Jim Trezise wine press Feb 3,International Riesling Foundati

Sunday, February 3, 2008



UNIFIED GRAPE & WINE SYMPOSIUM, held this week in Sacramento and drawing over 11,000 information-thirsty attendees, is truly an amazing annual event combining a broad diversity of great seminars with a humungous trade show and all kinds of networking opportunities. I had the honor of being on a panel about wine marketing at consumer events, trade shows, and wine competitions, but the real fun was listening to other speakers, especially during the general session of the second day which is always the highlight of the three-day show. This year’s “State of the Industry” session included presentations by CEO Ted Baseler of Chateau Ste. Michelle (the world’s largest Riesling producer), Nat DiBuduo of Allied Grape Growers, Glenn Proctor of The Ciatti Company, Joshua Greene of Wine & Spirits magazine, and Jon Fredrikson (The Gomberg Fredrikson Report), the guru of statistically based wine industry trends. Overall, the news was very upbeat. Ted Baseler noted that consumers are trading up in terms of price, boosting profitability; there are many new types of retail outlets, including movie theaters and car washes(!); Riesling is the fastest growing white wine, and second only to Pinot Noir; and wine has gone from a “special occasion” beverage to mainstream; but we need to remain vigilant about threats like taxes, regulations, and economic conditions. He ended his presentation espousing industry Unity: “Let’s work together”. Joshua Greene, whose magazine conducts an annual restaurant survey, noted that on-premise sales have grown strongly every year since 2001, thanks largely to a new generation of enthusiastic young sommeliers; there is a clear trend toward lighter style wines (both red and white), but the “ego effect” keeps many sommeliers from recommending white wines; and that “sustainable, local, natural” wines will be the wave of the future. John Fredrikson mentioned that the wine industry continues to explode, with sales increasing by 83% since the first “French Paradox” episode of 60 Minutes was aired in 1991; the retail value of wine sold in the U.S. now exceeds $30 billion, making us the largest wine market in the world—and unfortunately a magnet for all producers everywhere; even so, the average American adult consumption of 2.5 gallons of wine per year is still pitifully low (about 1/3rd the Australian and British levels, and 1/9th of beer consumption), though the upside is clearly room for growth; higher priced wines are growing very strongly, reflecting “small winery effect”; direct-to-consumer sales through various channels are booming, with plenty of room for more growth; we’re in a fiercely competitive market with increasing brand clutter—the federal Tax and Trade Bureau approved 112,000 labels in 2007; athletes and celebrities like Dan Ackroyd, Mike Ditka (football), Wayne Gretsky (hockey), Greg Norman (golf) and Martha Stewart have created their own brands, enhancing the “lifestyle” image of wine; Riesling is growing very strongly, with good potential (a point made by all speakers); the U.S. market is a target for wine producers worldwide, with Argentinian wines growing 75% last year. As always, Jon ended his fascinating talk with the coronation of “Winery of the Year”, which this year went to a publicly traded company whose profits have soared by 244% since 2000 and which is the fastest growing Top 25 winery: Chateau Ste. Michelle.

INTERNATIONAL RIESLING FOUNDATION met on January 31 in the California State Capitol in Sacramento to continue the development of the organization, learn about consumer attitudes toward Riesling, and discuss a possible consumer-friendly taste scale system, among other agenda items. The IRF was officially created in mid-November in the State of Washington (the largest Riesling producing state); held its first organizational meeting on November 30 in the San Francisco office of Constellation Brands; and will next meet in late July at the fabulous “Riesling Rendezvous” hosted by Chateau Ste. Michelle in Woodinville, Washington, where a luncheon meeting of industry leaders last June started the ball rolling. John Gillespie and Christian Miller of the market research firm Wine Opinions (http://www.wineopinions.com) presented findings from their recent research into the attitudes toward Riesling of “core” (high frequency) U.S. wine consumers, blending some good news with bad news along with unanswered questions that need to be explored. Major findings: Riesling is broadly perceived as a “sweet white wine” despite its many styles; those who have not tried it are not inclined to do so; and Riesling’s strengths—versatility in tastes, reflection of regional uniqueness, and food compatibility, among others—do not resonate among consumers even though they’re recognized and often praised by key wine writers. Interestingly, Riesling is the fastest growing white wine in the U.S., and second only to Pinot Noir among all wines. Bottom line: Despite the strong growth, many U.S. consumers do not understand Riesling, and are not inclined to try it, which is precisely why the IRF was formed—“Try it, you’ll like it.” To help stimulate such trial, wine journalist and life-long Riesling aficionado Dan Berger presented an initial proposal for consumer-focused taste scales of Dry, Off-Dry, Semi-Dry, Sweet, and Dessert variations along with a possible color coded system linked to those terms. This sparked a lively discussion among the 50 or so attendees, with two basic areas of agreement: It needs to be done, and it won’t be easy. The IRF will continue working on these and other projects in the coming months, with significant results expected to be unveiled at the July meeting. Anyone wanting more information about the IRF may contact me at jimtrezise@nywgf.org.

FREE ADVERTISING is a wonderful thing, especially when a major beer company pays $2.7 million for a 30-second Super Bowl ad tonight that features a wine tasting being crashed by some men sneaking in some Bud Light. That’s OK: We appreciate the free message that wine goes with the Super Bowl too, as it does on so many other occasions. This actually reflects two promising trends: consumers now see many more occasions as appropriate for wine, according to research by the Wine Market Council; and other types of business from breweries to brokerage firms are including wine (for free) in their advertising because it symbolizes a pleasant, tasteful, upscale lifestyle. Actually, all this free advertising is a good thing, since the wine industry itself does relatively little advertising compared to, say, beer. So thank you, Bud Light.

WINE & JAZZ are a natural combo which the Long Island Wine Council and some partners will promote with over 50 jazz concerts at 21 wineries during five weeks in February and March. The jazz festival is a new, musical version of the Long Island Culture & Wine Winterfest of the past few years, which is designed to lure visitors to the region during the otherwise slow winter months. For more information, visit http://www.liwines.com. The wine-jazz marriage has long been celebrated by Glenora Wine Cellars (http://www.glenora.com), whose popular summer concerts attract huge crowds of happy people sipping wine on the expansive lawn overlooking lush green vineyards sloping to deep blue Seneca Lake. Ah, life is good…

WINE & ART are another natural pair, and no winery illustrates that better than Long Island’s Bedell Cellars (http://www.bedellcellars.com). Owner Michael Lynne, an avid patron of the arts and Co-Chairman of New Line Cinema (Lord of the Rings, and other blockbusters), integrates the art inside of the bottle with art on its outside as well. Bedell’s labels are created by famous artists, with its latest “Musée” (a red blend) complementing Gallery (a white blend) and many other stunning labels lie “Taste Red” and “Taste White” which have received lots of national media attention in top lifestyle magazines.



“Wine is art. It’s culture. It’s the essence of civilization and the art of living.”

-- Robert Mondavi



A Votre Santé To Your Health






Jim Trezise

585-394-3649, fax
JimTrezise@nywgf.org, email
http://www.newyorkwines.org/, web
http://www.healthyconcordgrapes.com/, web

This was an e-mail by Jim as well:
At International Riesling Foundation meeting...

Riesling Market Research and Proposed Taste Scale Discussed

SACRAMENTO, Calif.-The new International Riesling Foundation (IRF) met on January 31 at the State Capitol in Sacramento to continue building the organization, determine priorities, and create programs for the next several months.

The IRF was formally created on November 15, 2007 in the state of Washington, held its first organizational meeting on November 30 in San Francisco, and will hold its next major meeting in late July in conjunction with the Riesling Rendezvous at Chateau Ste. Michelle near Seattle, where initial discussions among industry leaders about such an organization began a year earlier.

Riesling is the fastest growing white wine in the United States, and second only to Pinot Noir among all wines, with good prospects for future growth due to its consistent quality, taste versatility, and compatibility with many foods. The IRF was created to capitalize on that potential by uniting Riesling producers, trade associations, and consumers throughout the world to increase awareness and appreciation of Riesling and to establish guidelines to assist consumers in understanding the wine.

The IRF Board of Directors, which will add more international members in the near future, currently includes Dan Berger (Wine Journalist, California), Jim Bernau (Willamette Valley Vineyards, Oregon), Jim Caudill (Brown-Forman, Global), Pete Downs (Kendall-Jackson Family Wine Estates, California), Jim Finkle (Constellation Brands, Global), Judy Finn (Neudorf Vineyards, New Zealand), Jerry Lohr (J. Lohr Winery, California), Harry McWatters (Sumac Ridge Winery, Canada), Ed O'Keefe III (Chateau Grand Traverse, Michigan), Harry Peterson-Nedry (Chehalem, Oregon), Nicolas Quille (Pacific Rim Winemakers, Washington), Coke Roth (Wine Attorney and Consultant, Washington), Peter M.F. Sichel, Wendy Stuckey (Chateau Ste. Michelle, Washington), Jim Trezise (President, New York Wine & Grape Foundation), and Nik Weis (St. Urbanhof, Germany).

The January 31 meeting of about 40 Riesling producers and trade association representatives from various Riesling producing countries and regions began with a presentation on consumer attitudes toward Riesling by John Gillespie and Christian Miller of Wine Opinions, a market research firm based in the Napa Valley. Their recent survey of high-frequency ("core") wine consumers showed that, despite its strong growth, Riesling still has a long way to go in terms of broad popularity.

Part of the reason is that many consumers still equate Riesling with "sweet white wine" even though in fact there are many different styles, and an increasing tendency toward producing dry Rieslings. In addition, the virtues of Riesling extolled by many wine writers and experts-versatility of styles, relatively low alcohol, reflection of "terroir", and compatibility with a wide range of foods-do not appear to resonate with the majority of U.S. wine consumers.

These and other findings are precisely why the IRF was created-to educate consumers about Riesling, correct common misperceptions, and encourage trial of different styles of Rieslings. Additional consumer market research will help to guide these efforts.

The group also discussed the desirability and feasibility of developing a standardized taste scale to make it simpler for consumers to predict the taste they will experience from a particular bottle of Riesling, which may range from bone dry to sweet. This is not as simple as a measure of residual sugar, since the levels of acid and pH in a wine affect the taste perception just as much. Discussions will continue in that area.

Other discussions included the creation of a comprehensive web site that would appeal to consumers ranging from new wine drinkers to Riesling aficionados; and the need to identify research on Riesling that has already been done, and that which is still lacking.

The meeting concluded with an informal tasting of Rieslings from around the world that were brought by various participants.

The IRF is still in its formative stages, so little additional public information is expected until its next meeting in July. However, in the meantime media and other interested parties may contact Jim Trezise, President of the New York Wine & Grape Foundation (jimtrezise@nywg.org, 585-394-3620, ext. 203).

I'm all for more people learning to appreciate Riesling--that is, until the prices skyrocket.