A winery getting back to its roots?

I apologize for the awful pun but apparently a move such as this is now news-worthy

Reinventing a classic

That's right, the folks at Kendall-Jackson (you may have heard of it, that mom & pop operation in Sonoma)have decided that from now on, the only fruit for their Chardonnay is going to be theirs.

"This is the No. 1-selling premium chardonnay in terms of dollars, it's the No. 1 in terms of volume, and now it's going to be 100 percent estate grown," said Kendall-Jackson spokesman George Rose."

Re-read that statement one more time. From my (albeit limited) knowledge of the English language, I would take it to mean that all of the Chardonnay is from vineyards that KJ own themselves. But alas:

"The designation means 100 percent of the grapes have come from vineyards that are either owned by the winery or controlled through long-term leases, Rose said."

So I have to ask - What's the damn point!?! Long time readers of this thing blog will immediately recognize my total disdain for this kind of horseshit. Much like the use of 'Old Vines'. Of course, California is not alone in this. The French use the term as well. There is no legal criteria for what makes 'Vieilles Vignes' but generally speaking, the vines tend to be quiet a bit older that those that KJ is using for this wine.

"In 2003, the winery produced about 2.3 million cases of Vintner's Reserve, which retailed for $11 a bottle and was discounted as low as $7.99.

At 2 million cases, 2004's production will be 13 percent smaller, the suggested retail price will be $12, and discounting will be less common, Rose said."

Here again, the use of another seemingly undefineable yet unregulated word. What does the word 'reserve' mean to the average jackass. I would think it to mean something held back, i.e. qualitatively better that the usual. At a production rate 2 million cases, I find this rather hard to believe. And yet again, here is a word that actually does have legal and finanial implications in countries like Spain and Italy. Of course, they spell it 'reserva' or 'riserva' which are clearly different, right? I'm sure this is the argument made to WTO concerning certain GI's (geographic indicators) and the like. No wonder the EU is more than reluctant to sign agreements with the US.

"Retailers often discount Kendall-Jackson wines as a "loss-leader" to get shoppers into the stores, Rose said. But that may change.

"We're having firm conversations with our retailers," Rose said. "We can't control it, but you are going to see less and less of it."

So, let me get this straight: Retailers go short on your product to get people in the door. They effectively price your wine to compete with the YellowTails and Monkey Bays of the world, you are now going to use 100% Estate fruit to improve the quality (a selling point I'm sure won't be lost) and you expect the practice of deep discounting to end? Why the hell should it? And furthermore, if your sitting on 2 million cases, don't you need it to move?

You know Yellow Tail has a reserve, but I think it is simply left over shit from the year before. I suppose that if you have trouble getting the 2004 out the door, you could come up with some new term 'Super-Duper-Extra-Reserve' and get another $0.75-$1.00 per bottle.

I guess at the end of the day, I am curious how much any of this matters to John Q. Public. I would think not very much. But what the hell do I know. I wouldn't (and don't) sell this stuff if my life depended on it. Of course, that may be the root of my financial state.

Poor.
Ugly.
Happy.

One more thing:

"...KJ's Vintner's Reserve chardonnay remained the top seller in its category, selling $72 million worth of wine in supermarkets between May of 2004 and May of 2005..."

and

"You can't win fighting against these giant commercial entities,"

For the love of God, can any of these people speak in real words. Yo Fredrikson, I've got some news for you:

KJ is a giant commercial entity, despite how much they don't want anyone to know.