The '600 pound gorilla'

For several years the United States has topped the world rankings in total wine consumption. In 2015, the US represented 11.5 percent of the consumption of all wine consumed worldwide, topping off at nearly 3.5 million 9-liter cases (a case being 12 750ml bottles for the 9L total). While the US still lags on per capita consumption — not even cracking the top 10 in this statistic — it is one of the only countries (including the developed countries of the EU) where consumption per capita and total is growing. In 2014, consumption in the USA grew by 3.5 percent over 2013, while worldwide consumption grew at only .5 percent. While much of the wine we drink is domestically produced, we also rank third among all countries for importing wine.

As you absorb these statistics, it becomes clear that the United States has become the “600 pound gorilla” of wine consumption. Much of what comes of being the largest is good. Just like being the biggest customer at the retail or wholesale level here in our own market, as the largest customer of winemakers from around the world, we will continue to see allocations of really cool hard to find items. Wineries will have the USA on top of their lists to have wines distributed just for the exposure, opting to send some our way as opposed to keeping it all at home in France or Italy.

The status as the largest will also likely keep the lid on pricing to some degree. Currency fluctuation and translation notwithstanding, the competition among countries and producers will result in many of the best deals being made with American importers just to gain access to such a large and growing market. We see the result of this focus from the rest of the wine world locally, as choices continue to increase. Not a week goes by where we are not tasted on and offered wines we have never before seen in this market. While we will always continue to look for more choices to round out our selection to include all of the main appellations, we have been impressed with some of the wines that have shown up via our great local distributors.

Jean Louis Chave, the Premier and Grand Cru wines of Bouchard and Fevre, great Piedmont selections from 2010 and 2011 from multiple and varied wineries, and wines from Hungary and other locales in Europe are just some of the items that have crossed our threshold in the last month. Our choices are also overflowing in value-priced selections from around the globe. All of these are good things for the wine business across the country and right here in North Idaho.

Part of the great selection that we love is how different the wines are from varied areas, their sense of place is clear. For even novice wine drinkers it is possible to smell a domestically-produced varietal and one from France or Italy and tell by sniffing there is something very different between them. Get the wine in your mouth and the distinctions are more pronounced. Sadly though, as the “big kid on the block” this is starting to change. We are seeing more and more wines from the Old World being built for the American palate. We love the earthy, low alcohol, high acid style that comes out of Europe. Now though, wines are showing up with more oak, higher alcohol, in general just bigger wines that American consumers are more accustomed to.

Labeling is changing, too; wines that are made for our markets are increasingly showing up labeled by varietal instead of region. This is a total giveaway that the wine will be less authentic, as the tradition over much of Europe is to label with the region of origin, only knowing what varietal is in the bottle by knowing what grows in that area.

We lament this trend of making wine just to be marketed in the USA. We love our wines from California, Virginia, the Northwest and New York for what they are. This is also why we love the wines from Italy, France, Spain and Portugal too, it is for their uniqueness, their sense of place and all the characteristics that come with them. All wines being homogenized in their presentation and the suppression of diverse and unique styles and flavors ultimately leaves wine consumers with fewer choices, despite having wines from far-flung appellations.

Come by the shop and try some of the new choices we have from being the “600 pound gorilla,” and to learn which are holding on to their traditions and which are produced just to appeal to the American palate.

If there is a topic you would like to read about, or if you have 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 tabletop décor shop by Costco in Coeur d’Alene. George has also worked as a judge in many wine competitions, and his articles are published around the country. You can learn more about the dinner party at www.thedinnerpartyshop.com. You can get all of these articles and other great wine tips by friending us on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/#!/dinnerpartyshop.