There are licensed wineries in every one of
the fifty United States. However that doesn’t mean they
all make wine – that’s if you agree with me that the
definition of wine is that it is made from freshly
picked grapes. Hawaii ferments drinks from pineapples
and Alaska uses juice imported from vineyards in warmer
states. But most states grow grapes and make wine on a
commercial scale.
I had a friendly email
from Karen noting I had written about Texan wines. She
wrote “I found no mention of the many in the North
Georgia area.” She recommends that I try
Chateau Elan. I’d love to, but I have never seen any
wines from Georgia on sale. Indeed, the only US wines
found widely nationally and internationally are those
from the three west coast states, Washington, Oregon and
California. We don’t see New York State wines,
although they are a large producer. Unless you are in
Texas you won’t be drinking Texan. And even though Texas
is the fifth largest wine producing state, few Texan
restaurants feature home state wines.
Why aren’t US wines more widely available?
Most wineries are quite young and have been struggling
to establish themselves and succeed in local markets.
The three tier distribution system means that they are
limited selling their wines to large distributors. Chain
restaurants need huge quantities of wine and prefer to
use a wine list that is the same everywhere. And there
are many legal restrictions on shipping directly to
consumers*.
So, if it is difficult to sell wine to
consumers in another state, why not sell
internationally? The usual method is to find an agent
who will buy a container load of your wines to market
and distribute in their country. For many reasons, but
especially the (almost) shared language, many American
wineries looking to export decide first to show their
wines at the London International Wine & Spirit
Fair. This annual trade show held in May in London,
England is a meeting point for the world’s wine and
spirit business. It’s a place where wineries can meet
agents and check out the competition. This year was the
show’s 25th anniversary. There were 1250
exhibitors from 37 separate countries, with 6,200 trade
visitors attending each of the three days.
This year, as usual, the California Wine
Institute had a large stand showcasing the output of
the Golden State. Gallo of California had their own
separate huge stand and Oregon and Washington State were
well represented. I found two wines from Ohio on
their UK agents stand. Just two wineries from the rest
of the United States had a presence this year, and they
both featured sparkling wines.
Larry Mawby (right) of Michigan’s L Mawby Vineyards
and Bill Russell (below) of Massachusets’s Westport River
Winery were sharing a stand rented by the Mid-America
International Agri-Trade Council – a trade body
promoting wines from mid-US
states.
It was Larry Mawby’s first time at the London
show. He was looking for an agent for his range of
sparkling wines. “I’m enjoying myself here,” he told me.
I was particularly interested in his Sex wine. It is a
pink sparkler that he used to call Rose. When he was
sending off a batch of labels for approval to the
Alcohol and Tobacco Tax Trade Bureau (TTB) he mischievously included a request for
approval of the name ‘Sex’. “I didn’t expect it to get
through,” he says. “I did it for a laugh.” But they did
pass it and sale of the relabelled wine shot up. A poem
on the label reads
In a pale fresh
stream
slowly rising bubbles
pour
down our throat &
whisper
softly the secret
sounds
of that pink
mystery.
The wine was a beautiful pale pink colour,
with a good flow of bubbles and dry refreshing tangy
strawberry taste.
Standing next to Larry was Bill Russell, the
cheerful winemaking co-owner of Westport River Winery.
This was his second year at the show. On his first visit
in 2004 he’d succeeded in getting his 2001 Brut
Cuvee sparklers listed by Adnams Wines. Adnams are a
small brewery located on the east coast of England. They
operate pubs, a couple of hotels, are famous for their
traditional beers and are a well respected wine
merchant. They distribute wines to restaurants and sell
to the public via a design-award winning mail-order wine
line list. “I’ve returned to the show to renew
relationships with Adnams, and because I’ve had other
wines I’d like to export,” said Bill. “But mostly,” he
grinned, “because I love drinking Adnams beer and I
can’t get it in the States.” As well as methode
champenoise sparklers, Bill was showing his Pineau
d’Pinot. This is a Pinot Noir wine whose fermentation is
stopped by the addition of brandy, leaving it naturally
sweet with the freshness of grape juice. ”I use brandy
that I make myself,” said Bill. The wine was the colour
of onion skins, with a rich sweet chocolately
flavour.
The 2006 London Wine Fair will be held 23-25
May. I’m hoping to see more wines from other US states.
And maybe then I’ll be able to taste some Georgia
wine.
* The recent Supreme Court decision hasn’t
opened direct shipping to all, despite the optimistic
claims in many newspapers. The decision just said that
wineries shipping from out of state must be treated the
same as in-state wineries. States can, and do, ban all
direct shipping to consumers, or place such restrictive
conditions it makes it more trouble than it
worth.
Contacts –
Adnams
www.adnamswines.co.uk
L Mawby Vineyards
www.lmawby.com
London International Wine & Spirit
Fair
www.londonwinefair.com
Mid-America International Agri-Trade Council
(MIATCO)
www.miatco.org
Westport Rivers Winery
www.westportrivers.com
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