The Grapevine

Wine Industry News: New York Honored, Merlot Assessed, Bar Tabs Examined

November 17th, 2014

This week, we have a look at how Merlot is doing 10 years after the movie Sideways, we learn of an industry honor for New York State, and we take a look at on-premise markups. [level-members]

First, Wine Enthusiast named New York state “Wine Region of the Year.” The award will be presented at the Wine Star Awards gala in January.

Producers are, of course, excited about the growing recognition for the quality of New York State’s wines. 56 of the state’s 62 counties grow wine and the 375 wineries in the state account for some $4.8 billion in economic activity. Read the full article here.

The Sacramento Bee takes a look at the state of merlot 10 years after a character in the movie Sideways destroyed it onscreen. Merlot did take a hit after the movie, though it still remains one of the most popular varietals.

The full article is here. Huge hat tip to the author for noting that the anti-merlot tirade in the movie is only the 2nd most famous movie line about wine. He awards the top prize to Hannibal Lecter and his “nice Chianti.”

Finally, The Motley Fool encourages us to be more aware of the markup we’re paying for a drink in a restaurant. Pretty obvious stuff, but one more reason you can offer your clients for why they should buy more wine from you.

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