illtill - Empson USA

- YEAR'SBESTPINOTNOIR
NEW& NOTABLE
NEWYORKRESTAURANTS
01>
illtill
pinotgris& grigio
sparklingwines
Champagne
increasedits lead this year in the sparkling wine sector,
gaining
ground lost last year to Cava, Proseccoand American
spukling
wines.Broader interest in Champagnebrought rhe average
picebackin line with years prior to the recession(last year, sales
mighthavebeen more limited to the super-rich purchasing the
super-cuvdes,
which would drive up the averageprice). In contrast,
theaverage
price for non-Champagnesparklersrose,another sign of
e$tronger
market for bubbles. Last year, the only non-Champagne
brand
to make the list was SeguraViudas, a value-pricedCava.This
, AndersonValley's RoedererEstatestepsup into fifth place,at a
thatmakesit an appealingalternativeto its French namesake.
Sommeliers
noted that by-the-glassprograms have been driving
of sparklingwine, whether in its traditional mode as an aperitif
partof a tasting menu. "A good portion of the year here is hot,"
ErinWhite of August in New Orleans."So it's nice to start your
with something chilled or bubbly." She finds few guestswill
Champagne
through dinner.
ieffHagleyatRestaurantEugenein Atlanta servessparkling rosds
crudo:"We havea trout tartare with ponzu gelde.It's absolutely
iouswith a rosd Champagnebecauseof the high fat content in
Pts.Winery
Boltling
Veuve
Clicquot
Reims,
Champagne
28 Taittinger
Reims,
Champagne
Champagne
BrutYellow
label
Champagne
BrutPrestige
Champagne
BrutRosd
s86
s130
22 MoOt&Chandon
Epernay,
Champagne
Champagne
BrutRosd
Champagne
WhiteStar
s141
s105
15 l{icolas
teuillatte
Ipernay,
Champagne
Champagne
Brut
Champagne
BrutRos6
Anderson
Valley
Brut
Anderson
Valley
L'Ermitage
s61
s190
12 Roederer
Estate
Philo,
CA
Pinot grigio's numbers held steadyin 2010;it remains the go-to wine
for many restaurantdiners who want a glassof white.
While inexpensiveVeneto wines fill bar fridges, higher-level
brands from Alto Adige and Friuli rise to the top of our Most Popular Pinot Grigio list everyyear, headedup by SantaMargherita. Fully
tI "Pinotgrigio
is still numberone
by the glass.Peopleorder it
likethey'dorderKetelOne,Stoli,
GreyGoose.Theydon'tcarewhere
it's from,as longas it's pinotgrigio."
-Melissa Monosoff,MS,Savona,
GulphMilts,
|l
70 percent of the popularity points went ro Italy, while US brands
earned 28 percent: Two Oregon pinot gris producers made the list
this year-King Estateand \TillametteValleyVineyards.
That leavesAlsaceout of the running when it comesto the Most
Popular Pinot Gris: "Alsaceis still a little bit of a tough sell," says
Erin White at Augustin New Orleans."Peoplearen't picking Alsace
off the wine list on their own."
Prioc
S
$46
s88
RankPts. Winery
Bottling
t7L
Santa
Margherita
Eolzano,
AltoAdige,
ltaly
34 KingEstate
Eugene,
0R
AltoAdige
3
24 EccoDomani
Irento,ltaly
delleVenezie
4
17 WillametteValleyVineyards
WillametteValley
Iurner,
0R
16 iermann
Farra
d'lsonzo/Ruttars,
Gorhia,
ltaly
s32
15 livioFelluga
Erazano,
Cormons,
ltaly
s56
2
wineas a %of top-selling
wines
15 '96 '97 '98 '99 '00 '01 '02 '03 '04 '05 '06 '0i '08 '09 '10
5
6
sparkfing wine points& averageprice
%o
Share
ofPoints
'09 'r0
'08
t0.40k
4o/o
t3.2 15.3 13.2
t3.2 11.3 9.2
11.0 9.2
Avg.Price
'08
'0E
Price
S
0regon
Domaine
0regon
Signature
Collection
s45
s34
'10
s102.34
5133.47
5106.66
48.33 41.56 52.90
4t.23 40.42 43.62
32.09 37.28
pinot gris & grigioas a %of toysellingwines
'95 '96 ',97 '98 '99 '00 '01 '02 '03 '04 '05 '06 '07 ',08 '09 ',10
s82.62 590.14 583.86
indrcaled.)
oftheyear
WINE
&
SPIRITS
APRIL
2011
\
tr
ii,,l
lI
r, '
:','
I
italianwines
Lastyear, sommeliersnoted more requestsfbr wines from the
southern
reachesofltaly. This year'sPoll resultsshowthc dealhas
beensealed."We've quite a bit of wine from Sicily,both whitc and
red,"notesBrad Ritter of Carmine'son Penn in Denvcr."Not by
intention:those are just good valucsthat consumersare liking."
TenutadelleTcrre Ncre m:rdeit into the top ten of the Most Popular ItalianWines, putting Etna officiallyon thc map. Othcr pro-
t,a
.
J
4
0
4
2
3
1
l-*"u", thoughtour
guestswouldwantto
d r i n ka l l t h i s
crazyltalianstuff."
-Bobby Stuckey
Frasca Food and Wine,
Boulder.CO
0
2
-5
5
44
ces
ois
lru
tux
'od
ducers
havc had a hand in settingthe trend, of coursc."Look at
someone
like Ciro lliondi," saysShelleyl.indgren of Al6 in San
"He replar-rteda run-down fhmily vineyard and is now
Francisco.
makingexceptionalwines."
Sommelicrsarc irlsorcporting increascdinterestin Piedmont's
"Peopleare drinking a lot more ncbbiolo than thcy usedto,"
wines.
saysBobby Stuckey,MS, at FrascaFoodandWine in Boulder,Colorado."There's been a kind of slow build to understandinsthcse
wines.They're leilrning that thcy have a different tannic srructure
from cabcrnetand a diflerent ircidstructurefrom pinot noir."
In San Francisco,Acquerello'sGianpaolo Paterlini agrees."We
can make anyonc happy with a nebbioio-basedwine. Giuseppe
Mrrscarcllo'sBarolo Monprivato is floral, light, fresh and eleg a n t - t h c k i n d o f w i n e p e o p l ew o u l d c o m p a r et o B u r g u n d y while others can be bigger and heavier."Pcrhapsthe strongest
stirtcmentcomcs fiom Angelo Falconeat Il Capriccioin Waltham,
"We uscd to have fifiy US wines on the list; now
Mirssachusctts:
we havefbur. And we haveone hundrcd and six Barolos."
This is the fifih year in a row that ltaly has earned the largest
irnport shilreof rcspondents'top-ten lists- just over fiftcen pcrccnt. America'sthirst fbr big, bold winesmay accountfbr part of
their popularity.As MelissaMonosoff, MS, of Savonain Gulph
Mills, Pennsylvania,
says,"Peoplc itrc stucl<on super-Tuscans.
I
cirn'tbuy crroughin thc $70 to $90 range."But othcrsreport their
gucstsare open to the breadthofwhat Italy hasto offer. "'fhey'rc
more intcrestedin thc indigenouswinesfrom the regionthan they
wcre fbur or five ycars ngo," saysStuckey."Americansare srrrting
'Hcy,
to say
I understandbig, rich chardonnayfrom Piemontc,
but let'stry a vcrdicchioor a lirgrcin."'Ifdivcrsityis the key to succcss,Italy hasit down.
l
Avg.Price
'()8
byAppellation
Chanti
Classico
I2.90/o 5.70/o 9.0%
Bfunello
dil\4ontalcino
2.6
1.1
3.9
Pinot
Grigio
AlloAdige
9.1
o.1
Friuli
3.2
2.3 3.0
Barolo
&Barbaresco2.8 t.2
5.5
I
0{}
2
47 Marchesi
Antinori
Firenze,
Tuscany
Villa
Antinori
Toscana
Toscana
Tignanello
3
32 T[scantstatesof Rufllno
Pontassieve,
Tuscany
Chianti
Chianti
Riserva
Ducale
Classico
Gold
s56
s112
s36
s76
4
25 Argiano
Ioscana
NonConfunditur
inColle,
ltl|ontalcino
S.Angelo
il'r
'ilr 'lrE
!9
0C
'01
li
il!
7
18 lucedellaVite
Firenze,
Tuscany
Toscana
Lucente
s56.63 560.72 S58.r1
8
18 Tenuta
Terre
delle
Nere
Shily
Etna
Rosso
Etna
RosoFeudo
diMezzo
9
15 Castello
diMonsanlo
Firenze,
Juscany
Chianti
Classico
Riserva
ir.l 'i;5 {rt! 0i
lE
0u
'10
10 13 Ceretto
Alba,
Langhe
T
43
Barbera
d'Alba
Ruvei
Dolcetto
d'Alba
s34
s50
s57
s54
s55
s30
s42
s35
Valpolicella
Clasico
Ripaso
s37
13 CiacciPiccolominid'Aragona
R0ss0diMontalcin0
l\4ontalcino
RosodiToscana
12
13 Zenalo
Valoolicella
Rioasso
SanBenedetto
diLugana,
Veneto Pinot
Grigio
delle
Venezie
13
12 Marchesi
di Barolo
Barolo,
Piedmont
n
s50
s61
Langhe
Arneis
Dolcetto
d'Alba
LL
JI
58
s53
s133
23 Jermann
Friuli
Pinot
Grigio
Fana
d'lsonzo/Ruttars,
Gorizia Friuli
Vintage
Tunina
Y
55
PinotGrigio
delleVenezie
46.78 45.53 46.06
3i.60 38.42 38.50
109.35 120.71 114.1.4
italianwine as a %of top-sellingwines
44
24 Ecco
Domani
Trento
quader
feflecls
thef0urth
oftlreyedrindicated.)
{Data
!5
l l i , i I ir I
s48
s53.42 551.94554.32
121.771.44.75107.14
overall
Average
Price
l \ ri r r , : r
AltoAdigePinotGrigio
shareof italian wine points& averageprice
%Share
ofPoints
'08
'09
'10
' 1.
71 SantaMargherita
Bohano,
AltoAdige
1,4 11 LeSalette
Fumane,
Veneto
WINE
&
SPIRITS
APRIL
2O11
f