3. The Napa Valley wine market is over-saturated. Generally speaking, expensive wines are higher in alcohol because they’ve been produced from extremely ripe grapes, which possess more sugar for yeasts to convert into alcohol. Is the $1,100 bottle really any better than the $550 bottle, or the $150 bottle, or the $50 bottle? To anyone with an opinion and a discerning palate (or deep pockets), there will of course be critical differences but to the average consumer with little concern for the rarity of wine, the only difference is in the buzz-literally. A $100+ price-tag means a few things: The grapes grown or purchased to make the wine cost upwards of $10K+ per ton very little of the stuff is made and the final bill is merely a reflection of that demand or the owner’s ego. Once a wine surpasses a c-note, the only factors in play are quantity and accessibility. No matter how delicious it is, no wine is worth more than $100 if your sole desire is a quality bottle. That $50 bottle of wine is as good as this $150 bottle. But for god’s sake, stop calling yourself a winemaker.Ģ. Throw all the money you want at events, cozy up to buyers at retail shops or restaurants, and do whatever else you need to do to recoup that investment. Leave your bullshit, slapped-together, “heritage”-inspired stories about why you’re making a wine behind (looking at you, Drew Barrymore). Is the “art” of stopping by the custom-crush HQ to ogle barrels or select label designs indicative of a real-deal winemaker? Of course not. Sure, these posers can dole out the necessary money for vinified juice, but to slap “winemaker” on a business card is as misleading as donning a Cleveland Cavaliers jersey and telling people you can play ball just like Lebron. Nine times out of ten, custom-crush clients are former (or current) investment bankers, tech entrepreneurs, or celebrities who want to impress their smarmy cronies or self-loathing girlfriends. Because here’s the scoop: They’re not actually making wine they’re merely owners of a wine brand. But the “clients” of these facilities are the ones denigrating the good name of tried-and-true winemakers. For wannabe winemakers, these so-called custom-crush facilitates-essentially, mega-wineries that host multiple brands at a time-are the legal gateway to vintner status. Others work around the red tape by getting less-expensive permits that allow them to share winery space to make wine for commercial consumption. Only the wealthiest individuals have the kind of cash on hand to actually open a Bonded Winery, complete with facilities and permits to sell their own wine. Enthusiasts who pay to have their own wine made in a custom-crush facility are giving winemaking a bad rap. In the spirit of a new year, let’s get into the things wine folks really talk about when the magnums are drained and the real talk doth flow.Īnd before we get started, you know how this goes: While these opinions and issues are too complicated to tackle comprehensively in the space of one list, they are things we find ourselves circling with friends who work in the industry or follow it closely, and we think they’re worthy of broader discussion. No more of that in 2015: It’s time to let the darker side of wine bubble over-as Hillary Clinton and Jeb Bush will be reminding us soon, transparency is the only way we’re going to get the change we deserve. From in-fighting among critics and bloggers, to production shortcuts that undermine the art of winemaking, these are the things that insiders try to hide from the public so that they don’t grow even more disillusioned with the wine world. Lurking beneath the problems consumers encounter with the wine industry (price gamesmanship, perceptions of snobbery, et al.), there are even more sinister forces at play. Something is rotten in the State of Vino, and it’s not just old grapes. And therein lies wine’s greatest failing: Pretty much everyone loves it, but the beverage has become so encumbered with stigma-deserved or otherwise-that its sex appeal is suffering. Yet somehow, no one seems to want to talk about Grenache as much as session IPAs or their new obsession with Boulevardiers. More of your friends probably drink wine more regularly than craft beer or cocktails.
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