My apologies, but again due to the pandemic and other issues I have not have a recent blog on wine. There obviously have been no opportunities for travel yet. One thing that I have noticed is increasing opportunities to buy wine on sale. At the same time I've noticed some changes in the wine world and thought I might provide some additional information on wine purchasing, concentrating on California Chardonnay as I have a very long purchasing history.
Everyone's noticed over the years the price of wine has gone up. Many would say this is consistent with inflation. On the other hand I'm not so sure. 20 or 30 years ago it was fairly easy to buy a exceptional good bottle of Chardonnay for under $20 a bottle and there were a few around $10 a bottle. Over the past 20 or 30 years I have noticed that the average price of Chardonnay in my opinion has gone to astronomical prices. It is very difficult today to get a bottle of Chardonnay that has excellent taste and properties for under $50 a bottle. All of the top-shelf Chardonnays that are available are starting to run right at 80 to $100 a bottle. Some would say this is supply and demand. The case can be made that in general the quality of Chardonnay worldwide has in fact improved and wine making techniques have been improved. At the same time I see wines initially offered at relatively high prices only to be placed on sale later.
The best example I recently experienced is Hanzel Chardonnay from Sonoma. I visited the vineyard probably 30 years ago when Mr. Sessions was the winemaker. At the time, and even today, they were fairly famous. They used to be considered one of the first and best California vineyards that produced Chardonnay wine in what was called the Burgundian method which essentially is fermentation in temperature controlled steel tanks and then aging in temperature controlled Oak barrels with no filtration, instead racking wines to reduce but not eliminate sediment. A long time ago you could get the Hanzel estate Chardonnay somewhere in the vicinity of $35 to $40 a bottle. Over the years that price is eventually gone up to $65 or more per bottle, but the other day it was on sale and I was able to purchase a case at $39 a bottle so clearly something's going on.
Many have said for a long time there's a glut in the wine market, yet the initial prices are for the most part higher than the market will bear and at some point in time the prices come down because nobody wants to pay those kind of prices on release. Seems to me that the wine market should learn a lesson here. If you're making great wine to me it makes more sense to initially price it at something closer to what the market actually wants to pay for it. To keep your wines at a lower price you have to manage your vineyard to keep the expenses as low as you can. I fully understand that over time prices of production increase. I have friends who have owned vineyards and made wine and they tell me all the time how their expenses keep going up. The price for a glass bottle keeps going up. One of the more bothersome prices is with quality corks. Many vineyards have gone to screw caps and artificial corks to control expenses. I do get that. At the same time after around 10 to 15 years the initial capital costs of the land has been paid off so that over time is a reduction in expense. Perhaps being naive those costs even out over the years.
Call me crazy but if a wine was initially offered at $65 a bottle and now is selling for $39 a bottle one of two things is happening. Number one someone in the chain is loosing money and if they keep that up someone goes bankrupt. So far I have not seen any distributors and few vineyards going out of business, though you do see a fair amount of consolidation and larger companies buying out the smaller ones. Number two those being sold at $39 a bottle are in fact providing everyone a profit meaning the initial prices were too high to begin with.
In the end the golden rule is buyer beware. Educate your self on wine prices and do due diligence when purchasing wine. I now am in the habit if I receive an email advertising a wine I may want, or I come across a wine site with what looks like a good price, the first thing I do is research the price to confirm the information. I have published this information before but again the sites I use to compare prices are:
Winesearcher.com They have a cheap Pro version I recommend, Like $20 a year.
1000corks.com
Vivino.com
In addition, there are a few sites where I am a repeat customer as I have purchased a lot of wine from them at what I consider fair and exceptional prices. I list them here with some important comments.
# 1 Wines Til Sold Out, WTSO.com. You sign up on line. Daily you will receive a few emails offering wines for sale. They offer wines that are overstocked and at time the prices are spectacularly low, but I still check. On their website you can go to two areas where you can see what they have in stock for sale, usually about 30 wines at all times, but again the main business model here is to offer the public a wine, and once it is all sold it no longer available unless they get more down the road. So if you get an email and it is a wine you want at a great price you cannot procrastinate and think about it. You need to respond and buy it right then and there. Sometimes the wines are very popular and sell out in minutes other times you have a little more time. My experience is the wine is gone in a matter of minutes so get your order in ASAP or you will loose the opportunity
#2 Wine Exchange, winex.com. They are located in Orange County, California. My brother-in-law lives there and put me onto them years ago. I always get hard to find wines at great prices from them. You can sign up for their email list and once or twice a week they will send you wines available for sale. They are honest, they ship at a reasonable price and I have always received the wine in good condition.
#3 K&L Wines, klwines.com. I recently joined their email “Club” called their advantage membership. You get a few emails a month with very special prices, though to get those prices you do have to sign up. I have recently bought most of wine from them this year as the prices have been very reasonable. They are who I got the Hanzel Estate Chardonnay for $39 a bottle. Interestingly Decanter magazine from Europe had an article in January saying they were the best place in the USA to buy wine. I have known about them for years as for one thing if there is a review from anyone on any wine they sell they post online the full reviews of that wine. I actually use their website to reseach reviews now as it is the easiest site to research reviews of wines. The Decanter article is: https://www.decanter.com/decanter-best/k-and-l-wines-top-buys-from-the-us-452285/
#4 B21 wine, b-21.com. They are located in Tarpon Springs, Florida and because they are in Florida they charge super cheap shipping, and in some cases free shipping. I used to buy a fair amount from them as did a lot of people on the island, so much in fact they shipped the wine on a regular basis here in a temperature controlled truck. I heard they don’t do that anymore but it is worthwhile to check their price on any wine you might be considering as when buying wine you have to take into consideration the shipping price as free shipping significantly can reduce your per bottle cost and must be taken into consideration.
#5 Stevie Bobes with Wine Ambasseur in Beane, France, https://wineambassadeur.com/. Stevie is my go to guy in France for Burgundy wines. I have been using him for a few years and he will send you an email twice a year with a very reasonably priced selection of burgundy wines shipped by him direct to your door. A lot of French people here in my neighborhood have been buying his wines for years and no complaints. What he primarily does is fine exceptionally made Burgundy wines made by smaller vineyards and new and upcoming wine makers just starting out at prices you can afford. He just came to Florida during the Holidays and sponsored a few wine tastings and folks were able to buy some exceptional wines.
#6 Cave Ulysse, Margaux, France https://www.caveulysse.com/ Dominque at Cave Ulysse is my go to guy for Bordeaux wine at a great price. Located in downtown Margaux he has for me the largest selection of both current and old Bordeaux wines as well as other French wines. It takes days to read through his inventory. You can join his email list and you will get a few emails a year. His site is available in English and the emails even though in French will be translated by Google.
So I hope this information is helpful for you and please research your favorite wines and pay the lowest price possible.
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