SFChron: Sweet Reds

Interesting article in today's SFChron:
SFChron: Sweet Reds...

on the resurgence of interest in slightly sweet reds. Alas, the article focuses on the crap that's out there.
I've been enjoying the slightly sweet/fizzy reds from Italy immensely over the last few yrs. They're great w/ charcuterie. Wines like Brachetto and (good) Lambrusco can be very good. Best of all..at 7% alcohol...you can drink a boatload of it and not get snockered.
It's a genre that should be pursued more in California, I think. It'll be the next Merlot craze. Drive that Riunite crap off the marketplace. Actually, Randall has made a version from Freisa that he characterizes as his rendition of ColdDuck.
Tom

Back in '91, I saw a bottle of Fetzer Black Muscat, which was fortified, but got me to thinking about how to woo the Concord (kosher) wine drinkers over to fine Vinifera wine. I decided that a high quality, unfortified, well balanced Black Muscat (Muscat Hamburg) produced in a Late Harvest style would be just the ticket. I called Fetzer and discovered that Steve Gallagher (deceased in '92- nice guy) worked for them, he and his dad, Don, had a nice spread of Muscat Hamburg in Manteca, and most importantly, Fetzer had no plans to use it again (although most was used by Quady). I contracted for the fruit, and produced the GAN EDEN '92 Black Muscat, which was extremely successful for us, as were subsequent vintages, and not only with kosher drinkers but surprisingly to me, with novice non-kosher drinkers as well. And because the wine was of very high quality, with knowledgeable nonkosher and kosher drinkers as well, as wine to serve with desserts (such as chocolate items). Others, both kosher and nonkosher producers, began creating unfortified Black Muscat as well, though it was and probably is somewhat under the radar. The problem with the grape is the small vineyard acreage devoted to it, and consequent small tonnage available. Judging from the success of the products, however, if it were available, it could be as successful for the industry as White Zinfandel was in its prime. The key is quality.

Back in '91, I saw a bottle of Fetzer Black Muscat, which was fortified, but got me to thinking about how to woo the Concord (kosher) wine drinkers over to fine Vinifera wine. I decided that a high quality, unfortified, well balanced Black Muscat (Muscat Hamburg) produced in a Late Harvest style would be just the ticket. I called Fetzer and discovered that Steve Gallagher (deceased in '92- nice guy) worked for them, he and his dad, Don, had a nice spread of Muscat Hamburg in Manteca, and most importantly, Fetzer had no plans to use it again (although most was used by Quady). I contracted for the fruit, and produced the GAN EDEN '92 Black Muscat, which was extremely successful for us, as were subsequent vintages, and not only with kosher drinkers but surprisingly to me, with novice non-kosher drinkers as well. And because the wine was of very high quality, with knowledgeable nonkosher and kosher drinkers as well, as wine to serve with desserts (such as chocolate items). Others, both kosher and nonkosher producers, began creating unfortified Black Muscat as well, though it was and probably is somewhat under the radar. The problem with the grape is the small vineyard acreage devoted to it, and consequent small tonnage available. Judging from the success of the products, however, if it were available, it could be as successful for the industry as White Zinfandel was in its prime. The key is quality.

Great story, Craig!

We can also add that Hyatt Vineyards up in WA state still makes a credible Black Muscat wine (as a table wine). Don't know how much acreage there is--suspect not much---but it can be a fun and unusual grape variety.

We're seeing a lot of Syrah, Petite Sirah and Zinfandel roses these days.
I just picked up a bottle of Joseph Swan "Jose's Rhose" which is a rose blend of Rousanne, Marsanne and Petite Sirah, crushed and fermented together.
Those I've tasted have varied, of course, but they mostly are on the "like" side for me.
Maybe there's an opening here!
(BTW, David Coffaro made a somewhat pinkish sparkler out of Pinot Noir last year. Not enough to sell, though.)

John

john, i've been on the websites for two of these wineries and it isn't obvious that the rose's you mention are in fact sweet. DRY rose's are the rage at the moment not sweet. and the coffaro sparkler IS for sale - close out even.

They're "dry" roses, David, but that's a relative term, I guess. They aren't sweet wines, but they're definitely off-dry, most of them. Swan's "Jose's Rhose" is dead dry, and it's very much like a white Rhone except for the color.
I guess I was speculating that spritzy wines might happen around here, sooner rather than later.

I'm happy for Dave and Matt that they decided they had enough of the sparkler to sell. I'm not a sparkler fan myself, and I didn't even taste it, except for a sample from the barrel the day before they were to start bottling. I guess it was good wine, I didn't see anything wrong, but as I say, I'm not a sparkly person.

John

This is old news if you live in the Midwest, where a majority of the reds produced are sweet, and almost every single winery produces a port of some kind.