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.