Wine, Women and a Cardinal Rule of Tasting.....!!

It is good to see more and more women involved in the wine industry as writers, wine makers and on the sales side of the industry.
There are also some great web pages and blogs written by women.  
Women for Wine Sense is an organization that has recently celebrated its 21st birthday.
As well on the consumer side, women outnumber men significantly in the purchase of wine.
Women  buy 77 percent and consume 60 percent of the wine in the United States.  
It is generally known that women can smell and taste wine better than men. In my own experience I have observed this time and again. I write an email wine newsletter in which I review wines. I have a panel of 8 tasters, 4 women and 4 men ( not always the same tasters ) and we blind taste the wines. The ladies give me better descriptors both of aromas and flavor profiles. As an added bonus, I can read their notes better. I hasten to add that I have a couple of gents who are regularly on my panel and who are outstanding tasters.
My annual sparkling wine tasting just before the holiday season starts is usually more ladies than men and they have a blast.
 Six ladies and two men. I am taking the picture and therefore not visible. 
Given all this, why in the world does a marketing firm come up with what I consider a put down of women's wine sense and knowledge by creating a wine and  bottling  it in a perfume shaped bottle?

 One of the cardinal rules when tasting wine is not to wear perfume or any other scents. Obviously the marketers and makers of this product show their lack of knowledge and sense. At least that is the way I see it!!

The Heart and Soul of Wine.

Berry Bros & Rudd recently released a report on the future of wine.
They are of course Britain's oldest wine establishment, celebrating their 310th anniversary this year. I have a great respect for this vintage company but do not agree with everything covered in this report. (For those of you interested in reading the entire report, email me at fruitofthevine@shaw.ca and I will send you a pdf copy)
Their claims on China as a future rival to Bordeaux are refuted by people in the know as evidenced by comments left on Decanter.com
There is an intense interest in wine around the globe and a thirst for knowledge about the subject. Bloggers and writers everywhere giving us daily doses and we can't seem to get enough of it. We all know how wine drinkers progress from the sweet barely drinkable wines but eventually will settle for the many outstanding wines available today. I think of my own journey along the road of wine which started while in college. Mateus was where it was at. So I find Jasper Morris' MW
prediction somewhat unbelievable.
"In 50 years, consumers will ask for wine by the brand name or flavour and won't know, or care, where it has come from. Grapes will be genetically modified to change a wine's taste and producers will add artificial flavourings to create a style wanted by consumers." I cannot visualize the wine consuming public dumbing down and ordering a "Waitrose White" or a "Rosemount Red"
The quality of wines will continue to improve. It has to, if wineries expect to sell their wines in this highly competitive market. An example of this happening is the creation of a "crus" appellation in the Minervois region of the Languedoc. TheAOC Minervois La Livinière
was established in 1999. This past week I had the pleasure of meeting Isabelle Coustal, the proprietor and wine maker at Chateau Saint Eulalie.
Her Chateau Sante Eulalie La Cantilene is an outstanding wine and an example of what the future holds for us wine drinkers not content to drink the commercial plonk. We tasted Isabelle's Plaisir d'Eulalie. and it truly is a pleasure. Candle light and wine shared with friends enjoying a good meal came to my mind. Now I won't be around 50 years from now to say I told you the BBR report was not accurate, but future wine drinkers will be enjoying some amazing wines like the ones coming from the Minervois La Liviniere today. And with wine makers like Isabelle leading the way the Heart and Soul of good wines will be passed on to wine drinkers 50 years from now.

Here a vineyard, there a vineyard, everywhere a vineyard!

Old McDonald had a farm... but now it is a vineyard. Everywhere you go in North America, new vineyards are being planted and new wineries are getting established.

Including here on Vancouver Island, BC. One of the oldest and well established vineyards and winery is the Blue Grouse Vineyards in the beautiful Cowichan Valley. This picture was taken just prior to their bountiful 2006 harvest.

An amazing 1000 new wineries were added last year in North America. Colorado saw the largest % increase (46%) in new wineries of any of the states. Have a look at this well made video taken at the Winter Park Winery. You can almost smell the grapes.

Canada also had a large % increase with 128 new wineries added and British Columbia leading the way with 46 new wineries. Other wine regions, notably Chile, Argentina, Russia, India and China are also adding new wineries at a fast pace. Why is this happening? Certainly here in North America, it is fuelled by the tremendous surge in interest in all things related to wine, not the least of which is the health implication of drinking wine, especially red wines. Our love affair with wine is infectious and the exuberance shown by our younger generation is rapidly making wine an accepted and well established part of our culture.The consumption of wine by the Millennial generation has increased from 10 percent in 2004 to 17 percent in 2006.

We are making our own decisions as to which wines and what style we prefer. The Wine Spectator and The Wine Advocate are not nearly as influential with our new found knowledge and desire to make our own decisions.

"Designation and certification of American Viticultural Areas (AVAs) in the United States and Designated Viticultural Areas (DVAs) in Canada has been, and continues to be, the necessary first step in shifting the North American wine culture to the kind of appellation-focused paradigm that will greatly broaden interest and expand markets." The foregoing is a direct quote from Appelation North America's publisher Roger Dial. As usual Roger has hit the nail right on the head. Be sure to read this interesting article.

One final note. We have all heard the expressions "So much wine, so little time" and "Life is too short to drink bad wine" My thought is that life is too short... period. So have another glass of wine and enjoy them all while you can. I know I will.