Why a Great German Grape Is Big in the U.S. Again;
A Small Margin for Error
Source: Wall Street Journal - March 3, 2006; Page W8
U.S. wine imports from which of these countries
increased almost 30% by volume last year?
a. France,
b. Germany,
c. Australia, or
d. Italy.
Surprise: The answer is Germany. France rose a bit, after two
years of declines, according to figures from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Australia was up more than 10%, but still didn't outstrip No. 1 Italy,
whose imports rose almost 9%.
The jump in German wine imports has been a long time coming. Imports
dropped by half between 1989 and 1994 and then flatlined until 2000, when
they began to creep up. Given the history, last year's boost was extraordinary,
though the total amount of German wine imported into the U.S. is still
relatively small: around 2.7 million cases, about a tenth of Italy's.
In a tasting of German Kabinett Rieslings from recent vintages, these
were our favorites.Americans have been lukewarm toward German wines for
years because they associate them -- and Germany's great grape, Riesling
-- with the sweet, simple wines of their youth (the wines that probably
accounted for a great deal of the imports back then). But there has always
been a gulf between regular wine drinkers, who shun German wines, and
wine merchants and wine writers, like us, who never tire of beating the
drum for these wines, which we find highly drinkable, beautifully made
and great with all kinds of food.
Finally, it seems like someone is listening. Asked if he has been selling
more German wine in the past year, Bob Gorman, partner at the Wine Warehouse
in Tallahassee, Fla., answered with two words: "Big time." He
added: "Initially this took a patient hand-sell to bring the person
over and say, you want this bottle." Now, it's much easier. "You
know how the pendulum is and how trendy we are," he told us. "We
are always looking to be on the cutting edge. People are looking for new
things."
Sales of German wine have doubled in the past year at the Vintage Wine
Shoppe in Birmingham, Ala. "We have worked hard to make that happen,"
says owner Patti Davidson. She has brought in German winemakers for tastings,
for instance. "You've got to let people taste to appreciate wines,
especially ones that they're afraid of," she says. She also says
that, with America's growing interest in wine, "the White Zinfandel
people are trying new things and Riesling is the first place they go."
She says they first try one of the increasingly available American Rieslings,
perhaps from Washington, and then make the jump to German. "Washington
is the bridge to Germany," she adds.
In Zionsville, Ind., Doug Pendleton of the Grapevine Cottage agrees about
the growing interest, partly because wine merchants' hard work in the
German aisle is paying off. "On Saturdays, the number of people who
come into the doors of a wine store with a menu in hand is daunting, and
when the word 'spicy' comes out, that is where they're led," he says.
Paul Provost, general manager of Table & Vine in Northampton, Mass.,
says interest in German wines is rising for a simple reason: price. "In
part, the price point of German Riesling has remained pretty constant
while the rest of the world has been going up," he told us. "So
it looks more and more like the value it has been for three decades."
German vintners also are finally making simpler, more attractive labels,
and some are using informal screwcaps. And Sherwood Deutsch, owner of
Century Liquors in Rochester, N.Y., offers another explanation: The wines
are better. He says a new generation of German winemakers has raised the
bar, which has also helped to wake up some long-time winemakers who had
gotten complacent. "Wine techniques got better elsewhere and the
Germans fell behind," he says. "They're coming back now."
Rudi Wiest Selections
by Cellars International, Inc.
phone 760.566.0499 - info@germanwine.net - fax 760.566.0533
Copyright © 1993 - 2005
|
