A growing interest in varietal wines?

When attending in Geneva the conference about women as wine consumers in Europe, I was surprised by a finding common to all women in every country: the first criteria to buy a wine was the varietal, even before the price or the origin. This is a very "un-European" attitude as the European wine traditions are based on origins more than on varietals.


I do remember a funny incident happening in a Paris wine store owned by a typical middle-aged man. I walked in and asked him a bottle of viognier. The man looked at me puzzled for a few seconds and answered: "You mean, a bottle of Condrieu?" My turn to be puzzled: "Viognier is grown in other parts of the world besides Condrieu. I drank a very good viognier in California." I'll spare you the long discussion on the merits of viognier from other origins besides Condrieu!

What could be the explanation? Without being really "new" consumers, women are newer in wine buying than men. They might have a different wine culture acquired through word of mouth and tasting: women are known for their practical mind and fine tasting buds! But certainly closer to reality is the fact that varietals are easier to understand and master than origins. After all Cabernet is available in many places worldwide but will be so different from one place to an other. That's what makes international drinking so fascinating: I love to buy 3 or 4 bottles of wine from different origins but of the same grape to taste and compare the differences. It's like drinking the culture of an other country and traveling in your living room!

Does it mean varietal wines are a new international trend? It could be. I saw a few days ago in a French supermarket a "collection" of varietal wines in half bottles - as if the wine maker wasn't quite sure of his wine "saleability". Price was reasonable and quality acceptable. Did he understand the future of the wine industry or is he surfing on a new trend? Europeans are always slow to catch up in the new trends: for 20 years, the "New World" sold varietal wines but is now working on analyzing the "terroir" of their wines. In California, Gallo created his line of Sonoma wines at a much higher price than his mass market brands, explaining to consumers that the Sonoma wines are crafted in the respect of their origins. Europeans are now jumping in the "varietal wagon" that is so loose in the New World and rejecting what was their signature for centuries, the origin of the wine. Who is right? Who is wrong? Future will tell us!

The demographics of wine bloggers: US vs. Europe

Yesterday, during the on line radio show for the new wine consumer about the first American and European Wine Bloggers Conferences, we brushed on a topic that could be interesting to both sides of the Atlantic: the differences of demographics between Europe and the US.

In continental Europe, the main bloggers are usually wine makers or wine lovers. It might not be true in every country but in France, it is obvious: the main bloggers are the Perrin family, Bizeul from the Clos des Fées, Alain-Dominique Perrin from Château Lagrezette in Cahors and Château Palmer in Margaux. They write mostly about their vineyards and sometimes expands on topics related to the wine industry in their country or outside. But the core subject of the blog is related to their vineyard. Some blogs are even only in French - which considerably reduces the audience - but many are bilingual (French and English).

The situation is very different in the UK and the US - in the UK, because the wine makers are still a minority and in the US, because marketers, journalists, wine lovers and academics are driving the movement. It makes the conversation between writers and audience a lot more rewarding as well as lively. The OWC community provides information and links to a lot of those blogs through the Wine Bloggers Group.

I'd like to hear from bloggers from Europe on this topic. Do you share my opinion or do you have information that contradict me completely?

1st American and European Wine Bloggers Conferences

Thanks to the enthusiasm and dynamism of Joel Vincent and Robert McIntosh, from OpenWineConsortium, two Wine Bloggers Conferences are going to take place this year for the first time ever both in the US and in Europe.

Let's go by chronological order. From August 29th to August 31st, the European Wine Bloggers Conference will take place in Logrono, Spain. The three days offer a balanced mix of work, wine tasting and networking. Let's get together to think about our role. There are three main roundtables:

- Rating
- Wine Blog Writing
- Wine Blogging Standards and Monetisation

The three roundtables should help us define our work as bloggers, how to professionalize and monetize our work and reflect on rating. To have a preview of the contents of the three topics, read the first exchanges on them and discover the first list of the participants.

Let's move to the US now. The American Wine Bloggers Conference is scheduled for Oct. 24th-26th in the heart of Sonoma, California. The goal of the conference is to gather wine bloggers from throughout North America and beyond to meet, learn, and share.

To learn more about those two conefernces, follow our live radio talkshow on Talkshoe, with all instructions to call in on newwineconsumer.com or to download the show.

Wine consumers and economic recession

Wine is not considered anymore as a basic food, but as a luxury or a pleasure - something you'll buy to enjoy but could be suppressed in case of financial hardship. It is reassuring to learn that British consumers "will carry drinking wine despite recession", writes decanter.com.

A new research, carried by Wine Intelligence, showed consumers will cut more on sweets, beer, soda and chocolate than on wine. Consumers also think that wine prices didn't go up dratsically in the last 6 months. rather contradictorily, they are ready to pay more (up to £6,81) instead of the current £4,64 average.

This is a reassuring study for the wine industry.

The New Appellation system in Europe

Anybody who tried to sell French or other European wines know how difficult it is. There are many reasons for this situation: difficult labels, weird names impossible to pronounce and a system of geographical origins rather difficult to understand for a foreigner.

The European Union is working on a new system with France leading the way. Let's be frank: France has one of the most complex appellation system. France has several levels of quality of wine: the "vin de pays" (coming from a certain area but with no real control on the grapes used or the quality of wine) and the famous Controlled Appellation. France has now several hundreds of them: some of them cover a very small geographical area and it is very difficult to locate this place on a map. Even French people can't master the system.

What is the purpose of the new system? Up to now, European wine producers didn't have the right to put the grape name on the bottle in the Controlled Appellation system. If you like French Cabernet Sauvignon, for instance, you have to memorize the geographical areas producing this grape: Bordeaux in a blend with Merlot or Cabernet Franc, Loire Valley, a little in the South. Do you prefer Pinot Noir or Syrah? For Pinot noir, Burgundy is your area; for Syrah, you have to look at Côtes du Rhône, for instance. What about the blends? That's where things are getting really complex: you can find Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot noir or Syrah in many blends over several areas.

Writer and wine lover Tim York explained on the Wine Forum of the WineLoversPage.com Discussion Group how the French system will be reformed:

"A three tier system of appellations will be put in place.

The third (bottom) tier will consist of “vins de table” (table wines). With effect from the 2009 vintage, “vins de table” will be allowed to put grape variety and vintage on their labels. Grapes may be blended from any part of France. There will no longer be any constraints on production methods, for example on yields and irrigation, other than those of international wine industry norms (e.g. the banning of flavouring additives, certain chemical stabilisers, etc.). It is hoped that this will permit the appearance of French commercial wine brands to compete with those of the New World. “Vins de Pays” will disappear progressively after 2009.

The second tier will consist of “vins de territoire” (territorial wines). Into this category will fall the more ambitious artisan produced wines which are “vins de pays” at present, existing regional appellations such as “Bordeaux” and “Bourgogne” and regroupings of existing lesser AOCs. An example of the last is the regrouping into “Côtes de Bordeaux” of the appellations Blaye, Castillon, Cadillac and Francs. 50 to 100 appellations are expected to disappear in the next few years. The creation of new appellations will not be allowed.

The first (top) tier will consist of “vins de terroir” (terroir wines) which will reinforce the AOC system at the top level. The intention is to guarantee quality as well as origin. New style tasting committees for accepting or refusing wines will replace local vignerons, too subject to complaisance with poor quality and jealousy of outstanding performers, with more independent persons such as journalists, oenologists, wine merchants, etc. The AOCs will draw up new specifications to replace existing INAO application decrees; it is intended that these should be in place for the 2008 vintage." You can read the exchange - sometimes a little heated - on the Discussion Forum.

It is a fascinating topic when you consider that the so-called New World is now starting to protect their own terroirs and to create Controlled Appellations of their own. The US created the "Center for Wine Origins" because, as it stated, "when it comes to wine, there is no ingredient more important than location". As my friend Robert McIntosh wrote on the OpenWine Consortium blog, the old dichotomy between Old and New World is now fading. Welcome to the Wine 2.0 world!