Interesting article

[rob]

Part of an article written by Katie Cook of U of M, I thought it was interesting



The trend at the moment seems to be making wines on the sweet side. I would argue that it is easier to make a sweet wine than a balanced wine. Another advantage to creating sweet wines is that they are fairly easy to sell. This is something that is difficult for people who’ve been in the wine industry a long time to readily admit. The vast majority of people who drink wine in the US are new wine drinkers, who prefer sweet, fruity wines. That’s ok… I’ll admit that boxed white zinfandel is how I first became acquainted with wine. It’s a style that’s more approachable than the dry, acidic, or tannic wines. However, it’s the dry, acidic, and tannic wines that make the best food wines, and this is a style that I would like to see more of in the state of Minnesota. I’d also like to throw out this thought: just as many people grow-out of drinking Light Beer and Kool-Aid, many wine drinkers start to move toward drier and more bitter-tasting (tannic) wines over time. So, many of those “new” wine drinkers who prefer sweet wines now, may prefer a drier style down the road.

 

[ShawnDTurner]

Now that is the True True!

 

[Kraffty]

White Zin, a gateway wine.

 

[jamesngalveston]

marketing wine is a science based on color,labels,heritage,age,type and etc.
most buy the wine based on label, not contends.
most wine buyers are not educated about wines
most wine buyers can not tell the diffrence in white are reds when blindfolded
most cant tell the diffrence from a grape wine are a fruit wine. when labels removed.
And I would bet this lady could not either.
It is a sham....Now..if you make your own....you can tell what is what.,
what is ages, what is red, what is fruit etc.
so .....that said
if you want to be a wine judge, then learn to make your own, then go forth.
arugement are not....it has been proven that the so called wine experts, did not know squat when had wine that had no label, are sipped wine while blindfolded...the all failed.
and it has been proofen people buy wines, according to the front label..not the rear...go figure.

 

[rob]

James, I think she knows a little about wine!

Katie Cook
Enology Project Leader
Department of Horticultural Science


M.S. Université de Bourgogne, Enology
B.S. University of Houston, Biology
Research Interests

Cook grew up in Prior Lake and earned a bachelor's degree in biology from the University of Houston. She then decided to pursue her love for food and wine by attending an international culinary academy in the south of France. After working in wineries in California and Argentina, Cook returned to France to earn her Master’s degree in Enology at the Universite de Bourgogne. She spent six months in Australia before returning home to work at the University of Minnesota. She spends much of her time working at the Horticultural Research Center studying the issues and obstacles we face with growing grapes and making wine in Minnesota, and researching techniques through which we can overcome those obstacles.

 

[GreginND]

I know Katie and I can tell you she does know something about wine.

 

[sour_grapes]

and it has been proofen people buy wines, according to the front label..not the rear...go figure.

I know that I certainly am greatly influenced by the front label, sadly. And the price point -- it has to be not-too-high and not-too-low.

 

[Snafflebit]

Out here in CA I have had some fantastic, sweet orange moscato and late harvest syrah but back home in MO, sweet is all you will find in some wineries. There is a 180 degree shift in sweet to dry ratio of available wines between the Midwest and west coast.

All my relatives drink sweet wine and expect that is what wine is supposed to taste like. I (now) think it tastes like Kool-Aid mixed with brandy. But visit a Midwest winery and ask what is popular. It is the sweet stuff that keeps the bills paid. Wine is seen more like a treat than something to be paired with food. Probably why sweet wine is more popular.

 

[jamesngalveston]

I did not disagree with her at all..I think she is correct in stating people tend to graduate to a less sweet wine, once they learn the difference from sweet to dry. But it has also been proofing more people buy wine because of the label more then the contents.
It has been proofing that on a panel of 10 so called wine judges they could not tell the difference in red and white wine at a blindfold taste test.
I could not either...but i dont confess to know much about wine. other then I like what I make....

 

[jamesngalveston]

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/20...our-eyes-how-wine-labels-trick-us-into-buying

 

[jamesngalveston]

http://erikras.com/2012/06/11/blindfolded-wine-taste-test/

 

[GreginND]

That ay be true in a store, James, but for local wines from small wineries, most people but after tasting in the winery.

 

[tingo]

Check out the article listed below this one. It says how marketing has taken over the wine industry while quality comes second. This article is the main reason for my love of small wineries over the conglomerates. Small wineries seem to focus on quality and customer service. Larger ones just want to sell sell sell. One winery in the finger lakes is owned by a retired priest who drinks his homemade wine with you while you taste test. No conventions, no snobby suburban critics, just good company, good atmosphere, good wine. If I am ever lucky enough to own a winery I pray that I am also lucky enough to remain a small winery where wine, and people for that matter, still matter.

 

[Gwand]

My research involves the dopamine reward center in the brain. Sweet tastants provoke a more robust surge in dopamine compared to any other gustatory stimulator. In a culture that did not grow up drinking wine it makes biological sense that many people would initially prefer sweet wine. Dry wine becomes an acquired taste. While white Zin is akin to Kool Aid it may be a first step to appreciating fine wine. Let's hope.

 

[jamesngalveston]

Greg....We have alot of customers that shun our products....seafood.
But once they see them, and taste them, they buy...again its a marketing tool, to let one see and taste...most all will buy somthing....

 

[jamesngalveston]

I have been on the sales end of almost every buisness i have owned, and I can tell you now...I can sale cat poop with the right label and marketing campaign...

 

[DoctorCAD]

I have been on the sales end of almost every buisness i have owned, and I can tell you now...I can sale cat poop with the right label and marketing campaign...

I'll take a pound to go, please.

 

[GreginND]

Sure I understand how important label marketing is. My only point was the in the Midwest the majority like sweeter wines and most small wineries are selling after tasting, not selling necessarily due to labels in the store. Quality is another issue. I think sweeter wines can be made with high quality. Bottom line, know your market. I hope the palates change around here toward more drier wines. I will also say that I think wineries in the Midwest need to push that more by offering more drier wines. I plan to offer dry to off dry wines mainly but will have a few offerings that are sweeter.

 

[Stressbaby]

Couple of thoughts about sweet wine...a small commercial winemaker near me told me that sugar is good since it covers a variety of wine flaws. So it may not only be something that the consumer wants, it may be something the commercial winemaker is deliberately doing to cover up flaws in the product.

There is no doubt that the wineries in MO produce some pretty good wine but where they make their money is from the sweet wine...sweet wine is what sells around here.

As far as knowing what you are drinking, I agree with Greg...this really just applies to average consumers in the store. The folks that know wine can ace these blinded taste tests. A good friend of mine has a local restaurant. We had a blinded wine tasting party with 10 different varietals and he nailed every single one. Not just red/wine/rose, but every single varietal. I'll bet lots of folks on this forum could do same.

 

[rob]

I guess what I found the most interesting was the fact I am always sweeting my wines because either thats what people like or am I just trying to mask a Flaw in the wine? then I go out and buy a dry wine to drink,
I think I have certainly moved on to a dryer wine, but again afraid of making it myself in the chance someone might think it is to biter.