Palmy or horsey?

The labels on Bordeaux first growth Château Mouton Rothschild are often as special as the wines themselves. Over the years, many revered names from the art world have contributed to the wine’s prestige……….OK, may be Prince Charles was an exception.

But there is something striking about the latest one by Lucian Freud which will grace the bottles of 2006 vintage. Although childishly simple at first look, it epitomizes the complexities of the modern day art world. The more I try to make sense of it, more it puzzles me.

As they say, there are numerous ways to look at a modern art. May be this one is to suggest that the wine may be a bit horsey (brett??) or may have palmy aromas! Palmy? Yes, another contribution from Mouton Rothschild to the wine world. Probably a noble approach to sell a not-so-noble vintage!

Cheers,

Niladri

Being ‘Savvy’, but at what cost?

‘Sav’, ‘Sav Blanc’, ‘Savvy’ or plain Sauvignon Blanc, call it whatever you like, such is the popularity of the Kiwi version of this wine globally that it is seriously vying for a place alongside other New Zealand national symbols/icons like the All Blacks, the Haka, the Silver Fern, the kiwifruit, the kiwi bird, the Beehive and Pavlova among many others. Wholehearted endorsements from well known wine critics over the years have further boosted its stature. According to the official website representing the Kiwi wine industry, the grape variety accounted for 60% of the total harvest in 2008. The meteoric rise in demand of the style (Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc to be precise) has also resulted in frantic expansion of vineyards and resultant increment in production to an extent where the industry insiders have started voicing concerns over possible risks of quantity eventually taking over quality. This sentiment recently surfaced from the very heart of the wine-growing region itself.

No doubt it has brought vinous glory to the country and certainly fuels the wine economy which is aiming at the billion dollar mark by 2010, but any fair minded wine-lover who has interest in Kiwi wines will wonder whether this obsession with Sauvignon Blanc is justified in terms of the versatility of the wines that the country is able to produce. It’s not only the logarithmic growth in production but the potential of other wine regions and grape varieties that should also be a point of discussion. And there is always the fear that a commercialisation of this magnitude may overshadow the artisan nature of wine-growing that a large number of labels in New Zealand have come to represent.

The only other country that comes close to this unidirectional approach is Germany where Riesling rules but New Zealand is not constrained by a lot of climatic factors that puts Germany on the viticultural limits. In wine-growing terms, the country is quite diverse with the regions scattered between latitudes 36° north to 45° south, the northern hemisphere equivalent of southern Spain to Bordeaux. Favourable growing conditions, well defined seasons and infrequent vintage variations make grape growing a natural choice. These include names as obscure as Arneis and Zweigelt to all the major international varieties. Whether it is the Bordeaux style reds and Syrahs of great concentration and structure from Hawkes Bay, exquisitely fruity and powerful Pinots Noirs from Martinborough and Central Otago, elegant Chardonnays from Gisborne, range of varietals from Nelson or an interesting array of aromatics and sparkling wines from selected pockets, New Zealand has a lot more to offer than just Sauvignon Blanc. Then there are a number of intensely passionate producers spread across the length and breadth of the country who have given a new meaning to phrases like ‘handcrafted wines’ and ‘sustainable viticulture’ and are not part of the S/Blanc bandwagon.

Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc has reached extraordinary heights in a relatively short span of time and is considered one of the the benchmarks in its category but it is in the long term interest of the New Zealand wine industry to equally promote the other gems in its coffers or as the Kiwis like to say…….give the other highly deserving wines a fair go too. Anyone ‘Savvy’ out there who feels differently?

Cheers,

Niladri

Terroir – Marketing gimmick or a proven concept?

I recently came across this news article on Decanter.com that dealt with a scientific discovery claiming to be able to track a wine’s origin based on it’s chemical composition. It rekindled my interest in a subject that has attracted a lot of attention (somewhat controversially) over the years and is perhaps one of the most researched subject within the industry.

Having learnt the basic science behind wine-growing as a student of Viticulture and Wine-making not so long ago,  it is not extremely difficult for me to appreciate the relationship of a wine’s quality to its place of birth. Since there is no specific English word for this concept, I have to relate this phenomenon to the rather parochial (or snobbish?) French term ‘Terroir’ - a word that the ‘New World’ often considers another way to stamp French hegemony on the wine world.

So, is terroir simply a marketing gimmick? Is it just a way to sell Grand Crus and Premier Crus? Well, my two cents, the very essence and relevance of the word goes much beyond a simple business tool. The fact that the French have effectively managed to exploit the idea to promote their ‘prestigious’ wines and estates should not diminish the significance of the term per se and how everything intrinsically entwined to it affects the quality of wines. After all wine is a reflection of the place where it is grown although many in the New World also relate this to the skill of the wine-maker and the myriad of options available during the wine-making process. One of these is the use of specially cultured strains of yeast that impart desirable flavours and aromas to the wine – like replicating the armpit and sweaty characters of Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc! Does this approach justify wine’s natural identity? No doubt vinification techniques play a vital role but a vineyard’s potential will always remain paramount and unquestionable in wine-growing.

Nowadays huge investments are made on vineyard site selection and establishment in which the New world has taken the lead as they often lack the traditional geographical knowledge of vineyard sites unlike their counterparts in the Old World.  These include soil mapping using the  latest state of  the art technology, gathering historical climatic data, selecting the right root-stocks and clones of vines, trellis design and so on. All these are practically carried out to ensure optimum growing conditions which in turn are at the heart of the concept of terroir. So, in effect it is a well recognised phenomenon although a classic case of ‘New world vs. Old world’ rivalry prevents the term being wholeheartedly accepted.

Depending upon one’s viewpoint, terroir may be considered as a shrewd marketing tool or an idea that relates to a wine’s quality. Unless the English speaking world comes up with a similar and extremely valid term, it will continue to find favour in wine literature and media.

Cheers,

Niladri