Hail to Olive Garden, Wine Marketer Extraordinaire!

The hugely popular Italian-themed restaurant chain Olive Garden is not just good with breadsticks, but it's also the top wine seller among restaurants in the country. With nearly 600 locations, the chain goes through over half a million cases a year according to recent reports. Okay, they don't exactly sell classified-growth Bordeaux or Napa cults, but their wine program is a smashing success and, therefore, remarkable considering that the chain targets middle America, not upscale gourmands who are usually regarded as the main wine consumers in this country.

How does Olive Garden entice their customers to drink wine? It starts with an easy to understand, one-page wine list dominated by wines selling in the range of $20-$30 per bottle. The list is classified not by price, grape varietal, or geography, but by flavor profile: something more understandable and friendly to their customers. They have "Slight Sweet" (white Zinfandel, Riesling, Asti), "Light & Fruity" (Pinot Grigio), "Full & Smooth" (Chardonnay), "Smooth & Fruity" (Pinot Noir, Valpolicella), "Soft Berry Flavors" (Merlot, Chianti), and "Robust & Rich" (Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, Barolo, Amarone). Mark-ups are 2X-3X retail. Brands are well-known mass market, large-volume producers such as Sutter Home, Robert Mondavi, Penfolds, Cavit, Yellow Tail, and Kendall-Jackson.

But the restaurant also hooks customers by having a staff member go around offering free tastes of some of their wines. Though white Zinfandel still accounts for 40% of wine sales, customers are increasingly moving on to Pinot Grigio and Pinot Noir.

This is a welcome exception to the wine establishements' dependence on wine critics' scores to promote wines. It's good to see restaurants like the Olive Garden tackle the marketing successfully with, shall we say, a more user-friendly approach.

The Passing of a Giant

(photo courtesy of Martine's Wines)


Burgundy legend, Henri Jayer, passed away last Wednesday. He was 84.

In wine there are few who are truly legends and Henri Jayer was one of them. So legendary that some presumed that he passed away many years ago mainly because he laid low and turned over his estate to his nephew, Emmanuel Rouget, in 1996.

Jayer leaves a legacy that is hard to overestimate as the vineyard and winemaking practices he espoused are routinely applied by vignerons and winemakers all over the world today. His motto was: “quality before anything else”. He freely gave advice and mentored fellow Burgundians such as the late Denis Mortet, Philippe Charlopin, Jean-Michel Meo, and of course his nephew, Emmanuel Rouget.

In the vineyard, he pruned severely to reduce yields, and he plowed to discourage surface roots and encourage roots to go down deeply. He also harvested late, making sure that the crops have reached full ripeness.

But it was in the cellar that the Jayer method was copied widely by winemakers all over the world, whether making wine with Pinot Noir or other grape varietals. He brutally sorted. He fully destemmed. He cold-soaked for a week to extract color and aroma and macerated with the skins for up to a month. Then he aged his wines in 100% new oak

Although the Jayer method can easily be copied, the results are seldom duplicated. The secret, if it’s any secret at all, is that one must still know the wines that one is making. That is something that cannot be taught or copied.

Next time you enjoy a Burgundy or Pinot Noir offer a toast to Henri Jayer, as there's a good chance the wine you may be drinking has his imprint on it.

The Future of the Wine Advocate

It is the sign of the times. Instead of waiting for the next printed issue of the Wine Advocate to announce sweeping changes in its staffing, Robert Parker opted to post a thread on the Squires forum housed in the erobertparker.com Web site.

Details about the new staff critics dominated Parker's post, but he also revealed new directions for the Wine Advocate's reporting and Web strategies. Parker has entrusted David Schildknecht to handle the bulk of the Wine Advocate's content. In addition to his current beat in Germany and Alsace, Schildknecht will also be covering Burgundy, Champagne, Loire, Languedoc-Roussilllon, New Zealand, and South Africa. Yet that's not all, with more critics on hand, the Wine Advocate is also looking to reach out to other wine frontiers heretofore given little coverage. Thus, Schildknecht's mandate includes reporting Central Europe and the United States' East Coast and Midwest winegrowing regions. Given his wide-ranging role, no doubt Schildknecht is Parker's new right hand man.

During the runup to the announcement, Parker observers heavily predicted Antonio Galloni, the young New York-based editor and publisher of the popular online Piedmont Report, to join the Wine Advocate. They were, of course, correct. Galloni will be covering all of Italy this time and, get this, the entire content of the Piedmont Report will be made accessible in erobertparker.com.

The other two new members of the staff are Parker cronies. Dr. J. Miller, Parker's longtime friend and supposed clone, will be taking on wine regions known for producing Port-like wines: Australia, Spain, and of course Oporto. Plus, he will be reporting on wines of the Pacific Northwest and South America. Meanwhile, Mark Squires gets the all-important task of writing about the dry wines of Portugal.

Parker, presumably, is a much happier man now, as he gets to focus on his main bailiwick of Bordeaux, Rhône Valley (and Provence), and California.

Parker also hinted bringing in a "critic-at-large" for the Web site. One who's "a prolific writer who will provide remarkable diversity and expertise, and will represent a point of view outside the American perspective that now dominates this site.” Hmmm. Could this be Michel Bettane?

Highlighting the importance of engaging readers directly via the Web, Parker also stated increased Web participation of the Wine Advocate staff: “All of us will be even more active on the Mark Squires Bulletin Board that appears on the eRobertParker.com web site”. For sure, this new emphasis on the Web will draw even more traffic to the Web site.

Overall, Parker is to be congratulated on most of these changes. The strong presence of Schildknecht and Galloni gives the Wine Advocate great credibility in the areas these two gentlemen will cover. No doubt they will help boost readership for the Wine Advocate, which, needless to say, must happen as the publication now has a considerable payroll to meet.

Perhaps more importantly, the reorganization also paves the way for the publication to thrive beyond Parker. The Wine Advocate is now a viable brand on its own. Competing wine media should take notice.

New TV Series on Wine Seeks to "Demystify" Wine

The Cork Dorks, a new educational TV series on wine, will air soon on a Public TV channel in your location. Hosted by two wine industry characters ("the cork dorks", get it?), the 30-minute episode features on-location shots at vineyards and wineries as the hosts goof around and explain heady winemaking terms as "green harvest" and "skin-to-juice ratio".

Their narration is helped along by nifty "Powerpoint"-type bullet-point presentation graphics and catchy numbered lists borrowed from glossy magazine headlines, such as: "The 6 Napa Wineries That Made Napa What It Is Today", "4 Things That Wine Lovers Should Do (But Probably Don't)", and "3 Secrets of Wine Labels".

This is a truly educational program that's slick and entertaining as well. The hosts do succeed in demystifying many aspects about wine, but let's hope they don't succeed too much. Edutainment shows like these could be deceptive. It might make you more wine smart but not necessarily enhance or widen your appreciation of wine.

Doomed to 40 Years of Vintages of the Century

If climate scientists in Europe are to be believed, it looks like Europe's major winegrowing regions might "suffer" through a vintage of the century for almost each year of the next 40 to 50 years. These experts predict that "Europe will experience 50 percent less rainfall in summer and 30 percent more rainfall in winter", according to a recent report in the Financial Times.

In short, such a forecast means a weather similar to that of 2005, which has produced one of the greatest vintages in the winegrowing regions of Bordeaux, the Loire, Burgundy, Alsace, the Rhône, Piedmont, and Germany. Already 2006 is shaping up so far as another stellar year in many of France's wine regions. July is reported the hottest on record since 1950 and though rainfall was 10% higher than average, June's rainfall was down to just 50% of average.

Upheaval in Parker's Domaine

According to recent news reports, Wine Advocate staffers, Pierre Rovani and Daniel Thomases, will soon be leaving the publication founded and owned by wine critic Robert Parker. Rovani, Parker's supposed "heir apparent", who worked for a wine retailer at the time Parker recruited him in 1996, is said to be weary of his career as a wine critic and is yearning to return to the wine trade.

Since news of the staff changes broke out, the grapevine has been rife with speculation. So what's next for the Wine Advocate? Who will Parker recruit as replacements? Will he just retire and sell the publication? Is a merger in the cards, possbily with Allen Meadows' Burghound or Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar?

Stay tuned.

Great Whites

We had another inspirational get-together the other week, and the theme this time was white wines. The folks in the group were generous as always to share interesting bottles from their stash. We started out with a powerful and richly scented 1998 Corton-Charlemagne-Louis Latour, which is just starting to come out. Full, elegant, and very long, it is still some years away from peak. A plate of smoked salmon matched the wine's richness.



Next ones up were a pair of Chablis Grand Cru Valmur from Verget, one a 1997 and the other a 1995. Both were lively, vibrant wines. The 1995 was soft and lush, really seductive that evening, while the 1997 was more mineral, very long, and complex; not yet peak and showing great potential in a few more years. 1997 Chablis vintage has really turned out some nice bottles. These wines were delicious with a plate of juicy white asparagus wrapped in crisped bacon.

The pair that followed were a 1991 Chevalier-Montrachet-Leflaive and a 1994 Corton-Charlemagne-Louis Latour. The Chevalier had a powerful, mineral nose but is very reticent still. Towards the end of the dinner it opened up some more revealing signs of its excellent potential in probably another five years or so.

In contrast, the '94 Corton-Charlemagne was almost overwhelming in its heady, rich vibrant flavors which kept unfolding in the mouth. Structured and very long on the finish. This is a great white Burgundy with years of enjoyment ahead.

With this pair we enjoyed an amazingly succulent and perfectly cooked baked halibut in white wine (the '98 Corton Charlemagne) and toasted pine nuts. For white Burgundy fans this is a recipe to treasure.



Probably the highlight of the evening was the duo of white Bordeaux, sister wines from the Graves actually. A 1981 Laville Haut-Brion (the white of La Mission Haut-Brion) and a 1982 Haut-Brion Blanc, both in glorious condition. The Laville, still pale and light in color, displayed an attractive mineral, citrus nose; a very elegant body; and luscious flavors underpinned by its delicate minerality. It is bone-dry and well-balanced. Drinking just right and probably will not get much better than this.

The '82 Haut-Brion was simply unbelievable. Not that I've tried many, but this has got to be one of the greatest whie Bordeaux ever made because it is hard to imagine anything surpassing it or even equaling it in overall performance. In color it is still light and pale. Apart from the aging label, the wine itself appears not to show its age as its bouquet and flavors are deliciously vibrant as well as very richly layered and powerful. The oak is still quite evident, and the wine is so well-structured with good acid balance that it is easy to expect it to drink well for at least another decade. Phenomenal! This from a blend of 55% Sauvignon Blanc and 45% Semillon. About 1,000 cases were made.

Ah, but that's not all. The excellent Veal Piccata we had truly brought out all the goodness in the wines, providing the necessary foil and contrast to such wonderful bottles.

Finally, I can not say enough about the half-bottle of 1977 Kopke Colheita, a vintage tawny that's so rich and dark it's not easy regarding it as a Tawny. A spectacular bottle that's drinking at its best. Powerful, but velvety smooth and fresh-tasting, with a lingering finish that is very seductive. A great bottle to polish off the evening.