Wine Additives

Natural and organic wines are gaining footholds for perceived health reasons. Of course, many think the Impossible Burger at Burger King is a healthy alternative -- until you check out the fat and sodium content. Anyway, what about all the stuff that might be in your wine?

Making Wine in a Restaurant Fun

Because nobody wants the restaurant staff staring at them while they try to make a selection from the wine list then sneer at their choice.

Restaurants would love to sell more wine to their lunch and dinner guests. Many already have a bar selling wines by the glass. The problem is sticker shock at restaurant markups that has to be overcome. The other issue is a complicated wine list with no real info the the selections. So what can be done? In short find restaurants that are wine-friendly, where you can experiment a bit with different wines. Yes, it can be done without having 500 wines on the wine list. It should be fun and educational.

The Decade's Wine Trends

Yes, we're at the end of another decade so we should look back and see what's changed in the American wine world.

Alcohol Tolerance

Ever wonder why some are lightweights when it comes to drinking and others can pack it away? Here are factors that play into one's tolerance.

Reading an American Wine Label

  Buying wine is a risky proposition. There is some information on the label, but most of us don't know what it all means. There's the winery name or maybe it's just a label belonging to another winery and made in a location where wine under other labels is made. There's the vintage telling you when the grapes were grown though more specifically the year the grapes were harvested (that matters in the Southern Hemisphere). There's a growning location that's likely to be a county, a grape growing region (usually within one county), and maybe a vineyard name. Even the alcohol level has a fairly wide range it can fall in depending on which side of 14% alcohol it falls. See, it gets complicated.

  Below are the basics.

Wine Rules You Can Break

We all know a troublemaker; the one who says, "Rules are made for breaking." Well, there seems to be a ton of rules related to wine. I mean, people will gasp in horror if you throw an ice cube in your chardonnay on a hot day. Here are a few of wine commandments you can break that won't get you sent to hell.

Best of Sonoma County 2019

The local paper, the Press Democrat, does a yearly readers' choice "best of" for food, drink, entertainment, shopping, and services within Sonoma County. To the visitor what locals think of their restaurants, wineries and some other categories can help you figure out your itinerary.

Gender-Specific Drinks

Sometimes gender-specific items make sense. Women's clothes, things made smaller, lighter for women who are often smaller and lighter. As a kid I probably noticed clothing and bicycles first. Of course, many things can just come in sizes rather than having male and female versions. Instead of men's and women's backpacks, what if I'm a 5 ft 3 inch male? I'd be okay with buying a small pack, but maybe not a girl's.

Masculinity and Femininity in Marketing

A little insight into how marketing folks view you. That is, what's considered masculine (like watching sports and drinking Bud) and what's feminine (yoga and a latte). So you'll see beer ads aimed at guys with wine ads more likely for women.

Click on the chart to enlarge.

Wine Learning from Craft Beer

Premium wine has been around a lot longer that craft beer so you'd think it's beer that could learn from the wine industry. That's probably true, but what stands out are things wine could learn from the rise of craft beer.

Sonoma County Winter Events 2019-20

What's going on during the quiet season of December to March? Quite a few things as it turns out.

Visiting Sonoma County After the Fire

The Kincade fire burn zone: There are over 1.1 million acres of land in Sonoma County (about the size of Rhode Island). 78,000 burned or about seven percent. That still a lot, but it also means 93% of the land was unaffected. 
 
Following is a link to a nice write-up by a website called The Points Guy about coming to Sonoma after the Kincade fire.

Article

Should I Age My Wine?

I've been asked this a few times. Usually in the setting of a tasting room where someone purchases a bottle of red and wants to know about aging. Often I think this is "old thought" where many believed the longer a wine would age the better it must be.

The quick reply has two questions: (1). How are you storing it? (2). Do you like it now?

No Such Thing as a Good Vintage or a Bad Vintage

  You probably hear statements like, "2015 is a great year for Bordeaux, but 2017 is a bad year" or "1997 was great for California, but 2011 was terrible." At best these are half-truths. Let me tell you what happens in northern California cuz that's what I know.

Friday Wine Funnies

Because, you know, enough of taking the subject of wine seriously.

Sonoma County's Old Timers (Wineries, That Is)

There are a number of old, historic wineries in Sonoma County. In some you can still see the history. A few are even still owned by the same family. I highly recommend you visit some of these and support their generations of hard work.

California's ABC -- inept and apparently corrupt

The Alcohol Beverage Control Department, headquartered in Sacramento, is not very good at doing their job and that comes from the top leadership. Over the years of being in the wine biz I've seen some idiotic things come down from the ABC and never get the same answer twice to the same question. Most in the wine industry are probably afraid to say anything fearing retribution.

Now it seems there's also corruption, racism, sexism, and a whole lot of other stupid shit being carried on at the top of the organization. There are three lawsuits pending and whatever happens the taxpayer gets the bill.  Read here from The Gray Report blog.

Before Wine & Beer There Was Whiskey

Remember hearing about the Whiskey Rebellion in school? It seemed a little odd to have a war over whiskey. The following link from the History Channel tells of the importance of whiskey in early America.

When Whiskey Ruled in America

Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel

Dry Creek Valley is in northern Sonoma County sitting north of the Russian River Valley and west of Healdsburg and Alexander Valley. If you know anything about Dry Creek you'll think of Zinfandel. If you happen to be a zin fan you probably know something about Dry Creek Valley.

I'm here to learn yah a bit more.

Sonoma Vly Photos 1/4/19

Photos from the Kunde Winery property in Sonoma Valley; taken Nov 4, 2019

Yes, We're Still Here!

Sonoma County had a big fire again. That's two in the last three years and about two too many. The 2017 one was devastating as it came without warning and struck populated areas. Thousands of homes and dozens of lives lost.

"Luckily," the Kincade Fire started in a remote area and there were days to prepare for its advance on nearby towns. A few dozen homes were lost. Most importantly, no lives were lost. The fire stayed in rural parts of the county.

Social Media and Selling Wine

"Everybody" says social media channels are the way to promote your wine today. Well, not exactly. It's not the only way you should be promoting your brand and maybe not even the most important.

Napa's Age Problem

  Napa has a problem similar to Buick's. Huh? Buick was traditionally an old people's car. Something you bought when you retired. The marketing folks at Buick have always worried about their customer base dying off so they tried to invent ways to attract younger buyers.

California's Wine Glut

California is now in a too much wine in the pipeline status. What's the mean for the buyer? In general, too much product means lower prices until the demand catches up. How does that work with wine?

39 Years in Sonoma County

Since the mid-1970s the Sonoma County Harvest Fair, including a big wine judging and public tasting, has taken place on the first weekend in October. Coincidentally, my wife and I moved to Santa Rosa on Harvest Fair weekend of 1980.

The Biggest Change in Wine Styles

The California wine revolution began in the 1970s. By the '80s Napa and Sonoma were in high growth mode. Then it spread south to many other areas of coastal California and even to Lodi in the Central Valley and the Sierra Foothills. Early on it was the move from jug wine blends to Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon then to other wines like Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir and rosé. But the biggest change? Alcohol levels.

Things To Know About Sonoma County

When you visit somewhere new it's always nice to be prepared. Because, you know, Sonoma County ain't like Dallas or Chicago or... So here are a few items you may not know about or be flat out wrong about when it comes to Sonoma County's version of wine country.

Harvest Fair Winners

The Sonoma County Harvest Fair winners can be found here. This post is about my winners from the fair. Of course, I only tried a small sampling of the couple hundred wines available--and only red wines.

The Rise and Fall of the Sonoma County Harvest Fair

Told to you by someone who has attended most of them. A sad tale of glory to bust.

Cabernet Ain't What It Used to Be

I ain't what I used to be either, but that's off-topic. The story here is that many wines aren't grown or made the same as they were a few decades ago. Maybe that's progress. Cabernet Sauvignon is the poster child for the changes that started in the 1990s in California--more specifically in Napa Valley.

When We Almost Lost Wine

Following is an article on the history of a little aphid, called phylloxera, that could have wiped out Europe's great vineyards in the 19th century. This bug is still a problem as it caused major damage to Napa Valley and other nearby regions in the 1980s. It still shows up occasionally in California and Oregon vineyards.

The Bio Hack That Saved Europe's Vineyards

A Quick Primer on Premium Wine Marketing

How do the marketing experts sell you expensive, luxury, premium wine? Status, otherwise known as snob appeal. When you can find great wines for half, or a quarter, of the price you have to take lessons from the like of Mercedes-Benz and Rolex. It's an emotional purchase, not logical, for people who are convinced they have arrived. So, you know, showing off.
That is all.  :)

Trends in Drinking

When Americans drink alcohol what is the preferred beverage -- beer, wine or spirits? Over the years the three have gotten closer together in percentage.

Gallup Poll. Margin of error +/- 3%
Click on graph to enlarge

The beer line shows a significant drop, with a gain by wine, until the craft beer movement kicked into gear where both leveled off. Spirits have held pretty steady over the years. However, spirits have been making a bit of noise over the past couple years at the expense of both beer and wine, but it's too early to know if it's a trend.

What Industrial Winemaking Looks Like

Do you think all wine is created equal? From Jamie Goode's Wine Blog, a look at where Gallo produces wine in California.

World's Largest Wineries

What Wine People Are Talking About

When you're a small business person or a farmer as most in the Sonoma & Napa wine biz are then there seems to always be something to worry about. Here's what the worrywarts are talking about now (besides the 2019 harvest that's happening right now).

Sonoma County's Ag Crop Value

Sonoma County's agricultural crop value passed a billion dollars in 2018. This record value was led by wine grapes (no surprise) which had a record crop size and higher grapes for some grapes, especially Pinot Noir.

The total value was $1.1 billion. Of that wine grapes were $777 million. Next was milk at $141 million. Dairy was the top crop in the county until passed by grapes in the 1980s. That billion dollars value to the crop is only a small part of the value added to the county economy once you include job created, wine sold, and wine tourism.

The total crop value was a 27% increase from 2017 to 2018. Grapes grew 34% from 2017.

Info from pressdemocrat.com

What Beers the Winemakers are Drinking

"It takes a lot of beer to make wine" is a common saying. Also, "If you want to make a million dollars in the wine business start with two," but we're talking about beer here.

From interviews with a few West Coast winemakers by Forbes. The most popular seems to be Russian River Brewing's Pliny the Elder, a double IPA. However, many that do day drinking during the long harvest days are consuming something of lower alcohol such as pilsners and pales. That's why Russian River makes a seasonal Great Beer/Great Wine pale.

Article from Forbes

A Brief History of Wine

A Georgian (no, not from that Georgia, but the one next to Turkey) was a lazy farmer. He let his fruit rot. It fermented.

Two Sumerians got drunk and invented algebra. The roots of every 8th grader's hatred can be traced back to that lazy farmer.

The Romans got drunk, the Goths came rolling in, and we all know what happened next. The Dark Ages, when they drank mead, for crying out loud.

The French, who like stealing ideas from others, took over wine and pretended they invented the whole thing.

Then California butted in.

A mid-grade movie, Sideways, made people hate merlot and love pinot noir. People are so easy, especially when they're drinking.

On Being the Next Napa

Napa envy is common with other wine grape growing areas and even with people who write about wine. Everyone wants to see the success of Napa Valley happen somewhere else. Don't believe me? Google "the next Napa Valley" and see how much stuff comes up. Heck, I even wrote about it here.

So what do you need to be the next Napa? Well, let's see what those lucky bastards have going for themselves.

Autumn 2019 Events in Sonoma County

Yup, it's harvest season when the grapes are a pickin' and the wine is a makin'. It's the perfect time of year for a visit. Following are the main wine and non-wine events from September through November. There's a lot going on! Enjoy the bounty of Sonoma County.
        

Weed in Napa Valley

Napa Valley is world famous for its world-class Cabernet Sauvignon. They actually grow other grapes, too! But not much else. This is a potential problem.

Visiting Sonoma - A Little Tasting Etiquette

Wine tasting is easy. You pay a few bucks and get to taste a few of the wines from a particular winery. I think it's pretty easy to know how to act, but people often forget.

Visiting Sonoma - Kids, Dogs, Food, Etc.

Kids get bored, dogs get in the way if the tasting area is crowded or aren't allowed at all. There are a few wineries that don't allow anyone under 21 to enter. Those are mostly ones requiring appointments. Find out before you go.

Visiting Sonoma During the Grape Harvest

Each year the dates for the grape harvest depend on what Mother Nature has been up to. For 2019 it looks like early September through mid-October should be the busiest period. Why do you want to visit at this time? To see, hear and smell grapes being turned into wine. It's a very hectic and exciting time for the wineries.

Visiting Sonoma - For Sparkling Wine

There are many wineries that may have a bubbly or two available. This list is of wineries that specialize in sparkling wine. Some require reservations so check before going.

Visiting Sonoma - Wine Tasting With a View

Sip and take in the view. I'm sure I've missed a few as I haven't (yet) been to every winery in the county. Check for hours and if appointments are required before going.

Visiting Sonoma - Beautiful / Interesting Winey Properties

If you're into visuals along with your wine following are a few ideas of places to visit.

Visiting Sonoma - Wineries for First Time Visitors

There are many opinions on what might be good starting places for first-timers who maybe don't know a whole lot about wine. Here are a few that will give you a well-rounded intro into Sonoma County wine. All are easy to get into as they don't require reservations for tastings though some other experiences such as tours or food plates may require giving them advance notice.

Sonoma County is large (bigger than the state of Rhode Island) so don't try to stop at them all on one trip.

Wine Accessories You Need

It's amazing all the crap, I mean useful accessories, you can buy to go with enjoying a bottle of wine. Here are a few of the best.

Latino Winemakers of Sonoma

Without Californian's Latin American population there wouldn't be much of a wine industry in the state (or farming of any kind). They are the backbone, but usually not the face of California wine. Here are a few of the exceptions in Sonoma County.

Latino Wineries/winemakers in Sonoma County

Which Countries Drink the Good Stuff?

Premium wine is generally considered anything costing over $20 a bottle. So which countries drink mostly premium wines? This isn't how much they drink in total, but how much of what they drink falls in the premium category. The top countries:

Ireland                 67%
Hong Kong         51%
New Zealand      47%
Canada               37%
Australia             37%
Singapore           37%

The U.S.?  23%

Data from International Spirit & Wine Record via The Wine Gourd blog.

Bad Ideas in Beer

Not everyone in the booze biz is a marketing genius. I think sometimes there's a meeting where in desperation someone says, "Oh, what the hell, lets try this."

Pinot Noir - The Bad News

The previous post was on The Rise of Pinot Noir as it's pretty much come from nowhere in the last twenty years in the U.S. to be the new darling. A couple things are spoiling the party.

The Rise of Pinot Noir

Anyone that's been around wine for a couple decades has seen a major trend; something not seen since the 1970s.

Buying Napa-Labeled Wine

Wine labels don't always tell the whole truth. For instance, you should know the difference between Napa Valley and Napa County. There are two things to be aware of.

That Wine May Not Be Exactly as Labeled

More precisely, the bottle may not contain exactly what the label says. It turns out there is wiggle room and some vintners may be taking advantage of this. Surprised? Should you be concerned? Let's look at some of the federal regulations.

How to Buy a Bottle of Wine

I've done this subject before and so have many other people, but this is a different look at buying a bottle of wine.

And the Next Napa Valley is ...

  Anyone who has been to Napa during the busy season would probably wonder why anyone would want to put up with that on a daily basis, but still, everyone in the wine business is pretty jealous of their success. This means there's a queue of places wanting to be, or writers declaring here is, the next Napa Valley.

Sonoma County - What's Not to Love

If I didn't live here in Sonoma County this spot would be at the top of my list of places to visit. Why? There are many reasons.

Let's start with the obvious one:

Next Spot for Premium Wines -- Michigan!?

From Wine Enthusiast Magazine, Michigan may be ready to break through (Mother Nature permitting) and become the next location for producing top cool weather grapes like Riesling, Chardonnay and Pinot Gris.

Read all about it.

California Wines Sales in the U.S.

For 2018 domestic sales of California wines hit a new high surpassing $40B -- a 3% increase from the previous year. Volume sales aren't up as much as dollar sales meaning consumers are paying more for their wine.

By variety the top five wines are Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Red Blends, Pinot Gris/Grigio, and Merlot. Chard and Cab make up one-third of the market. Everybody's darling, Rosé, is less than 3% of the market (trailing white zinfandel even), but grew by 46% from the previous year.

Finding That Balance in California Chardonnay

First there was lean, lower alcohol Chardonnays then riper fruit (meaning higher alcohol levels) with lots of oak and often some residual sugar. So in the last part of the 20th century as the California wine scene flourished Chard went from lean and mean to soft and rich. Interestingly, either way it kept its place as the top-selling wine in the country.

The Other Cabernet

Yeah, you know about Cabernet Sauvignon, but how about Cabernet Franc? Cab Franc is actually a parent of the Cab Sauv grape (the other being Sauvignon Blanc) so they are genetically related.

Wine-Buying Segments

People like to pigeon-hole things to make sense of the world. A wine marketing analysis outfit, Wine Intelligence, has divided the U.S. wine consumers into six groups called general consumer compartments. I know you are as excited as I was to find your group and see what the people trying to sell wine think of you. Yes, these are the actual names they gave to the segments and I assume they did this with a straight face.

The Inflation of Wine Prices

Silicon Valley Bank does analysis on the state of the wine industry by polling wineries. That is, their info is based on responses they receive.

This chart shows the average price of a bottle of wine for the past five years from several growing areas. What you'll see is quite an increase in prices in major California wine tourism areas since the end of the recession. I've certainly noticed the increase locally.

Click on the image to enlarge

Red Wines are Aged in Oak Barrels, Right?

Well, nope. Most premium reds, yes. The less expensive stuff, not likely. Oak barrels are expensive--$400 to well over $1,000 each. A standard barrel holds about 24 cases of wine (there are larger barrels holding more). Plus a red wine will usually spend a couple years, plus or minus, in oak barrels. As you can see this would get cost prohibitive for a ten dollar wine. The average value of a wine purchase in the U.S. is a bit over ten bucks.

So the cheaper wines use things like oak chips or oak powder. They are cheaper and they work faster. Oak changes the color, flavor, tannins and texture in a wine. Through technologies and experience these oak barrel substitutes come pretty close to tasting like a wine from a barrel. Since you're already getting cheaper grapes having less expensive oak treatment shouldn't a big deal.

Why Restaurant Wine Lists Stink

First off, not all of them stink, but way too many do. There are some restaurants with great wine lists and some of these I can even afford to dine at occasionally. The vast majority of the family / casual / chain restaurants have wine list that are a steaming pile of suck. Many of the higher-end restaurants don't do much better except that their markup is much higher.

Rainy May in California

While many of us were happy to not be watering our yards and gardens the "February in May" rainstorms played havoc with some of the grape crop. Like any fruit, one of the growing season stages is flowering. This all turns to fruit assuming the weather cooperates. Wind and rain can knock back the tiny flowers.

That all happened through much of May right when some of the grape varieties in some locations in the county were flowering. Seems to be mostly Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are affected. What this means is that the quantity of the fruit will be lower; the quality is not affected. The extent of the damage won't be known until fruit set in a few weeks.

This is what the crop could look like in some vineyards

Your Basic Instincts Made You Buy That Wine

Not just wine, but other products, too. Our basic instincts can be used against us. We all want food, shelter, clothing. We want security. We want sex. Your basic instincts are used to sell you luxury goods, things you don't really need.

New AVAs -- Good or Bad?

Definition
An appellation, or American Viticultural Area, is a wine term with a legal basis. An AVA is a federally approved name for a specific wine grape growing area with certain rules around it. American wine labels will have a government region on the label, such as California or Sonoma County, and/or will have an AVA, such as Sonoma Valley or Napa Valley.

Problem
Are there too damn many AVAs?

"New" Summer Wines to Look For From California

None of these wines are actually new to California, but might be new to you as all are grown in small quantities and can be difficult to find in your local stores. Try some of these this summer.

Summer 2019 Events in Sonoma County

Following are major wine and non-wine events in Sonoma County for  June through Auguest. Lots of stuff happening and it's going to be a fun summer!
 

You Don't Smell the Way Others Smell

No, I don't mean your personal scent. I mean your perception of odors. This means wines may not smell and taste the same to two different people. So when you like a wine someone doesn't or you don't like one they do it doesn't mean you're wrong! It just means you're different. Yes, you can even disagree with the people who taste wine for a living.

Your smell and taste receptors were put there to let you know what's good to eat and what's not. Your smell also alerts you to other potential dangers. Since the days of our ancient ancestors your smell and taste receptors and the part of the brain that interprets them have become more sophisticated. How they interpret is different based on your DNA, possibly your race, age, and sex.

You Don't Smell My World from the NY Times

Let's Tax Imported Wines to Help Poor Kendall Jackson

Rick Tigner, CEO of Kendall Jackson Family Wineries while speaking at a local business group said the U.S. needs to tax wine imports to level the playing field. I think maybe ol' Ricky (est. salary of $1m/year) wants to screw the American consumer to help K-J sell more wine. I have a better idea. If $500m in annual revenue isn't good enough maybe you should do your job and control your expenses so you can compete!

Help us! from Northbay Business Journal 
 

Oh Oh Napa, Here Comes "Wine Country"

This week Amy Poehler's Wine Country comes to Netflix streaming. It's based on a girls' trip Amy went on a few years ago. So a bunch of middle-age women come to Napa Valley, get drunk, and get into many "situations."

If you remember the bigger movie Sideways from a few years that almost killed off Merlot and help propel Pinot Noir sales then you might wonder what this one will do to Napa. Sure, it'll increase awareness and add to visitation. If the movie spends too much time on drunken depravity then people might think, "Hey we don't have to go to Vegas to get drunk and in trouble, we can go to Napa!"  That's where the "oh oh" comes in. No tasting room, restaurant, or hotel in Napa, Sonoma, or anywhere else wants people to come for the alcohol. They want them for their love, or at least curiosity, of wine.

Wine Country movie trailer

5/11 Edit: Not to worry. Watched the movie and OMG it was worse than a 20 year old corked Chardonnay that was left out in the sun.

Organic vs Biodynamic vs Natural vs Sustainable Wine

Yeah, I know, if wine weren't already confusing enough many wineries throw in some "save the planet" stuff. Here's a look at the differences from three sources.

In Today's Wine News

Recent wine (and related) news.

How a Town Gets to be in Wine Country

Are you jealous of people who live in the home of premium wines? Wouldn't you love your town to be the next Napa Valley? Well, The Onion will tell you how it's done. And you thought Napa, Sonoma, Paso Robles, etc. all gained fame because of soil, weather, or some shit like that?

Might as Well Produce Wine Here

The Summer of Understaffed Tasting Rooms

Winery tasting room retail jobs are considered "fun" jobs by onlookers, but to many employed this way it's their livelihood. Wineries try to attract college students, retirees, people just entering the job market or people newly relocated to wine country who came for the wine lifestyle. Regardless, they probably have rent or a mortgage to pay and there's the problem.

Cougars Invade Amador County!

Rombauer Winery of Napa Valley is famous for their buttery Chardonnay. People are obsessed with this wine; a wine marketing-type once called it "liquid crack." The reputation is also that women of a certain group known as, um, cougars love is so much that Rombauer Chardonnay is sometimes called Cougar Juice. Now the unthinkable has happened.

Trouble in Craft Brewery Land?

Ballast Point Brewery was started in San Diego in 1996. It is now the 17th largest brewery in the country. Constellation Brands, owners of Modelo, Corona, and others, purchased Ballast Point in 2015.

In 2017 they opened a huge sour beer and barrel aging facility in San Diego that is closing. A brewpub in nearby Riverside County opened in 2016 is closing. It's just been announced that a large restaurant and brewery scheduled to be built in San Francisco near the new home of the Golden State Warriors basketball team will not be built after all.

Ballast Point appears to be retrenching as they say in corporate speak. It may also be that Constellation is changing priorities. One of those priorities is dumping lots of money into cannabis.

Wine Without a Winery

   Last Friday's post on the 2018 crush in Napa and Sonoma Counties said yields were way up yet prices for grapes went up too, seemingly counterintuitive to the supply-and-demand cycle. 

   The good news is with the bulk wine market. This is unsold grapes or juice that usually goes to larger wine labels that buy up this bulk wine at huge discounts. This means you might find grapes that went into a hundred dollar Napa cab selling under another label for forty bucks or a nice Sonoma pinot going for less than $20. Of course, you have to know what you're looking for so keep an eye on the wine reviews.

Sonoma/Napa 2018 Grape Crush

The data is out on the 2018 wine grape crush. What stands out is that quantity was way up while prices rose also. How does that happen? Plenty of demand -- and hoping that the market will still be there in three years when these wines become available.

California Wine Exports Take a Hit

In 2018 revenue from U.S. winery exports was almost $1.5 billion on 42 million cases of wine. California is 90% of the export market (and 90% of U.S. wine production). The export value is down nearly 5% mostly from the strong dollar and retaliatory tariffs. California premium wines are doing well in continental Europe and Canada despite the dollar's strength. After years of high growth exports to China took a big hit.

Read the details from the Wine Institute

Trends in Wine Buying

There are a couple consumer trends affecting the wine industry and if they hold will have major impacts. This is on top of the issue of climate change that's on the list for many in the wine business.

The Use of Oak on American Wines

Oak barrels, or sometimes oak in other forms on cheaper wines, is prevalent. Is the use of oak always a good thing? Below is a link to a story about a winery in Lodi, California not using oak at all. The most interesting part on what oak does and why it's used is in the section titled, "How and Why Oak Became Part of the American Palate." A fascinating read that includes theories on why so many wines taste the same and even how wines have lost their varietal character.

From Lodi Wines Blog

The State of Craft Beer

Recently the Brewers Association released its annual report of the U.S. beer market for 2018. While the growth numbers aren't as huge in some previous years it may at least be viable in the long term.

The Wine Library in Healdsburg

The next time you're in Healdsburg you might want to visit the library, the Sonoma County Wine Library, that is. It's a really cool idea that started 30 years ago and is a resource for wine lovers plus wine industry folks. 

Wine Library

Wine Library Celebrates 30 Years, from the Press Democrat

Town of Sonoma Limiting Tasting Rooms

If you've ever visited one of the wine country chic cutesy towns it's probably for the easy wine tasting opportunities. Along with wine there's usually restaurants and souvenir shopping. In Sonoma County the towns of Sonoma and Healdsburg fall in this category. Both get lots of visitors who like the convenience of walking around these small towns.

"I'm Allergic to Red Wine"

I hear that, or something similar, fairly often. Most folks will blame it on sulfites because they are mentioned in a warning on the wine label. What are the actual issues and causes of these unwelcome reactions drinking wine? Yes, it's often red wine that's the culprit. Disclaimer: I ain't no doctor. It's always good to consult a professional if you have a serious problem.

Latest Trends in the Alcohol Biz

Folks are always trying new things to get a bigger slice of the pie in the alcohol business. Here are the latest things you'll see coming your way. Pretty exciting stuff.

The Stock Exchange -- No Place for a Winery

Sonoma County's medium-sized Truett-Hurst Winery lost its battle with the Nasdaq stock exchange after a five year journey. Until 2013 it was like a lot of other Dry Creek Valley wineries and chugged along on its own with probably some private investors. I don't know what happened, but a guess might be they came out of the recession out of cash and decided to raise it by offering stock.

Sonoma County's Gracianna Winery

   You probably heard about the flooding along the Russian River earlier this month. Like any disaster once the news crews are gone there is still a lot of work and anguish. The small, family run Gracianna Winery got hit hard by the floods. They lost wine and will have other damage to contend with.
   If you should see their wines at a local store or while shopping online they could use your support.

   News article from March 9th

Goofy Things We Do in Sonoma County

Stuff happens here in Sonoma County wine country (and probably Napa, too) that you might find weird if you're from other parts of the country or even farther away.

Roundup in Your Wine?

Roundup's active ingredient, glyphosate, is in the food chain. Exactly how dangerous this is to us hasn't been determined, but the fear is certainly helping the drive towards organic products. It's been in the news that even your wine contains glyphosate. As with most headlines a closer look is needed.

Napa in the "Old Days"

An interesting look at the roots of Napa Valley as one of the premier wine regions in the world. Tim Gaiser looks at some of the pioneers and the problems they grappled with--some are still not solved. His belief that different root stocks are behind wines going from lower alcohol and leaner styles to the big, bold, fruitier wines of today is interesting though I don't completely agree.

Then and now

Where Do You Find the Winos?

Vatican City drinks the most wine per capita in the world though out of "real" countries Croatia is #1. Of states Idaho is tops. You probably didn't guess Croatia and Idaho, did you?

Of the world's cities the per capita (of adults) consumption finds that Paris is #1 (pretty easy guess) followed by Rome, Milan and Naples (all three are about the same). In the U.S. Washington DC easily tops the list -- because drunk Congressmen make good decisions?

Twenty Reasons to Visit Sonoma County

From a website called The Richest comes an article on why you should visit Sonoma County. To summarize I'd say for the variety of things to do: wine, beer, outdoors activities, Pacific Coast, museums, parks, fairs and special events, scenery and cutesy small towns.

Twenty Reasons to Visit Sonoma County

Increased Competition for California Wineries

Since the depth of the Great Recession the number of wineries in California has increased 31% from 3,540 wineries in 2011 to 4,650 in 2017. Yes, wine sales went up in that time, too, but we now have flatter sales, excess crop from 2018, and a possible recession looming again.

A Key Demographic for Wine Sales Growth?

Wine folks love to talk about the Millennials ad nauseam and how they're changing the wine industry. Occasionally someone will mention that most winemakers and executives are white males. This, of course, isn't a problem just in the wine industry. They might even wonder why the Black American market hasn't been tapped. Well, there's another market that warrants consideration.

Sonoma County's Destination Differentiators

"Destination differentiators" is marketing speak for what distinguishes one vacation spot from another. It's easy to see how a Hawaii beach trip might be a different sort of vacation from an African safari, but how is Sonoma County different from other wine vacations?

Wine Myths and Facts

There's absolute scientific proof, there's bald-faced lies, there's politics where truth is irrelevant. In wine there are many myths, a nice way of saying there's a lot of bullshit.

Sangiacomo Family Wines

A new winery has opened in Sonoma County. Not exactly big news as there are well over 400 wineries in the county. This one is a bit different from some in that it didn't start as a rich guy's dream / write-off. There's a lot of real farming history with the Sangiacomo family. If the saying is true that great wines start in the vineyard then these folks might be putting out some pretty nice juice.

Oregon Wine Sales

California wine sales are almost flat after several years of high growth. California is about 90% of the U.S. market and over $35 billion while Oregon measures their sales in the hundreds of millions. However, the percentage growth of Oregon wine is far outpacing California and the rest of the nation.

The dollar value of Oregon wine sold in retail outlets is up over 12% from 2017 to 2018. Direct-to-consumer sales are up 19% (double the national average). Pinot Noir sales are up about 15% and even Chardonnay is up almost as much even though Chard sales are flat overall. Oregon seems to be the new darling for many wine folks.

Numbers from bizjournals.com

New West Sonoma Coast Appellation

There's a proposal to create a West Sonoma Coast American Viticultural Area as a sub-region of the Sonoma Coast AVA. Why? Because the Sonoma Coast one is a bit of a joke. It's almost 800 square miles with some of it being about 30 miles from the Pacific.

For years those of the "true" Sonoma Coast grape growing region have complained. Then the Ft Ross-Seaview AVA carved out of part of the Sonoma Coast AVA to differentiate some of the growers. This new West Sonoma Coast AVA is a better attempt to correct that original mistake.

Click on the map to enlarge

Wineries Waiting Out the Freeze

California makes 90% of the country's wine, but many other states have a significant wine production and winery visitor economy. Behind California are New York at #3, Pennsylvania #4, Ohio #6, and Michigan #7. What do these runner-up states have in common? This year's Polar Vortex.

Sonoma County Events Spring 2019

Following are the major wine and non-wine events in Sonoma County for March to mid-June 2019.

It's a perfect time in the wine country with warming temperatures, vines starting the new year's growth, wildflowers, and lots of exciting events to tempt you.

The Threat to California Tourism

Tourism is big business in California. It's a $130 billion sector of the economy supporting one million jobs. It's a big reason the state's economy is in such great shape now. State unemployment is about 4%, Sonoma County's about 2.5%. Counties with the highest unemployment rates are where you don't see tourists.

Visitation to local California wineries is down and people are trying to figure out why. When the economy recovered a few years ago visitation grew rapidly. It's natural to think this would eventually flatten out. But is there another issue in play here? Yes

Wine and Craft Beer Sales

Wine consumption in the U.S. is up for 2018. That's 25 years of continuous growth in the amount of wine we drink. This was a 0.4% increase while 2017 saw a 1.0% increase and 2016 was 1.4% so the growth rate is slowing.

Beer was the big loser again falling 1.5% in 2018 compared to 1.1% in 2017 (though craft beer is up). Overall, Americans are drinking less alcohol probably because of health concerns. Total consumption dropped 0.8%, the third straight year showing a decline.

From 2017 to 2018 the number of wineries in the country grew from 12,335 to 13,000, a 5.4% increase. The number of craft breweries grew from 6,300 to to 7,000, an 11.1% increase.

Info from International Wine & Spirits Record (UK) and Brewers Association

Tasting Room Visitor Traffic

Visitors to West Coast tasting rooms is showing a yearly decline except for Oregon.

Info from Silicon Valley Bank

Why are our local Napa/Sonoma wineries seeing fewer visitors? Recently it's been easy to place the blame on the fires, but the numbers were decreasing before 2017. There are more wineries so there are more options for visitors. Are they going to fewer places per day (and maybe that's related to higher tasting fees)? Are other wine areas siphoning off visitors?

You Are What You Drink

Some folks swear by Chevrolet for their car choice (ignoring that it may actually be made in Korea, Mexico or somewhere besides Detroit). These same folks might have a diet consisting of mostly meat and potatoes. They hate change. Others had a Prius ten years ago and now a Tesla. They eat sushi and go on fad diets. They love change. This might reflect their wine choices, too.

Cider Tasting in Sonoma County

It's not just wine tasting and breweries. Sonoma County has a history of apple production so naturally there are several cideries in the county now with tasting rooms.

Zinfandel Fan?

Are you a big fan of Zinfandel? Those berry flavors, the pepper and spice, and everything nice. Well, you should make it you mission in life to come to San Francisco in January.

Wine Memes

Today's theme -- the movies!

Trouble for Craft Beer?

Craft beer's wild growth over the past ten years might be seeing some settling out. I guess at some point there just had to be too many IPAs out there.

It was just announced that Hanger 24 out of Southern California is laying off about half of their smallish production staff. They aren't huge, nor are they a tiny brewery selling everything out of their brewery, and there's the problem.

What Wines to Drink in the New Year

Here it is a new year and we make resolutions to lose weight, call mom more often, don't date losers, etc. None of that works and we get frustrated so I'm here to make it easy with ideas for drinking wine. Many of us are stuck in the Chard/Cab or maybe Sauv Blanc/Pinot Noir rut so let's look at what wine changes we could make this year.

Wine Predictions for the New Year

A new year is upon us and this means all of us "experts" have to tell you what's going to change this year. The good news is you'll forget it all 12 months from now so there's no need to actually be good at predicting the future.

So here goes nothin'

Sonoma County Oceanfront Bars

Traversing the Pacific Coast Highway offers many great views. However, if you're driving your attention is (hopefully) on the winding road. How about stopping and enjoying a drink along the ocean? Sounds relaxing.

Following are some places to enjoy the sights, sounds, and smells of the Pacific traveling from south to north along Highway 1. The first three are in the Bodega Bay area; the last is about an hour farther up the coast.

Off the Radar Sonoma County Eateries

Sonoma County is definitely known for fine dining. Many places are well known by visitors -- Single Thread, Girl & the Fig, Glen Ellen Star, Willi's Seafood, etc. The following list maybe isn't quite so well known, but will give you a real taste of Sonoma County and what the locals enjoy every day. Many of these places are nothing fancy, are off the beaten path, and none will break the bank.