Save the Wine Column: it’s more than saving a column
Sunday 14 February
Those of you not yet signed up to the Save the Wine column campaign on Facebook, shame on you! At the last count we had 679 members and some pretty passionate comments.
I set the group up last week and didn’t realise quite how heated things would get. The loss of wine columns is a worldwide trend as seen by the number of international members getting involved from France to Canada, the US and New Zealand.
Champenois, Gilles Dumangin, said “First thing I buy when I arrive in the UK on regular visits is the Observer… Not anymore.”
UK-based Colin Smith, commented: “My Sundays will never be the same without a browse of Tim’s column in the Observer. What next? No Nigel Slater?”
But the campaign has unearthed the wider debate of the traditional print media and falling advertising revenues.
As more and more content shifts on-line, can the print media survive? They will co-exist for a time. I continue to earn my money from print media while blogging, tweeting and running a Facebook campaign so I’m in the game when my main source of income erodes. I sincerely hope that doesn’t happen but the prognosis isn’t promising. Personally, I’m a big fan of leafing my way through a magazine, rather than squinting at a computer screen and I’m sure I’m not alone.
But Olly Wehring, editor of online news site just-drinks.com, was not optimistic of the chances of saving our wine columns: “The move to cut back wine columns in national newspapers serves only as an indication that the times, they are a-changin’. To argue for the survival of something that is clearly on its way out is like trying to get toothpaste back in the tube,” he wrote.
Clearly advertising has fallen in the past 18 months with a number of magazines I write for combining (ie dropping) issues due to a lack of advertising. How to get wine companies to stump up for advertising or partnerships with magazines and newspapers is a real issue in the age of free vehicles like twitter.
Rob McIntosh, a blogger and social media expert also brought up the subject of advertising: “The number of column inches available are not related to the quality of the writing, they are about a chase for the quality dollars (or pounds). There simply isn’t the same advertising revenue from wine columns as for cars, travel,” he said. “There may be more consumers buying wine, but they are not necessarily doing so on the advice of wine columns in newspapers. Ironically, the editors’ attempts to address that (turning columns into shopping lists) reduces the value and interest of the column.”
New Zealand could follow in Germany’s footsteps
Thursday 11 February
After a three-course dinner, several glasses of wine and some unusual entertainment at the end of Pinot Noir 2010, it was Oz Clarke’s turn to get up and shake up the New Zealand wine industry.
His rhetoric got a standing ovation. Luckily I was being a conscientious journo and had my pad and pen to hand when he spoke – so here are a few snippets for those of you who weren’t there – and those of you that have fuzzy, boozy memories of the evening.
The point is New Zealand is in danger of shooting itself in the foot if it doesn’t sort its supply-demand balance. We all know this. If it is seen as a sub £5 supplier of Sauvignon Blanc that tarnishes the whole country’s image and its other varieties. Could Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc become the next Liebfraumilch? Let’s hope not.
Oz said: “There’s an ocean of Sauvignon Blanc hitting the shelves in the UK. What’s that got to do with Pinot Noir? Quite a lot.”
“Germany was the leading supplier of wine in the UK in the 1980s. The Brits greedily guzzled it for a few years but the pursuit of great profit ruined their reputation.”
“Less than a generation later, Australia fuelled the British wine revolution with Shiraz and Chardonnay.”
“Aussie Chardonnay became the discount junkie’s paradise. The pursuit of short term profit mutilated Australia’s reputation.”
“Don’t think it could not happen to you, it’s happened twice before in the past 30 years.”
“Consumers will say top quality Pinot Noir [from New Zealand]? That’s where the cheap Sauvignon Blanc comes from. The expensive jewel, the sought after Pinot suddenly looks far too dear.”
We were all thinking it; Oz said it. Honesty spoken with a bit of Oz theatricals thrown in is the best policy.
Save the Wine Column
Tuesday 9 February
Join my new Facebook campaign: Save the Wine column.
Following news that Sunday newspaper The Observer is slashing Tim Atkin MW’s weekly column, something has to be done to save wine writing being marginalised to specialist magazines.
The popular page, which Atkin has written since 1993, will go down to three wine recommendations a week, according to decanter.com. This follows Joanna Simon’s Sunday Times column being axed a year ago, replaced with an in-house journalist who knows little about wine.
Newspapers are cutting costs with dwindling circulations and a move to online media but wine is getting hit hardest. Why? Is wine seen still an elitist product? Not if the figures are anything to go by: more people are drinking wine than ever before. In the five years from from 2003, consumption of wines per head increased from 24.6 litres to 27.2 litres in the UK. This is forecast to rise over the next five years to 28.3 litres, according to the IWSR.
Foodie column inches have clearly grown, such as The Observer’s Food Monthly magazine. But wine has not shared in its success. Admittedly some national columnists could do with upping their game but Atkin’s column was thoughtful, accessible and entertaining. I bought the Observer rather than The Independent every Sunday because of his column and it was the first thing I read. Even my parents, who have little interest in wine other than a good deal at Tesco, enjoyed it.
How do we make wine more appealing to readers and save wine from disappearing from the print media? A Facebook campaign is a start but that won’t stave off the deeper malaise. What do we do?
Gimblett’s neighbour steps up its game
Sunday 7 February
Hawke’s Bay producers based close to the Gimblett Gravels in ‘The Triangle’ are planning to group together to gain international recognition for their terroir.
While still embryonic, producers including Bridge Pa and Alpha Domus aim to form a ‘Triangle’ association to compete with their well-known neighbours Gimblett Gravels.
Paul Ham, Managing Director at Alpha Domus, said, “We are constantly bombarded with Gimblett Gravels. I’m not complaining about it but it’s up to us to be proactive. Across the road from the Gravels we have this triangle sub-region which offers something else.”
“People have heard all about Gimblett Gravels and they are looking for what’s next from Hawke’s Bay, so we have a great opportunity to get some traction,” he added.
The Triangle – also known as the Ngatarawa or Bridge Pa triangle – first needs to settle on one name for the area and define its boundaries. It lies around one kilometre from the Gimblett Gravels, on the same former river bed but with a clay and sandy top soil. The wines are similar in style to the Gravels but Stephen Daysh, director of Bridge Pa, claims, “The Triangle fruit isn’t as dense or heavy as Gimblett Gravels but is a little more lifted and perfumed.”
This is not the first time people have talked about defining the area but it has not yet come to fruition. It is likely to come against some opposition from other Hawke’s Bay producers and the regional association, which aims to promote the region as a whole. Let’s face it, most consumers don’t even where New Zealand is, let alone Hawke’s Bay! However, in the fine wine market the Gravels have already started to gain recognition and the producers shouldn’t just sit and watch while they run away with all the headlines.
Other vineyard owners in the Triangle include Ta Mata, Sileni, Matua and Church Road.
Let’s Get It On at #pinot2010
Thursday 4 February
Burgundy is the world’s top dog when it comes to making Pinot Noir but at today’s tasting New Zealand fared much better in a blind line up of Pinots from around the world. Of course we’re in New Zealand so the tasting might have been a bit skewed but there were some real surprises.
There’s a whole number of reasons why the Burgundians looked rather unimpressive today: the 2006 vintage was patchy, the selection of wines was rather tight and closed, and you need more than a splash of wine to make a true assessment of them. They could’ve done with a nice game dish to accompany them too.
Nevertheless Oz Clarke was so unmoved by the 2006 Camille Giroud, Chambertin Grand Cru that he said he found it as exciting as a “bus timetable”. I awarded it a very average 16.5 out of 20 and thought it was a village level Burgundy. At the prices Grand Cru Chambertin commands, this wine shrieked daylight robbery.
In contrast, my favourite wines of the tasting were the 2007 Ata Rangi and the 2007 Felton Road Block 5. Both had beautiful purity, concentration and structure. The tannins were certainly a lot riper and the wines were much more approachable in their youth than Burgundy. The panel of speakers started getting carried away with comparisons to song lyrics in their tasting notes and critic Neal Martin claimed the Felton Road Pinot was his ‘Let’s Get It On’ wine. Unfortunately he wasn’t so complimentary to Russian River’s Littorai Pinot, likening it to a song from Flight of the Conchords, ‘Sugar Lumps’, in which Bret and Jemaine compare their testicles to the sweet cubes. I think I’d rather have Marvin Gaye.
It was good to see the NZ Pinots performing so well but one of the UK’s leading importers Hatch Mansfield warned producers not to set their sights only at the premium end of the market.
The average price for a bottle of New Zealand Pinot Noir in the UK is currently £8.93. Patrick McGrath MW, managing director of Hatch said, “I don’t think you want that premium to go any higher because you want to introduce Pinot to the greater public.”
“There’s a huge opportunity for it to become mainstream,” he added.
Tim Atkin MW agreed with McGrath. “ I believe Pinot Noir is a huge opportunity. Under £20 I would rather drink a New Zealand Pinot Noir. If you can crack the £9.99 market then the future in the UK export market is very bright.”
I’m not sure that’s what producers wanted to hear about their precious red grape variety.