How Constellation Brands Sees the Future

Constellation Brands is one of the largest owners of alcohol brands in the world. Of the over two dozen wine labels there is Robert Mondavi, Simi, The Prisoner, and Woodbridge. The several beer brands include Ballast Point, Modelo, and Corona. In spirits there's Black Velvet whisky and Casa Noble tequila among others. They recently made a large investment in a Canadian cannabis company. They were only about wine at one time. That sure has changed.

Napa Grape Prices

Napa Valley's grape prices hit a record high in 2017. Yeah, this seems to happen most years. The total value was $750 million, up about 3% even though the tonnage was down about 7%.  Of Napa's total agricultural value wine grapes are 99.2%. Note this is for 2017; the 2018 numbers won't be in for a few months.

Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Merlot account for 70% of the plantings and 80% of the value. Surprisingly, the grape earning the highest average price per ton was Cabernet Franc showing its rising popularity.

BTW, there was only a tiny percentage of vineyards lost to the October 2017 fires and 90% of the crop was already picked.

What's this mean to you? Higher prices for Napa wines.

Wine and Food--Not Such a Big Deal in the U.S.

Americans don't pay much attention to putting main dishes with side dishes and then with the beverage. That's why we have Coke and Jello salads and the like. In some countries wine and food just naturally go together. In certain places the food was designed to go with the local wines available or maybe it was the other way around.

When it Comes to Eating and Drinking ...

It's the good life. We are fortunate to be consumers during this age when micro, rather than global, is the in thing.  Sure, the global stuff is still readily available and still commands much of the market (think McDonald's and Budweiser), but small producer and local food and drink are what's happening.

The Wine Country Lifestyle

People visit the wine country maybe more for the lifestyle than just the wine tasting.  So if you've never visited know that it's not just a way to get drunk (you can go to Vegas for that).

Petaluma Gap

Sonoma County's newest American Viticultural Area (AVA) is called Petaluma Gap. Actually, it's Sonoma's and Marin's newest AVA as it is one of the few that cross county lines. It expends from the Bodega Bay area along the coast and through a low-lying area inland area including the town of Petaluma and almost to the town of Sonoma.

Visiting Sonoma County? Stay in Petaluma

Town of Petaluma near the bottom of the county map
Click on map to enlarge

If you're visiting the area chances are you'll find lodging in Sonoma, Santa Rosa or Healdsburg--maybe even the Guerneville or Sebastopol area. Not too many consider Petaluma in southern Sonoma County as it's a bit farther from the wine areas. It's actually about a half hour drive to the town of Sonoma or to the Russian River area wineries.

From the local newspaper here are some reasons you might like a few days in the town of Petaluma. Key among them are an interesting downtown for browsing and a nice selection of restaurants.

Article

Sonoma County Harvest Fair 2018

  The first weekend of October every year is a chance to taste the gold medal winners from the Harvest Fair judging. I've been attending this event for decades. Here are my impressions from this year. No sugar coating here.

2018 Harvest -- Looking Good

It seems Mother Nature has been quite good to the North Coast (including Sonoma County) wine grape growers this year. It's been a long growing season leading to correct ripeness and flavors. During the critical last half of the season the weather has been slightly cooler than average with no heat spikes. There were a few days of rain in early October after many grapes had already been picked. As usual, the sun came out, humidity went down, and things dried out.

As of now it seems most everything is is except Cabernet and other Bordeaux grapes along with some of the Zinfandel and other miscellaneous reds. Some are saying this is a late year, but I think those folks are only remembering the drought years when everything from the spring bloom to the pick were moved up by several weeks. This year is the "old norm."

Grape growers love a long uneventful season. So do winemakers as many will tell you if the grapes come in looking great their job is much easier.

Dear Wine Marketers, This is Long Overdue

This is about that uncomfy subject of race. Wine ads seem mostly aimed at upper or at least upper-middle class white people. Whether the marketing types see this as their actual audience or if it's supposed to be something to aspire to I don't know. Regardless you are leaving out a big chunk of the potential audience -- African Americans.

How often do you see a black person in a wine ad? If any it's usually not obvious. How often do you see black people working a wine event? I can answer that one as never.

The first step may be to learn about black customers rather than your own preconceived notions. And then be inclusive. Lots of people might like wine if they thought they were part of the audience.

Article from Forbes

U.S. Wine Sales Growing, But More Slowly

Per the Beverage Information Group, an industry information source, 2017 saw an increase in wine purchases, but at a slower rate.

2016 saw a 2.4% growth over the previous year, but 2017's growth was a bit over 1%. Could be economic reasons, could be competition from beer, spirits, even cannabis. Who knows? A couple notes: (1) Oregon's wine growth rate was 16%. (2) The growth in spirits has been outpacing wine and beer for several years.

Total amount of wine sold was nearly 345 million cases, well over four billion bottles or around 18 bottles per adult. I know some of us purchase a lot more than 18 bottles in a year to make up for the slackers.  :)

The growth was fueled by increasing in what's trendy this year, primarily sparkling wines and rosé.

A Loss and a Win for California Wine Exports

Trade wars. It should be obvious there will be no winners in the short-term, at least. California produces about 90% of America's wine and about 90% of its wine exports.

Why Every Wine Tastes Different

Pretty much every wine tastes different from another even if it's the same wine from the same winery from a different year. I mean, Budweiser tastes like Bud year-after-year. Why the inconsistency? First, Bud is a manufactured product that starts in the lab. And some big production wines are done the same way. These usually strive to taste the same every year. If you want this you can't leave it up to Mother Nature -- you'll need chemistry.

Does Sonoma County Have Enough Wineries Yet?

Both Sonoma and Napa Counties struggle with the growth in wineries in rural areas and tasting rooms in small towns. Here is an interesting article from Forbes with different perspectives on the issue.