The only issue with the it was cellared and aged at the winery promotion is the auction circuits and if a winery does have a library wine or wine exclusive to club members, with patience I can probably find that same wine within a few months on auction. I can also find it cheaper too sometimes. Of course there is a risk as you don't know how it was previously stored compared to the winery, but you start seeking the lots of the good collectors or the restaurants that sadly went out of business and selling their inventory who most likely bought it directly from the winery.
Fair enough, but I think the auction risk is low for the vast majority of consumers. People like you and I who are aware of auctions and resale sites for wine might consider that; but the average consumer (who probably *aren't* collectors) wouldn't necessarily think to look for an older vintage wine in any place other than direct from the winery. But perhaps that's just wishful thinking on my part?
The old-school 'collector' mentality was great for wineries years ago, but those collectors are aging out and buying less. Consumers want something ready to drink, FOMO, and on to the next. I sell out every vintage and frequently run out of a SKU and I don't think twice about it. Do I keep some Cab around to see how it ages out? Sure. Do I get joy in a customer showing me a wine they bought 10 years ago drinking great? Of course. But they are the exception, not the rule
Totally! And I think that's where a lot of wineries sit in the grand scheme of things: a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush (or, rather, people buying wine now is better than people buying wine later). AND I think there's some small opportunity there to make older wines more accessible to the younger crowd, many of whom have never had the opportunity to try aged wines and understand how special they can be.
It's why I really like the wine list at Noble Rot in London. They often have older vintages available by the glass. I had a birth-year Riesling BTG with them a few years ago, and it was a really special experience — and one I otherwise wouldn't have had the opportunity to have.
I know that I'm beating a dead horse here with the "we need to make wine more accessible" argument, but I really feel like this is *one* of the many ways we can do that. If our goal is to help elevate new wine drinkers (or even just make them feel welcome at the table), which I believe most wineries agree it is, giving them opportunities to try old or unusual wines is a great way to do that.
A couple of my restaurant customers love wine that has some age on it, as do I. We were just talking about a vintage 2000 Cabernet from Monticello Estate we were drinking together last week and it was fabulous, likely a $35/glass. That's for a small percentage of wine drinkers. And if they're used to RS/Oaky/Mega enhanced cocktail wine, that 2000 is going to be a let down.
Accessibility comes at a cost to entry, and that cost may not be worth it to many or only afforded by some. Same goes for Disneyland, cruise ships, and many a craft winery. We have to wrestle with that fact and the price point our wines are in.
Yeah I mean I think it's a give and take. To use another cliché phrase, we can lead the horse to water, but we can't make it drink it. But I think the issue, again, is that we aren't often giving the horse the opportunity to drink water or even letting the horse know that the water exists.
Most wineries and restaurants I go to don't even offer older vintage wines period, let alone for an elevated price point. Consumers can't order what they don't know exists. I'd guess that more people *would* order the older wine if 1. it was even available and 2. the somm/host/server let them know about it.
That's why I always mention Noble Rot because they not only had a 1989 Riesling available by the glass, but the server made a point to point it out for me. I know that I am a bit of an exception, given that I am more advanced in my wine journey than most, but that doesn't mean someone in the early years of their wine journey wouldn't be interested in something like that if they were given the chance to try it.
I think we'd be surprised by how many people would be willing to pay $20+ for a glass of a library wine under the right circumstances. Maybe not the college student who is only looking for RTD beverages, but maybe the person in their mid 20s who is out for a special occasion and wants to try something different.
I volunteer to help you work through those wines post-due date, haha!! I have a 7-year vertical of Montebello and some Grand Crus I'm saving, but even I have moved to a "just being with a friend is an occasion" mindset these days. Life is short and wine is fun. Drink the good stuff.
Put it on the calendar! April/May! haha yeah, I think the big "problem" (she says so casually, talking about "too much" wine), is that most of the wine I have in my closet is syrah and cabernet--two varieties I don't really choose to drink that often, because I'm in my acid bomb/chillable red era. And hilariously, those are also the varieties that are hardest to give away because everyone else has a glut of syrah and cab as well.
The only issue with the it was cellared and aged at the winery promotion is the auction circuits and if a winery does have a library wine or wine exclusive to club members, with patience I can probably find that same wine within a few months on auction. I can also find it cheaper too sometimes. Of course there is a risk as you don't know how it was previously stored compared to the winery, but you start seeking the lots of the good collectors or the restaurants that sadly went out of business and selling their inventory who most likely bought it directly from the winery.
Fair enough, but I think the auction risk is low for the vast majority of consumers. People like you and I who are aware of auctions and resale sites for wine might consider that; but the average consumer (who probably *aren't* collectors) wouldn't necessarily think to look for an older vintage wine in any place other than direct from the winery. But perhaps that's just wishful thinking on my part?
The old-school 'collector' mentality was great for wineries years ago, but those collectors are aging out and buying less. Consumers want something ready to drink, FOMO, and on to the next. I sell out every vintage and frequently run out of a SKU and I don't think twice about it. Do I keep some Cab around to see how it ages out? Sure. Do I get joy in a customer showing me a wine they bought 10 years ago drinking great? Of course. But they are the exception, not the rule
Totally! And I think that's where a lot of wineries sit in the grand scheme of things: a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush (or, rather, people buying wine now is better than people buying wine later). AND I think there's some small opportunity there to make older wines more accessible to the younger crowd, many of whom have never had the opportunity to try aged wines and understand how special they can be.
It's why I really like the wine list at Noble Rot in London. They often have older vintages available by the glass. I had a birth-year Riesling BTG with them a few years ago, and it was a really special experience — and one I otherwise wouldn't have had the opportunity to have.
I know that I'm beating a dead horse here with the "we need to make wine more accessible" argument, but I really feel like this is *one* of the many ways we can do that. If our goal is to help elevate new wine drinkers (or even just make them feel welcome at the table), which I believe most wineries agree it is, giving them opportunities to try old or unusual wines is a great way to do that.
A couple of my restaurant customers love wine that has some age on it, as do I. We were just talking about a vintage 2000 Cabernet from Monticello Estate we were drinking together last week and it was fabulous, likely a $35/glass. That's for a small percentage of wine drinkers. And if they're used to RS/Oaky/Mega enhanced cocktail wine, that 2000 is going to be a let down.
Accessibility comes at a cost to entry, and that cost may not be worth it to many or only afforded by some. Same goes for Disneyland, cruise ships, and many a craft winery. We have to wrestle with that fact and the price point our wines are in.
Yeah I mean I think it's a give and take. To use another cliché phrase, we can lead the horse to water, but we can't make it drink it. But I think the issue, again, is that we aren't often giving the horse the opportunity to drink water or even letting the horse know that the water exists.
Most wineries and restaurants I go to don't even offer older vintage wines period, let alone for an elevated price point. Consumers can't order what they don't know exists. I'd guess that more people *would* order the older wine if 1. it was even available and 2. the somm/host/server let them know about it.
That's why I always mention Noble Rot because they not only had a 1989 Riesling available by the glass, but the server made a point to point it out for me. I know that I am a bit of an exception, given that I am more advanced in my wine journey than most, but that doesn't mean someone in the early years of their wine journey wouldn't be interested in something like that if they were given the chance to try it.
I think we'd be surprised by how many people would be willing to pay $20+ for a glass of a library wine under the right circumstances. Maybe not the college student who is only looking for RTD beverages, but maybe the person in their mid 20s who is out for a special occasion and wants to try something different.
I volunteer to help you work through those wines post-due date, haha!! I have a 7-year vertical of Montebello and some Grand Crus I'm saving, but even I have moved to a "just being with a friend is an occasion" mindset these days. Life is short and wine is fun. Drink the good stuff.
Put it on the calendar! April/May! haha yeah, I think the big "problem" (she says so casually, talking about "too much" wine), is that most of the wine I have in my closet is syrah and cabernet--two varieties I don't really choose to drink that often, because I'm in my acid bomb/chillable red era. And hilariously, those are also the varieties that are hardest to give away because everyone else has a glut of syrah and cab as well.