Compared to What?

Les McCann and Eddie Harris were a couple of jazz musicians who struck gold in the early 1970s with a crossover hit called Compared to What.  It was an anthem on college campuses when yours truly found himself in that milieu.  The lyrics, like most pop music, don't make sense but what we heard as rebellious youth was confirmation that there was a disconnect between what we were told to believe politically and what we were actually witnessing in the country at that time.  What can I say, it was a different time.  

In a way, the wine world is divided today between historic old Europe with their longer, drier, winier flavors and and new world jammy forward fruit.  They appear to be quite opposite one another.  We here at V&C have taken the position that Old Europe makes dinner wines while California makes cocktail wines.  But that doesn't really cover it either.  If a meal has complex sauces, gravies, stews or soups those longer winier flavors do seem to work best.  If it's hamburgers, steaks or broiled fish then a simpler wine may be better. 

So why do winemakers around the world always compare what they do to the European models?  My Cab is very Bordeaux-like.  My Pinot is very Burgundian.  Implied here in such comments is an acknowledgement that the historic standards for such things are accurate.  The best examples of type are European.

But it gets complicated when you consider all of the technological improvements in winemaking resulting in fresher fruitier wines everywhere and that includes Europe where much of the new technology has been developed.  Today you can taste Euro wines that are indistinguishable from new world fare, so like I said, it gets complicated.

But when you consider personal tastes, which is really what this all comes down to, I'm wondering if the old world/new world scenario as described is even relevant anymore.  Winemakers everywhere are competing for the same worldwide market and they are winning, not by setting themselves off as better than others but by riding the wave of what works now, circa 2026.  

Wine quality today is better than ever so whether you need a dinner accompaniment or just a glass after work, enjoy yourself.  You deserve it.  Compare it to what?  If anything, contrast it to beer or other alternatives.  What the winemaker creates is art compared to those alternatives.

Beringer and Treasury Wine Estates

We've been selling Beringer Knights Valley Cabernet Sauvignon with great success here of late and that has prompted this post.  Beringer is one of California's most iconic brands with its own storied history beginning with family-ownship from 1876 until 1971, which would seem to be the traditional glory days for a winery to us traditionalists...but that was really just the beginning.  

In 1971 Nestle (yes, that Nestle) bought Beringer and held it for twenty years, fifteen years of which overlapped our first fifteen years in the business. But I digress.  In 1996 something called The Texas Pacific Group bought Beringer but sold it four years later to Foster's Group (yes, that would be Fosters Beer.)  They held the company for eleven years selling it to Treasury in 2011, but not completely.  Fosters and Treasury worked out a collaboration much like InBev got by purchasing Anheuser Busch, worldwide distribution.

In 2021 Treasury went on to jettison all of the non-Beringer lower tier labels, keeping the Beringer name, of course, and the winery in St. Helena which they now run.  

Treasury Wine Estates is one of the colossuses of the wine industry today.  Depending on how one calculates these things, it ranks third or fourth in worldwide sales behind Gallo, The Wine Group and perhaps an entity called Castel Freres.  They own 1.2% of worldwide wine sales valued at $434 billion dollars.  Currently their expansion plans include forays into the China market.

Rioja Alta

Rioja Alta, along with Rioja Alavesa and Rioja Oriental, are the three sub-regions of Rioja, Spain's most highly acclaimed wine appellation.  Alta is the westernmost part of Rioja, lying just south of the Ebro River.  What makes this district special are the growing conditions, of course.  The vineyards there are the highest altitude vineyards in Rioja, hence the name, Alta.  The soils are primarily clay and reddish in color from iron and other alluvial components.  

Rioja reds are always elegant in character but the higher altitude Alta vineyards seem to lend color and acidity to the Tempranillo, Garnacha and Graciano grapes grown there.

The reason for this post?  We're hoping you need something really nice to complement your hamburgers or steak tonight because we currently have Taron Rioja Alta Tempranillo in the store at a ridiculously low price if you cite this post.  

Salivating yet?