NEWS: Cheap American wine sucks - Michael Franz

From his article, "The Achilles Heel of American Wine":
He and a partner taste 1400 wines over a couple weeks to stock a wine list, costing no more than $15 wholesale (perhaps someone ITB can correct me, but that would be $22.50 at full retail, or in a restaurant, an even $100 [joke])

Of those 93 wines that Paul and I selected to show as finalists in 2008, only 10 were made in the USA.

Is this the result of a bias we hold toward foreign wines? On the contrary. This project is conducted for an American restaurant selling American food predominantly to Americans. We are looking for solid American wines to put into the final round of the competition.

I have to agree with him. The real value gems, especially on the sub $10 retail level, are never from the US. No one makes wines like Campo de Borja in the US. Is it just that US wine regions are disproportionately warm, or what?

Walt

From his article, "The Achilles Heel of American Wine":
He and a partner taste 1400 wines over a couple weeks to stock a wine list, costing no more than $15 wholesale (perhaps someone ITB can correct me, but that would be $22.50 at full retail, or in a restaurant, an even $100 [joke])

Of those 93 wines that Paul and I selected to show as finalists in 2008, only 10 were made in the USA.

Is this the result of a bias we hold toward foreign wines? On the contrary. This project is conducted for an American restaurant selling American food predominantly to Americans. We are looking for solid American wines to put into the final round of the competition.

I have to agree with him. The real value gems, especially on the sub $10 retail level, are never from the US. No one makes wines like Campo de Borja in the US. Is it just that US wine regions are disproportionately warm, or what?

Walt

I would say disproportionately greedy, but that new industrial-scale winery, that sales force and those Wine Spectator ads cost money, no? Europe has the leg up because often the land, facilities, and winemaker are already paid for -all that is needed are a couple of Spaniards or Poles for harvest and a few thousand glass bottles. But still, there is nothing even close to interesting coming out of CA for less than $10. PROVE ME WRONG! And in fairness, there are even some more expensive wines coming out of the Campo de Borja region these days. But overall, Europe (and South America too) destroys the U.S. in the under $15 range. It isn't even debatable. Of course this is only one mans opinion...

Part of it is self-selection. Hardly anybody is going to go to the bother and expense of importing wine from abroad to bring in total schlock. But shipping domestic schlock is very easy.

If you go abroad, the situation's reversed.

-Paul W.

One factor to keep in mind: the euro has risen by some ***fify percent*** against the dollar.

Surely, this is a factor in judging wines in the lower price bracket!!!

Best regards,
Alex R.

[Robin Garr]

Maybe I'm too easy, but even though I have a distinct preference for European-style wines, I've been more than pleased with all of these affordable California wines listed in my TNs over the past couple of years:

UNDER $15.99 RETAIL (about $10 wholesale):

Hayman & Hill 2006 "Interchange" Santa Barbara County "Reserve No. 22" White Blend ($12.99)
Laurel Glen 2006 "REDS" Lodi Red Wine ($10.99)
Claiborne & Churchill 2006 Central Coast Dry Gewürztraminer "Alsatian Style" ($15.99)
Trentadue 2003 "0ld Vines Red" Sonoma County Red Wine ($14.99)
Vinum Cellars 2004 "CNW Chard-No-Way" Wilson Vineyards Clarksburg Chenin Blanc ($10.99)
Edmunds St. John 2002 Paso Robles "Blonk!" ($14)
Concannon 2004 Central Coast Petite Sirah ($10.99)
Pine Ridge 2006 Clarksburg Chenin Blanc-Viognier ($15.99)
Rosenblum Cellars 2005 "Chateau La Paws" California Cote du Bone Roan ($11.99)
Edmunds St. John 2002 California Syrah "The Shadow" ($11.50)
Bonny Doon 2004 "Vin Gris de Cigare" California Pink Wine ($12.99)
Cartlidge & Browne 2004 California Pinot Noir ($12.99)
Trentadue 2003 Sonoma County "Old Patch Red" ($15)
Selby 2003 Sonoma County Rosé of Syrah ($9.99)

UNDER $20 RETAIL (about $15 wholesale):

Edmunds St. John 2004 "Rocks and Gravel" California Red Wine ($20)
Edmunds St. John 2006 "Bone-Jolly" El Dorado County Witters Vineyard Gamay Noir Rosé ($18.99)
Ferrari-Carano 2003 Sonoma County Siena ($19.99)
Au Bon Climat 2002 Santa Maria Valley Pinot Noir "Le Bon Climat" ($17.99)
Nalle 2002 Sonoma County Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel ($19.99)

Maybe I'm too easy, but even though I have a distinct preference for European-style wines, I've been more than pleased with all of these affordable California wines listed in my TNs over the past couple of years...

To which I would add two: Guenoc Cab, and Five Rivers Cab, $10 & $9 respectively at my local retailer. Always available, always satisfying as good weekday drinkers. Straight forward, nothing too complicated, but like a bowl of spaghetti, they both hit the spot every time and I go back and buy more.

The Sebastiani's "Aquinas" cab is pretty good, too. Varietally correct, with nice leather and tobacco notes to complement the fruit.

The real value gems, especially on the sub $10 retail level, are never from the US.

I mostly agree, but of course there are exceptions (and with the proviso that "value" still depends on your palate). Columbia Crest comes to mind for me.

This is an interesting, well written, and thoughtful article, in spite of the exceptions we might be able to point to. I suspect that the wines I mentioned previously might well be lumped by the author into that large pool of undistinguished fruit juice he refers to, though they are quite different from one another and I stand by my assesment of them (and the enjoyment I get from them.) Furthermore I've had plenty of disappointing $10-$12 wines from all the countries he mentions. But I often wonder how much the French vigneron gets for the $12 bottle of wine I buy here in the States. A dollar? Two? Indeed, how can it be that I can get a decent bottle of European wine for $10-$12 given the pathetic value of the dollar, and the high cost of oil? I suspect we may very soon find that those kinds of deals are a memory. I say the US is run by business school graduates, soulless bottom line specialists. Labor is expensive. The money is in the higher end products. Europeans have more soul, Australians do volume, South America is up and coming. Gross generalizations all.

The Sebastiani's "Aquinas" cab is pretty good, too. Varietally correct, with nice leather and tobacco notes to complement the fruit.

I would also add Dry Creek's Meritage at $13.99 retail

I wouldn’t appreciate American wine even if it were any good. Wine appreciation for me is a matter of the psyche, not taste or value, like you were buying a sofa or something.

There is nothing romantic about America to me, and a wine has to have a little romance for the good of my soul. America had some romance into the ‘70s, as far as I am concerned, and then it died.

...There is nothing romantic about America to me...

Not even sunset on an Adirondack lake?

The "problem" with these good tasting-good value American wines is that by the time they show up on shelves in Ontario they are no longer good value, thanks to the provincial government taxes and the good old Liquor Control Board of Ontario insane mark up.

To be fair, the LCBO does offer good deals on some wines, but its pricing of California wines is pretty sad.

The "problem" with these good tasting-good value American wines is that by the time they show up on shelves in Quebec they are no longer good value, thanks to the provincial government taxes and the good old Societé des Alcools du Quebec insane mark up.

To be fair, the SAQ does offer good deals on some wines, but its pricing of California wines is pretty sad.

Statment fixed with text in bold (for my situation )...

...There is nothing romantic about America to me...

Not even sunset on an Adirondack lake?

...or sunset over the Pacific ocean?
...or a stroll through the Smokies or Blue Ridge Mountains on a Spring morning with the mists overhanging the trees?
...or moonrise over the Painted Desert Wildnerness on a crystal-clear evening?
...or making an oyster stew from oysters you scooped off the bottom of Puget Sound as you kayaked near Whidbey Island?

To me, romance is everywhere you care to look for it. Indeed, the romance is within us and only needs a resonant experience to be found.

Mark Lipton
Incurable Romantic

I can think of many romantic spots in America, but I had Covert in mind -
http://www.wldg.com/village/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=10269&p=82167
http://www.wldg.com/village/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=11458&p=93106

I wouldn’t appreciate American wine even if it were any good. Wine appreciation for me is a matter of the psyche, not taste or value, like you were buying a sofa or something.

There is nothing romantic about America to me, and a wine has to have a little romance for the good of my soul. America had some romance into the ‘70s, as far as I am concerned, and then it died.

You're at least half kidding right? I mean I think I know what you're saying, but hasn't most of the world lost a lot of its romance? Doesn't this imply that you would need to know the narrative of any wine you drink in order to like it? You don't think much of the romance is gone from Bordeaux, to cite one example? Yes, we live in mostly unromantic times (execept, of course, for the romance that is manufactured for us) but I look around me, and I see wine being made in almost every state in the Union, farmers growing crops and raising animals in the old world way, artisan cheeses and breads being made locally, chefs creating wonderful meals using locally sourced ingredients, the slow food movement going strong, and young people full of optimism. Surely there's more than a bit of romance (and good wine) left here.

Upon getting home after reading the article on the subway yesterday, I walked into my modest cellar. Generally, my French wines are on the left and my US of A wines are on the right. I noticed right away that the left was full of wine with little room to add more while the right had many empty spaces. This was not because I've been drinking all the American wines but, I think, because I like more of the French as compared to American wines in the same price range. Additionally, I noticed that most of the wines that are priced at over $100/btl were American. This seems to bear out Mr. Franz's findings. I hope that those who have here expressed their beliefs as to why this is the case click on the link (aka: clink) to let Mr. Franz know what they think.

[David M. Bueker]

Finding good value American wine takes work. Finding good value European wine takes work. As was said previously, we have other folks to do a lot of the work for us when it comes to European wines. That is especially true for people in the know who gravitate to names like Dressner, Theise, etc. It makes things easier.

On the American front, I had a delicious & fun 2007 Halter Ranch GSM Rosé (Paso Robles) last night. It retails for $13.99.

On the European front, I had a wine from Valtelina on Monday that was atrocious value.

It cuts both ways.