Napa forum MW asks ‘is wine still cool?’

A group of 80 winemakers, winery marketing representatives and media gathered at the Harvest Inn in Napa Valley’s St. Helena this month for the second annual Wine Conversations: A Global Tasting and Marketing Forum.

A majority of the winemaker guests were from Napa Valley but they also travelled from other California regions and Oregon state. The pedigree of speakers drew many to attend. Master Sommelier, Evan Goldstein, led the conference as moderator and tasting guide, taking participants through a blind tasting of new and old world wines to wake palates and start discussion. Presenters included Master of Wine, Sandy Block, VP of Beverages at Legal Sea Foods, and Wine Editor Sara Schneider of Sunset Magazine, each speaking on the current state of affairs and projected trends in their market places and areas of expertise.

Joining the presenter list was a panel of winemakers: Greg Brewer of Brewer Clifton; Jason Lett of Eyrie Vineyards (Oregon); and Arnaud Weyrich of Roederer Estate, who each spoke to their specific regions and wine styles.

The market and trend presentations turned up an interesting number of points, noted below by presenter.

Sandy Block, MW, Legal Sea Foods Beverage Director

Sandy Block MW

Sandy Block, MW, Legal Sea Foods Beverage Director (higher end, East Coast restaurant chain) started by apologising for the negative outlook he was about to share. While wine sales look bright, Block says, there is strong competition in the east coast restaurant market from craft beers and spirits. Cocktails are considered ‘cool’ by the front line gatekeepers, restaurants’ servers. Many of them are in their 20s and find cocktails exciting, leading to recommendations in this beverage category. With beer, their seasonal offerings (i.e, summer blondes, spicy and nutty autumn brews) are particularly popular, giving that beverage segment an added boost. Plus, with each of these other categories, there is no need to learn vintages or worry about corked wines.

Is wine still cool?, Block asked employees across numerous Legal Sea Food restaurants. Those on the front line are not so sure. Staff comments from the survey show they believe:

• you need specialised knowledge to recommend wine
• wine is difficult to learn; a bother
• wine is a grown-up drink, not fun
• it is too expensive to learn about wine

On the other side of the table, surveys of guests by Legal Sea Foods show that diners want an experience they can’t easily duplicate at home. They believe anyone can buy a bottle of wine, but not everyone can make today’s fancy cocktails at home, so they order cocktails when they dine out.

The desire for experiences and entertainment by diners is a culinary trend that followed the market downturn in 2008, says Block. Before the crisis, the restaurant industry worked under the belief that restaurants existed to provide sustenance – great food and wine. Not anymore, he says. Restaurants are in the entertainment business. Key elements now include: socializing, interaction, and entertainment by staff.

Customers want memorable experiences; they want to watch their cocktails being created (all the better with a bit of theatric flair) in what Block calls ‘the new era of cooking table-side.’

In addition to visualising beverage creations, Block said guests are looking for stories, and conversations with the servers and other restaurant staff. They want ‘take-away’ snippets that they can later share with friends. The conversation can be as simple as a beverage recommendation, something to retell friends over the same drink at some future get-together.

Providing a few factual numbers, Block says that Americans currently eat one-half of their meals out of the home. The annual number of restaurant visits is 60.66. Chain restaurants are 73% of the total visits.

As shared by Block, the percentage of wine sold in restaurants as opposed to other beverages:

• 2007 51% by value, 23% by volume
• 2013 44% value of U.S. sales, 19% vol total U.S. sales

(Beverage Info Group, 2013)

Finishing with five-year tends garnered through sales at Legal Sea Foods, Block noted:

• Blandness is out – which means pinot grigio is out. Sales are down -22%
• Sauvignon Blanc is up 33%, and continuing to rise
• Chardonnay is down -6% and continuing to decline
• Merlot is down – 40%
• Shiraz is down -55%
• Malbec is up 59% but levelling off and showing some decline
• Pinot Noir is up 31% (deemed flavorful)
• Cabernet Sauvignon is up 22%
• Bubbles are up 42% and rising.
• Tasting flights are in.
• Half bottles are hot (note to producers: Legal Sea Foods would sell more if they could get more).
• When wine is displayed at the bar, wine orders go up; they are a conversation piece. Wines, not just spirits and liquors, sell more when they are visible.
• No one seems to be excited about wine on tap – there is no conversation about it, good or bad. Consumers are looking for quality and natural products; they don’t care how it comes.
• Don’t brand push; people hate it. Memorable stories will stick.
• Winemaker dinners remain popular, despite the negative outlook on wine in general; meeting a winemaker is still a big draw for consumers as it gives them a great story to tell.
• All about ‘authentic, natural’ – consumers want natural beverages.

Sara Schneider, Wine Editor at Sunset Magazine

Sara Schneider started with some very strong numbers: Sunset Magazine has almost 5 million readers, mainly across thirteen western states. The median age of readers is fifty, and the thirty to forty-year age group is the most active.

Sunset readers enjoy 9,164,000 glasses of west coast wines compared to 1,740,000 of imported wines each week. Fifty-eight percent of what they drink is Californian, and interestingly, the varietal preferences across industries and coasts (as presented at this conference) are different.

For west coast Sunset readers, the top runners include Chardonnay (21%); Cabernet Sauvignon (12%), and Merlot (9)%.

Boomers are the biggest block of wine enthusiasts; they make more of their resources available for wine, and they pay more for wine. Eight out of ten (80.6) Sunset readers believe they are knowledgeable about wine.

The west coast trends among Sunset readers, as informally surveyed during wine events and through Schneider’s inside view of the industry are:

• Wine on tap is popular; bottled wine is not as exciting.
• Packaging is a point of interest, especially environmentally friendly packaging.
• Tasting rooms hold multiple interests, as educational centers, restaurants, and entertainment centers.
• There is interest in the trend of wine retail shops organizing by wine styles and occasion, not just regions.
• Phone apps that let you order and schedule wine deliveries are newly popular.

While previous reports have told us women are strong buyers, Schneider tells us that they do NOT want to see wines paired with recipes. This just adds another task to their busy schedules. They are looking for relaxing ‘me time’, when they purchase and sip on wine.

Particular points of interest readers have regarding wine:

• Alcohol levels
• Natural vs manipulated wine
• Old world vs new world (while not new, they are realizing this now)
• Chardonnay smackdown – buttery vs mineral
• Sweet wine

Following her presentation, Schneider drew a long line of guests wishing to speak to her about her revelations and the magazine.

The conference was organized by DIAM wine bottle closures, and all of the wines tasted at the conference were closed by DIAM corks. The sales component of the event was kept to a minimum to allow for presentations, discussion and networking. An interesting conference in concept and execution, many guests vowed to return for future Wine Conversations conferences.

Blind Tasting Wines:

• Billecart-Salmon Brut Rose NV (Champagne, France)
• Hugel Riesling “Jubilee” 2009 (Alsace, France)
• Louis Jadot Corton-Charlemagne 2011 (Burgundy, France)
• Sokol Blosser ‘Peach Tree Block’ Pinot Noir 2010 (Dundee Hills, Oregon)
• Clos de los Siete 2009 (Uco Valley, Argentina)
• Bonai 2009 (Ribera del Duero, Spain)
• Schrader Cellars ‘Vieux-Os’ Old Vine ‘Black Sears Vineyard’ Zinfandel 2010 (Napa Valley, California)
• Chateau Suduiraut ‘Lions de Suduiraut’ 2010

During the Panel Tasting :

• Roederer Estate Brut Rose NV (Anderson Valley, California)
• Brewer-Clifton Chardonnay 2010 (Santa Rita Hills, California)
• Eyrie Vineyards Pinot Noir 2012 (Willamette Valley, Oregon)