NY Times piece on Hill Wine Co.

Thought some here might enjoy this. Well, maybe not "enjoy", but...

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/25/business/in-vino-veritas-in-napa-deceit.html

[Robin Garr]

Good story! Thanks, Tom. I thought this quote worth noting. It expresses a hard truth that you don't often see in the media:

Napa cabernet sauvignon grapes are among the most valuable in the United States. A well-made cabernet from Lake County, which abuts Napa to the north, typically sells for $25 to $30 a bottle, while a bottle of Napa cab of equivalent quality often fetches $100 or more.

That price is based more on consumers’ belief in the superiority of the region’s grapes than in the inherent quality of the liquid in the bottle.

I thought this quote worth noting. It expresses a hard truth that you don't often see in the media:

Napa cabernet sauvignon grapes are among the most valuable in the United States. A well-made cabernet from Lake County, which abuts Napa to the north, typically sells for $25 to $30 a bottle, while a bottle of Napa cab of equivalent quality often fetches $100 or more.

That price is based more on consumers’ belief in the superiority of the region’s grapes than in the inherent quality of the liquid in the bottle.

It's funny, that same quote jumped out at me also. Years ago I bookmarked this article: http://scienceblogs.com/cortex/2007/11/02/the-subjectivity-of-wine/, and I go back and read it every time I start trying to convince myself "I can, I really can!" discern a terroir difference between bottles from adjacent regions.

An interesting story. It has been a long time since I've bought a bottle of Napa Cab, because the quality/price is just not there. The article implies that there are some good Cabs coming out of Lake County, but the only ones I can remember were more low-end daily drinkers like Guenoc (not bad, actually). Does anyone have any insights into decent Lake County producers that one might find outside of CA?

Some might find the following link interesting

http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB100014240 ... 0426070170


Salute

(Sorry, I read the article without subscribing)

Today there are more than 8,000 acres under vine and only 30 or so wineries in Lake County. That fruit is going somewhere. One Vine grower of Lake County claims that 60 percent of his fruit goes to Napa.

http://www.winesandvines.com/template.c ... ent=102641

They basically said the same thing.

Salute

(Sorry, I read the article without subscribing)

Today there are more than 8,000 acres under vine and only 30 or so wineries in Lake County. That fruit is going somewhere. One Vine grower of Lake County claims that 60 percent of his fruit goes to Napa.

http://www.winesandvines.com/template.c ... ent=102641

They basically said the same thing.

Salute

Having worked on the inside of the business, I'm not surprised. The surprising thing is how long certain regions and wineries have been getting away with it--both here and in Europe--but we know the old adage: a fool and his money...

It's really simple when it come to pricing, Supply & Demand. Hey I'd love to drink more burgundy white & red, certain Bordeauxs, etc.Can't blame people for selling something based on market demand. Griping, might as well bay at the moon.

What I found interesting is that a lot of the vines in Lake Co. are young(ish) because the place was grubbed up after Prohibition. I had a fantasy that maybe the place was filled with abandoned old vines ready to be rehabilitated. It might be worth picking up a bottle of Obsidian Ridge CS to see if it lives up to the billing.

P.S. You can view the WSJ article by pasting the title into a popular search engine that does no evil and then following the link.