Can you taste the difference?

Would you buy this wine? It costs £7.99


This price is WELL above the average of around £4 per bottle in this country. If you are willing to spend double that amount there are only 2 main reasons:

1. You are a "wine connoisseur" and know what you are buying and regularly spend this much
2. You are buying for a special occasion; a party, a gift, a really special treat
   

I found it on the shelves of a local shop. Barossa Shiraz is world famous. Whether you know about the red earth, the climate, the issues of water shortages or anything else at all about the region, you have probably heard of "Barossa Shiraz".

Now, you wouldn't expect it to be cheap - generally speaking, if you've heard of the region (Chablis, Rioja, Bordeaux, ...) the wine isn't cheap, but it is Australia after all, not ... FRANCE, that place where all good wines are really expensive. Anyway, do the French even make Shiraz?

2006? Should be good. Not too old. Time to check out some more clues.

What about this one, at the bottom?


St. Hallett? Many will not have heard about this producer, but there is actually a name on here that can be checked out. If you know anything about Barossa then the name of St. Hallett should ring bells. Old Block? Faith Shiraz? If you search for the name you'll find this is a top producer with a great track record.

£7.99 for one of the best known names in the region? Cool!

If I bring this home to my husband or wife, or bring it to that dinner party on Saturday, they'll be really impressed.

But wait! What's that? At the top?


Sainsbury's?

You want me to spend twice the national average on a bottle of wine, and when I bring it to the dinner party, despite it being a well liked grape, despite the well known region and the world-class producer, it says "Sainsbury's" on the front label?

Erm ...

• You could say that if I say I wouldn't buy it I'm being snobbish.
• You could on the other hand, argue that if I'm spending this much money, a guarantee from a trusted brand like Sainsbury's would encourage me to try it.
• On the other hand, with all the choices available, do I want this name on there?
• Or, are they using their buying power to get a great deal?

There is no easy answer, but these wines run all the way up to £12.99 for an Amarone and more and I am told that they are not easy to convince customers to buy (this is from the shop floor).

I know what I think, but what do you think? Premium wines (good ones at that), at reasonable prices, but constrained by the fact that it carries a non-premium label.

Would you buy it?

Varietal labelling - some clarifications (Varietals: 3)

Peter May, of the Pinotage Club and also the author of a site and book about wine labels that is definitely worth checking out, made some comments on my pet subject which I thought I ought to post here to clarify a few points.

You can read his comments on my posts on varietal labelling here. In response, I would say:

First of all, I have nothing against listing the varietal make up of a wine. Whether this should be 85% or 100% of the wine is open for debate but it isn't the fact that it is listed, but rather that the wine packaging focuses too heavily on this one element to speak to the consumer.

Second, with regard to the "flaw in the argument", I would have to disagree. It is EXACTLY because Stellenbosch, Napa and Margaret River cannot be linked to one style that I argue that the old world countries SHOULD do more to focus on regions. Although this is often regarded as negative, this could be a positive thing. A (protected) regional name is unique, uncopyable, defensible. However, it must be made to be meaningful through proper quality systems and common agreement otherwise it will be eroded.

If, as many believe and you seem to agree, the right (or even best?) varieties are planted in such regions, then there is no need to change the product itself, but maybe focus on the other elements, especially communication. They may not have done it well to date, but that is not in itself a reason not to do it.

I agree that my points were made with a very "old world" view of the world, and you rightly point out that the same argument does not necessarily transfer to New World regions. However, there are many regions of the world that are trying to replicate this model, so there is a future for it. Hunter Semillon? Barossa Shiraz? These regions do try and associate style with the regional name.

Let me make it clear that I am not advocating removing the varietal information from labels. I just think that marketers should be willing to consider relegating it a little further down the order of importance. The current mantra in the industry seems to be "varietal above all else" and I'm only trying to raise a possible counter argument.

I may, of course, be totally wrong.

Isn't that the wonderful thing about blogs?

Not Whiter than White

Interesting developments in varietal labelling and branding in recent days. (I have read about it in Harpers but for some reason it has not been posted to their site)

It appears that the EU authorities are finally catching up with the issue of the labelling of rose, or blush, wines labelled as "White X" - White Zinfandel, White Grenache, etc.

Once again this raises the question of clarity on labelling. From an EU perspective where NOTHING is allowed on the label unless it has been specifically approved, there is no such variety as "White Zinfandel" (interestingly enough there are mutations of otherwise black grapes called White Merlot and White Tempranillo) so it cannot be used on the label.

But in reality this is a classic example of where a phrase on a label has become a brand rather than a technical content description. Whatever you think of whether these should be sold as wine or alcopops, getting rid of the term "White Zinfandel" will only cause confusion for those for whom this is their only knowledge of wine.

White Zinfandel is a recognised brand/category of wine and useful beyond the description of the main variety of grape used to make it. It is all about simple, medium sweet, fruity, probably reasonably alcoholic, rosé wine.

What will the result be? Will consumers ignore the change and buy the same wine whatever it is called? Probably, but not all of them.

Will some move on to try and discover other wines (as some in the EU probably secretly hope)? I very much doubt it.

Will it simply confirm to many that wine labelling is too complicated and confusing and turn them off wine again? That is my worry.

Whilst I have every respect for those who need to enforce a level playing field and basic health and safety, I think this move is simply ridiculous and wrong.

More on varietal labelling (Varietals: 2)

A few posts ago I posted a question about how important the use of varietals on the label was. Andrew replied:

"Important. Various reasons but mainly as an indication to the novice (even the intermediate) on what to expect. A Pinot Grigio is different to a Chardonnay. Having said that how many could tell the difference between a New World Shiraz and a Cabernet Sauvignon?"

Good point. I was following a specific train of thought and ignoring some other important issues.

If a particular producer has several different wines, made from different grapes in the same region, then of course it makes sense to label them as such if only to differentiate one from another. If I happen to want to buy something from "Montana", it matters whether I pick up a Sauvignon Blanc or a Riesling.

However, my "beef" (argument / issue / hang-up) is with the "tyranny" of varietal labelling in principle not simply as a differentiator, but as the main sales cue.

Producers from well established regions in France and other parts of Europe, are being told that one of the reasons they cannot sell their wines is that they don't list the constituent varietals on their label.

The issue is, for example, would the label "Chenin Blanc" be any useful indicator for a novice consumer of Savennieres? Would the blend of Carignan, Mourvedre, Syrah and Grenache really enlighten a potential consumer of St. Chinian? In either case the consumers might get a shock.

What I wanted to get at is that if we restrict the entry level wine education to learning the "basic" grape varieties it is very difficult to broaden people's horizons beyond the usual suspects. It also makes selling blends more difficult (when these might actually be more approachable for beginners).

Most importantly, it perpetuates the dominance of "New World" brands that can market whatever varieties they want or are popular. If they can extend their range to include anything the consumer might recognise, why should the consumer look to a lowly regional European producer whose local laws and limited access to vineyards only allow him or her to plant one or two?

This question is almost too broad for a blog, so I apologise for the length and the ranting tone. However, I think that if we could address this issue we would see a way for a re-energising of quality wine sales that would benefit producers and consumers alike. Wouldn't that be worth it?

Varietals on wine labels - 1

I have started numbering these posts right from the start as I am sure this is a theme I will return to in future.

In brief, conventional wisdom states that the "New World" succeeded in bringing wine to the masses, certainly in the UK, by eschewing all that boring and confusing regional stuff and telling it like it is by stating right up front what varietal(s) the wine was made from.

Consumers, by definition, were interested in purchasing more and better wine but were put off by all those regional and quality indications, such as "Bordeaux Superieur", "Denominazione di Origine Controllata Chianti Rufina" and "Qualitätswein mit Prädikat". Too many words, languages and funny letters.

So in marched the honest speaking Aussies and Californians with their Chardonnays, Cabernets and Merlots. Sales of these wines took off and now they out-sell the Old World wines that are "stuck in the past" and "don't understand branding".

But how true is this really? More importantly, if people do believe in the pre-eminence of the varietal as a brand to sell the wine, how useful is it, and has it led us down a blind alley?

On the positive side, it is certainly true that simple, well designed and consumer-friendly labels made a big difference. The new wines were specifically designed to appeal to new wine drinkers, not those who knew, or pretended to know, about these things. This was true of the wines themselves as well as the packaging.

These new wines changed all sorts of conventions at the same time, not just the varietal labelling, so analysing why they worked is complicated. The label designs were fresh. The names were pronounceable. The styles were easy drinking and fruity. The alcoholic content from these warmer climates was often higher (and was still being used as a shorthand by consumers for better value in wine). There was even some consumer marketing and sales promotion and they were available in new kinds of wine shops like Oddbins and even, god forbid, the supermarkets. And, of course, they were "new" and "cool".

However, the easiest thing to point to is the listing of the grapes on the front. But does this actually help?

My own view, and something I realise I will have to come back to if I am not to post a whole essay, is yes & no, but mainly No! I think that they are driving us to a blind alley from which the only escape is to return to the original ideas of regional labelling.

But I think I had better save this for another day.

A question

A question for a dreary Wednesday morning:

(I am trying to get my head around this and I am sure many people will have different views)

How important is the varietal on the wine label?

Any thoughts? Has anyone come across any diverging views?

Kids must drink

A strange sight greeted me the other day in Sainsbury's.

It might have been there a while, but I had not noticed. However, when I did, it struck me as quite odd, but relevant. It was well away from the wine aisle, and not even a gondola end promotion. It was in the chiller cabinet. The fresh juices to be precise.

I was picking up some apple juice for my daughter when out of the corner of my eye I spotted the word "Merlot". I knew something wasn't right as I had already glanced around the regular haunts for wine in this supermarket. On the eye level shelf in the chiller cabinet were two different plastic bottles of grape juice. One labelled "Chardonnay", the other labelled "Merlot". Apparently these are grape juices made from these varietals somewhere in "the vineyards of Italy".

All of this was quite shocking.

First of all, we are advertising the grape varietal names most often associated with alcoholic dinks, namely wine, to the major consumers of grape juice - kids.

Secondly, I always assumed that grape juices could only be made from table grapes, not those destined for fermentation, as the former are sweet, juicy and less 'complex'.

Is this a good thing? Well, I clearly remember growing up drinking "my wine" when my parents had theirs, so this is not new, although that was labelled simply as "Welch's grape juice" (I still remember this - odd). It also means, in theory, that grape growers in certain areas have a new potential outlet for grapes that cannot be sold as wine, but that I would need to research more as I still can't quite believe this is a simple case of not fermenting the grapes.

In Spain, younger drinkers do like their glass of "mosto" (must) so I guess this is our equivalent, even if ours has to be packaged, shipped, branded and sold for a lot more.

It does indicate, though, that these grape varietals have now been so ingrained in our national consciousness that they can be used for products that are not wine.

Varietal labelling has come a long way in 30 years.