Comments on: Wine Uncorked: The Rise of Big [Really Big] Box Wine

By: Michael

Michael — Wed, 30 May 2012 22:19:51 +0000

I agree with some of the postings here but don’t have a comment for some others. Here is what I do know.
27 CFR 4.28 Type designations of varietal significance.
(c) Muscat or Muscato. An American wine which derives at least 75% of its volume from any Muscat grape source.
Case and point: “Symphony” a Dr Olmo hybrid of Muscat of Alexandria and Grenache Gris. Symphony would not be reported under grape report information except as Symphony. Since there are so many subsets of Muscat one must consider all Muscat varieties before inferring volume discrepancies and the interpretation of the CFR wording is even more vague.
Another point that has been brought to my attention is that label approval at TTB can be varied depending on the agent that processes the COLA.
On another point export of bulk will continue and I predict will even grow. My official title is Export Winemaker at a large facility in California. Our program has grown or maintained volume for the last 7 vintages. Where some markets have dropped off others have grown. Some of our steady customers have sucked up the price increases as they have come. Right now wine and grape prices are 30-40% more than in 2010 and there is no immediate remedy. Until the banks loosen the purse strings and vineyards come on line we will be in this growers market.
The best of both worlds would be large wineries that are also large vineyard holders. They are set to make a killing for at least the next 4-5 years.

By: noblewines

noblewines — Tue, 15 May 2012 13:22:46 +0000

This was sent to me by Jennifer Berry of the Regulations & Rulings Division
Alcohol & Tobacco Tax & Trade Bureau (TTB): 27 CFR 4.28(c)
Here is the link: http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=ecfr&sid=fd272e5b0c018b83c0bc788375cc34be&rgn=div8&view=text&node=27:1.0.1.1.2.3.25.9&idno=27

By: Patrick R. Sullivan

Patrick R. Sullivan — Mon, 14 May 2012 16:33:39 +0000

This also happens to be how John D. Rockefeller transformed the oil industry; by rationalizing its shipping. He built his near monopoly in the 19th century thanks to his understanding of how railroads changed the economics of getting crude petroleum out of the ground in Pennsylvania to refinery to wholesalers and eventually to customers.

In so doing he cut the cost of kerosene (then the major petroleum product–for lighting–gasoline was a waste product) by 80% for consumers. His partner in that venture, Henry Flagler later used this knowledge to transform the state of Florida from a swamp with very little in the way of civilized comforts to something like the modern state we know today. Miami was a river until Flagler came along.

By: Steve

Steve — Fri, 11 May 2012 19:14:47 +0000

@noblewines Check the list of TTB approved varietals. http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=ecfr&sid=05e8a7d14c53851ac9313b415c551456&rgn=div8&view=text&node=27:1.0.1.1.2.10.25.1&idno=27
Pinot Grigio is an approved name as is Pinot Noir(nero) There is a Moscato Greco which is actually Malvasia Bianca and there are the various Muscats but there is no Moscato by itself, so… And Yes, there is not much that is sane regarding the TTB so no surprise there. The fact is, we know these varieties as Muscat Canelli, Muscat of Alexandria etc. There is no “bad” on those of us in the industry or on the TTB because we are not doing it the way you think it should be done.

By: Christopher Miller (@noblewines)

Christopher Miller (@noblewines) — Fri, 11 May 2012 18:08:22 +0000

That is absolutely insane…if Moscato is a fanciful name, then what is Pinot Grigio or Pinot Nero. Moscato is not a style of wine it is the Italian name for Muscat. If the TTB does not have any linguists on staff and the commercial entities in the wine industry are taking advantage of this oversight, then bad on them and bad on the TTB.

Once I drill down on this ‘ruling’ I will be using that information in some inventive (hopefully profitable) way.

By: Steve

Steve — Fri, 11 May 2012 16:00:56 +0000

Ah, the important distinction here is that “Moscato” is a fanciful name and while there is most often some or a majority of Muscat grapes in the wine it does not have to be the 75% required for varietal labeling. I work at a large custom bottling facility and we bottle a lot of “Moscato” we do not under any circumstances violate labeling regulations nor do I know anyone that would.

By: Allison

Allison — Fri, 11 May 2012 15:05:38 +0000

Hi Steve. I cannot say for certain as I haven’t seen the statistics, but I’m sure the quantity of total litres of “California Moscato” sold in bottle form in the US in 2011 far exceeded the number of Litres produced in the US. Again, I have not seen statistics, I am going on practical knowledge of the industry.

By: Allison

Allison — Fri, 11 May 2012 15:02:26 +0000

Hi John. I appreciate what the regulations are, however I have a number of contacts in the bulk wine industry that would say with certainty that what actually happens is something completely different.

By: winepartners

winepartners — Wed, 09 May 2012 23:16:39 +0000

Mike, great series of articles. But be aware that bulk wine shipping is by no means a new thing; back in the 90s we were working on bulk shipping projects that moved NZ wine to Finland and Argentinian wine to California. The recent glut has boosted this trade hugely, but the rapid re-balancing in global wine inventories and supply will put the brakes on big time.
Chain retail and the public have benefited from this surplus sell-down, but the times they are a changing. Wineries won’t have the spare volume to sell it cheaply and in such large amounts for much longer. Expect to see less bulk volume shipped and super value price offers becoming fewer over the next 12-18 months. It’ll take a big investment in vineyard plantings and a slow down in global consumption growth for supply to get back to the surplus peaks we’ve seen in recent years. Neither of those two things is likely, given the GFC and the continuing rise in demand from China for red and now white wines.

By: Mike Veseth

Mike Veseth — Wed, 09 May 2012 21:47:07 +0000

Thanks for this, Richard. The Rabobank report focuses on New World bulk wine shipments but I am sure that there is plenty of European trade, too. I think Germany imports inexpensive bulk wine and Spain probably is an exporter. But I don’t have any data specific to big box wines. Certainly the New World quantities are both large and growing.

I’ve read that Tesco has a bottling plant in England that is organized so that ocean shipping containers can be off-loaded onto to canal barges that take the wine to the bottling plants — thereby further reducing the carbon footprint.

Sorry I don’t have more detailed answers. Keep the questions coming.