by Administrator
6. August 2008 05:52
Create demand by limiting supply. There is almost no other industry in the world where this is more true than wine. Make a halfway decent wine, produce very little of it, put it in a heavy bottle with a well executed label, and you my friend have found a goldmine. Screaming eagle makes approximately 500 cases a year, and can auction for well into the thousands of dollars for a single bottle. I have serious doubts that if they made 5000 cases a year, the price would stay so lofty.
So why is the customer perception so wrapped around the "boutique is better" philosophy? James Laube (wine spectator's chief California taster/rater) recently wrote in his blog about how he thinks some of the great Cabernet houses of old are today all "second rate". I'm sorry but I have to say this: Anyone who truly believes that Stag's Leap and Freemark Abbey make shotty wine needs to have their palate examined. Are they still the best Cabs in California? No, probably not. That however doesn't mean that they are no longer high quality.
Most of you will never have a Scarecrow, a Sloan, or a Araujo Eisle vineyard cab. Either because you will never see it, or it will be incredibly expensive. There is something to be said for being able to mass produce wines and maintain a high level of quality. Take Ridge's Montebello for example. It was one of the catalysts for the CA Cab revolution. About 5600 annual case production, and still one of California's great cabs in my opinion.
Look, I'm not saying that boutique is bad. Not by any means. Harlan is one of the best red wines I've ever had. I'm just saying be careful about writing off the larger houses just because they are more widely available, you'll be missing out on some of the best wines in the world.
What do you think?
-Louis
