The Wine Economist - A Stimulating Blog

 

A few days ago, I got a new signup to my Review of Washington Wines. It was from Mike Veseth, Robert G. Albertson Professor of International Political Economy at the University of Puget Sound and publisher of The Wine Economist. The website describes the publication as "What do you get when you cross the Wine Spectator, America's best-selling wine magazine, with the Economist, the world's leading business weekly? The answer is this blog, The Wine Economist, which analyzes and interprets today's global wine markets. Why? Because when it comes to what's in your wineglass, supply and demand sometimes matters as much as climate and soil."

 

I checked out the website and found it to be provocative and stimulating. There are a myriad of articles about wine in terms of supply and demand, and as a global market. The latest posting, November 1, is about "Extreme Value Wine Goes Mainstream," and how supermarkets, and specifically Grocery Outlet, have been marketing wines at seemingly ridiculously low prices: $3.99, $4.99 and $5.99 a bottle, from all over the world. Excess winery inventory somehow seems to end up somewhere on grocery shelves. Other recent posts are: "Wine as a Liberal Art" about exposing students to wine; "Starbucks and the Coffee-Wine Paradox" which discusses the paradox of "why do the best wines cost so much more, in relative terms, than the best coffees;" and "Wine and the China Syndrome" about the dream and the reality of the China market.

 

The Wine Economist is highly recommended for anyone who wants to read about the wine market - premium or mass - and its globalization. To find out more, go to: www.wineeconomist.com.

 

Walla Walla Valley 2009 Crush Wraps Up

 

Over the past few days, I have been talking to winemakers and sampling wines from the 2009 vintage in the tank or barrel. It was an extraordinarily hectic harvest. Picking and crush were going along just fine from mid September to early October as well ripened, healthy grapes were bought in (mostly Merlot and Syrah). Then cold, wet, freezing weather set in beginning on October 12th. So then there was a big rush to bring in grapes before freezing produced mush. One winemaker told me his winery crushed 35 tons in two days. But the grapes I saw on the conveyer belt looked great. And I liked what I smelled and tasted from the tank and barrel: deep-colored, wonderfully aromatic wines, just awaiting malolactic fermentation.

 

Two November Review "Best Buys" on Sale at Esquin

 

In this month's Esquin Newsletter, I spotted these two "Best Buys" from the November issue of my Review of Washington Wines (just put on line).

 

2008 Renegade Wine Company Merlot, Walla Walla Valley ($14.99) 17.5+/20 points

2007 Beresan "The Buzz" Red, Walla Walla Valley ($17.99) 18/20 points