On Pinot Noir$
Sideways,
that infamous movie, did wonders for Southern California
wine country and most notably, Pinot Noir. As a Sommelier I
was trying for years to get some clients to try this
wondrous grape, with some success. Then this movie comes out
and top of the line drinkers of California Cabernet want to
try it. I still have nightmares trying to explain why it
tasted “light, thin and simple” to these clients. Yet, Pinot
Noir flew off the shelves and still does. It is high time
that Pinot Noir has received the attention that it deserves.
However, too much of anything is not necessarily a good
thing.
Now three years
later, where did my $12 bottle of Pinot Noir go? I’m not
referring to Burgundy, for Burgundy is, well, Burgundy and
shall ever be. I’m talking about California Pinot Noir.
Remember the brands that used to be in that price range
three years ago that are now hovering around $2O a bottle
retail? I’m not an economist but doesn’t this seem a little
bit too much? Especially when you compare them to other
grapes like Cabernet Sauvignon, where the price for some
houses hasn’t changed? How about comparing the same producer
that makes both Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir at the
same quality/brand level? In those same three years the case
of Cabernet went up sixteen dollars, the Pinot Noir,
forty.
Have you looked
at some of the major California brands of Pinot that are $96
a case recently? The grapes are not even from California!
Since when have Pay d’Oc and Vin Corse become American
Viticultural Areas? Appellations are confusing enough to
many of our clients, now they have to deal with this
curveball? Is this illegal? No. Pushing the envelope of
unethical? Maybe. And, with every pun intended, definitely
distasteful. Keeping the same label as your California
bottlings with only minor changes, such as the label color
and having Product of France on the back label in a small
font is a little too much of a bait and switch. Especially
when you are a brand name that is synonymous with California
wine. Yes, I’m talking about Mondavi, specifically their
Woodbridge line. Could there be a greater name that
automatically has the association with being a pioneer in
winemaking in California? Yes, Vin de Pays d’Oc is written
on the front label and so are the rolling hills of
California which is the exactly the same picture as on the
bottle of Cabernet that is from California. The same flavor
text written on both bottles on the back label has Robert
Mondavi returning to his childhood roots in Lodi to craft
wines. Doppelganger indeed.
Don’t get me
wrong. I’m all for anyone to make a profit, and Woodbridge
isn’t the only brand that is responsible of such actions,
but let’s be a little up front about it. Beaulieu Vineyard
has handled this a bit better. Their front label is the same
on their “Coastal Estates” line, but at least they have
removed the map of California and all reference to making
wine in California. Maybe it’s the change in philosophy of
these brands that the terroir is the least important part of
their brand that is most irking when we all know how
important the essence of place is to winemaking. Or perhaps
it’s the continuation, no, banking on the ignorance of the
consumer, because these wines are now adding to the
confusion. This, to me, is like the wine snob putting on
airs in front of others who they believe are less
knowledgeable than themselves. Pay no attention to the man
behind the curtain, let the Wizard of Napa show you the
way.
Can you imagine
the laugher at the local Pastis bars in the Pay d’Oc? Oh ho,
the almighty California wine that beat us in 1976 now has to
come to us for their wine to the masses? Even with today’s
dollar versus the euro it must be cheaper to buy the
finished wine, ship it from France to California and bottle
it than make a wine in their own backyard. Sacre
bleu.
You know when
Gallo came out with their Red Bicyclette line I was laughing
pretty hard. Not anymore.
