Champagne and the Rhône.”
Bernstein says his shop still
sells Bordeaux futures, which
many merchants abandoned
some time ago, “but people
are buying bottles now, not
cases.”
collectors have always tended
to be white-collar men who
have reached ‘an age’ where
they have disposal income yet
are still young enough to be
hyper-competitive with their
male peers.
Wine Access, an American
online, direct-to-consumer
wine retailer with a half-
million members, reports
that its orders from Gen X
customers (currently 37-
52 in age) on average was
13% higher in dollars over
the past two-year period
than Baby Boomers (53-
71) or Millennials (21-36).
And guess what? Xers are
considerably more likely to
buy Cabernet Sauvignon,
especially from Bordeaux,
the historic bedrock for
collectors, than Millennials.
“Gen Xers are more likely
to make purchases based
on their established tastes,”
says Wine Access’ Vanessa
Conlin, “while Millennials
tend to buy in correlation
with industry trends.” Baby
Boomers, it appears, are
smart enough and frugal
enough not to continuing
buying wines which will
outlive them.
Authenticity is important –
but does anyone know what
it means? “Our customers are
passionate about authenticity
and creativity,” says Shannon
Coursey, SVP and national
sales manager for American
importer-distributor Wilson
Daniels. Others echo this
customer desire. Yet who
can defi ne why one wine is
‘authentic’ and another is
not, or what makes a wine
‘natural’? People who demand
authenticity are a bit like the
American Supreme Court
judge who admitted he could
not defi ne pornography, “but
I know it when I see it.”
Social media is just the latest
iteration of peer infl uence.
Wine lovers today are
influenced by the same
people their parents were
– friends, acquaintances and
experts whose taste they
trusted. The only difference
is today there are more
voices, and they are heard
through a different medium.
The new generation is
different, but not radically so.
“The younger demographic
is growing, and it may not
have the patience to wait
for wines to mature as did
older generations,” Ritchie
says. “And they are more
adventuresome in their
consumption.” But, he
notes, they generally find
their way eventually back to
the classic regions. “France
leads the way, especially with
Drink Asia
35
Producers who have earned
respect the hard way still
dominate the fine wine
market. As Ritchie points out:
“People are now paying more
attention to the producer
and the vintage than just
the region.” William Davis
is director of education
for Wilson Daniels, which
represents such stalwarts
as Domaine de la Romanée-
Conti, Biondi Santi and
Royal Tokaji, not surprisingly
agrees. “The most powerful
indicators of greatness are
consistency in excellence
combined with historical
importance in a respective
appellation or wine style.”
Post-Parker, there will most
likely be fewer overnight
winery legends.
The trade continues to hail
Caesar, even after he’s gone.
Although many people in the
wine business vehemently
disagreed with his palate,
most are willing to concede
Parker ’s contributions.
“Parker’s also been an easy
target,” says Rosengren. “Did
he have too much infl uence?
Yes, but he’s not to blame for
that, and I respect what he
built from scratch. A lot of
wine growers, if not whole
regions, owe a lot to him.”
I asked Rolland: Do you and
Parker still keep in touch,
perhaps reliving old times?
“Not at all,” he replied.
March-April 2020
So what will we call this new
age of wine? Physicians will
tell you there is a disappearing
generation of patients who
were compliant and obedient,
seldom disagreeing with a
diagnosis or treatment
regimen, while today’s patients
are more interactive, asking
‘why’ and searching out second
opinions, if from nothing more
than online sources.
Wine drinkers of all ages
are increasingly like that
today, wanting expert advice
but not hesitant to ignore
it. However, that does not
mean they will reject all
of the old standards, the
time-honoured verities of
Burgundy and Bordeaux; it
just means that they will take
their own time and fi nd their
own paths in getting there,
most likely using Waze and
not Google Maps.
But, at the same time,
regions like Bordeaux, which
embraced the lusher fruit and
higher alcoholic preferences
of Parker and his generation
of critics, may yet return
to their historic, more-
structured, leaner styles of
wine which are now in favor
with sommeliers and many
wine lovers. Learning should
be a two-way street.
And so, whether we are
consumers, producers,
merchants or writers, we
now all seem caught up in an
exciting new era of wine –
‘The Age of Re-Discovery’.
S o u r c e : h t t p s : / / w w w.
thedrinksbusiness.
com/2020/01/wine-in-the-
age-of-re-discovery/