Message from the Consumer

Grrr. We have all been there at some point. Some obstacle lay between us and that coveted bottle of wine. Sometimes it is availability. Certainly an acceptable reason, since many of the most highly sought after wines are produced in tiny amounts. But what about other obstacles such as faulty corks, poor information at your local wine shop or prices on a restaurant list that even Paul Allen couldn’t justify?

The path to a great bottle of wine is fraught with pitfalls and bear traps, with fault lying on all ends of the industry. What follows is a list of complaints from the consumer. We offer this as constructive criticism in an effort to improve the accessibility, price and quality of the wine we all enjoy.

A Message to the Retailer and Restauranteur

There’s no such thing as Too Much Information
Speaking of wine, of course! Wine is a complicated subject, with many names, regions, styles, grape varieties and other variables to choose from. Why is it that most wine shops or restaurant lists don’t have more information on the grape variety or region involved? Just because you know what grapes are in a Corbières doesn’t mean the rest of us do.

In that same vein is the wine sweet? Dry? Heavy? Light? A strategically placed shelf talker about the wines of the south of France can go a long way to satisfying the customer. Similarly, very few restaurant wine lists offer the grapes involved in blends from Italy, Spain or the south of France. It is not enough to throw Super Tuscan on the list and call it a day. Dramatically different styles of wine will be produced from dramatically different grapes. Super Tuscans can be produced from Sangiovese, Merlot, Cabernet and even Syrah. Think that they all taste the same?

This boils down to one thing: Effort. It takes time to write a blurb about each region, and to add the grapes used for each wine to your wine list, but in the end your consumers will love you for it. Some restaurants do this already, and it marks a serious commitment to wine enjoyment and education, but far too many view this as an inconvenience rather than an opportunity.

Service
Starting with the retail shop, it is true that not everyone can be a wine expert. But a modest amount of wine knowledge should be expected. If I ask you about Ribera del Duero, please do not direct me to the Italian section. No one expects a wine store clerk making $8 an hour to know everything, and it is perfectly acceptable to use the phrase “I don’t know,” but for heavens sake blink twice if you are still in there. And don’t make things up. The first time someone catches you will be the last time they shop with you.

Shelf talkers and quotes from the shop owner or server regarding the musings of this critic or the score from that magazine may be helpful, but they had better be accurate. Saying that Parker gave the wine a 95 when it was closer to an 89, is lying. You can call it gently inflating the value of your wine. I call it disingenuous.

As for you restaurants out there, if you are going to take the time and effort to craft a wine list, a minimum amount of wine training for your servers is mandatory. Opening a bottle of wine isn’t rocket science, and a certain familiarity with your list will improve their sales and yours.

Would you act as snobby if you were selling auto parts?
The world of wine has an air of superiority about it. Why? It is merely the end result of squashed grapes that have fermented. Sure, wine can be the drink of millionaires, and there is a fair share of wine out there that only they can afford, but what about the other 99.999% of the time that wine is purchased and consumed? From pushy sales clerks that act as if you have offended their mother by asking about an inexpensive bottle, to the snobby server who responds to your selection with a harumpf and a “If that’s the one that you really want, sir,” the wine industry needs a reality check.

Thankfully, one has been provided. The excellent and inexpensive wines that are flowing from the Southern Hemisphere have proven that price and history need not be the only determinates when searching for a great bottle of wine. This pressure has also spurred the great regions of Western Europe to get in on the Quality AND Value market, and now wineries all over the world are producing fine wines at inexpensive prices. Servers and store clerks: Get with the program! There is too much good juice out there to insist that your guests only grab the pricey stuff. And if you do not adapt with the times, someone else will, with your business.

Price
For the retail stores that offer great deals at their lowest prices- I applaud you. For those of you who mark your wines way up because you can I offer you this: It is a brave new wine world, and the consumer today is armed with magazines, price guides and even Palm Pilots and cell phone access to what the market price really is. Internet sales are booming. Charging double because the consumer can’t get that wine anywhere else is a thing of the past. Accept it and offer your best price. Deny it, and watch them shop elsewhere.

For the restaurateur, well, wine lists have always ranged in price, and the mark-up over retail is a well known evil when considering the convenience of having a fine bottle of wine with dinner, expertly served and offered with fine glassware. But some of the increases in price have become ridiculous. No matter what your costs are for food, location, atmosphere and glassware, there is no excuse for charging two, three or even four times over retail for a bottle of wine. It is a blatant rip off. I’m looking at you Smith & Wollensky.

Storage and Bottle Condition
Wine is sensitive. Leaving it in a storeroom that heats up to 95°F in summer is bad, very, very bad. In fact, whether you think it will sell in two months or 5 years, it is the responsibility of the shop or restaurant to keep that wine in the best condition possible. Selling a bottle of Mouton years down the road that was stored improperly will put you and the consumer in a bad situation. They won’t want the wine, and you will be unable to send it back to wherever you bought it.

Corks. Love ‘em or leave ‘em, most bottles of wine out there have them and some will be bad. This is a simple fact, as is that there are plenty of other faults that can occur in a bottle of wine. Some are due to storage and transport, others through no fault of the shop or restaurant. But some will be bad. Deal with it, and accept my full bottle of returned wine without anger, disdain or suspicion, and I promise only to send it back when there is something truly wrong with the wine, not because it just isn’t my cup of tea.

Mix it up a little
There are tons and tons of wines out there. Take a chance and reach out to the new regions and small producers. If I can buy Yellow Tail at the local gas station, why would I prefer to buy it from you? How about the things that I can’t get at the gas station? That is where the real attraction lies. Same goes for the restaurant wine list. A list created with thought and effort need not be expensive, yet will satisfy so much more than one more place offering Woodbridge by Mondavi.


A Message to the Wine Critics

I will keep this short and sweet, because I am one of sorts, but I have to say this: Wine comes in all sorts of colors, flavors and weights. But it was only recently that a certain style became the favor of the world’s most influential wine critic. Good for him, and no jealousy here, but too many wineries across the globe have changed their ways to court the high ratings and the inevitable jump in sales that come along with. This has created a loss of identity of many wineries and just as many wines. The effort to craft wines that are heavy, rich, full of fruit, alcohol and sometimes oak has fueled the homogenization of the industry, and much of the style, history and grace associated with international varietals is slowly slipping away.

A Message to the Distributor/Wholesaler

Take a stand
Brand over-development is rampant in the wine industry. Refuse to carry the Australian Pinot Grigio! Even if that brand does well for you, is it not the customers who are most important? Diluting a quality brand by blindly pushing every wine they offer will hurt everyone in the long run. Other aspects, such as second labels, deals on one label if you carry Gigantocorps’ other 43, and even pushing the bad vintages on your customers are all a part of the perils of doing business. But need they be? The quality and the availability of the best wine possible are what is best for the consumer, and the industry as a whole.

Store your wines properly!
It is a simple fact that many wine distributors neither store nor transport their wines under proper conditions. Heat, cold, sunlight, vibration, noise. These are all factors that can destroy the health of each bottle of wine. The massive warehouses with no climate controls that you store your wine in aren’t exactly ideal conditions.

A Message to the Winery/Importer

Price
The ratio of wines that any wine lover would classify as “a great bargain,” versus the amount that same wine lover would call “way over-priced” is decidedly one-sided. Bordeaux and California Cabernet are the two obvious culprits, but charging an arm and a leg for wines is hardly unique to these regions. Be it the fancy new multi-million dollar tasting room just built, or the fact that someone out there is willing to pay $550 for a bottle for a wine that received a “100,” the fact remains that the wine is in a price range that eliminates all but the most well to do collectors. Not exactly creating a wine for the people, are you?

Lower your prices for poor vintages, period. Prices for California Cabernet skyrocketed after the great 1997 vintage, and remained there despite the fact that 1998 was considered the worst vintage of the decade. Wine prices all over the planet continue to climb, some driven by success, some by accessibility, some by design. Any region that refuses to curb this trend runs the risk of losing market share to areas known for good, inexpensive juice, such as Australia, Spain and South America.

If it walks like a duck, call it a duck
Consolidation within the wine industry is rampant. Giant companies are buying up wineries and brands every day, turning into even larger worldwide conglomerates. Business is business, but pushing one of the many brands you now control as a “mom and pop” winery that still sticks to the same family values and principles that they had before they were “acquired” is shameful. We both know they are no longer a family winery. Call it what it is. I am sure that the consumer and the family the winery was acquired from would appreciate the honesty.

And no more pretending that you are something that you are not. The terroirs and micro-climates of the United States should be celebrated, not hidden by a name that conjures images of the Tuscan countryside. Can you imagine an Italian winery naming their winery after the Stag’s Leap District in Napa?

Provide some info on the back label we can actually use
The back label on a bottle of wine is practically useless. An opportunity to provide the consumer with info on the region, amount of barrel aging and grapes involved would be extremely helpful, particularly when the wine hails from a region that does not list such things so readily on the label. We hardly need to know that a Pinot Noir is “supple” and has “bright cherry fruit.” Really? Isn’t that what a Pinot Noir is supposed to taste like?

Phew. A ton I know, but there are certainly some aspects of the wine industry that could use improvement. In the end the emphasis is placed on getting better, something we can all strive for. Better wine at better prices. Better information to seek out the better wines. The results: We shall see, but we can all hope for something better.

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