WINESCENE

A Rose by any Other Name is Still a Rose

I've been giving a lot of thought and time to Rose lately. You know, the slightly pink or light salmon red colored wine that fills your glass during summer, and serves as a great accompaniment to charcuterie and cheese as well as salad and grilled dishes too. Rose has really become en vogue as the perfect poolside sipper during hot days all over the world. It also happens to be a great way to “break the ice” with new friends who are just getting more serious about wine, as well as being something you can drink all by itself.

Rose has long been a favorite glass filler along the Côte d’Azur, with many Provence producers making gobs of it for the summertime crowds between Nice and Marseille, as well as those sweltering in Parisian hot days of summer. And, over the past decade, Rose has become a standard refreshment for many people, not just wine drinkers, as it’s light colored, and fruit forward flavors, quenches thirst and hits so many fun loving notes .

But just as wine is very regional, with different areas allowing certain grapes to be in the bottle, Rose has many different blends and in turn, many different styles, tastes and textures. Over the past few months, many bottles of Rose from France and California have come to be opened, and as a Rose lover for the past 20 years, I’ve found the 2019 vintage to actually be one of superior quality, and showcased far more regional differentiation than in the past few years.

When it comes to French Rose, I tend to divide up my passion places as Corsica, Bandol, Cotes de Provence, Tavel, Rhone Valley, Languedoc and the Roussillon. Sure great Rose wine comes from Sancerre and the Loire but those are made from either Pinot Noir, Gamay or Cab Franc, while the true southern French Rose wines all have Rhone varietals and Mediterranean indigenous grapes at the core including Grenache.

So what has impressed me this year? 

Cassis---From one of France’s smaller appellations, Cassis’ Clos St. Magdelaine - long a favorite for their white made from Ugni Blanc, has ever since a birthday lunch in 2015 held nearby the winery was when I first tasted their Cassis Rose. Since then I have been hunting this wine as it has never let me down, and in turn their lighter, more fun and frivolous, but no less tastyy Rose from the Cotes de Provence is for me one of the best buys around.

Bandol---Chateau Vannieres and Chateau Pradeaux-It doesn’t get any better in Bandol than wines from these two producers year after year. Their Rose wines are very, very different from one another, where the Vannieres is far lighter in color, more aromatic and more delicate, but packing incredible fruit layers that never seem to end. The Pradeaux is darker, richer in body, with a more subdued bouquet offering up more subtropical fruit complexity. The Vannieres is a super wine to have with appetizers or wood fired pizza, cheese or just by itself, while the Pradeaux is easily a wine to have with salads, fresh grilled fish or roasted meats. 

Cotes de Provence-There are so many wines from Provence, but many are just simple, one dimensional toss back wines. But one that really stands out is the Château de Roquefort Corail, a blend of 7 grapes. While there ar e many other Rose’s from the region that made it so popular, the Roquefort wine stands out as something really special

Rhone Valley and the Ventoux-It’s hard not to love Domaine de Mourchon’s Loubie and Chene Bleu’s Rose wines. Situated by all of ten kilometers or so apart, the two are examples of dedication to the Grenache grape, careful vineyard management and incredible devotion to the finished product.  The Mourchon Loubie is a delightfully refreshing blend of Grenache and Syrah which punches well above its high teens price point, while the current release from Chene Bleu adds in Cinsault, Mourvèdre, and Rolle to the Grenache and Syrah blend is in the category of a super Rhone and one that while can be deemed as very enjoyable now, it is also one that you can lay down, and is easily in the class of Tempier, Pradeaux or La Mordoree when it comes to age worthy Rose wines.

Tavel- I’ve long been a fan of just about anything that comes out of Domaine de La Mordoree red, white or Rose, and this year has not been any less when it comes to how I feel about one of the standard bearers of Rose from the west banks of the Rhone where Rose is King. Each of their 19s -- from the Le Remise which is not officially Tavel to the top of the line La Rein des Bois are both hair raising, stunners, just as they have been for the past few years. The consistency in which La Mordoree turns out Rose wines year after year is just mind boggling. Right up their is my all time go to, the Chateau de Trinquevedel. Made in a bit more rustic style vs. La Mordoree which tends to be made with a more worldwide audience approach, the Trinquevedel is about as bone dry, and crisp as Rose needs to be, while still having a bit more color than those from Provence. A perennial favorite, to this day I have not found a better French Rose to go with BBQ.

Corsica--I so want to include Domaine Leccia in this roundup but I’m yet to taste their 19s. Normally I would have been in Marseille for a few days during the summer and been hitting a few wine bars, and Corsician inspired eateries,  where many wines from the island would have been enjoyed. But Corsica is not without representation on this list of favorites as the Domaine de Marquiliani and their two lightly colored, almost translucent Rose wines always hit the mark. Of the two, the can’t miss, must have, need to open more of Pinkster is the Marquiliani Vin de Corse Rosé “Le Rosé de Pauline.” The color is so light pink that in bright light it appears to be a white wine. But one taste and you know you’re drinking a dynamite wine, color aside.

Now, this review only scratches the surface, as other producers like the Commanderie de Peyressol near Dragunian or Chateau Léoube are also making multiple cuvees of Rose in various parts of Provence. Over in Bandol Tempier, Gros Nore, La Tour De Bon produce delightful pink wines as do some coming from the Languedoc and Roussillion, but until those wine cross the finish line, meaning my lips, it would be unfair just to say more than that.

Find a Rose. Open it up, and enjoy.

 

Is It Time To Rethink Wine Sales

 

The existence of the three-tier system has been around since the repeal of prohibition. As a result, sales strategy, especially for fine wines that are imported, or more limited production domestic wines are significantly handicapped today due to the three-tier system and how it impacts distribution. But with COVID--19 we have seen a steady erosion of the three-tier system in many parts of the United States and at the end of the day all the three-tier system is limiting is where wine can be sold and who can buy it. 

 

Let's first look at the situation overall.

 

1) Wine distributors sell to retailers and on-premise sales businesses, usually restaurants and bars, country clubs, and hotels.

2) Distributors across the country have been laying off their field sales force in record numbers due to the reduction in the number of restaurants open for business, or only doing take out and delivery. This change means cases of fine wine are sitting in the warehouses of importers or their distributors.

3) Wine, beer, and spirits, previously directed to the on-premise channel, restaurants or wine bars, are now finding their way to smart and savvy retailers who hunt for deals. 

 

Importers, especially those who bring in fine wine, are forced to rethink brand distribution, especially when it comes to allocation. Wine sales for imports in general work this way. The producer sells to an importer.  The importer marks up wine, usually by 33 percent. The importer then sells to the distributor marked up another 33 percent who sells it to the retailer, who marks it up another 33 percent on average. The result is the retail price is double what the winery's wholesale price.  If the wine is sold to a restaurant, it is marked up three times the wholesale price from the distributor in theory. Domestic wineries sell to their distributors, and then the markup chain is pretty much the same. 

 

But here's the rub. In the past, wines, especially the cult wines and those from small boutique producers, have been either allocated or on the mailing list where wineries have embraced the direct to consumer approach.

 

That works this way:

The usual wholesale price for a bottle of wine is $10.00 to the distributor. If the markup process is followed, that same wine will be marked up to between $17-$20 retail or $40-$50 on a restaurant list.  If the wine is sold direct, the price of $20 per bottle means more profit for wineries. However, due to state laws, the winery can't ship everywhere, and for imported brands, the hurdles make it very difficult for them to sell to their fans and collectors.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, wine sales that traditionally went to restaurants are not going there. Restaurants with hordes of cash could buy wine in volume became retailers, often selling wines at prices far below their 300 percent markup prices, but liquidating inventory to regular customers and savvy buyers. In turn, they began to buy more wine to create cash flow. But those were few and far between, so wines that were "allocated" to them often went unsold to them, and in turn, they have been sitting on the floor of warehouses or still in the stockrooms of importers. Alcohol credit terms are usually 30 days from the day of delivery. Smart retailers can flip cases of wine in less time and are making money under those terms. But once thirty days go by, everyday wine sits on the retailer's floor, the gain on the money is less. That's why flash sales drive profits. That's why wine on restaurant lists is priced higher, as the restaurant has invested in the wine, but the return is over a much longer duration.

But here's where the three-tier system keeps some wines from reaching the buyers who want the wines. Let's say importer x is in New York. They have distributors in 20 states who sell to retailers and on-premise buyers. But the U.S. has 50 states, and people in every state would like to buy the wine. Depending on state laws, the wines can't be sold or shipped to them. Even a licensed retailer who may want to buy the wine can't find the wine in some states if the distributor in that state isn't carrying the wine.

But times are changing. New intermediaries are popping up to import consolidated containers of imported wine that are coming through via the gray market. Given importers who claim to have exclusives fail to protect themselves using parallel import laws, wines previously only imported by the so-called importer often find their way via other importers. On the domestic front, depending on the state, we're starting to see a new distributor who clears the wines coming into the state and then redirects the wine to the retailer. While laws tend to require the wine to touch the wholesaler's floor, these new "distributors" or clearinghouses are basically only digitally taking possession of the wine, as it's being moved from the producer (domestically) to the retailer or even in some cases based on licenses, to consumers.  

Why is this important? Let's say you're an importer sitting on cases of wine previously allocated to restaurants. That wine is sitting in the warehouse, not making money for the importer who already paid for the wine. They sell to the new distributor who "processes" the order and the wine is then shipped to the retailer as if the "distributor" handled the order. The clearinghouse model is no different than how Amazon and many online sellers of consumer products work. The concept, known as transdocking, is not new. But for wine, it is very much a new concept.

 

It's time to toss it away and put the control back in the hands of the public and let wine, beer, and spirits to be able to be sold to retailers and consumers, just as quickly as they can purchase a light bulb.