Boutique Wines vs. Mass Production...Choose Wisely

Canadians love beer more than anything but more of us are choosing vino...must be all that "it's good for your heart" stuff we read. 

Growing up, wine was drunk on holidays by our parents and when we were finally old enough to drink...wine was pretty far down on our list of things to try. Times have changed...wine is becoming a drink of choice and there is more wine on the market than ever before. Anyone can afford a decent bottle of wine these days...and by decent I am referring to wines that aren't sold in jugs. Decent wines can have a screw cap mind you!

With all the great products on the market...why on earth would people drink mass produced wines? There are so many wonderfully handmade wines available to us and in Calgary;we're spoiled like no other city in Canada. I believe the answer is a lack of awareness. If more people knew how boutique wines were made versus the mass produced products...they'd change their ways.

The big producers focus on marketing and the ability to make a buck at a given price point without worrying about quality. In simple terms, they want to produce millions of bottles that ALL taste the same, smell the same, and cost a specific amount. Consistency is their priority. These are what I call the Kentucky Fried or KFC wines...a blend of crushed fruit and stems seasoned with a special blend of wood chips...oak barrels being much too expensive for mass production. This approach...versus small wineries using traditional or new world wine making techniques...cultivating their own vines or, at a minimum, sourcing grapes from the best producers and not adding artificial flavors or preservatives (why do people get red wine headaches...hmmm?). In some cases the boutique producers hand pickthe grapes and use basket presses for a gentle "crush" instead of pounding fruit, seeds, and stem into oblivion. For me, this is an easy choice and it doesn't mean I have to spend more money. There are plenty of value wines that are right in line with the costs of the big brands.

I don't wish to come across as a wine snob when speaking about mass produced, "designed for the global marketplace" wines. If you like your Wolf Blass Yellow Label, Little Penguin, or Yellow Tail then good on ya. A good wine is a wine YOU like no matter what anyone says. I started drinking mass marketed wines and they helped lay a foundation for the development of my palate. Fortunately I was spoiled and lucky on two fronts. I had friends with much better palates and cellars full of great wines they were willing to share. This is how I learned what 5, 10, 20, 30...even 40 years can do for a wine. Age is a wonderful thing! Wines and patience go hand in hand...and patience is rewarded. Unfortunately we're an impatient bunch. We want gratification NOW, not years from now and hence the mass produced wines we drink are meant to be consumed immediatel because they aren't made to improve over time. We refuse to wait and the big producers know us...better than we know ourselves. Enter Marketing 101, discussions of price points, wine in boxes, etc.

Here's a challenge...go rent Mondovino and learn a little bit more about the wine industry. Then go to a specialty store and ask questions about their products. If you ask a retailer what else you can buy given your budget (exclude wines you normally drink) you will be pleasantly surprised. You may even find some bottles that have been aged a bit. I love it when someone else has paid to age a wine for me!

There is one issue that some wine retailers will not talk about...there are A LOT of politics in their industry and they are often held hostage by wine distributors. Many times a store will only get the super-duper-great-vino IF they agree to also buy the not-so-super-duper stuff that the wine rep cannot get rid of. Often it's about playing the game...so if a store wants the best wines....they must help the rep move the "other" stuff...and guess who buys the "other" stuff....? I feel for the wine stores in this regard which is why I do my homework on what I buy and who I buy it from. Some retailers in Calgary cut out the middle men all together and buy directly from wine producers...this is how we're spoiled in our market. You can get boutique wines for the same price as the mass produced products. Boutiques wine stores, contrary to popular opinion, are NOT more expensive than "Lenny's Liquor" on the corner.

As I mentioned previously, there is more wine in the market today than ever. You can certainly choose to drink the mass marketed, mass produced products and if you enjoy them and you're happy then so be it...but for centuries wine has been an art form and while certain companies try to become the "Starbucks" of the wine world I am all for supporting the smaller producers who care about making top quality products on lands their families may have owned for generations. There are great stories to go with their wines and I am much more interested in them than a cool label on a bottle of something the rest of the herd is drinking.

Find yourself a good wine retailer and put your budget in their hands. Calgary is the best wine market in North American right now and you'd be crazy not to take full advantage of it.