winewaves

When in Nova Scotia

Halifax Harbor September 14, 2007 (click to enlarge)

Continuing on the theme of picking up affordable road bottles that come from local sources, I want to share a new discovery from Nova Scotia. This quick trip landed me at the Halifax airport and took me over to Moncton, New Brunswick and back to Dartmouth (across the bridge from Halifax). Along the route, the exit to Pugwash included a sign for Jost Vineyards (rhymes with toast) which is located in Malagash.

Even with the tempering winds of the Atlantic it surprised me that you can grow red wine grapes this far north in the land of Christmas trees. I didn't get a chance to visit the winery but I did get to the Provincial package store and pick out a bottle of Jost. The label says Cote de Bras d'Or Nova Scotia Marechal Foch 2005. A dry wine of 12% alcohol, it's light and surprisingly very much a delight as well. The color is ruby, the body light, and the flavor is brimming with berries like the berry-laden fresh fruit cups they sell at Canada's Sobey supermarkets (another discovery from my recent excursions north of the border).

I only paid $11 Canadian for this little gem with a cork, in a store alongside Yellow Tail that costs nearly $15.

It turns out Marechal Foch (don't ask me to pronounce it) is, as you might expect, a hybrid grape that winters over well and ripens fairly early. But it's being put to good use here. And what's more, this Marechal Foch was grown in Cape Breton, which is further north and out there than Halifax. The story goes that John Pratt (Johnny Grape) was the first to grow grapes commercially in the area, which proves the old adage, "where there's a will there's a way".

You probably won't hear people going on about Nova Scotia's wine industry but give it a try next time you drop in to Halifax.

This trip also revealed that my Sirius radio works up here, so I happened to hear Friday's NPR program "Forum" with Michael Krasny, and the topic was "wine snobs". Fred Franzia, whose Bronco Wine Company makes Two Buck Chuck and markets a host of anti-wine-snob geek-slapping generic-looking labels, was the most outspoken of the guests. He was joined by Julia Flynn Siler of the Wall Street Journal (author of "The House of Mondavi: The Rise and Fall of an American Wine Dynasty") and Leslie Sbrocco, wine author, consultant and host of Check, Please! Bay Area on KQED television. Fred pounded away at his message that wine is wine or if there is any difference, his wine "is probably better than Opus One". The callers were mostly on his side although it seems most don't want to do away with "geek speak", the language of wine.

I suspect my feelings are pretty close to the middle on this subject. I don't want to spend much for most bottles of wine. I might overspend for a label just to mark a special milestone or close a deal. But I need variety, I like to know a wine's story even if it is contrived, and presentation makes a difference to me. At the end of the day I like to talk about wine as well as enjoy drinking it. The good side of the Two Buck Chuck story is that there are now more competitors making better cheap wine, a trend that I hope continues. But just because it's cheap, it doesn't have to be devoid of personality or come with an unwritten rule that it can't be talked about in purple prose.

Maybe next year will bring the debut of my new line of value wines positioned for affordable anti-wine-snob enjoyment: Steak Wine, Chicken Wine, Burger Wine, Spaghetti Wine, Seafood Wine, Lobster Wine, and Barbecue Wine. We've got varietals and appellations, but what could be simpler than wine made to go with what you're eating. One second thought maybe I need to get back to Nashville tomorrow. This cool Canadian air has clearly gone to my head.

Total Wine & More Expansion Continues

"The competition is fierce in Florida. The owners are very tight about information. I can't let you take any pictures in the store." -Total Wine's Tampa (Dale Mabry) Store Manager.

Total Wine & More comes across as protective about their approach to wine retailing, which appears to be working well. Total's large "wine supermarkets" already dot the east coast, each positioned between grocery stores, big box retailers, and traditional wine stores.

Founded by the Trone brothers, David and Robert, Total Wine now also employs brothers Thomas and John Trone. The Trones and their staff are well educated, with many MBA and other advanced degrees. The Trones began with one existing 1000 square foot store in Claymont, Delaware. They quickly learned the lessons of wine retailing and developed their plans for a new kind of wine store. In 2004, sales topped $300 million in 35 stores, a respectable $8+ million per location.

The billboard over the newly opened Tampa store advertises Total's biggest competitor in the area, ABC, which has a much smaller store across and just up the street.

Florida has been the most recent state Total has entered, making waves in Tampa, Fort Myers and Fort Lauderdale.  Winewaves recently visited three Total Wine locations: Tampa, Raleigh (Brier Creek), and McLean, Virginia.

From the outside, Total Wine fits into any "big box" retail development. Locations average about 20,000 square feet. Neon channel letter signage, lots of glass, and easy parking invite you to shop. The Tampa location was freestanding, the Raleigh store was in a new strip center, and the McLean store was previously a grocery store.

Inside, store manager and wine manager booths are near the entrance. Copies of circulars and Total's free magazine are available just inside the door.

Ceilings are high, and aisles run front to back. Wine is displayed in case boxes, on shelves standing up, and laying down in bins. Aisles are wide, with shelves tall enough that you cannot see over them. This supermarket approach makes it hard to spot a wine consultant in another aisle.

Lighting is good throughout, with higher priced wines typically displayed under spot halogen lamps on higher shelves.

Aisles are laid out and labeled in multiple arrays. You can shop by varietal, country of origin, wine style (e.g. "light dry red" or "rich white"), new items, best selling items, staff recommendations, and specially featured. Most wines are displayed in multiple places in the store, so you won't overlook anything.

You'll find a lot of labels you may have never heard of. Total refers to these as "previously unsigned" or "winery direct" labels. There are very well known labels in stock, but they don't seem as obvious here. Shelf talker cards are used liberally to "talk up" the new and winery direct labels. No doubt, the labels unique to Total Wine contribute a lot to a successful store. Total buys these wines at pricing which delivers superior margins, and these "proprietary" labels are not subject to neighborhood price wars.

With the explosion of wine labels and information, the consumer appears to be open to new labels and willing to spend $6-$20 on unknown quantities.

There are differences between the locations. Florida stores sell liquor. The McLean store was larger, stocked many more French wines, and offered free tasting on Saturday. The Raleigh store was a bit smaller with fewer labels.

Total Wine employs wineaccess.com as the platform for its store websites. While unexciting, you can place an order for pickup using the site, even in areas which prevent online sales.

The Total Wine approach isn't everything for everybody. The overall presentation is simply not as much fun or as visually stimulating as some other large wine stores. And Total can seem a bit overly predictable. Also, the "& More" part of the merchandising mix lacks "critical mass".  But if you're willing to try new wine labels, and don't want to spend a lot for the average bottle, you'll probably like Total Wine. Those seeking more familiar labels or looking for a treasure hunt wine experience might discover Total Wine doesn't replace their favorite store.

Walter Schug's Mark on Insignia

The current Wine Spectator (Dec. 31 issue) anoints Joseph Phelps Insignia "Wine of the Year". The article by James Laube describes the "nervy" decision, back in 1974, to produce and market a signature blended red wine which would not carry a varietal label. What Laube seems to have left out of the story is the credit due Walter Schug.

The Napa icon Joseph Phelps founded his Winery near St. Helena in 1972/73 (J. Laube quotes '73, while the Phelps website quotes '72).  Phelps immediately tapped Walter Schug to be Vice-President and Winemaker of the new enterprise.  Phelps needed Walter, a native of Germany, for a number of reasons.  Foremost, Walter had worked 7 years for Julio Gallo, as Head of Grower Relations and Quality Control for Northern California.  In this role, he became connected with hundreds of independent growers and thousands of acres of prime vineyards in the area.  When Phelps began his winery, he had no producing vineyards of his own, and he relied on independent growers entirely.  Schug also had the winemaking expertise, having a diploma from the German wine institute of Geisenheim (1959), as well as some extension coursework from UC Davis, and experience going back to apprenticeships beginning in 1953 in the Rheingau region of Germany.

For ten years, Walter Schug was the creative "voice and hand" at the Winery, laying the groundwork for Phelps' rise to iconic status.  Phelps, a visionary engineer and great marketing mind, looked to Walter to put his ideas in the bottle.  It is fair to say that Schug was responsible for innovating what went into Insignia, as well as the first varietal Syrah in the US, the renowned Bacchus and Eisele Vineyard designated bottlings, and late harvest dessert wines (Riesling, Gewurztraminer, Scheurebe).  Schug also helped along a young Lab Tech named Craig Williams, who rose from Assistant Winemaker, and continues today as Winemaker at Joseph Phelps Vineyards.

Why did Walter Schug part with Joseph Phelps?  It was his dream to make Pinot Noir in California.  This dream grew out of his upbringing. Schug was raised in Assmannshausen, in Germany's Rhein River Valley, the region's only Pinot Noir estate.  This dream he didn't share with Joseph Phelps.  There wasn't much of a market for California Pinot Noir at the time, and Phelps decided to stop producing it.  For three years, Phelps agreed to allow Schug to make his own private label Pinot Noir (1980-83), while staying on full-time at Phelps.  By 1983, Schug's Pinot Noir project had grown enough to justify leaving Phelps to establish his own Winery full-time.

The 2003 vintage marked Schug's 50th, a long career with a track record of product innovations, building relationships in the industry, and producing high quality estate wines.  No doubt, Walter Schug's mark remains on Insignia, and he deserves at least some of the credit for Joseph Phelps' Vineyards success.

Today, as Winemaster at Schug Carneros Estate (pictured above), Walter Schug oversees the production of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Sauvignon Blanc, and Sparkling Wine, along with Winemaker Mike Cox.  Winewaves recently reviewed Schug's Carneros Pinot Noir 2004 and Sonoma Coast Chardonnay 2004.

76 Point "Best of Class" Winner

Grgich Hills Napa Valley Chardonnay 2002 was voted the best Chardonnay in the “over $30” Chardonnnay Category in the 2005 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition.  http://www.sfgate.com/bestofclass/
The March 31st 2005 issue of the Wine Spectator rated Grgich Hills Napa Valley Chardonnay 2002 as follows:  “76 Points.  Stale, with sour, tinny fruit cocktail flavors.  37,000 cases made. –JL”