Feedback
Feedback
Write Us: Please send us your opinions on wine industry issues, or your reactions to any of our articles. E-mail to edit@winesandvines.com or fax to (415) 453-2517. Items may be edited for clarity and brevity.
Not so high on alcohol
It is time for the average wine consumers, as opposed to tasters, to speak up. The current fad of higher and higher-alcohol wines should stop…. I don't believe the average person is so insensitive to flavors and aromas that he must have a 15% Cabernet, Chardonnay or Pinot Noir to get the aromas and flavors. Influential members of the wine press have led the score-chasing winemakers/owners up the alcohol curve, and now I hope that they soon will lead them down.
Winemaking is not really much different than cooking. The end product should be enjoyable to consume--not just to taste. Hopefully, most who read this don't think it's a novel concept that we should be making wines to consume. Would you want to sample a soup, meat dish or other course that is so overpowering that you cannot enjoyably finish what is in front of you? These new wines are made to taste and spit--not to drink.
This is all linked to my views on the ever-evasive and vanishing terroir; the subtleties of terroir in wines have been melted together in a huge pot called "overripe," or the vogue "physiologically mature" grape. Gone are the individualities of specific regions, replaced by sameness--high alcohol, raisiny, pruney, flabby wines. Likewise, the descriptor "herbaceous" was often used in a positive sense when describing Cabernets. Now it is the kiss of death. "Voluptuous"--I do remember seeing that only occasionally, but not on the aroma/flavor wheel.
So I would like consumers to take the lead for a change, rather than being led. (They should) ask for wines that are below 14% when (they) are out to dinner. The reactions are fun, but the results are not good for United States wines. The sommelier usually comes back with a French or New Zealand wine. On the restaurant level, high-alcohol wines have reduced the number of bottles sold. It is very simple arithmetic: percentage of alcohol times volume equals satisfaction. If the alcohol percentage goes up, volume must go down for satisfaction to stay the same--or else we all get plastered… Reviewers--please at least include the labeled alcohol percentage in all your reviews, and try to remember that not everyone is spitting.
Randy Dunn
Owner, Dunn Vineyards
Angwin, Calif.
Editor's note: For another perspective on the high-alcohol issue, see the Viewpoint piece on page 66.
Exactly what editors want
I just wanted to say thank you for writing such an excellent article on what makes a great wine story (Tina Caputo's Marketing Matters, July). It's always good to read (and re-read) about what makes an editor tick. Sometimes, during our day-to-day jobs, it can be easy to get lost in the minutia of something and not look at the big picture. Now I'll have the perfect excuse the next time someone at the winery gets on me for reading Wines & Vines at my desk. Clearly, it is not wasted effort! Thanks again.
Bill Smart
Director of communications
Dry Creek Vineyard
Healdsburg, Calif.
P.S. Great new website!
Editor's note: If you haven't yet done so, check out the redesigned and fact-packed winesandvines.com.
Lynch's mob
We received several e-mails in response to a Mike Lynch Opinion/Analysis column, Vinifera Obscura, that appeared in our July issue. Here are a few representative remarks:
In these times of technocrats and market specialists, it is refreshing to read a well-written and humorous piece giving the broader view. I think Mr. Lynch's article speaks for many of us who buy, drink and enjoy wines, yet who are made to feel guilty if we don't buy the "flavor of the month."
We all need more balance in our lives, and a piece such as this is always helpful in that regard.
Geoffrey E. Gross
Matterhorn Investment Management, LLP
London, England
I need my Mike Lynch fix. Please feature more of Mike's hilarious, humorous pieces in future publications.
Mike Drobnick
Vice president sales
O'Neill Vintners & Distillers
Larkspur, Calif.
Kudos to Wines & Vines for publishing the humorous yet strangely motivational piece by Mike Lynch entitled Vinifera Obscura. During my next visit, I'll ask my local wine bar if they have a nice glass of Marathefticon or Rotgipfler.
Keith Moak
Omega Strategy, Inc.
Weston, Fla.
I like the way Mike Lynch talks about the trends that are going on in the industry with the irreverence that they deserve--we do so often get caught up in ourselves.
Joe Shirley
Winemaker, Trinchero Family Wines
St. Helena, Calif.
I liked that article. I have only been in the wine business for 10 years, but I agree with Mike Lynch. I find it hard enough to understand even California wines, without trying to pretend I know anything about whole countries of wines. Very funny article.
Terry DiCarlo
Foster's Wine Estates
Napa, Calif.
Not so high on alcohol
It is time for the average wine consumers, as opposed to tasters, to speak up. The current fad of higher and higher-alcohol wines should stop…. I don't believe the average person is so insensitive to flavors and aromas that he must have a 15% Cabernet, Chardonnay or Pinot Noir to get the aromas and flavors. Influential members of the wine press have led the score-chasing winemakers/owners up the alcohol curve, and now I hope that they soon will lead them down.
Winemaking is not really much different than cooking. The end product should be enjoyable to consume--not just to taste. Hopefully, most who read this don't think it's a novel concept that we should be making wines to consume. Would you want to sample a soup, meat dish or other course that is so overpowering that you cannot enjoyably finish what is in front of you? These new wines are made to taste and spit--not to drink.
This is all linked to my views on the ever-evasive and vanishing terroir; the subtleties of terroir in wines have been melted together in a huge pot called "overripe," or the vogue "physiologically mature" grape. Gone are the individualities of specific regions, replaced by sameness--high alcohol, raisiny, pruney, flabby wines. Likewise, the descriptor "herbaceous" was often used in a positive sense when describing Cabernets. Now it is the kiss of death. "Voluptuous"--I do remember seeing that only occasionally, but not on the aroma/flavor wheel.
So I would like consumers to take the lead for a change, rather than being led. (They should) ask for wines that are below 14% when (they) are out to dinner. The reactions are fun, but the results are not good for United States wines. The sommelier usually comes back with a French or New Zealand wine. On the restaurant level, high-alcohol wines have reduced the number of bottles sold. It is very simple arithmetic: percentage of alcohol times volume equals satisfaction. If the alcohol percentage goes up, volume must go down for satisfaction to stay the same--or else we all get plastered… Reviewers--please at least include the labeled alcohol percentage in all your reviews, and try to remember that not everyone is spitting.
Randy Dunn
Owner, Dunn Vineyards
Angwin, Calif.
Editor's note: For another perspective on the high-alcohol issue, see the Viewpoint piece on page 66.
Exactly what editors want
I just wanted to say thank you for writing such an excellent article on what makes a great wine story (Tina Caputo's Marketing Matters, July). It's always good to read (and re-read) about what makes an editor tick. Sometimes, during our day-to-day jobs, it can be easy to get lost in the minutia of something and not look at the big picture. Now I'll have the perfect excuse the next time someone at the winery gets on me for reading Wines & Vines at my desk. Clearly, it is not wasted effort! Thanks again.
Bill Smart
Director of communications
Dry Creek Vineyard
Healdsburg, Calif.
P.S. Great new website!
Editor's note: If you haven't yet done so, check out the redesigned and fact-packed winesandvines.com.
Lynch's mob
We received several e-mails in response to a Mike Lynch Opinion/Analysis column, Vinifera Obscura, that appeared in our July issue. Here are a few representative remarks:
In these times of technocrats and market specialists, it is refreshing to read a well-written and humorous piece giving the broader view. I think Mr. Lynch's article speaks for many of us who buy, drink and enjoy wines, yet who are made to feel guilty if we don't buy the "flavor of the month."
We all need more balance in our lives, and a piece such as this is always helpful in that regard.
Geoffrey E. Gross
Matterhorn Investment Management, LLP
London, England
I need my Mike Lynch fix. Please feature more of Mike's hilarious, humorous pieces in future publications.
Mike Drobnick
Vice president sales
O'Neill Vintners & Distillers
Larkspur, Calif.
Kudos to Wines & Vines for publishing the humorous yet strangely motivational piece by Mike Lynch entitled Vinifera Obscura. During my next visit, I'll ask my local wine bar if they have a nice glass of Marathefticon or Rotgipfler.
Keith Moak
Omega Strategy, Inc.
Weston, Fla.
I like the way Mike Lynch talks about the trends that are going on in the industry with the irreverence that they deserve--we do so often get caught up in ourselves.
Joe Shirley
Winemaker, Trinchero Family Wines
St. Helena, Calif.
I liked that article. I have only been in the wine business for 10 years, but I agree with Mike Lynch. I find it hard enough to understand even California wines, without trying to pretend I know anything about whole countries of wines. Very funny article.
Terry DiCarlo
Foster's Wine Estates
Napa, Calif.
SHARE »
