Posted on 04/02/2003 9:19:03 AM PST by WaterDragon
A wartime economy, domestic overproduction of grapes and a flood of inexpensive imports have combined to benefit the average wine consumer. A visit to Trader Joe’s underlines this situation.
TJ’s tasted and embraced the Charles Shaw label as an exclusive for their 141-store chain, selling at a mere $1.99 in California, where it gained the sobriquet late last year of “Two buck Chuck.”
Oregon taxes moved the price to $2.99 locally, where TJ stacks cases of Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Merlot in floor displays that chain-wide have moved some 2 million cases in less than a year.
This success has led the Trader to recently introduce Boca from Argentina at the same retail price point for Chardonnay, Cabernet and Malbec.. Both these labels grace very drinkable wines which would find acceptance at over twice the price.
Charles Shaw bottlings are from grapes grown in California’s vast Central Valley, where vineyard plantings have exceeded wine demand.
This grape glut is stirring up additional low price labels for the supermarket trade. Safeway just introduced a Pacific Peak label @ 2.99 retail, but a sampling reveals bland beverages below the Charles Shaw taste level. Albertson and Fred Meyer are reported to be negotiating with California mass producers to unveil their own versions of good cheap vino.
Oregon wines backing up
Oregon’s wine industry faces its own overproduction problem, with over 540,000 cases of the 2001 vintage sitting in storage unsold. However, no single Oregon winery property can claim a grape glut such as California vineyards have produced.
The sales slack here is directly related to overpricing. In the past decade, small Oregon winery startups have proliferated, largely on the basis of the Pinot Noir varietal, a particularly expensive crop to bring to proper fruition.
Oregon vintners have had a five year string of outstanding grape vintages and without the economy of scale enjoyed by large wineries in California and Washington, our little guys have pushed pricing into the $30+/bottle range and higher.
Now, with a U.S. wine market brimming with low priced, good quality imports from South America, South Africa and Australia, cost resistance threatens to cripple small winery sales. Label and regional loyalties are fading....(snip)
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FUNDING OF NAPA MUSEUM IS THE NEW ISSUE;
MONDAVI ENTERS THE FRAY
COPIA officials at the Napa, California museum are insisting that it is “misinformation” to say it has received millions of dollars in public funding; they admit to receiving only a $50,000 grant. Indeed, the Catholic League has been accused of “lying” about the money. The league’s protest is directed at a display of figurines that show the pope and nuns defecating and has created quite a furor. In another development, Robert Mondavi, the museum’s largest private benefactor and chairman of its board of trustees, has entered the fray.
On the January 7 “Tom Leykis Show,” a nationally syndicated radio show that originates in L.A., COPIA spokeswoman Holly Krassner accused Catholic League spokesman Patrick Scully of “lying” when he asserted that the museum has benefited from millions of dollars of public funds. Moreover, several newspapers printed the museum’s charge that the league is spreading “misinformation” about its funding.
Nancy Light, Mondavi’s VP for public relations, is saying that while Mondavi was not involved in the selection process, “The [Mondavi] family supports COPIA’s commitment, as an artistic institution, to presenting the creations of its contributing artists without censorship.”
Catholic League president William Donohue commented as follows:
“According to Napa Sentinel reporter Harry V. Martin, ‘A $70 million loan was negotiated by the State of California, and which even the Napa Valley Register confirms in its January 5 article.’ And this doesn’t count millions in local public funding. So who’s lying?
“As for Mondavi, I have personally defended him for a week, saying he no doubt wasn’t involved. However, now that he is, he’ll have to do better than say he opposes censorship. So do we which is why we never asked for the offending items to be removed. But we do want to know whether he personally approves of his museum’s defecating pope and nuns.”
I'm back to TJ's on Friday.
Never tried the merlot, I invariably prefer a cab to a merlot. As I said above, the cab is pretty good for the price as an everyday table wine.
Is that right?
Did France vote 47% for George W. Bush in 2000?
Is France sending its people to fight and be killed in Iraq?
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