Newsletter #258 - Special Edition: Righting a Wrong

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MichaelPinkusWineReview Newsletter #258             July 2015

• WineReview: Righting a Wrong
  

• Grape Guy’s Picks of the Bunch: New and Noteworthy Wine

• Weekly Wine Video Series:  A Recap of The Week in Videos

• Bi-Weekly OWR Updates:  Additional Articles and more

• Wine Event Spotlight:  See What's Going on in Wine Country

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WineReview:  Righting a Wrong, or It's All in the Perception

There are times I get it right and there are times I get it wrong – and in the last newsletter (Bankrupt or Bad Judgment) I seem to have got it both ways.  

Wineries cried foul that I missed the mark about the ProWein trip:  it was a pay-for-play trip which the membership of the WCO had been asking for, as ProWein is a gateway to the global market: "Ontario wineries are there because they actively lobbied the Wine Marketing committee to coordinate it.  ProWein is the largest gathering of world buyers, not German buyers, and our winery actively participates not because we are forced to be there, but because we sell wine there, to several countries.  We also pay our way to be there because it is the most cost effective way to get our wines in-front of the world.  Being at ProWein for one week each year is not abandoning our local market."  In the end, some succeeded while others walked away with … well a few memories and a trip to Germany.

To the average consumer it looked like Ontario wineries were abandoning the base and giving up to fight on another frontier:  “I think you got it 100% correct” said more than one email, while expounding on a myriad of ways Ontario wineries should be marketing their wines.

So I got emails berating me for missing the mark and emails congratulating me for hitting it right on the head … that’s when I knew I got it just right.

Good journalism sparks conversation, be it right or wrong (just look at Fox News - especially for the wrong), it gets the message out and allows others to follow up, and sooner or later the full story emerges.  A couple of weeks ago Dylann Roof shot up a historical church in Charleston, South Carolina killing nine black people all the while shouting racial epithets – a few days later a report emerged that 4 million dollars had been raised for his defense fund … a day later that report was debunked as a falsehood put out by a bogus news outlet.  Somethings are just so incredulous that you have to look them up – but it’s all in the perception.  Did I believe that 4 million had been raised, in the whacky southern U.S. of A for this lunatic’s defense?  I’ll say, I did not doubt it, but I was hoping it wasn’t true, and I was relieved to find out it wasn’t.  Is it true that Ontario has abandoned its base for the greener pastures of foreign markets? … NO – but perception is 9/10th of the battle, and the perception was there.

I’ll admit my delivery was a little more inflammatory than I meant it to come across and that seems to have ruffled a few more feathers than usual … I have never been one to shy away from controversy, but I do admit when I have overstepped the line.  Truth of the matter is 90+% of the marketing budget is spent right here at home and I’m sure they wish their budget was bigger.  The short answer is this: Wineries have not abandoned Ontario for green pastures, they’re just trying to make a living in an overly competitive, overly restrictive market called Ontario and that means occasionally shopping your wares outside the province/country to stay afloat here at home.

But we do still have to examine perception.  Ontario Wine, Wine Council of Ontario, Wine Country Ontario, Wine Marketing Association of Ontario (WMAO) … whatever name you are going by now, allow me to give you some free, unsolicited advice:  talk, be vocal, get your message out, be clear, be concise and for God-sake vet the damn thing through multiple sources.

Two examples:
1) Earlier this year there was Ontario Wine Week (OWW), did you know about it?  I had one FaceBook follower site OWW as a disastrous failure because he did not know about it until it was more than half over – and he considers himself a follower of Ontario wines and more than a casual fan.  Myself I had no idea, I think I heard faint rumblings in the air and on social media, but I thought it had something to do with Chardonnay Day … Not clear, not concise.

2) Two years ago Wine Country Ontario did an ad campaign with the LCBO called “Go Local”, which by all accounts proved to be wildly successful … considering the LCBO gives Ontario one month a year, my approach would have been to do it again … with the public’s short attention span they would either have forgotten or it would ring a bell; either way keep it going … but instead a year later a new slogan was put in place: “Shine On”, seeing it as a continuation of their Go Local campaign … alas the term ‘to shine someone on’ means to fool them – and yes the campaign was much less successful than Go Local.  Lesson learned: vetting things through more than one source is crucial.  These days no one remembers things from week to week, let alone what you did a year ago – so if something works, stick with it. Coke is a classic because it’s always Coke.

Back to my ProWein piece … here’s the point I was trying to make for all those that feel I missed the mark:  Ontario wineries should be focusing on their own market and getting a strong foothold here before embarking on trying to open up other markets - Ontario is the great untapped, and yet we seem to have no idea how to market wine here and make ONTARIO wine popular to ONTARIANS. I’m not saying to abandon other markets and focus only on Ontario, but when you make a big deal about going abroad make it more known why you did it.  When the Chardonnay-Envoy went they were clear and concise about why they were going: “We are showing what Ontario can do with Chardonnay”.  When the ProWein folks left they said, “We’re going to ProWein.” Full stop.  Had they said, “We are showcasing our wines to wine buyers from around the world so that they too know the beauty that Ontario can put in the glass.”  Then the fan base of Ontario wines won’t think you are abandoning them.  It’s all in the perception.

To give a more popular example, Taylor Swift: When Taylor said she was not going to participate in streaming music sites it was not a screw you to her fans she made it very clear it was because artists don’t get compensated fairly for their output … she was vocal, clear and concise about her message – we all knew why she’s doing what she did.  And hazzah, against Apple she won; and in the public eye she won as well.  There were no misconstrued notions – we all knew.

I hope we are all clear now.  And good luck to the new WMAO – you have a hill to climb.

Grape Guy’s Picks of the Bunch:  New and Noteworthy Wines

Lailey 2013 Petit Verdot, Unfiltered – $35.00 (W)
www.laileyvineyard.com
This is the third time Lailey has made a straight varietal Petit Verdot – though this year they added about 8% Cabernet Sauvignon to the wine.  Only one barrel was made, that’s 24 cases – and I think it’s gonna move fairly quickly, even at $35 a bottle.  Nose is very pretty with floral, raspberry and white pepper aromas … Palate pulls off a nice balancing act of getting the raspberry to play nicely with the spices and the pepper along with a touch of cigar tobacco.  Interesting to point out the fruit was ‘late harvested’ (November 11) … this one is a real winner: fruit, spice, acidity, great balance – a pure pleasure to drink.  Price: $35.00 – Rating: **** ½

Rockaway 2013 Chardonnay, Small Lot – Block 12-110 - $22.95 (W)
www.rockway.net
I was a huge fan of the 2012 Small Lot with its wild ferment and all the other goodness that went into it. I’m also a fan of the turn around and re-focus Rockway has put on their wines.  The 2013 is not as ballsy a Chardonnay as the 2012 but it sure is reminiscent of it.  The nose is apple skin, poached pear and slightly buttery.  The palate shows a nice weight and good cleansing acidity with butteryness that wrap around white fruit goodness: apples and peaches with a nice touch of buttered toffee on the finish.  Price: $22.95 - Rating: ****

Thirty Bench 2013 Riesling, Steel Post - $30.00 (W)
www.thirtybench.com
Thirty Bench has finally got to where Emma Garner, winemaker, wants to be in terms of their small lot Riesling series, that’s extending the bottle age of these wines to a year-plus before release: “They just need that time,” she says.  Steel Post comes from the second oldest block (planted in 1982) of four-plus acres; and this year it really raised a few notches on my opinion scale (could it be that bottle age?).  Nose is kinda quiet with mineral and citrus notes, but the palate is full-on Riesling-fan crazy: lime zest, mineral, green apple, zippy and zesty and is the driest of all the Rieslings in the Thirty Bench portfolio this year.  Plus the wine sits and picks at the tongue with its acidity that is just off the chart wow!  Price: $30.00 – Rating: ****+

Two Sisters 2010 Merlot - $48.00 (W)
www.twosistersvineyards.com
Two Sisters vineyard is made up of all red varieties, in fact it is comprised of one-third of each of all the main Bordeaux types (Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot).  This Merlot lingers in barrel for 16-18 months then rested 10 more in bottle.  The nose is smoky, blueberry, cocoa and cassis while the taste is toasty, cassis, blackberry and blueberry skin with nice texture and mouthfeel. For those hankering for Merlot this’ll do the trick nicely.  Price: $48.00 – Rating: ****

Availability legend:  W (Winery) – L (LCBO/Vintages) –  OL (On-Line)

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The Weekly Wine Video Series: Local (Ontario); National (Across Canada) and International

The Weekly Wine Videos
Just as the name suggest … every week I'll introduce you to another fabulous wine that you've just gotta try – Check out the YouTube Channel Now

Weekly Ontario Videos

Video #134 - Malivoire 2010 Small Lot Pinot Noir
Video #135 - Inniskillin 2013 Botrytis Affect Viognier

Weekly National & International Videos

Video #10 - Moutard Grand Cuvee Brut
Video #11 - Hope Family 2011 Treana Red

Subscribe to the YouTube channel by clicking here

Bi-Weekly OWR Updates:  Additional articles on the website and more

On the Road with the Grape Guy (blog)
(Trips, tours and tastings – join me as I review the highs, and sometimes, the lows)
Nothing New This Week - more coming soon

NEW - Taste it Again / Lost & Found (blog):  the two blogs have merged
(Find out what happened to some favourites and to those that never were tasted) 
Taste it Again: Lailey 2008 Canadian Oak Chardonnay

NEW NAME - Uncorked Tonight (blog)
When it’s not an Ontario wine, here’s what I’m pulling out of the cellar
New Posts Added

Vintages Release (blog)
June 27, 2015 - Vintages Report can be found here
July 11, 2015 - coming soon

 GRAPE GUY EVENTS Spotlight: See What's Going on in Wine Country

Grape Guy Events, highlights from the APP - points to be had:
Six Barrels for Six Chefs ... July 10, 2015 (200 points)
plus the usual video re-tweets ... see the APP for details.

Four new winery partners coming on-board in July.

Don't have the APP? Click here to get it, it's FREE and you could win some great prizes just for downloading.

OntarioWineReview’s bi-weekly newsletter is devoted to the love, enjoyment and promotion of the wines of Ontario and the wineries that make them.

What can the Grape Guy do for you … Michael Pinkus (Grape Guy) provides a variety of wine related services that you might be interested in taking advantage of:  he gives lectures, leads seminars, conducts tastings, sets up tours; consults, selects and judges.  He also gives interviews, broadcasts, podcasts and writes.  Contact the Grape Guy if you require any of these services or have any questions.

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