Buying Wine: The Rub

Food & Drink
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I am getting inundated with ever more come on’s like this one, an example from Dan’s (Woolies), however they are far from alone and not the worst players.

Disclaimer: I have purchased similar ‘deals’ from Dan’s, Wine Direct, Cellarmasters, Wine People, and others that have been excellent drops or good value, but increasingly they are only OK to ‘are you kidding?’ vs the hype.

The come on: Make spring sing with this unbeatable offer on a beautiful Barossa Shiraz! Epic Negociants Barossa Valley Alluvial Fans Shiraz 2017. Powerful, vibrant and complex, this incredible expression of terroir is poised to set your table in style for just $120 per case of 6 (valued at $240).

Never having heard of the ‘vineyard’ google comes to the rescue. This bottle does not return hits that it is widely available but it shows on the ‘vineyard’ web site for $240 / 6. What is it I wonder. A few pastes from the web site reveal the following:

Produced by some of Australia’s most famous and awarded winemakers for Epic Negociants, this is quintessential Barossa Shiraz. … Through a combination of growing fruit in our own vineyards and buying fruit or wine from producers in brilliant sites around the country, we are able to select the best parcels to make our wine to the highest quality standards.

The bottle might be extraordinary, good, or indifferent, and might be terrific value, but to me it reflects the increasing obfuscation of what any label might be, as well as the proliferation of unique labels for marketing. One could reasonably question if this product is different from a label from ‘SE Australia’ that usually reveals a wine factory? True some good labels sell wine from ‘SE Australia’ as well as from a region or vineyard, and the quality can go either way, but usually reflects the label’s attention to a ‘cost point’ and ‘price point’ first, and whatever quality they can fit in. Is ‘regional wine’ a collection of excess crop from wherever as I have long believed? (no answer needed)

Is the ‘real’ price $40 or $20 each? It appears the only off-‘vineyard’ comparison is Dan. Conclusion, it is either fairly exclusive or a special label made for Dan’s. I allow that sometimes special labels are affixed to quality bottles to sell excess without eroding the price of a primary label. Fun, or games?

This form of hyped marketing proved to work and has become the selling technique of the day with ‘everyone’ in. It reflects market forces at work, independent of product. It is not obvious if many care so long as they feel they got a deal and the wine was at least OK.

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Our local bottlehop does not sell cleanskins or Coles/Woolies owned labels. Some of the specials are still generics, usually able to be identified by a business name and street address in the fineprint that is inner Melbourne or similar.

Wine tasting is not part of the local bottle shop business plan. There is however the two bottle method, best shared with :couple: friends. Start with a glass of the new wine and enjoy till the glass is consumed. Select a bottle of one of your proven good buys and tastes of the same style. Consume a glass of the second bottle and consider.
Would you prefer to go back to the first bottle? You have your answer.
Would you prefer to stay with the second bottle? You have your answer.
If you felt both were much the same, it’s down to price perhaps?

If you are uncertain continue alternating between the two bottles one test glass at a time until the test is complete. In which instance you may not have a clear winner, but have had a great time and it perhaps does not matter greatly to you which was better. This test may be repeated multiple times until the number of tests becomes statistically significant. We have tried this with a large group of friends, to accelerate reaching statistical significance, supplies permitting. You always get a result.

There is a more rigorous three bottle blind tasting test, but I don’t remember the result.

This is not intended to encourage excessive consumption. Alcohol should always be consumed responsibly. You also need to be able to accurately observe and record the results, otherwise the test might need to be discounted and it will need to be repeated.

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I have a couple of favourites that this relates to. One is Pepperjack. Locally it has always sold for 35$ a bottle, and often you could get it for 20$ a bottle on special. Now in the local, its normal price is 25$, and the special still $20. On the one hand I’m thinking its a good thing - I never paid $35, so its not like I was done over, but where did that 10$ go? Now at 25$ I’ll occasionally buy one at the new ‘full price’. Another is Rouge Homme (French for Red Man - funny story behind both those Coonawarra labels). Roughe Homme tops my list of eligible quaffers - normally a good price is 17$ a bottle, but often 11$ each if you buy two. Percentage wise - big saving. And the specials, like the Pepperjack - are frequent.

When I take the top off a Katnook Estate - the cheaper wines look, well, cheaper. If I had a choice at a $35 bottle of Katnook vs a Pepperjack, the Katnook wins every time. Would I know the difference if blindfolded? Yes, but I get Katnook by subscription at least 4 times a year. Would I know some of my other favourites from the Coonawarra vs a Pepperjack - possibly not.

Ultimately I’m not a wine snob. If it tastes to my liking I’ll drink it, but where do these huge margin changes come from? Good question!

As for the obscurity of the potentially pop-up winemaker … also curious …

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