” in its own words. Specifically, the study looked at the carbon footprint created over a 100-year life cycle of cork stoppers, compared to plastic stoppers and screwtops. It found that corks have 1/9th the CO2 emissions of plastic stoppers, and 1/24th the CO2 emissions of screwtops. The study was paid for by Corticeira Amorim, the world’s biggest wine cork company.

Look, when you’re reduced to hyping that over a 100-year cycle, corks emit less CO2 than other types of closures, you’ve basically admitted you’ve lost the argument. That’s cork’s claim to fame? I don’t think that dog will hunt. The cork people are going to have to come up with better rationales than that. I mean, we’re all green nowadays, but that doesn’t mean that everything we buy and use has to be calculated to the Nth degree to figure out its carbon footprint. That’s a kind of green fascism we ought to avoid.

There are lots of reasons to move beyond cork. Here are two: screwtops are less intimidating to millions of people who don’t want to struggle with a device just in order to open a bottle. And a screwtop will never taint a wine with TCA. Cork is an anachronism — a seventeenth century artifact like the spinning wheel. We don’t need it anymore.

But we do need bling, don’t we?

On the other hand, here’s the world famous coutourier, Karl Lagerfeld, telling the New York Times: “This whole [economic] crisis is like a big spring housecleaning — both moral and physical… Bling is over. Red carpetry covered with rhinestones is out. I call it ‘the new modesty.’ ”

No bling for Karl