Especially given the case we read about the Chinese wine industry a few weeks ago, it is an appropriate time to talk about what wines will be served during Chinese New Year, which is this Friday! It is the Year of the Dog and with Chinese New Year comes a plethora of dishes that wine can be paired with including pork dumplings, suckling pigs, spicy beef stews and clear broth noodle soups.
The most traditional alcohol on Chinese New Year to drink and to gift is baiju - a clear alcohol that translates to "white alcohol" that is 51% alcohol (ouch!) Over the years though, wine is taking footing as a part of the alcohol of choice in Chinese New Year celebrations - below are some recommendations of wines that I have had while eating different types of Chinese New Year meals:
* Meat on Meat - there are so many preparations of red meat during Chinese New Year like a Shanghai Styled Braised Pork Belly that a Merlot would be a perfect way to balance the heavier dishes.
* Peking Duck - there will be tons of poultry like Peking Duck and white vinegar chicken that a Côtes du Rhône that will balance out some of that fattiness.
* Veggies - there will be heavier vegetables during Chinese New Year like Garlic Eggplant or Sweet and Sour Three Veggie Stir-Fry which a nice Chianti wine will offset with its more fruity taste.
* Extra Spice - My favorite Chinese New Years are the ones I have spicy Sechuan food at. That numbing peppercorn spice is addicting but a Reisling will help to cool you down some in between bites.
Hope everyone has an opportunity to celebrate Chinese New Year this weekend and maybe try one of these pairings. Gan Bei!
Thursday, February 15, 2018
What's your type?
“What kind of wine do you like?” “Would you prefer a Pinot or a Cab?” “Have you had this one before?
As a wine amateur, these persistent questions cause me anxiety. By now, I should have mastered a more polished version of “Uhh, I’m not really sure” (the actual answer to all of those questions). But I haven’t.
A few years ago, I tried in vain to start an Excel sheet listing all of the wines I had tried. There were columns for brand, vintage, tasting notes, and even with whom I had had it, to jog my memory. The sheet made it to all of six entries.
Last year, I turned to technology. There are several apps that allow you track wines, but I’ve ended up using Vivino. With it, you can take a photo of a wine bottle, and it will add that bottle to your list of wines, allow you to rate it, and tell you information on the bottle (tasting notes, grape varietals, average price, etc.). So far, it’s been helpful to recall something I’ve had before, since I now have a list on my phone. It has also helped me think more critically about wine I drink, since it asks you to rate the wines you drink. However, I still have no idea what “my type” is when it comes to wine, and I still linger aimlessly in the wine aisle when trying to find a bottle to bring to a party.
Incidentally, wine experts seem to dislike the apps, perhaps because the app’s price and rating features could skew your perception of the wine. I was once repeatedly told at a GSB Wine Circle event, “You shouldn’t do that… just taste the wine” when trying to log wines with my phone. Alas, getting smart about wine is hard work. But some investors seem optimistic: as raised by Professor Rapp in class, Vivino just raised another $20m this week, and its user base continues to grow.
Has anyone found a good system to better remember and recall wines that you’ve had, and discover your own wine preferences? In the end, maybe I just need to drink more wine.
Where was the wine at the Olympics?
Last week, I was in PyeongChang at the Olympics. In short, it was amazing. The longer version of the story was that there were a few minor hiccups. And really, I mean minor, because let me repeat, it. was. amazing. As we enjoyed the games, we faced a few challenges related to food and beverage consumption (not the least of which was that Korean cuisine is not vegetarian friendly). Dietary restrictions aside, we often found ourselves asking a pretty simple question: Where was the wine? Not to mention the social enjoyment of wine drinking that my friends and I are accustomed to, in this specific case, the frigid temperatures would have certainly been mitigated by a glass of red wine (certainly more so than the cold beers more easily available). In fact, an article in Wine Enthusiast titled "Where to Eat and Drink in PyeongChang, South Korea" doesn't even mention where one might find a nice glass of wine (or even any glass of wine for that matter). Rather, it speaks of beer and soju cocktails, which are much more typical of the Korean preferences.
One might argue that selling wine at the Olympics could be an opportunity to showcase Korean wine and make a name for the industry on a global stage. The problem here is that South Korea doesn't have much in the way of domestic (grape) wines to showcase. The best example I could find was the Korean version of Two Buck Chuck: Jinro House Wine, which sells for 2,500 KRW per bottle (see below for photo). Here's a small sampling of reviews I could find:
One might argue that selling wine at the Olympics could be an opportunity to showcase Korean wine and make a name for the industry on a global stage. The problem here is that South Korea doesn't have much in the way of domestic (grape) wines to showcase. The best example I could find was the Korean version of Two Buck Chuck: Jinro House Wine, which sells for 2,500 KRW per bottle (see below for photo). Here's a small sampling of reviews I could find:
- "Well firstly it’s nice that Korea finally is producing some reasonably priced wine plus it’s domestic which is also nice. However the wine itself is merely grape juice with a kick, it’s not really wine. Honestly the phrase “Mutton dressed as lamb” comes to mind when you first drink a glass."
- "It's a mere grape juice with alcohol. Doesn't have any hint of wine."
- "It is overly sweet, and in my opinion, it is undrinkable."
... okay you get the point.
Sales of wine (by volume) in South Korea have been declining since at least 2011, though sparkling wine and rosé are two growing segments (but also not what I want to be drinking in 15 degree temperatures). Local production is essentially limited to non-grape wines, such as takju or cheongju; over 99% of grape wine (sparkling and still) is imported from other countries.
But then the next side of this questionis that with so many visitors from all over the world, why not cater to international preferences and have some available for concession? Maybe international wineries want to take advantage of the global stage? Interestingly enough, the import tariff on wine from the U.S. into Korea was eliminated in 2012 (thanks to a free trade agreement), and the taxes and tariffs now only apply to beer and distilled spirits. I'm not sure whether other regions enjoy similarly friendly trade policies, but I'm certainly left wondering why at least no U.S. wineries took advantage of the captive audience to make what could have been fairly massive sales. There were at least 10 eager customers in us GSBers, and I'm sure there would've been thousands more.
Korea's finest.
Sources: Euromonitor, www.ttb.gov
Premiumization of Wine as Art
In March 2017, modern artist David Hockney created a label for the Rothschild family's Château Mouton Rothschild 2014 vintage. This is now a regular occurrence for French wine, spirits and even water brands. In 2013, Dom Pérignon partnered with Jeff Koons and Perrier developed limited edition bottles in collaboration with the Andy Warhol Foundation. It strikes me that this is yet another example of how Rothschild is seeking ways to effectively position its wine as a premium product.
While joyful and whimsical in nature, this label marks the anniversary of Baroness Philippine de Rothschild’s death. David Hockney was chosen, according to Philippe de Rothschild by way of Women Wears Daily, as Hockney was friends with the baroness. "They met 30 years ago, when they performed in a play for a small New York-based theater company together and kept in touch until the baroness’ death." As Director of Development and Strategy Jean-Luc Vincent said in "Domaines Barons de Rothschild Lafite: Plus ça change...", "this is a conservative family operation with a great deal of pride in maintaining its unique quality reputation [...]." This branding decision is a way to open up the privacy of the Rothschild family to their consumers to promote a sense of exclusivity.
While joyful and whimsical in nature, this label marks the anniversary of Baroness Philippine de Rothschild’s death. David Hockney was chosen, according to Philippe de Rothschild by way of Women Wears Daily, as Hockney was friends with the baroness. "They met 30 years ago, when they performed in a play for a small New York-based theater company together and kept in touch until the baroness’ death." As Director of Development and Strategy Jean-Luc Vincent said in "Domaines Barons de Rothschild Lafite: Plus ça change...", "this is a conservative family operation with a great deal of pride in maintaining its unique quality reputation [...]." This branding decision is a way to open up the privacy of the Rothschild family to their consumers to promote a sense of exclusivity.
The selection of Hockney as a way to represent the vintage is no coincidence. In 2017, Hockney had a major retrospective at the Tate Modern in London, an opening at Centre Pompidou in Paris and a show at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The exhibit at the Met is open through February 25th!
Source: http://wwd.com.gsbproxy.stanford.edu/fashion-news/fashion-scoops/david-hockney-chateau-mouton-rothschild-wine-label-10837672/
Happy Valen-wine's Day
Consumer trends on Valentine's Day have been an interest of mine for years; having worked in the flower industry (at BloomThat) before business school, I have witnessed firsthand the buying power and huge spikes in sales that can change business' trajectories even after the holiday in an impactful way. Naturally today, then, I was curious about how the wine industry fares on this holiday.
We'll state the obvious here: people gift or drink wine together on Valentine's Day. Makes sense.
But just how much?
According to Nielsen, "Valentine’s Day is one of the top holidays for wine sales" and in 2017 came in at $620 million dollars. That's not a huge surprise, but where my mind goes to is where can those in the wine industry take advantage of trends within a season that already sees an organic uplift?
One way is to watch the trends in types of wine consumed on Valentine's Day. According to Nielsen:
"While red wine remains a Valentine’s Day favorite, Americans increased their spending on white wine in 2017 by about $3 million compared with their 2016 spending. They also ramped up their spending on rosé wine, which boasted total sales of $11.6 million last year, up from $7.2 million in 2016. Sparkling rosé sales also increased nearly 7% last year, with Valentine’s Day sales totaling $5.5 million." (source)
This trend, while not wholly shocking, I believe has implications for marketing for Valentine's Day in the future. Looking back again to the floral industry, red roses are considered "on their way out" in favor of more trendy florals like pale pink peonies or white anemones. I wonder if there's a way to not necessarily say red isn't trendy, but rather to market the newest, freshest way to celebrate with your Valentine.
We'll state the obvious here: people gift or drink wine together on Valentine's Day. Makes sense.
But just how much?
According to Nielsen, "Valentine’s Day is one of the top holidays for wine sales" and in 2017 came in at $620 million dollars. That's not a huge surprise, but where my mind goes to is where can those in the wine industry take advantage of trends within a season that already sees an organic uplift?
One way is to watch the trends in types of wine consumed on Valentine's Day. According to Nielsen:
"While red wine remains a Valentine’s Day favorite, Americans increased their spending on white wine in 2017 by about $3 million compared with their 2016 spending. They also ramped up their spending on rosé wine, which boasted total sales of $11.6 million last year, up from $7.2 million in 2016. Sparkling rosé sales also increased nearly 7% last year, with Valentine’s Day sales totaling $5.5 million." (source)
This trend, while not wholly shocking, I believe has implications for marketing for Valentine's Day in the future. Looking back again to the floral industry, red roses are considered "on their way out" in favor of more trendy florals like pale pink peonies or white anemones. I wonder if there's a way to not necessarily say red isn't trendy, but rather to market the newest, freshest way to celebrate with your Valentine.
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