I apologize that I have not posted in the past few weeks. I was extremely busy with work leading up to Christmas and with family visits and more work between Christmas and New Years I have had very little time. Anyway enough excuses, I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Years. I had a good, but very hectic and short one.
Surprisingly enough I actually did not do that much wine drinking except for a few family gatherings and on New Years. I did have a chance to try two very high end and interesting wines that are out of my reach financially, but were on tasting during the holidays at the Vintages department of the LCBO. They were Guigal's Chateau D'Ampuis Cote Rotie 2004 and the Chateau Kirwan Margaux 2005 both of which were really cool to say the least. I will post more about these in a couple of days. I also had a couple of interesting much more affordable wines which included the fascinating 1996 Balthasar Ress Oestricher Rhinegau Riesling and the exceptionally value priced Finca Flichman Misterio Malbec 2008 (which showed very well against a wine over twice it's price). More on all that later. I have some great blog ideas for the upcoming year and I am hoping to start posting more frequently so please keep visiting.
Today I thought I would post about an issue that Becky brought up to me a few weeks ago and I started to ponder on the subject. She asked me why more restaurants did not publish tasting notes with their wine list. In fact many restaurants have very little if any information on the wines they carry, unless of course it is a wine bar or has its own sommelier. Even then, however, the lack information of what the wine actually tastes like that you are going to buy is a little embarrassing. I could not really come up with a good answer to her question. I mean when I began to think about it would it not make sense to publish tasting notes of the wines you offer? Personally I think that if a customer had an idea of what a wine tasted like then they would be much more likely to buy it.
Now I understand that some establishments have extensive wine lists and a sommelier that can offer guidance or advice, but even then a certain level of wine knowledge is expected from their clientèle. For example most restaurants or wine bars just print the producers name, region and vintage date. So if I am ordering a dish I have to really know the regional characteristics, how the vintage was in that region and hopefully a bit about the producer. However, this is only going to give me a rough idea as to what the wine will taste like. Furthermore, there is so much variation in wine that even knowing regional characteristics and what the vintage was like there will may not help in making a proper wine selection.
This issue becomes much worse for those who do not posses a basic knowledge in wine. Now certainly, many wine novices likely know what Bordeaux or Californian Cabernet Sauvignon may taste like. But, it is highly unlikely that they would know what a Corbieres or a Ribera del Duero are like or perhaps even where they are located. My point here is that even if the consumer did not know what a certain wines characteristics were then tasting notes could be used to make a informed decision instead or they may be enticed by the notes to try something new. Even for customers who do have a good knowledge of wine, tasting notes never hurt to get an idea as to what style the wine is made in.
Here is a quick illustrative example. Now you judge what you would prefer on a wine list.
Chateau du Trignon - Gigondas - 2004 - France
or
Chateau du Trignon - Gigondas -2004 - France
A wine from the southern Rhone valley village of Gigondas . Made from a blend of Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre and Cinsault. Notes of cherry, currants, violets, lavender and earth on the nose and flavours of juicy red and black fruits with a touch of caramel. Would pair perfectly with our striploin steak etc.
Even if a customer had never heard of Gigondas they may be enticed to try it based on the few short sentence description of the wine and dishes the restaurant offers that it would pair with. I may be misguided about the lack of tasting note information in restaurants and wine bars so if you work in the industry and can shed light on this issue please comment.
The other issue that this topic got me thinking about is the lack of information wineries provide about the wines they make. Now a select few producers are excellent and have posted in-depth information and technical sheets on their websites or at the least have made it easily accessible. Unfortunately, the vast majority give consumers absolutely no information.
As a wine lover I like to know as much as possible about what I am drinking. Information such as vineyard sites, soil conditions, fermentation techniques, and aging methods are things I want to know. In essence I want to know what makes the wine interesting other than how it tastes. Sadly, if the winery does not have a decent website or accessible information (i.e. on the back label of the wine) we are all left guessing as to how it was made.
I find this lack of information a little troubling because it feels that in some cases the winery does not want the consumer to know exactly what is in the bottle. Now I understand if the winery is a very small operation and the purveyors are not tech savvy then it is not always possible to communicate effectively the information about your wine. But, the back label in this case could be a great opportunity to get this information out. As for the larger estates that have the financial and technical ability to get this information out there is really little excuse. In these cases it sometimes feels as if they are hiding something. I mean if you are heavily manipulating your wine or not following proper regulations then why would you want anyone to know about this, its just bad for business.
My plea here is that I want producers to me more up front and informative about their wines. I think that the more information you give your consumers the better your relationship will be. Furthermore, the wines nerds of the world will be more fascinated and intrigued by your wine and therefore more likely to buy from you. It is not that difficult the internet is an easy, accessible and affordable way to get this information out if not why not utilize the back label to inform your consumers. I really think that more information will only help the entire industry.
On a final side note tonight I am drinking another bottle of the Domaine de Vaugondy-Vouvray-Brut NV which I blogged about in December and it is again every bit as impressive as it was then.
No comments:
Post a Comment