Gary Vee tells it how it is!
Posted by Ray O'Connor | Filed under Wine Future
The video on your right may have slipped through the net in the early days of this blog. You can re-watch this interview with Gary Vaynerchuk of Wine Library Tv now.
Arguably the most engaging speaker at last months Wine Future, Vaynerchuk has a clear idea of the way things are moving forward for wine writers and what the consumer actually wants. When I spoke to him at the event he told me that it’s not just wine that’s changing. Consumers as a whole are becoming more impatient, wanting today’s news today and not waiting 2 weeks for the magazine to come in the post. It’s been a tough year for subscriptions and as the Christmas season ticks over, time will tell if many are renewed in the new year. With the ease of Twitter, people you are following actually seek out, capture and post news items from the web that they think may be of interest to their followers. There is almost too much information to swallow in any given morning or day. Nothing will get past this, or future generations in terms of breaking news. Gary’s new book, Crush It, talks about how everyone should take the bull by the horns and use social media to work for them to achieve their mission. He has been on almost all the leading talk shows in the States, but is only gaining recognition over here in the wine circles of late.
Vaynerchuk also divulged which wine regions he foresees making a greater impact in the future. He cited Portugal as being a winner in terms of value for money, both the reds and the whites. With reference to the U.S., he sees South African Chenin Blanc and Pinotage in a position to make a big impact, which the former has certainly managed to achieve here in the U.K. so far. He’s a larger than life character that has focused his attention on observing what’s out there on the internet and calculating how he can make it work for him.
Tags: Gary Vaynerchuck, Portugal, South Africa
Grand finale panel discussion @ Wine Future
Posted by Ray O'Connor | Filed under Wine Future
Whatever decisions come from the Copenhagen treaty, you’re guaranteed a press bonanza with rolls of column inches and photos dedicated to covering the assembly of the world’s most influential figures. We can expect a similar amount of chatter, although increasingly online, about the global leaders of the wine industry who stood side by side on stage for photographers before sitting down to solve the issues of wine’s future. Pancho Campo MW was efficient in his mediation and relayed questions from the audience, including a tweeted question, to the panel of experts. Sitting from left to right was Mel Dick, Jorge Ordoñez, Robert Parker, Don St. Pierre, Christopher Cannan, Jancis Robinson MW, Paul Pontallier and Justin Howard-Sneyd MW.
The wireless microphone was passed around the group to Parker to answer the issue of high alcohol wines, who is often regarded as favouring bigger wines with similarly large abv figures. He assured the gathering that he was against excessively high alcohol in wines and acknowledged the social responsibility of drinking these wines. In the face of government legislation versus the artistic contribution of a wine maker he knows he will always side with the latter, believing that they should be allowed to make the greatest expression of wine from whatever vineyard they have. “If that results in a wine that’s 15% alcohol, and that’s the best wine they can make, I’ve no problem with that.” He continues to say that the interferences of the French government in restricting the level to 13% abv in certain appellations is compromising the quality of their terroir and the integrity of the varietal, which would be manipulating what is essentially a natural product.
On the subject of consumption, in his own slow drawl, Mel Dick predicted that the U.S. will be the largest wine consuming nation in the future. Only 9 litres of wine per adult is currently consumed in the states compared 30-40 litres in other leading wine producing countries, so, he says, “the future for fine wine is wonderful. There will be many many years of great growth, great opportunity for everybody in the wine industry.”
Submitting her point from the crowd, Su Birch of Wines of South Africa, criticised the conference for being too ‘Euro-centric’ and asked the panel did they not see a role for the Southern hemisphere in the future of wine. Jancis Robinson responded to this accusation and turned the spotlight on Australia when considering the opportunities and challenges. She declared that Australians are on the frontline of being affected by climate change she also touched on the current off loading of vineyards and wineries as growers go out of business.
Parker added that in the last 10-15 years there has been an explosive interest in new wines. The growth in production and higher quality styles of wines from these regions has out stripped demand for these wines, even though there is an increase in interest in wine. He says the problem is that they couldn’t stay abreast of so much wine from so many different areas and that issue has come to the fore in the past year. “We are going through a massive correction because of the world economy….., but we will come out of it, I am very much an optimist for the long term.”
His positive tone was quickly muted when the topic of speculation on wine arose. Raising strong applause from the crowd he said wine is meant to be consumed and enjoyed, adding that speculation is “a dirty word” and resents the fact that his scores are used for this purpose. Robinson referred to the recent influx of wine investment funds as “dreary” and “depressing” questioning whether any one of the people who run these operations actually drink any wine. Someone who is a major link in this chain is Paul Pontallier, whose Chateaux Margaux wines achieve some of the greatest figures in those circles. He agreed that speculation has affected the market and the price but denies that this would have any effect on the quality. He suggested that it may even increase the attention awarded to wine making techniques, given the influence it has had on prices and that nobody in Bordeaux makes wine for this purpose. Big statement, but I think he wanted to use this soap box to dismiss what he must have felt was an industry observation of the Borealis.
To conclude this potentially long-winded post I would just mention the quality of speaking from Justin Howard-Sneyd MW, Waitrose wine buyer, who was extremely clear and articulate in his comments on stage, refraining from unnecessarily dragging out any answers. His ‘best-bits’ included his approach to people who enjoy drinking sweeter style wines, suggesting introducing them to higher quality wines that still maintain that sweetness, such as Vouvray or good German Rieslings, as opposed to ‘correcting’ their taste buds. He advised any youngsters who are considering entering the wine trade to avoid it if they are expecting to make lots of money. Author of The Wine Advocate, Robert Parker advised them to become a lawyer if money’s what they’re interested in.
Pancho Campo and his team deserve huge credit for professionally organising such an essential event to the wine trade, even if some of the speakers weren’t up to the mark. As I congratulated him after the official dinner he told me Kofi Annan was booked in for next years conference on climate change and that as Robert Parker was hugging him on stage he whispered “I’m definitely in for the next one” which is due to be held in 2011.
Tags: alcohol, Jancis Robinson, Kofi Annan, Robert Parker, Waitrose, wine, Wines of South Africa
List of Garnacha wines at Robert Parker tasting @ Wine Future
Posted by Ray O'Connor | Filed under Parker Tasting, Wine Future
Here’s a list of the wines tasted that would have set you back $1,000 to attend and taste.
Châteuneauf-du-Pape – France
1. Domaine Charvin 2007
2. Marcoux Vieilles Vignes 2007
3. Mont Olivet – La Cuvee du Papet 2007
4. Chapoutier Barbe Rac 2007
5. Barroche Pure 2007
6. Vieille Julienne 2007
7. Pierre Usseglio-Mon Aieul 2007
Spain
8. Atteca Armas 2007 – DO Calatayud
9. Mancuso 2005 – Vino de la Tierra de Valdejalón
10. Espectacle 2006 – DO Montsant
11. Clos Erasmus 2005 – DOCa. Priorat
12. Aquilon 2006 – DO Campo de Borja
California
13. Pandora – Alban 2006
14. Sine Qua Non Atlantis 2005
Australia
15. Killikanoon Duke 2006
16. Greenock Creek Cornerstone 2006
17. Clarendon Hills Old Vines Romas 2006
18. Torbreck Les Amis 2005
Rioja
19. Marqués de Riscal de 1945
20. Contador 2007
Tags: Australia, California, Châteuneauf-du-Pape, Rioja
Robert Parker Tasting at Wine Future 2009
Posted by Ray O'Connor | Filed under Parker Tasting, Wine Future
Last night’s focus on Garnacha wines by Robert Parker was attended by 530 people, every one as keen as the other to snag a prime spot to sit and taste with Sir Bob of Baltimore. The room was very impressively set out to accommodate the 10,600 glasses (20 per person) for the flights of Garnacha from France, Spain, USA and Australia. Pancho Campo MW introduced Parker as “a beautiful and humble man”, which although I may not have shared similar intimate moments as Pancho did with the man, I definitely got the impression that this was a very straight talking, easy going guy who you would quite happily sink a few beers with. Kevin Zraly was introduced as “the greatest wine educator in the U.S.”. His job on the night appeared to be to break up Parker’s journey through the wines with questions to the critic on how he would assess the wine in question, which worked quite well.
Parker is 31 years in the game and he told us there were only a few Rioja wines and a few from Miguel Torres that represented Spain when he started out. He enthused about the new wave of wines coming from regions like Jumilla and Yecla. Comparing the recent trend to places like South America and Italy, he talked about the resurrection of old vineyards and a change from co-operative mentality to artisanal practises.
He felt he was getting a bit of stick for hosting a tasting in Rioja and not showing any Tempranillo wines. In his defence he stipulated that you can only find good Tempranillo in Rioja and this was an international tasting of wines and so focused on Garnacha. The crowd bought it!
The running theme from the 20 wines he showed was that none of the wines are made in new oak, only old foudre or inox, although there was certainly new French oak detected in one or two such as Torbreck Les Amis 2005. He also told us that none of the wines were decanted, to prevent the Garnacha wines which would be susceptible to oxidation, but Pancho Campo later told us that at least one had been decanted. Last little gripe about the tasting; the wines numbered in front of us did not correspond with their number in the book, which meant a scurry through the pages to see where they had been randomly placed as you moved on to the next wine. This proved tricky at times as when Parker eventually got going he barely came up for air, moving swiftly along to the 14th , then 15th wine in succession.
But overall it was a great focus on the qualities of Garnacha from around the world. As opposed to posting lots of tasting notes, I’ll just mention the impeccable Domaine Charvin 2007 (85% Grenache + Syrah, Mouvedre and Counoise). This was pungent in sweet aromas of kirsch liqueur and lavender. It had a deliciously velvety mouth feel with very clean and very pure fruit. Finishing on a fiery , spicy edge this was electrifying stuff!
Parkers prediction on varieties to watch out for in the future included the Mediterranean bunch (not exactly narrowing it down) Pinot Noir and Tempranillo, a final ‘chapeau’ to his hosts. He stated that the best will be those that offer the best value, pushing home the point that you must over deliver on value. He’s optimistic about the future of wine as wherever he goes, Hong Kong, Korea etc.. he sees more and more education, interaction and interest in making wine more fun.
As we began to disperse, he was approached by fans from all angles to sign whatever they could find remotely relevant to him. Great to sit through his master class and understand how he assesses wines.
Tags: Domaine Charvin, Garnacha, Kevin Zraly
Wine Future pre event dinner
Posted by Ray O'Connor | Filed under Wine Future
Marques de Riscal’s winery was the setting for the Wine Future welcome dinner last night. The futuristic Frank Gehry designed hotel was an appropriate location for the gathering of the world’s most influential individuals who will look into their crystal balls and identify the future of wine over the next two days.
Robert Parker Jnr. sat side by side with Jancis Robinson on the event host’s, Pancho Campo, table. Before the 5 course meal we enjoyed the unreleased Rueda 2009 white (85% Verdejo, 15% Viura) from the winery. We were then treated to the soon to be launched Finca Montico, Rueda 2008 (100% Verdejo) which was a complete knock-out, great balance and power from the 80 year old vines.
Finally, we tasted the as yet unreleased Baron de Chirel 2006 (Tempranillo 85%, Cabernet Sauvignon 15%) . Still a puppy, it tasted delicious with a move to new French oak. Pancho Campo addressed the room in what appeared to be a moving experience for him. ” Just a moment please” he uttered as held his head down and gathered himself, which the room seemed to love giving him a large round of applause. I was expecting Oscar-style tears. ‘Beautiful!’
He thanked his team and all the speakers for making this event possible etc.. etc.. He compared his feelings at that moment to his first visit to Wimbledon, recalling how amazing it was for him to see Agassi, Becker and all the great stars in one place. It was his dream come true to see such a gathering in Rioja to discuss the future of wine. He urged the speakers to have an early night, saying ” don’t party, go to bed, and give 100% tomorrow”.
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