Wine Writers Misleading Customers
Tuesday, 10th January, 2012
- David Farmer
Over the last 15 years the view has spread among wine writers in English speaking countries that wine should portray its place of origin and wines that are true to this ideal taste better. This is largely an embrace of the European and particularly the French concept of terroir. Some writers go further and enlarge this idea to include trends about 'natural-authentic' wines, and organic and bio-dynamic viticultural and winemaking methods.
These writers have grown increasingly worried about what they see as the industrialisation and commercialisation of wines and I understand this means not only the way these wines are made but how these processes end up making them taste.
Suppose though it's not true and the giant mass-blends without any sense of place end up tasting as good as the wines with a sense of place. I confess I've had a life-long liking of the basic Jacobs Creek wines which I assume fit squarely in the industrialisation and commercialisation category.
Here are a few quotes from recent articles which help illustrate these ideas.
From Victoria Moore, The Telegraph (London), 26th August, 2011, showing a dislike of heavily promoted wines: "Most "half-price" wines are made with the "offer" price in mind, and many taste so bad I would not drink them for pleasure at any cost"....." Before, I was always unable to find what I was looking for in Tesco because the decent bottles were generally so well-hidden behind reefs of undrinkable half-price rubbish."....."if you pick up a wine that's no good, or merely mediocre, you’re simply not going to like it."
From Eric Asimov, The New York Times, Joe Dressner, "Importer of Old World Wines, Dies at 60"; September 20, 2011: "In an era when most wines are made with grapes grown in chemically farmed vineyards and then manipulated with cultured yeasts and other chemicals and enzymes, Mr. Dressner championed wines that were expressions of local cultures, made from grapes grown organically or in rough approximation to it. In the cellar, nothing was added or taken away. The winemaker simply shepherded the grape juice along its natural path through fermentation."
From Andrew Neather, London Evening Standard, 'Wine books of the year: Read, drink and be merry', 15th December, 2011: ...."Yet its proponents are passionate - and they articulate a wider unease among winemakers and critics about the steady homogenisation of wine."...."And they prefer the term "authentic" to natural - wine with a clear sense of what US critic Matt Kramer calls "somewhereness", reflecting a particular terroir, as opposed to the bland "nowhereness" of the big brands."
From Elin McCoy, Bloomberg, 'Top 10 Wine Experiences of 2011', December 22nd, 2011: "In 2011, luxe wines came back, natural wines headed mainstream, Aussie wines lost market share, and Burgundy soared at auction, embraced by the Chinese. The great 2009 vintage, which produced stellar Bordeaux, Burgundy, Beaujolais and West Coast pinot noir, began arriving on shelves. Though there's still an ocean of industrial plonk, my ten picks reflect what's tops in the wine world today -- and point to where it's going next".
Alas masked tastings reveal all and I've yet to see any taster pick differences between somewhereness and nowhereness. We all agree that some wines taste better than others but does the origin and how it was put together matter much? We also care about what the wine costs and it seems the better ones cost a lot more. But do they always? I think it's quite sensible for consumers to seek out bargains which may include wines at half-price. Consider this long passage which needs to be retold and retold - and yes it's about Jacobs Creek.
From Jancis Robinson, Financial Times (London) 20th February, 2010; 'Australian myths and realities': "... but two big tastings recently have left me with newfound admiration for one of Australia's biggest brands, the one that hovered so effectively in the background to the recent Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne, Jacob's Creek. The first of these epiphanies took place in a private room at the new Hix restaurant in Soho, where I had been invited to lunch by Phil Laffer (pictured), veteran chief winemaker at Pernod Ricard's Australian subsidiary and therefore responsible for what goes into Jacob's Creek. 'Lunch' turned out to be an array of 20 bottles, flights of various vintages of Jacob's Creek regular Chardonnay, Chardonnay Reserve, Riesling, Reserve Riesling, Riesling from their famous Steingarten vineyard and their regular Shiraz/Cabernet blend.
"The fine quality of the Steingarten was no revelation, but what most impressed me was how well the older vintages of the most basic bottlings, currently retailing at £5.99 in the UK, had lasted. The regular Chardonnay 2007 blend, made from grapes harvested almost exactly three years ago, was, unlike most 2007s at similar price points, in fine fettle, and the current, 2009, bottling tasted as though it had not yet hit its stride. Usually, mass-market brands are made to be drunk the minute they reach retail shelves. And as for the Shiraz/Cabernets, the 1994 was still a delightful drink, all of the relics from the 1990s having an unusually thick deposit lining the bottle, showing that these wines had not been filtered or chilled to stabilise them but had been left to evolve naturally.....
".....Just one day later, at the annual UK generic tasting of Australian wines held this year in the new Saatchi Gallery in London, I had a chance to put Jacob's Creek Chardonnays in context. The organisers, those at the helm of the good ship Australian wine as it navigates the choppy export waters, decided to lay on a blind tasting of 50 Chardonnays, mostly but not all from Australia. This brave exercise was absolutely fascinating, not least because they had mixed up wines at all sorts of different prices, from some of Australia's most basic brands to fine white burgundy via some of the most reputable Chardonnays from California, New Zealand and South Africa. The only clues we had to these Chardonnays was that they were ordered by weight from 'Crisp & Refreshing' to 'Rich & Rewarding'.
"As detailed in Chardonnays - Oz v the rest, I ended up giving the same relatively enthusiastic score, 16.5 out of 20, to Jacob's Creek regular Chardonnay 2008 as to Bruno Colin's Premier Cru Morgeot 2006 Chassagne-Montrachet, and gave an even higher score to the Jacob's Creek Reserve Chardonnay 2008."
If you are not aware of Jancis Robinson she is a noted UK wine writer and in this tasting found the basic Jacobs Creek Chardonnay comparing well with a revered White Burgundy.
Masked tastings always show these unsettling comparisons and highlight the limitation of the wine movements that wine writers like to endorse versus the amazing skills of great winemakers working on an industrial scale. It takes a lot more than a great location to make great wine it would seem.
There are a lot of extravagant and astonishing claims made about the basic or poor quality of big brands but all I see is them winning bags of medals in Australian wine shows, something they have done for decades.
I think a new show is needed with the first tasting to divide the entries into three groups; those showing, somewhereness, inbetween-whereness or nowhereness, before the final taste-off for medals. After much thought I've decided the ideal location for this show is the RSL Club in Euston on the Murray, a place that time has forgotten, and yes it's in the middle of no-where and all of the grapes on nearby irrigated plots are destined for commercial-industrial wines.
Instead of alarming drinkers that all is not well with the wines of big companies, such as those put on special at major supermarkets, maybe wine writers could suggest the opposite that on average the general wine consumer is well looked after by these wines. Of course for a wine writer once you have made that point there is not a lot to write about in column number 2.
|
|
Which is Better - Young Wine or Aged?Wednesday, 27th August, 2014
John Moody and Brave or Foolish Judging by Winestate September/October 2013 : Part 2.Monday, 21st July, 2014
My Replies to Frequently Asked QuestionsSunday, 22nd June, 2014
John Moody and Brave or Foolish Judging by Winestate September/October 2013 : Part 1Thursday, 1st May, 2014
Tastings Wine Scores and Shapley ValuesThursday, 27th March, 2014
Views on Tasting with Penfolds Notes for the RecordThursday, 27th February, 2014
Broken Glasses, Tasting Cups, Chinese Misadventures and TailgatingThursday, 8th August, 2013
A Wine for RichardMonday, 5th August, 2013
Morrisons - Never Fail Method for Buying WineTuesday, 9th July, 2013
Writing Tasting Notes about Great WineWednesday, 2nd May, 2013
Is a Tasting Note Helpful when Shopping?Wednesday, 24th April, 2013
Do Tasting Notes Have any Value?Friday, 22nd March, 2013
The Five Secrets of Stylish Women Applied to Drinking WineTuesday, 12th February, 2013
Playing the 'Hit Me' Wine GameMonday, 10th December, 2012
A Response to an eBay Customer About Barossa CabernetMonday, 27th August, 2012
Starting a Cellar and General Thoughts on Ageing Wines - The Experience of a Hardcore Wine CollectorMonday, 20th August, 2012
Starting a Cellar and General Thoughts on Ageing WinesWednesday, 18th July, 2012
Do Tastings Protect the Brand Image of Wine Australia? Tuesday, 17th April, 2012
Do the Waitrose Taste TestSunday, 26th February, 2012
Wine Writers Misleading CustomersTuesday, 10th January, 2012
Steps in Becoming a Wine SnobSaturday, 10th December, 2011
A Morning at the Mount Barker WA Wine ShowSunday, 20th November, 2011
Natural Flavours from Wine and Beer YeastsFriday, 26th August, 2011
Status in St Emilion Raises IssuesSunday, 24th July, 2011
What Should You Pay for Great Wine?Sunday, 15th May, 2011
Gordon Ramsay Says "Consult the Sommelier" - Is He Right? Tuesday, 13th July, 2010
Driven to Drink - A Reflection by Frank DevineFriday, 25th June, 2010
The John Vickery Leo Buring Tasting 1997Monday, 24th May 2010
Tasting Budget Reds in LondonTuesday, 27th April 2010
A Rosemount Story from Tesco UKTuesday, 23rd March, 2010
Descriptions of Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc from Unexpected SourcesTuesday, 23rd March, 2010
Sadat X Amusing? Yes. But Not Yet a Challenger to Robert ParkerThursday, 18th February, 2010
Tasting the Latest Noon WinesFriday, 5th February, 2010
The Barossa Wine Show Public Tasting 19th September
Part 3 of the Barossa Tastings
Monday, 4th January, 2010
The Power of GoldWednesday, 25th November, 2009
First Write the Review then Taste the WineWednesday, 25th November, 2009
The Artisans of the Barossa 12th September Part 2 of the Barossa TastingsFriday, 30th October, 2009
The Whites do go Better With FishFriday, 30th October, 2009
A Parker Tasting Should Make Us PauseTuesday, 13th October, 2009
Why You Drink Champagne by the SeaThursday, 8th October, 2009
Tasting at Three Barossa Wine Shows
Part 1 - The Small Winemakers Show
Sunday, 4th October, 2009
It's In The Bubbles, StupidFriday, 2nd October, 2009
How Good is Your Palate?Monday, 21st September, 2009
Another Know All Wine WankerMonday, 21st September, 2009
Further Thoughts on the Australian Wine Show SystemThursday, 3rd September, 2009
Wine Advice from CraigslistThursday, 3rd September, 2009
Comparing Wine Types and Dog BreedsSaturday, 1st August, 2009
Electronic Experts Give Wine AdviceMonday, 15th June, 2009
In Search of a Holy GrailMonday, 5th May, 2009
The Gimblett Gravels Travelling Road Show Surprises LondonMonday, 20th April, 2009
The Beauty of the Five Point Judging SystemThursday, 26th March, 2009
Ideas for a New Wine Judging ScaleThursday, 12th March, 2009
The First Growth GimblettsMonday, 26th January, 2009
The Story of One Lonely BottleFriday, 26th December, 2008
The Future of Capital City Wine ShowsFriday, 5th December, 2008
The More You Spend the Better the TasteFriday, 2nd May, 2008
The Key to Tasting WinesFriday, 11th April, 2008
Buying Wines That Have a Sense of PlaceFriday, 11th April, 2008
What Are We to Make Of Wine Tasting NotesMonday, 4th February, 2007
Study of the Label Alters Our TastesSunday, 9th December, 2007
One in Five Cannot Smell Alpha-ylangeneMonday, 24th September, 2007
Charles Must Love ItFriday, 24th August, 2007
Liking Rough RedThursday, 28th June, 2007
The Ultimate Masked BottleFirday, 24th May, 2007
Create the Atmosphere for the Tasting Result You WantMonday, 19th March, 2007
Confessions of Wine Deceit, Other Deceptions and Fooling YourselfMonday, 29th January, 2007
Two Sides of the Wine CoinSunday, 12th November, 2006
Wine Labels, Ranking, Ratings, Experts and Wine PricesFriday, 27th October, 2006
A Story About VerdelhoWednesday, 4th October, 2006
The Magnetic Appeal of WineSunday, 24th September, 2006
Geology Cannot be Found In WineThursday, 18th September, 2006
More on the Impact of Scoring Wines Out of 100Thursday, 14th September, 2006
How a Three Star Wine Became a 90 Point WineSaturday, 9th September, 2006
High Alcohol - The Debate Rolls OnTuesday, 5th September, 2006
So You Suffer from AnosmiaMonday, 7th August, 2006
Can’t Tell Your Brett from Oak FlavoursTuesday, 18th July, 2006
Terroir - Can It Possible Shine Through the Background NoiseTuesday, 4th July, 2006
A Little Spat Over Chateau PavieThursday, 15th June, 2006
After All This Time - Now They Tell UsTuesday, 13th June, 2006
Winemaking and the French TouchFriday, 9th June, 2006
The Judgement of Paris Part IIMonday, 29th May, 2006
Why Do Chardonnays Seldom Win Trophies?Friday, 5th May, 2006
The Other French ParadoxTuesday, 2nd May, 2006
Show Me the Chardonnay TastingSunday, 30th April, 2006
Judging Wine and the View of the American 'Wine Spectator'Thursday, 6th April, 2006
The World Versus Robert M. Parker, Part ThreeSaturday, 18th March, 2006
Halliday v Parker Continues to Attract International AttentionThursday, 5th January, 2005
"Thank You Mr. Evans and Sorry Mr. Parker"Thursday, 8th December, 2005
The Differences of Opinion Continue: Mount Mary Quintets vs. Robert M. Parker Jr. Part 2Monday, 5th December, 2005
Sharp Differences of Opinion Over Mount MaryMonday, 14th November, 2005
The Views of the Economists With a Sense of HumourFriday, 14th October, 2005
Wine Quality: Does Terroir Matter?Friday, 14th October, 2005
Thoughts on Wine JudgingThursday, 13th October, 2005
What You See Affects What You Smell and TasteTuesday, 13th September, 2005
The New Taste of WineFriday, 2nd September, 2005
Consumers Disagree with Wine ExpertsSaturday, 27th August, 2005
Drinking From Special Wine GlassesThursday, 4th August, 2005
Now, This Wine Drinks Well, Night After NightMonday, 18th April, 2005
Corks, Stelvin Caps and OxygenWednesday, 6th April 2005
A Peep Behind the Wine Show DoorThursday, 17 March 2005
Going To Your Second Wine TastingSaturday, 11th December, 2004
What You Bring to Your First Wine TastingSaturday, 4th December, 2004
What Do Show Medals Mean - Part 2Tuesday, 7th December, 2004
What Do Show Medals Mean - Part 1Friday, 3rd September, 2004
|
|