The year in wine review and preview

At the end of the year the press is full of reviews of the previous year and all that has occurred, coupled with a look forward on what to expect. As the wine industry in North Idaho has continued to evolve a similar retrospective, and prospective will provide wine consumers with information that will help guide their purchases to wines they enjoy and appreciate.

While we have talked much about the troubled vintages of 2010 and 2011 in the appellations of North America, the challenges of these back to back years warrant additional commentary as we approach the "heart" of the releases for these years. We have tasted both good wine and not so good wine from domestic wineries in these years. The bright spot for both years has been Europe as they have had very good crop size and quality in both years, specifically in the case of red and white Burgundy 2010 is shaping up to be one of the best vintages ever.

When it comes to selecting wines from these years tasting remains all important, and when you don't have the opportunity to taste before you buy, the advice of your favorite wine professional remains important. In short we continue to urge caution. Looking forward the 2012 vintage in the States by all reports stands a great chance to be a blockbuster both in size of the harvest and quality. We will start to see the first whites from the 2012 harvest by March and April of 2013 so it should not be a long wait.

As we mentioned above Europe had very good years in 2010 and 2011 so these remain consuming bright spots, going forward though is a radically different story. 2012 in Europe looks to be disastrous; we have heard reports from the continent that harvest was about 60% of normal and of pour quality to boot. So it appears the counter cyclicality of vintages between Europe and the States will be helping us out. Champagne and other European sparkling wines are the exception, since most producers only vintage designate in very good years choosing instead to blend years for their non-vintage offerings which insulates them from years such as 2012. By design this keeps their NV bottlings constantly in the market and of consistent quality and flavor.

South America has also been a beacon of consistency throughout these recent vintage ups and downs. While there have not been any stand out years there have also been no terrible ones from Chile and Argentina. The size of the crops from these countries coupled with more consistent weather allows us access to wines from South America that are good and very well priced too.

Consumer trends over the last year have revealed trends both predictable, and some surprising as well. On the predictable side Chardonnay and Cabernet remain the two most popular varietals when consumers are asked what they are looking for. While folks in general remain conscious of value we have noticed over the last quarter of the year that many are willing to spend slightly more especially when buying wine for others. So while previously the $15 and under category was the main focus we now see buyers moving up to $20 when they are taking a bottle to someone as a gift or contribution to a gathering.

We have additionally found that while folks still ask, almost reflexively for "Cab" or "Chard" that when delving a little deeper into their likes and dislikes that consumers will branch out to other choices. This has led to broadening of varietal selections in the market. One of the best examples of this during the last year has been the dramatic increase in French wine sales. While all of the French wines we carry are seeing better demand, the whites have really seen increased popularity. While some of this no doubt is driven by the vintage issues previously discussed we get the sense that it is at least partially driven by the evolution of the collective palate here in North Idaho.

We expect these trends to continue to develop in 2013, and for consumers this broadening of selections is always good. Tasting will remain key as will the advice of a good wine professional to allow for selection of the wines you like most.

If there is a topic you would like to read about or questions on wine you can email George@thedinnerpartyshop.com or make suggestions by contacting the Healthy Community section at the Coeur d'Alene Press.

George Balling is co-owner with his wife Mary Lancaster of the dinner party - a wine and table top decor shop in Coeur d'Alene by Costco. George is also the managing judge of The North Idaho Wine Rodeo and writes frequently for the online version of Coeur d'Alene Magazine at www.cdamagazine.com. You can learn more about the dinner party at www.thedinnerpartyshop.com. You can get all of these articles as well as other great wine tips by friending us on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/#!/dinnerpartyshop.