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Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger.
Steve Jaxon talks about wine news with Dan Berger on California Wine Country today, since our expected guest was a last-minute scratch.
Dan has brought a Tendu from Matthaisson in Napa Valley, made from Cortese grapes. It is a common wine in Piedmont, the province of north-western Italy, whose capital is Torino.
American wine consumption is down in every category , except Sauvignon Blanc was the only one up in sales. One reason is the influx of good Sauvignon Blanc wines from New Zealand. This caused the category to expand. There is the Sancerre, Pouilly-Fumé French styles, the California style and now the New Zealand style. From region to region the styles are all different. In the US, Sauvignon Blanc was up almost 4%, while everything else was down between 4 and 8 % in sales. Tasting rooms and wineries are closing. Discount pricing is rampant.
Young people are drinking all kinds of other things, even hard seltzer or non-alcoholic products.
Market Cycles in the Wine Industry
Wine has been with us for thousands of years, so the industry has to wait for the cycle to turn, maybe a year or two. Sometimes wine news is old news. There was a downturn in 2009 and within 18 months the business was back.
Dan says that the 2024 vintage is excellent. The 2024 white wines and Rosés are starting to show up in the stores now.
Pedroncelli winery in Dry Creek Valley is a thriving winery. Montse Reese their winemaker has been on the show. Also Julie Pedroncelli was on this episode last January. They have owned their land for almost 100 years.
Dan opens a Kerner which is Riesling crossed with Trollinger, a red grape. It is a white wine from the Alto-Adige region of north-eastern Italy.
Wineries used to operate tasting rooms at a profit, but that has changed. A lot of wineries have closed that were all producing the same wines, Chardonnay and Cabernet. Julie Pedroncelli explained how a winery has to set itself apart somehow, which they have done.
Michigan is producing great wine. Look for Chateau Grand Traverse, the old reliable.