Joel Stein interviews Fred Franzia, the man behind America’s favorite bargain vino. He has a big mouth and an even bigger winemaking empire – one that’s scaring the bejeezus out of his elitist rivals.

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An hour conversation in a special edition about wine with critic Robert Parker, from his home in Maryland. He discusses his bi-monthly newsletter “The Wine Advocate”, the powerful impact his reviews have on the wine industry and his favorite bottles. He also talks about the differences between domestic and foreign wines, the role of the winemaker and wine’s specific role within a cultural context.

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Jeanine Wardman talks to Jo Mason, Wines of South Africa UK Market Manager, about the growth potential for South African wines in the UK. Here’s a sample:

What frustrates you about the South African wine industry?

When a generic image is at stake, an industry has to present a united front – and a positive one. If this methodology is applied consistently a positive perception in the trade and eventually among consumers becomes the norm. South Africans are honest and outspoken, which is wonderful, but we need to be careful about being seen as disparate and fragmented. There is never a situation where everyone agrees, in any country’s generic message, but it’s vital to be seen to be working together.

What is the single most current facet of the wine business of collective importance to the South African wine industry?

Green credentials. And what it means for wine packaging. The debate is heating up by the day here in the UK wine media. With the UK’s largest retailer, Tesco, putting carbon emissions top of its corporate agenda it is a subject that will be addressed by everyone.

Fair Trade or Biodiversity?

Biodiversity, without a doubt. Fair Trade is a global brand and resonates with many other wine settings. Biodiversity is 100% pure South African.

South Africa is…

… well placed to make a good recovery in the UK market: investment in brands is evident (and extremely necessary); the Cape winelands have some of the best tourism infrastructure in the world and UK consumers are travelling to South Africa in droves; the industry’s conservation initiatives are timely, as consumers are increasingly interested in ethical purchasing; finally, we have great wines and an impending football event that will throw South Africa into the spotlight.

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Those interested in the world of wine have probably heard the bad news by now: the world is running out of Champagne. At least, this is the news coming from the Champagne producers themselves. The president of Moët & Chandon, Frédéric Cumenal, recently told the French financial paper Les Echos, “For thirty years, the industry has always succeeded in coping with demand. Today that’s no longer the case. We’re at maximum yield and we will soon hit a wall.”

There are several causes, most of which are generally good news. Economic growth in developing countries like China, India, Brazil, and Russia has created a rapidly emerging market for a wine commonly associated with “the good life.” China alone has seen a thirty-fold increase in annual sales, from 16,000 to 500,000 bottles last year. Second, many blame France’s strict regulations, which prevent wines produced anywhere else in the country from being called Champagne. Finally, many Champagne growers are holding onto portions of their stock, either as a buffer in case of a bad harvest year, or to sell at a higher price once they retire.

What makes Champagne, the sparkling wine from a particular part of France, so much more popular than the bubbly of New Zealand or California’s Napa Valley? In a word: Image.

As wine writer Hugh Johnson notes in his Wine Companion, “The success of Champagne has always been based on shrewd marketing, ensuring its reputation worldwide as the only suitable wine for any celebration.” This has two components—the positive connotation of the name “Champagne,” and the fact of short supply itself.

The Champagne region of France, where this sparkling wine is produced, is fiercely protective of its name. While sparkling wine is actually made all around the world, other producers, especially in Europe, are prohibited from using the name “Champagne” on any of their wines. The term “Champagne” therefore exudes an air of exclusivity—it is the only sparkling wine in the world grown according to centuries of tradition and to the exacting standards of the French government. “Champagne,” while simply a geographical region, has thus also become a world-renowned brand.

For well over a hundred years, Champagne producers have cultivated their product’s image as an essential component of luxury living. As early as 1866, Moët commissioned the popular English performer George Leybourne to write and sing songs extolling the virtues of Champagne as a reflection of taste, affluence, and the good life. In the late 1800s, Champagne producers successfully marketed their products to the middle class by promoting the wine’s image as both the royal and aristocratic families’ beverage of choice and as a luxury enjoyable by anyone, for any occasion. And today, both Krug and Dom Pérignon, two of the top Champagne brands, are owned by the French luxury goods conglomerate Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy.

But could Champagne actually be hurt in the long run? Increased global demand for Champagne, met with a limited supply, may lead many people to start shifting their tastes and preferences toward more readily available, and affordable, supplies of sparkling wine from other regions of the world. If people find it to their liking, global demand for Champagne may decline. And yet, this is unlikely: Champagne’s image of quality, tradition, exclusivity, and luxury will almost surely keep the region on top of the sparkling wine market. The region may be at peak production, but as a limited supply meets an ever-increasing global demand, Champagne prices will simply go up. This is good for Champagne, and for all those involved in producing the wine.

Ultimately, it is the consumer who will be most affected by the coming Champagne shortage. For those with the money, and the will to pay it, finding a bottle of Champagne will never be an issue; everyone else may soon have to look elsewhere. And in the end, as prices increase, Champagne’s image as a luxury good will only be strengthened.

Benjamin Newell is a writer living in Washington, DC. He and his girlfriend blog about wine at Undressing the Grape.

Next time you are in a liquor store looking for a nice bottle of chardonnay, or maybe a merlot, think about what drives your selection.

Is it price? Is it name recognition? Or, is it the pretty picture on the label?

More and more winemakers are counting that it is the label.

Wines in recent years have taken on new and creative names and funky labels as a way to distinguish themselves in a crowded marketplace.

Read more…

I find it admirable that many independent wine retailers in New Zealand have taken a stand against supermarkets and don’t stock the wines they sell. Many great wine brands, their image meticulously built up over a number of years by the hard working staff on the ground in retail, have ruined their image by taking the fast buck and selling their wines en masse to big businesses who don’t give a damn which wine sells and which doesn’t. As long as the money’s rolling in, quality is not an issue. It’s now left to marketing campaigns, snazzy labels and pot luck for customers buying wines, or, even more unfortunately, the customer will stay on a safe brand and stick to the same wine or style for the entirety of their drinking lives, afraid to try something new for fear of buying something they don’t like and ‘wasting’ their money.

The supermarkets have sucked the money out of the wine trade for too long without making an effort to put anything back into it. Through not proffering guidance and unbiased information on the wines stocked to their customers, plus their use of gimmicks and marketing tools to herd buyers into purchasing high margin wines disguised as special offers, they are unwittingly creating generations of completely useless ‘bin-lid’ wine buyers who can’t think for themselves and will one day wonder why the enamel on their teeth is melting with every glass of that ‘cheap Savvy’ with the snazzy label.

So, ask yourself. What happens when a wine finally gets onto the supermarket shelves and there is a sudden jump in sales? First, you must realise that the winery will have had to have cut their margins down to the thinnest of snips for the sale to proceed (bulk buying means bulk pricing ). How do you do that? You cut corners with quality. Secondly, what happens if sales go well and the supermarket demands more? You go looking to source wine outside of your vineyards. What if the only wine you can get your hands on is crap? Who cares, blend it in…it cuts costs, it’s already selling well and how many ‘bin-lids’ will be able to tell the difference? Most of them are already stuck on the brand, too afraid to try something else. On and on this vicious cycle descends, producing characterless brands of such low quality that the rest of us wonder why on earth people buy such rubbish? But it’s a gradual drop in quality, a drop that will go unnoticed by the loyal drinkers, especially if our old friend sugar is added to mask the underlying horror.

So, here’s what you do. Write a letter to the wine buyer at your local supermarket chain ( if you don’t think they’re doing enough that is…you may be perfectly happy with the wonderful descriptions on the back of the labels…’it’s like a million butterflies floating in your mouth’…yeah right.) requesting unbiased and informative talkers on as many wines as possible plus information on the winegrowing regions and vintages. The supermarket will inform you of who best to write to. Write to your local rag (preferably one with as many ‘bin-lid’ readers as you can appeal to…this is a mission to save them, remember) raising the subject and your wish to change the situation. Finally, use an independent wine retailer. Look for a good shop that has a varied selection and knowledgeable staff who will guide and direct you into making a purchase that suits you.

These huge chains won’t spend any more money than they have to, so a little bit of negative publicity never hurts to get the ball moving. If they can tell me about a Chinese fruit they stock for two months a year, then I want to hear more about each New Zealand wine they sell. These retail giants with their huge buying power might have the wine industry by the throat, but it is possible for them to play a little bit fairer and take a little bit of the wine education load off the shoulders of the better retailers.

By Paul Brannigan.