Sales of Obscure White Varietals

This post goes along with the two previous blog posts on Albariño and Vermentino. Per local wine writer, Peg Melnik, the popularity of lesser known white wine varietals is increasing. This includes Vermentino and Albarinño plus other unusual grapes like Cortese, Fiano, and Verdeho and slightly better known ones such as Grenache Blanc, French Colombard, and Chenin Blanc.

A local wine shop owner she talked with said their sales of these unusual whites is up 10 to 20 percent. She interviewed an employee from a local winery, Portalupi Wines. They said it's mostly the under 40 crowd looking for something besides Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc.

I found Peg's article, Uptick in Sales of Rare White Varietals, in print in last Sunday's Santa Rosa Press Democrat. Haven't found it online, so I can't link to it.

Vermentino

It turns out white wine isn't just Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc! Vermentino, originally from Italy, is a lighter-bodied, white wine similar to Sauvignon Blanc. I like it for the bright, crisp acidity and herbal, spicy flavors. Descriptors used are lime, green apple, grapefruit, and minerality.

Albariño

Albariño (al-bah-reen-yo) grows mostly in Spain and Portugal, with a few hundred acres planted in California and a bit in Australia and South America. It's a light, refreshing white wine good for summer sipping and summer's lighter meals.

Organic Wine

Who's producing and who's consuming organic wine worldwide.

Source: Wine Business International

Wine & Soil

There are two reasons premium wine grapes don't grow just anywhere -- climate and soil. Grape vines are naturally vigorous, meaning they'll put lots of energy into growing vines instead of the grapes. This creates more work in controlling the vine growth, so that the energy goes to making lots of quality fruit.

Often the best soil is one that is not very nutrient rich. Sometimes you want it to drain well; sometimes you want the soil to hold water during droughts. No, there's no perfect dirt.

This article from the Wine Enthusiast talks about different soil types. It starts with the local unique soil of the Russian River Valley called Goldridge.

R-rated Blog Post

Just nope, but LOL It's for bachelorette parties. You can't look unless you are 21.  Oh dear.

Just the Tipsy

A Non-Alcoholic Wine That Will Give You a Buzz

Herbacée is a fancy French sounding name for a California company making non-alcoholic sparkling wine. The buzz? That would come from the THC and CBD. Yup, a cannabis wine. It's made from wine grapes, but with no alcohol. All the fun of a sparkling wine with a different buzz!

Read all about it

Herbacée website

How the Wineries Got Through the Pandemic

A lot of retail businesses didn't survive, with restaurants getting most of the publicity. The area wineries mostly did okay using a combination of creativity, hard work, and learning from others.

Wineries differ from most other retail by already having channels to ship their products and by having wine clubs. Early on during the lockdowns, shipping was huge, with a number of wineries investing in online advertising and offering discounts and/or free shipping. There were email campaigns. Wineries offered curbside pick-up for locals.

Really Good Boxed Wine

The name of the brand is Really Good Boxed Wine and it sells for $65. Who's going to pay sixty-five bucks for a box of wine? I guess that depends on the wine. Their Pinot Noir from Ketcham Vineyard in the Russian River Valley sold out quickly. There's also Cabernet Sauvignon, rosé, and a Sauvignon Blanc.

Each box is the equivalent of four bottles, so it comes to $16.25 a bottle. Great price for a decent Pinot or Cab, not so great for a rosé or Sauv Blanc. The sold out Pinot got good reviews; haven't heard much about the others.

Really Good Boxed Wine

The Coming American Wine Shortage

Currently, you can find 2020 white wines on the store shelves and lots of 2019 reds. The problem is with the 2020 vintage, with wildfire smoke, drought, and pandemic issues cutting into the amount of wine grapes turned into wine.

Stages of Wine Drinking (humor, kinda)

The evolution of the wine palate. See where you fit in!

• I like white wine that's sweet, I think. You know, Barefoot.
  
  
• I like fruity red wine. Once I bought a $20 wine! It had a pretty label.
  
  
• I've learned that the higher the alcohol level, the more I like it!
  
  
• I only drink pinot noir that gets 90+ points. Cabernet sauvignon is for old people.
  
  
• Pinot noir has no body and is for newbies. Drink a tannic cab or go home.
  
  
• Real men drink petite sirah.
  
  
• I'm currently enjoying wine from Croatia because that's where zinfandel came from!
  
  
• I always drink at least four different wines at a sitting for the educational experience.
  
  
• I hardly drink any wines because the ones I really like are beyond my budget. Oh wait, this is a nice riesling!
  
  

From the movie Bottle Shock

Sonoma County Wineries for First Time Visitors

If you are thinking about your first wine tasting trip to Sonoma County, it can be a daunting task with so many wineries spread out over a large area. Where to go? There are hundreds of wineries (not all have tasting). Also, the county is very large, so you should probably concentrate on one or two regions. It might come down to what kind of wines you like. Let's say you're also fairly new to wine tasting trips and are really exploring the possibilities.