Between The Wines
New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc has become such a staple in the U S that we recently suggested to a Kiwi vintner that we should probably run a pipeline between our countries and we were only half-kidding In reality, the majority of the Marlborough Sauvie being exported are indistinguishable from each other, so a pipeline might actually work for most of them. But happily, not all of the wines are the same: think the famous Cloudy Bay or Mt. Beautiful two top and distinguished producers And think Babich
Though we have a very large roster of N Z wineries (many of which are part of the larger wine companies such as Gallo, Trinchero, et cetera), little ‘ol Babich is one of our top-selling brands The reason is simple: the wines rock, AND they are super values No surprise they know what they are doing: this year’s crush will be their 109th !
There are four different Sauvignon Blanc bottlings, including their delicious, all organic fruit bottling ‘Headwaters’. Plus, we are re-introducing their waybetter-than-the-pack Pinot Noir a great value in a category that has few Do yourselves and your customers a favor: Babich wines for everyone!
In this newsletter you can expect:
Hidden Treasures
What’s New Thoughts & Observations
What’s New Hess-Persson ‘Maverick’ Cabernet Sauvignon
Anyone that likes Cabernet, LOVES Napa Cabernet Even the ‘bad’ ones are great, and the great ones are sublime and pricey! The reasons for the escalation in Napa prices are many and alas, show no signs of abating Even if one thinks the prices are justified (and based on simple ‘Napa math’, they are), unfortunately not everyone can afford to drink a $100 or $200 bottle of wine several nights a week This is why many Napa producers have looked south to Paso Robles
Paso has long been considered a very strong source for good Cabernet at very reasonable prices But over the last few years as vintners have pushed the boundaries of the appellation it is now considered a source for some outstanding Cabernet, and (for now) still a value With the release of their 2021 Maverick Ranches, Hess-Persson has raised the bar!
Named after Hess Founder Donald Hess who we are told was something of a Maverick (though a perfect gentleman when we met him), the wine absolutely sings A blend of 85% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Petit Sirah, we cannot name a wine in our very expansive book that is a better value This is a big no-brainer to add to your roster!
As has been noted in this newsletter before (and in our ‘What’s New? Feature here today), as the prices for many U S wines are escalating, European wines are receiving much more interest of late Make no mistake: U S wines are still the lion’s share of what we consume here, but its nice to have options So as always, we want to do our part and offer wines that our customers are seeking.
Fifty years ago the numbers were reversed: the majority of premium wines sold in America were imported wines But as the U S wine industry awoke from a decades long slumber (largely due to the infamous ‘Judgement of Paris’ tasting in 1976), the pendulum swung rapidly towards U S wines and we’ve never looked back In the 60’s and 70’s the imports were mostly from France followed by Italy, with a few outliers such as Mateus from Portugal and Blue Nun from Germany Today our imports include these counties, as well as places like New Zealand and Argentina and Greece and SPAIN
Though Spain has long made delicious wines, they were a bit late to the party in terms of exports, mostly because they were under the restrictive regime of Francisco Franco for decades---until 1975 to be precise It took until 1986 to join the E U , and ever since, Spain has slowly risen to gain its proper place at the table of worthy wines. The good news regarding this slow start however is that the prices for Spanish wines (with some notable exceptions) are generally well below their quality counterparts from France or Italy Add to this the fact that although there is Cabernet and Chardonnay planted in Spain, their best wines are from indigenous varietals which can be a bit tougher sell Bottom line to this: since we recently have been tasting a wide array of Spanish wines, we were reminded just how good some of these wines are, and what values they can be. We have a tremendous book of great juice Expand your horizons and jump in!