Yes yes the East coast has no great wine, it’s all shipping shipping shipping
Lots of economics out there in the east though
Probably not favorable for the wine market
Buying local is a real thing
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Sure. I think most smart people try to buy as local as possible, especially for perishable goods like fruits and vegetables.
But as much as wine is technically a perishable good, it’s also a good for long-term aging! And we do need some international trade, otherwise our societies (and humanity) will be greatly impoverished.
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lol, what does any of that even mean? Are you just trying to be cryptic to be provocative? No one has disputed that buying local is a real thing. That said, for all of us not living on the west coast of the US or in certain countries in Europe, it isn’t a very realistic option.
That is not to even begin to unpack the “lots of economics,” statement…
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Let’s just say that as long as “local” consumerism is not reality, wine economics will suck
Italians, French and Spanish grew up with wine, US folks not so much
Shoe fits, so my answer is: if you do your own work, you do good work, unique work, keep your pricing fair, and run your mouth on the Berserker board then you stand a decent chance of getting by in the contraction. I started the winery for $10K, so I know how to be poor which doesn’t hurt either.
There will be lots of vineyards with no history and maybe some with more than 700 years that don’t make it. A lot of wineries too, but if you really love what you do then, history or not, there is probably a path forward. Doesn’t mean it’s going to be fun.
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Burgundy is a continental climate, whereas the West coast is cooled by the Pacific ocean. Global warming is not a fiction, so whether Europe always has Burgundy is not a foregone conclusion. I don’t see a point in suggesting that one or the other is better but if you hold Burgundy up as the difference maker then you should seriously consider getting on your horse to stop climate change.
I’m not trying to be snarky here, it’s a real issue.
(And yes, if the polar caps melt the West coast will be screwed too.)
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It’s something I am struggling with for our business for sure. We do a lot of spot buying overseas. While the dollar is weaker, other currencies are not feeling the same effect, so I haven’t seen as much adjusted pricing as Andrew noted. My business can easily pivot (and we are), but I need to maintain our overseas relationships too.
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Wine Spectator had an article about the carbon footprint of wine for people living in the USA. Importing from Europe was lower than wine travelling across the USA by truck or plane.
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I was just joking by using Burgundy, because people often hold it up at a pinnacle of (European) wine. But it could have been any European wine region. And, it can go the other way. Only drinking local wine in Tuscany, you miss out on all that the rest of the world (including the US) has to offer.
At the end of the day we obviously have to arrive at some balance. The environment is an issue and I personally don’t think we need to waste energy importing garbage strawberries or tomatoes all around the world.
But 100% local societies would be pretty horrific as well, essentially hunter-gatherer stage of civilization.
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This is an interesting point because it’s true that wine is more a part of historical culture in those countries than the US, which is why it continues to feel different there than in the US.
But, wine culture evolves over time, as does the economy. Many changes to the tradition of drinking the crappy local wine as people drink less and drink better. People everywhere are more aware of global culture, and less fixed on national boundaries as the unit of demarcation which should govern their lives, which I think is a good thing.
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Just to follow up. I always absentee bid. I figure out my max and walk away. I ended up not bidding on the Italians, but they went above my personal maximum anyway. I did grab 2017, 2019, and 2020 L’Eglise Clinet at prices I was happy with even if the 2020 was above the high estimate, it was at a significant discount to retail (or wholesale) anywhere that I have access to.
Edited to add that I am constantly amazed at the sums people will pay for white Burgundy that is almost guaranteed to be oxidized.
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Why? I prefer local produce because it’s fresher. I want variety and the wines I prefer, which are not always local . But they’re what I desire.
Personal preference beats local every time, if local is your preference, then it’s even better for you.
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I’m with you on that. My post was more just highlighting that the Old World style is harder to find these days, even in the Old World.
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Yes. Relatively speaking, boats are very low energy. To ship from the Loire out of Le Havre to New Jersey might actually burn less fuel than California to Chicago. Rail is pretty good too and there are some distributors that ship across the US this way but I think it’s a minority. Most use truck.
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Watching the bidding on and off, it did seem like Bordeaux was consistently pretty weak. Quite a few ‘19s I was watching (like Pichon Lalande) were going for about the same price I paid EP. I haven’t bought any new release Bordeaux since then.
Which ones did you see going for big numbers? (white burgs that is)
Do “wine economics” suck though? My complaints about wine economics have almost nothing to do with shipping. Yes, shipping costs increase, but there are plenty of shipping deals to be had. If gas prices go down then shipping also goes down a bit. So setting that aside, the primary issue of “wine economics,” for me personally, and presumably most of us here, is the cost of the wine That has nothing to do with locality and is instead driven by demand. Even if I was local to Napa, and no offense to Napa, but most of the popular wines would still be more expensive than many of the European counterparts on offer. I see locality as a relatively minor issue here. Again, that is from a personal standpoint.
I do agree, and have said myself, that the US would have better wine culture if people were able to grow up with local wine the way they can in many parts of Europe. I’m not talking about Premier Cru Burgundy either, but inexpensive local wines that are just a part of life. Of course, I may be romanticizing that, but it seems at least to have been a thing historically and to still be relevant. Regardless, we may as well wish that we could all go hunting locally for white truffles or diving for uni. It’s pure fantasy. Most places simply don’t have the climate for growing decent vinifera grapes. Additionally, even in the parts of the US where we have great wine, we don’t tend to have a lot of very inexpensive wine of the type that one can (perhaps too romantically) associate with everyday table fare and a better wine culture,
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I don’t have the data, but my impression is that that wine culture is also deteriorating in Europe, as younger generations drink differently and raise their kids differently. It’s still more present than in the US, but not the way it was in Europe in the mid-20th century.
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I think so too, which is why I acknowledge the romantic aspect. I suspect that there is, however, still a very lingering effect there and that it will persist much stronger than in the US, even if consumption continues to fall as compared to historic levels.
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Ramonet and Lafon Montrachet. I mean, less than $3K/btl but still, almost 0 chance that they are good.