wsjonline_july209

I was working on a format to show the level of sweetness of our wines relative to one another. I had the idea of using the taste scale from the International Riesling Foundation. I liked it so much that I thought I would just post it. The wines are lined up from dry to sweet from left to right. Neat way to see the entire range of wine we make isn’t it? It is also a great way to realize that we really make wines at every sugar levels. They are 12 wines above and 7 of them are Rieslings. Cheers!

 Of course one of the pleasure of walking at Wallula is to spot the sheeps. We use them to weed the rows (remember we don’t use any herbicide or pesticides for Biodynamic farming).  Here they are between the rows:

Wallula is a special place from many different propectives. First is is a high elevation vineyard (1,300 feet) above Missoula flood levels (click here for the story of the flood) and that is very interesting for a higher mineral content. It was also planted biodynamically from the get go and the farming practices are very unique and highly sustainable (see earlier post on biodynamic farming).  The density is high for Washington (1613 vines/ac) resulting in less crop per vine. The trellis is also very peculiar - it is a sort of a modified lyra with a tall vine (the fuit zone is 5 feet off the ground) - promoting lots of shading which protects the clusters from too much sunlight and provides a cooler environment. Finally we have a few buried drip lines that promote more root exploration enhancing mineral content. There are very few vineyards in the world that are so complex and advanced. Below is a picture of a vine so you can picture the whole thing.

Anyone that knows me is aware that I have a soft spot for Chenin Blanc in Washington. Chenin Blanc vineyards are some of the oldest in the State (our Chenin Blanc vineyards are 35 years old on average) and have exceptional depth. One of my favorite site is in the middle of the Yakima on a small south facing hill called Hahn Hill. The vineyard is 37 years old at sits at about 900 feet of elevation (picture above). Hahn Hill represents about 50% of our Chenin Blend every year. The vines are trained with the old fashion fan system (see picture below) where several “arms come out of the same plant. This training is a nice for quality grapes though quite labor intensive because the fruit zone is distributed a bit randomly (versus the Vertical Shoot positionning system where the fruit is nicely lined up on the cordon). Vineyard looks great this year. Should be a very nice Chenin year.

I am getting somewhat addicted to a new cocktail with Framboise (our raspberry infusion) and our newly released sparkling Riesling. I like the combination for the summer. The sparkling, being so sharp and low alcohol, blends very well with the high sugar, higher alcohol Framboise. I suspect that the sparkling Riesling would be a great cocktail base for all sort of liqueurs.

My recipe is 1/3 Framboise and 2/3 Sparkling but you should try for yourself and decide what you like.

Jim was pulling out an old Cabernet Sauvignon vineyard and he showed me the old vines (35+ year old), they were quite massive. Check this impressive picture of Jim vs the old Cabernet:

Skyline is the future source of a newly Gamay vineyard for us. The vines are now two years old so the first crop will be in 2010. Very exciting. Pictures of the growing babies below.

GDD is computed by substracting 50 from the average daily temperature and cumulating that number over time. GDD in the Yakima Valley was 720 as of June 21st. A warm year usually means a early harvest and sometimes lower acidities. We are ready for an early one at this point!

Over the next few days I’ll post some observation and pictures of our main vineyard sites.

Just to clarify the “hybrid” status of our Dry Riesling, we have always blended 15% + of Mosel Riesling in our Washington Riesling to give it a bit more zesty acidity and reduce the final alcohol ofthe wine. The label on Mark’s blog in the 2006 vintage (20% German). The Mosel wine always comes from our dear friend Johannes Selbach in Zeltingen (Johannes owns the Selbach Oster estate and also a negociant business).

Dr Vino had a good post on his blog about Riesling ageability. Even though 99% of folks don’t age their wines a few of us do. Myself probably more because I forget about the wines in my cellar rather than by design. Nevertheless, it is always a pleasure to taste an older Riesling regardless of its residual sugar (that would be my “gee, I did not remember I had that bottle here” moment). My rule of thumb is usually that Rieslings with a greater residual sugar have a tendency to age better, but that can be debated. The problem is not to argue if Riesling can age as it is one of the most ageworthy whites; but it is to find friends that share an interest in tasting older bottles of wine. Very often aged Rieslings taste different than younger, fresher Rieslings as they lose their fruit forwardness to gain more honey and petroleum notes. That might turn many folks away. The appreciation of an older wine taste profile brings my old philosophical dilemna; do people do not like a given wine (old or not) because it does not meet their frame of reference (It is not sweet as it should be, it is not oaky as white wine should be, etc…) OR do people do not like a given wine because hedonically it is unpleasant (ie it truly taste like hell to them). My guess is that the earlier reason is often true and that people do not truly enjoy the wine as it is but they always try to apply a frame of reference to it (either past experiences or what they have been told by others) and compare that reference to their present experience. If the reference (or expected) taste matches the current taste, they like the wine; if not, they dislike it. Well, sorry to get that deep here, but that’s what happens when you think about older Rieslings…

I have two ideas to help out the wineries with this tax increase (which is likely and in some way is meant for a good cause i.e. financing a national healthdare system): 1) truly liberalize the wine business, go away with the three tier system  2) allow wineries to pay federal taxes 90 days after the wine as left their warehouse to mitigate the impact on our cash flow.

I doubt any of those ideas would fly…

Nicolas

Summer is definitely here in the great Pacific Northwest and I find myself gravitating towards lighter, fresher and sweeter wines. I like the low alcohol/high acid/carbonation combo on a hot sunny day. My favorite Riesling for this time of the year are the Sweet Riesling (8.5% Alcohol - definitely sweet), the Organic Riesling (10.5% Alcohol - medium sweet) and I must say that I found two great friends in the Sparkling Riesling (10.5% Alcohol - almost dry) and our Single Vineyard Daunhauer (8.5% Alcohol - sweet). That’s four wines for a hot summer and with our great free shipping on 6 bottles it is easy to try them all!

Riesling Revival

By Jim Trezise, President, International Riesling Foundation

A famous New York comedian named Rodney Dangerfield rose to stardom with one classic line: “I don’t get no respect.”

Riesling is the Rodney Dangerfield of wine.  It is arguably the most noble white wine variety in the world, and yet it remains misunderstood, underappreciated, and under-consumed.

Why? Diversity.  This is Riesling’s strength, but also its weakness.  Riesling is one of the few grapes which can produce wines ranging from bone dry to intensely sweet and many taste sensations in between.  That’s a strength. 

The weakness is that consumers often can’t predict what taste sensation is in each bottle—dry, medium dry, sweet—and can be unpleasantly surprised if they guessed wrong and the wine doesn’t fit the meal they planned.

Happily much is changing in the world of Riesling, and the International Riesling Foundation (IRF) is trying to accelerate that change.  First, there is clearly a Riesling revival occurring, at least in the United States where Riesling has become the fastest growing white wine and only a tad behind Pinot Noir among all wines.  This renaissance began a few years ago, and the IRF was formed to catch the wave and turn a serendipitous blip into a long-term trend.

There are many strengths to promote.  Riesling provides a great reflection of “terroir” not only among countries or regions but individual vineyards, guaranteeing infinite variations around a common theme.  Riesling is the most versatile “food wine”, with the different styles acting as complement or counterpoint to an incredible range of cuisines as well as serving as a great, palate-enhancing aperitif.

Then there’s Riesling’s diversity.  We’re seeking to turn that into a consistent strength by letting consumers know what’s in each bottle.  The method: a Riesling Taste Profile developed by the IRF.

One of our first projects involved market research by Wine Opinions on consumer perceptions of Riesling.  Not surprisingly, the overwhelming majority think of it only as “a sweet white wine”.  More troubling, those who don’t drink it are not at all interested in trying it.

So we developed the Riesling Taste Profile, spearheaded by California wine journalist Dan Berger in conjunction with Riesling wine makers throughout the world.  The concept is to use the interplay of sugar, acid, and pH to predict the taste profile of a particular bottle—Dry, Medium Dry, Medium Sweet, or Sweet.

The IRF Riesling Taste Profile includes technical guidelines for wine makers, including a summary chart, but it is ultimately up to the wine maker where he or she places the arrow along a horizontal continuum.  That graphic, in turn, may be used on back labels, point of sale materials, and in other ways to help consumers.

Everything related to the Riesling Taste Profile is available on the IRF web site (www.drinkriesling.com), including examples of some wineries already using it, downloadable art for those who wish to, and sample “neck hangers” as a point-of-sale options. 

The largest U.S. Riesling producers, Chateau Ste. Michelle and Pacific Rim of Washington State, are both committed to using it, as are many smaller producers in the U.S., New Zealand, South Africa, and other countries. We expect that it will become an industry standard within a few years, helping consumers predict what they’re buying and helping producers sell more Riesling.

The IRF has focused on the U.S. market to date due to its great potential for Riesling growth, but is truly an international organization with a prestigious Board of Directors from Australia, Austria, Canada, France, Germany, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United States (California, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Washington).  The Board is listed in the “About Us” section of the web site.

Indeed, the web site is our window for consumers to discover the wonderful world of Riesling, with information about the grapes, the wines, the foods, the regions, the Riesling Taste Profile, and much else.  Another key trend in the U.S., and perhaps elsewhere, is the importance of the “millennial” generation (essentially in their 20’s) to the future of the wine market.  They love wine, like to experiment, want to be educated (not “sold”), and provide great opportunity for Riesling.  As a result, we’re now working on several web enhancements that will tie right in to the “social media” explosion.

Another promising trend is the increasingly broad coverage of Riesling by wine and food media throughout the world.  Long-time proponents like Stuart Pigott, Jancis Robinson, Howard Goldberg, and Dan Berger are now being joined by many others who in the past paid little heed to the greatness of Riesling.But we still have a long way to go.  At the London International Wine Fair, I asked a top wine shop representative how Riesling sells.  He said better, but it’s still more of a case filler than a first choice.  In other words, when consumers buy 8-10 bottles and have a couple slots left, they often choose a Riesling or two.

In other words, Riesling don’t get no respect.  We need to change that.

• Dinner with the Selbach on the 8th;
• Visit of Selbach Oster, Sankt Urban Hof and Schloss Lieser on the 9th (Mosel)
• Visit of Schloss Johannisberg, Von Mumm and two other on the 10th (Rheingau) and fly out…

I have my Audi shift stick with GPS unit rented. feeling just like a little boy going to Disneyland…

1) Usually restaurants get on average 5 pours per 750ml bottles.

2) Restaurants like to mark up wines up to 4 times (especially for by the glass vs by the bottle).

3) Restaurant buy wines wholesale, sometimes with a special “by the glass price”. Let’s assume that wholesale is about 30% less  than retail.

Now here is the math that most restaurant do: Buy a $9.99 retail bottle of wine ($7 wholesale), mark it up at least 4 times ($7 X 4 = $28), pour 5 glasses out of it and sell them at $6 each. Profit would be: (5 X 6) - 7 = $23 per bottle. Not bad….

My Sommelier friend was arguing that it was crazy math because a) you really rip off the customer (the customer could almost buy a whole bottle at that price) and b) you do not maximize the take home per bottle for the restaurant. Here is his math: Buy a $30 retail bottle of wine ($21 wholesale), mark it up gently 2.5 times ($21 X 2.5 = $52.5), pour five glasses out of it and sell them at $11 each. Profit would be (5 X 11) - 21= $34 per bottle. 50% better than the previous calculation. Not only you got more money per bottle but you also offered a great wine to your customers at a more reasonnable cost (you definitely could not buy a bottle retail of that $30 wine at $11).

I think he has a point….

Riesling acreage is about 145,000 acres worldwide. Most of the acreage is located in the old world (Germany and Alsace). In the new world, Australia has the largest acreage followed by Washington State. To put it in relationship with other regions, Washington has about 4,500 acres of Riesling which is about twice the acreage of California and about half the acreage of Alsace. 

Washington’s Riesling is either quite old (older than 25 years - representing 40% of total acreage) or quite young (less than 7 years - representing 40% of total acreage). This age distribution has probably to do with the early successes of Riesling in Washington followed by a low growth period (for Riesling in general) in the 90s and an accelerated growth since the beginning of the new millenium.

The acreage older than 25 year old is planted a bit everywhere throughout the State with about 25% in the Yakima Valley. Although there are no record of where the clonal material came from, one can guess about two probable sources. The first one is the stock that was brought in by Upland winery (closed in 1972) in the late 30’s on the eve of the repeal of prohibition. This selection was planted in Sunnyside and came from Germany (Upland’s winemaker was German). The second probable source is California. Before the 70’s, only clone 1 seemed to have been available in quantity. Clone 1 is also of German origin and came through Oregon State University. Those two sources are probably the origin of most of Washington’s Riesling.

The younger plantings are less scattered than the earlier ones and concentrated in the Yakima Valley (about 50% of all Riesling is grown in “the valley”) and in the Horse Heaven Hills (25% of all Riesling is grown there). The clonal selection available post 1970 was more varied since the Foundation Plant Service (FPS) in California had introduced several German clones in the 50’s. The probable materials that were brought in for newer planting (the American FPS clone number is the short number, I am including the “translation”  for reference) includes clone 9 and 24 (Geisenheim 110), Clone 12 (Neustadt 90), Clone 17 (Geisenheim 198), Clone 23 (Geisenheim 239). Other clones might have come up to Washington such as the “Martini clone” (FPS 10), the Conegliano 100 (FPS 19), the Clos Pepe clone (FPS 20), the Mendoza clone (FPS 22), ENTAV 49 (FPS 49). Of course, most new plantings might just have been propagated from the wood of older vineyards. No one know for sure, but I would guess that 80% of new plantings still come from the original selections.

At Pacific Rim, we are probably a mini sample of Washington’s Riesling. 30% of our vineyards are indeed older than 25 years. 40% of our Riesling comes from the Horse Heaven Hills (Wallula Vineyard) with the balance coming from the lower Yakima Valley (in a narrow strecth at the highest elevation available between Sunnyside and Prosser). Our newer planting are all clone 110, 239, 198 and 90 from Germany (representing about 65% of all our Riesling), who knows what the older vines are.

WineSkinny.com

http://www.slashfood.com/2009/04/20/5-wine-steals-to-buy-right-now-wine-of-the-week/1#c18430292

http://www.thenewstribune.com/soundlife/food/wine/story/709370.html

More than 600 wineries (including Pacific Rim of course) are calling Washington State home. That is more than three times the number of wineries that were in Washington 10 years ago. Of course, many of those wineries are fairly small. Still, this is a testament to the Washington State wine industry’s dynamism. The planted acreage is following up the growth in wineries and has raised to 33,000 acre from 24,000 in 1999 (though the average acreage per winery went from 122 acres/winery in 1999 to 55 acres/winery in 2009). As a comparison, Napa Valley alone has 44,000 acres planted and New Zealand has 70,000 acres planted (that makes Washington looks so small, doesn’t it?). According to the latest Nielsen data, Washington was one of the fastest growing appellation sold in grocery store across the country. I’ll raise a glass of Washington Riesling to that!

EVN: Whao, thought you were just making Riesling? GDN: Do you have a problem with reds?

EVN: No, no, thought you were the Riesling specialist (eheh)! GDN: OK, so we can’t make a red wine?

EVN: Seems a bit off message (eheh). GDN: right… Want to walk home tonight?

EVN: Forget about it, so what is SOOOO special about this red? GDN: Autumnus red is an Italian inspired red. No oak, very food friendly, low alcohol (12.5%). In some fashion, the red mirror of our Rieslings

EVN: No Riesling in it right (eheh)? GVN: No, no Riesling, what kind of question is that (may be that would be fun?)? It is mainly Sangiovese, Barbera, Primitivo with a touch of Pinot Nero. Mostly from the Wahluke slope

EVN: OK, sounds interesting, how would you describe this beverage. The “slope” is pretty hot, big wines usually. GVN: Good color, though not inky, with lavender from the Sangiovese and cherry from the Barbera, It is fairly soft with a great weight. Good acidity so it can go with the food.

EVN: Vintage? GVN: 2007. We’re home, get out….

http://www.forbes.com/2009/04/09/reserve-regular-wines-lifestyle-wine-reserve-regular.html

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