What is in a name?
A rose by any other name... The Bard knew of what he spoke, at least when it comes to roses, and Montagues. For wine on the other hand, a name is all important, even when it may be misleading.
Europe primarily uses place names for their wines, while the US, and most of the New World, uses varietal labeling. In theory this allows you to know what you are getting, without having to look up a place name for the allowed varietals. This is the theory. As with almost everything, the reality is more complicated than the theory.
In most of the US a wine need only have 75% of the grape listed on the label. This allows Cabernet Sauvignon to be blended with Merlot, and vice versa, a blend that has a long tradition and works well. Blending is a wonderful thing, and often I have written, extolling its virtues.
But, there is another side to the blending story. What of grapes, notably Pinot Noir, that are traditionally not blended with other varieties? Until recently it was relatively rare to find other grapes blended in with Pinot Noir.
No doubt, this was due in part to a succession of scandals in Burgundy, where Pinot Noir may not be blended with another grape (much less wine from Algeria and the like).
Blending Pinot Noir was off limits in the minds of most wine makers, and so it was rare, until recently. With the popularity of Pinot on the rise, there simply isn't enough to go around. And as it once did in Burgundy, this has led to the adulteration of Pinot in order to increase volume, and to help disguise poor fruit and thin wines.
The difference between what is happening now, and the French scandals of the past, is that it is perfectly legal to blend other grapes with Pinot in the US, as long as the 75% limit is not exceeded.
For better or worse, a great deal of time and money went into educating consumers to recognize varietal labeling. As an aside, the same effort was put into convincing the consumer to look for wines sealed with cork.
Times change. Cork has become less accepted as the closure of choice, and I would like to see varietal labeling becomes just as scarce.
The place name system of Europe works because appropriate grape varieties had, for the most part, already been found for the various regions. In the US, it is not uncommon to see very dissimilar varieties planted adjacent to one another. It would not be easy, nor economically viable, to enforce a strict geographical limit on grape varieties in the US.
Rather, I propose a move towards proprietary names and full disclosure of the blend. Ironically, this would play havoc with the way I like to organize wine lists, but I would adjust.
Meritage is a proprietary name for a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and to a lesser degree Petit Verdot and Malbec. This combination of grapes is found in the wines of Bordeaux (where the they are called collectively the carmenet grapes). Because there is a fee to use Meritage on a wine label, not all blends sport it.
The real importance of Meritage, from the point of view of this rant, is that the consumer readily learned to purchase a wine labeled with something besides the name of a single specific grape.
Ridge has been producing a wine from Lytton Springs for decades (one of my absolute favorites). This wonderful wine is a field blend, which means the different grape varieties are collected together at harvest, as opposed to being first made into wine before blending.
In some years the amount of Zinfandel is above 75% and the grape name appears prominently on the label, and in other years it doesn't. Year in and year out, the blend is listed right on the front of the label.
As consumers, we can reward those brave enough to break with the tradition of varietal labeling, while being honest enough to list the actual blend. Wine making, like all technology and art, is ever evolving and I think it is time we evolved towards honesty in labeling, because knowing 75% of the truth is simply not enough.
Europe primarily uses place names for their wines, while the US, and most of the New World, uses varietal labeling. In theory this allows you to know what you are getting, without having to look up a place name for the allowed varietals. This is the theory. As with almost everything, the reality is more complicated than the theory.
In most of the US a wine need only have 75% of the grape listed on the label. This allows Cabernet Sauvignon to be blended with Merlot, and vice versa, a blend that has a long tradition and works well. Blending is a wonderful thing, and often I have written, extolling its virtues.
But, there is another side to the blending story. What of grapes, notably Pinot Noir, that are traditionally not blended with other varieties? Until recently it was relatively rare to find other grapes blended in with Pinot Noir.
No doubt, this was due in part to a succession of scandals in Burgundy, where Pinot Noir may not be blended with another grape (much less wine from Algeria and the like).
Blending Pinot Noir was off limits in the minds of most wine makers, and so it was rare, until recently. With the popularity of Pinot on the rise, there simply isn't enough to go around. And as it once did in Burgundy, this has led to the adulteration of Pinot in order to increase volume, and to help disguise poor fruit and thin wines.
The difference between what is happening now, and the French scandals of the past, is that it is perfectly legal to blend other grapes with Pinot in the US, as long as the 75% limit is not exceeded.
For better or worse, a great deal of time and money went into educating consumers to recognize varietal labeling. As an aside, the same effort was put into convincing the consumer to look for wines sealed with cork.
Times change. Cork has become less accepted as the closure of choice, and I would like to see varietal labeling becomes just as scarce.
The place name system of Europe works because appropriate grape varieties had, for the most part, already been found for the various regions. In the US, it is not uncommon to see very dissimilar varieties planted adjacent to one another. It would not be easy, nor economically viable, to enforce a strict geographical limit on grape varieties in the US.
Rather, I propose a move towards proprietary names and full disclosure of the blend. Ironically, this would play havoc with the way I like to organize wine lists, but I would adjust.
Meritage is a proprietary name for a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and to a lesser degree Petit Verdot and Malbec. This combination of grapes is found in the wines of Bordeaux (where the they are called collectively the carmenet grapes). Because there is a fee to use Meritage on a wine label, not all blends sport it.
The real importance of Meritage, from the point of view of this rant, is that the consumer readily learned to purchase a wine labeled with something besides the name of a single specific grape.
Ridge has been producing a wine from Lytton Springs for decades (one of my absolute favorites). This wonderful wine is a field blend, which means the different grape varieties are collected together at harvest, as opposed to being first made into wine before blending.
In some years the amount of Zinfandel is above 75% and the grape name appears prominently on the label, and in other years it doesn't. Year in and year out, the blend is listed right on the front of the label.
As consumers, we can reward those brave enough to break with the tradition of varietal labeling, while being honest enough to list the actual blend. Wine making, like all technology and art, is ever evolving and I think it is time we evolved towards honesty in labeling, because knowing 75% of the truth is simply not enough.
posted by Wineguy at 10:14 AM
4 Comments:
Interesting post! There certainly is a need for more transparent labeling, but don't you think exclusive use of Proprietary names could be more confusing for the consumer and inhibiting to winemaking innovation? Every label should list percentages of all varietals and give some indication of drinkability and ageing potential, as well.
I believe the exact grapes and percentages should always be listed.
As to exclusive use of proprietary names, well, I am not sure I would want to impose a strict ban one way or the other. Rather, I am proposing that the consumer vote for proprietary labels with their wallets. Let the market decide what works, not legislation.
The same day I posted this blog I tasted several dozen proprietary labeled wines. I was impressed by the average high quality of the wines. They will be the topic of the next edition of my newsletter.
I am not sure I will go so far as to say that proprietary labeled wines are as a class higher in quality, but there is something to be said for the creativity inherent in making a unique blend, over single varieties.
This creativity can also be seen in the names of the wines as well. This allows for greater marketing penetration and name recognition. Two things every wine needs to compete with the miles of choices the consumer is faced with.
A bit of context:
On the cusp of my 30th birthday, I am a 15 year veteran of the food industry, always working in a secondary or tertiary capacity to pay for education, travel and in some cases, health insurance. I've also worked in many other industries along the way--everything from construction to government to screenwriting. To date, I also happen to be one of those johnny-come-lately's in wine retail: I am opening a wine tasting bar with full retail and case sales in the coming weeks. Until last February, I did not make the jump to doing what I love, versus what was expected of me because of my abilities in other areas/industries. I observed, not unlike many other fields, people in the food and wine "trade" have more or less hyper-specialized themself into a box. And though there is always much to learn in the world of wine--one can never know it all--the wine industry, from production to service, is an antiquated model. There is definitely an opportunity for innovation. But first things first and on to my point...
I studied philosophy, primarily, though my studies took me into political science and positivist economics. My handle is an allusion to Aristotle and his birthplace. And believe it or not, my motivation to finally respond after months of reading this fine site, is to express a need for a rememdy to this "issue." Because real "genius" is the perfect nexus between two seemingly dissimilar concepts, I believe I have something to add; so here I am.
A is A is the law of identity in Aristotalean logic. IN other words, a chair is a chair, despite the fact that it may have been created by the most gifted artisan for the aesthetic pleasure of a King. Wine is no different. As a philosophy student, I realized on a conceptual level that there is nothing new under the sun--from metaphysics to aesthetics the core thought has been "thunk" one time or another throughout time. So then, when acquainting one's self with philosophy it is important to understand the alpha and omega in what something truly IS.
Throughout my experience and readings, I have never come across a wine taxonomy. I imagine such a project would be massive, but if there has ever been a need, now is the time.
For what its worth...
PS I am looking forward to sending you our wine list for "deconstruction." :-)
"in Burgundy, where Pinot Noir may not be blended with another grape"
I have been rightly taken to task for making this blanket statement. Pinot Noir can be blended in the cases of Passe-tout-Grain (a blend of Gamay and Pinot) and Cremant the sparkling wine of the region (also usually mostly Gamay, but any of the grapes of Burgundy, red or white, are permitted).
My point, badly made, was that a wine purported to be Pinot Noir from Burgundy (every other wine except those noted) may not be a blend of Pinot Noir and another grape (white Burgundy is another matter).
Thanks for keeping me honest.
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