CONVIVIUM
Table Talk with Food, Wine & Spirits Professionals
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Archive for July, 2011Last week celebrated another fabulous year in New Orleans for Tales of the Cocktail. Thousands of bartenders, mixologists, brands and cocktail enthusiasts trekked from all over the globe down to the Big Easy for 5 fun-filled days of education, networking, cuisine and of course, cocktails. The opening night parties thrown by Beefeater and William Grant & Sons were as impressive as ever, with Beefeater taking over a beautiful mansion and William Grant making the World War II museum come alive. The next day, drink lovers could travel the world and get a passport stamped by three floors of Diageo cocktails. Later that evening came the Spirited Dinners, followed by the Bombay Sapphire Anniversary party and the annual USBG Meetup at Old Absinthe House. Friday would not have been complete with a trip to the Bartender’s Brawl and cocktails on Bourbon Street, and Saturday rounded out the festival with the Spirited Awards Ceremony and Bartender’s Breakfast. It was seminars, tastings, amazing food and experimental cocktails galore…the perfect way to spend a week in New Orleans! Only 354 days til the 10th Anniversary of Tales!   Related posts:
Tags: Cocktail, New Orleans For those who are not immersed in the spirits world– that is alcohol not ghosts–Tales of the Cocktail is taking place in New Orleans this week. From July 20 to 24, the Big Easy is home to thousands who are in the business of alcohol. While to most this seems like the world’s biggest party, and while that may be the case, Tales of the Cocktail is a time to network and learn more about products, drinks, the history of cocktails and everything surrounding liquor. Attendees learn a lot, but you can rest assured they will have a good time attending the seminars. With more than 46 seminars taking place in five days how do you decide what sessions to attend? The names alone of the panel discussions make it a hard decision. You can choose from “Making Love to His Tonic and Gin,” ” Sodatender or Barjerk,” “The Bad Bad Boys of Saloons,” ” What Would Aristotle Drink?” and ” Who’s Your Daddy? A Mai Tai Paternity Test.” These seminars provide the knowledge and expertise to help everyone involved in libations, including the customer. This is a time for mixologists to learn about different brands, modern drinks and the history and allure of classic cocktails. Master Mixologist and Partida Tequila Brand Ambassador, Jacques Bezuidenhout is a panelist in the “The Negroni: an Iconic Cocktail” seminar with Livio Lauro, President of the United States Bartenders’ Guild, and moderator Paul Clarke, Contributing Editor of Imbibe. The panel will discuss the history of the Negroni, how the mix of gin, Campari and vermouth still influences Italian culture, and how the drink became elevated to a cult classic among bartenders and spirit enthusiasts. Two clients, Partida Tequila and I Spirit Vodka, are attending Tales of the Cocktail. Be on the lookout for these two premium brands in New Orleans. If you are not attending, follow Tales of the Cocktail on Twitter at @totc, and/or have friends over and create your own event in which you and guests can try different spirits. Cheers. Related posts: Posted in: Uncategorized | Comments Off After the Wine Enthusiast and Apartment Therapy, here is a another great story on Soave published in the the Wall Street Journal by the notorious wine writer Lettie Teague. Italy’s Soave Makes a Refreshing Return Source: WSJ By LETTIE TEAGUE Jul 9th Americans are famously-some might even say fiendishly-happy when something or someone once heralded falls from grace. (Call it Yankee-style schadenfreude.) Fortunately, we’re just as fond of a good comeback tale. And one of my favorite stories of vinous redemption these days is Soave. A white wine made in the Veneto region in Northern Italy, not far from Verona, Soave (the name means “soft”) is made primarily, and sometimes entirely, from the Garganega grape (it’s sometimes blended with Trebbiano or Chardonnay). It’s also a wine that most people know best as a brand: Bolla, which was incredibly popular and incredibly bland. Bolla and Soave have been linked for decades, though their most famous era was probably the ’80s, when Bolla sold more than two million cases world-wide. (Its popularity was later eclipsed by Pinot Grigio, which was even more popular and even more bland.) But like so many boring-or worse-white wines from Italy, Soave has recently experienced a real renaissance. Thanks to a small group of committed producers who have concentrated more on character and flavor than production and profit, Soave has more or less rebounded from its dismal state. But only a few wine drinkers seem to have gotten the news. “Isn’t that the wine that comes in a jug?” asked my friend Alison when I brought a bottle of Stefanini Soave to her house. “It was the wine my mother drank; I think it was called Folonari,” she said, naming the brand that was probably Bolla’s biggest competition back in the day. (While Bolla and Folonari are still major brands, they’ve made some pretty broad brand extensions, producing wines that aren’t historically Veronese, including Pinot Noir and “Pink Pinot Grigio.”)
There are also plenty of drinkers who don’t know Soave at all, including my friend Soula, who lives in Seattle. She had never heard of the wine until I served her some Soave during a recent visit. I found her ignorance especially surprising since a wine importer had told me that Seattle was a big Soave town-the third largest in the country, following New York and Boston. Perhaps Soula just isn’t drinking in the right places. Café Juanita in suburban Seattle has three Soaves on its wine list. Ristorante Barolo in downtown Seattle has three Soaves as well, almost as many as it does Pinot Grigios. Seattle wine merchant McCarthy & Schiering Wines stocks several Soaves in both of its store locations; Jay Schiering and his partner Dan McCarthy are “big Soave fans.” If only there was more of that Soave spirit in New York. Even one of my favorite wine stores, Crush Wine & Spirits, had just one, from Gini, on hand. “I tend not to stock more than one Soave at a time,” said buyer Joe Salamone. The same was true at Lincoln, one of my favorite Italian restaurants in New York. Sommelier Bryan Burnett features only one Soave, though it’s a top one: the 2007 Pieropan La Rocca, on his list at $95 a bottle. The Pieropan La Rocca Soave is generally regarded as one of the leading examples of “serious” Soave, from a producer regarded as the best in the Veneto. In fact, Nino Pieropan, who took over the winery from his grandfather in 1970, has been credited with raising the profile of the entire appellation by limiting his yields and showcasing the delicate, spicy quality of the Garaganega grape. The Pieropan vineyards are in some of the region’s best locations (high, sloping hillsides) and their single-vineyard Soaves, La Rocca and Calvarino, are considered among the most complex. They’re fermented in oak, which lends them a richness and weight that Mr. Burnett likens to a California Chardonnay “without all the buttery popcorn flavor.” There are quite a few other good Soave producers as well, including Gini, Inama, Allegrini and Anselmi-though someone unfamiliar with Soave might not realize that they all produce the same type of wine. Inama’s Soaves come in Burgundy bottles, which have sloping shoulders; and those of Anselmi, Allegrini and many others come in the square-shoulder bottle of Bordeaux. Pieropan’s bottles don’t look like those of anyone else-they’re the narrow, tapered bottles normally associated with Austria and Germany. The Veneto actually once belonged to Austria, and even though his wines weren’t Austrian-owned at the time, Pieropan’s patriarch, Leonildo Pieropan, packaged his wines as the Austrians did. Adding to the confusion are the different classifications of Soaves. There’s the basic Soave, a wine made anywhere in the 12-plus municipalities within the Soave zone. Then there are the Soave Classico wines, a notch up in quality and selection as they’re only made only in the communes of Soave and Monteforte. There are also Soave Superiores, which must be aged in the bottle for a minimum of six months. And finally there is Recioto di Soave, a sweet wine made from a special selection of grapes that have been dried in the sun. Recioto di Soave comes in both sparkling and still versions and must be aged for a minimum of 12 months. For my Soave tasting I collected about 20 bottles of all different types, from basic Soave to Soave Classico and Soave Superiore-which, it turned out, weren’t necessarily the superior wines. I ended up dividing them into three classifications of my own. First were the weirdly tropical Soaves that tasted like cheap Chardonnay (there were about six of these, including the basic wines from Anselmi and Pra). Second were the bright, clean wines that were pretty basic but still refreshing. I had several favorites in this category, including the 2010 Ca’Rugate San Michele ($10), a citrusy wine with brisk acidity, and the 2010 Re Midas Cantisna di Soave ($10) and the 2010 Santi Vigneti di Monteforte. The big surprise in this category, however, came from the brand that once tarnished the Soave name-the basic 2010 Bolla Soave Classico, which was sprightly and attractive-and definitely cheap ($10). The Soaves in the third group were lively and refreshing, but also possessed of a penetrating minerality and an impressive weight of the sort that Mr. Burnett had dubbed “non-buttery-popcorn” California Chardonnay. These included the beautiful 2008 Pieropan La Rocca Soave ($30); the “regular” 2009 Pieropan bottling, an excellent deal at $15; and the 2009 Inama-another rich, lovely wine at the same price. Even the 2008 I Stefanini Monti di Toni had surprising weight and viscosity for a $15 wine. They were all wines that I liked very much and wanted to persuade the Soave-skeptical to try. But how to convince them? According to Bolla spokesperson Lars Leicht, Frank Sinatra was a fan-so much so that Ol’ Blue Eyes reputedly said, “No Bolla, no Sinatra,” when he sat down in a restaurant that didn’t stock his favorite brand. Maybe the next time I’m in a restaurant and don’t find any Soave, I’m going to declare: “No Pieropan, no Teague”-though I doubt it will have quite the same effect.
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Posted in: Uncategorized | 1 Comment » The ancient food pyramid has been replaced by the brand spanking new MyPlate.gov. and it looks as though Grana Padano fits quite nicely into the new diet. The new USDA guidelines and MyPlate illustration has been garnering a lot of buzz with Michelle Obama as spokesperson and top chefs including Lidia Bastianich getting behind the new user friendly and healthy diet. Whole-wheat shells with spinach, bacon, and cecci “If you were to [eat out] in the Mediterranean, you would not find two-thirds of your plate filled with meat,” says Bastianich. “It is only here, where there is such an abundance, that this exists. So the new guide is wonderful. Related posts: Tags: Grana Padano Check out this fantastic interview with Gary Shansby (Founder, Chairman and CEO of Tequila Partida) and Wine and Spirits Daily! There is a lot to learn about Partida, great business practices by Mr. Shansby and his outlook on the industry as a whole. A Close Look at Partida Tequila Dear Client: We recently spoke with Partida Tequila founder Gary Shansby, who has a long history of brand building that includes Famous Amos Cookies, Mauna Loa Macadamias Nuts, Terra Chips, and Vitamin Water. Here’s what he had to say as you, dear reader, are a fly on the wall: WINE & SPIRITS DAILY: What is new with Tequila Partida? GARY SHANSBY: Partida is a small, ultra premium brand, but our compounded growth rate is probably above most in the industry. Tequila Partida continues to enjoy substantial growth and great reviews, and we continuously receive increased support from respected influencers. Oprah Winfrey discovered Partida through her friend Puff Daddy. She is an aficionado of tequila, and she has singled out Partida as her favorite brand. Although the recent news hasn’t been widely circulated yet, the word is out and we are definitely experiencing an uptake of our business. WSD: How does it affect your brand when celebrities like Oprah and Puff Daddy are spreading the word? GARY: It depends on the publicity generated. What we’ve noticed is that their endorsement does have an impact. Puff Daddy has an impact. Ludacris, the rap star, who likes Partida, has an impact. We’re seeing some well known athletes supporting Tequila Partida too, for example Aaron Rodgers, the quarterback for the Super Bowl Champion Green Bay Packers. Another is Xavier Nady, first baseman for the Arizona Diamondbacks. Instead of trying to promote endorsements like some brands do, we prefer to let Partida be “discovered.” I think it is more permanent in building brand awareness and trial that way. WSD: I assume that your target consumer is affluent with discerning tastes. So is it difficult competing in a category where there are other high-end brands? GARY: Actually our target audience has been changing over the last 7 or 8 years. What’s really influencing the premium and ultra-premium market in tequila is a younger generation, which is mostly the 25-40 year olds. Tequila consumption was sparked in the early days by the obvious favor of margaritas, but more recently mixologists around the United States and in some foreign countries are becoming far more like chefs and developing their own cocktails. Tequila in particular, premium 100% blue agave, really does make interesting cocktails. So what we’re seeing is the younger consumer more than the older consumer is really gravitating more towards sipping, and not shooting tequila. Some of the lower priced brands are still supporting the ‘shooter market.’ Tequila Partida discourages shots. I often say we don’t pack guns any more. We prefer endorsing the sipping of alcohol in moderation and savoring. So we clearly target the upscale consumer. Our price point is much the same as Patron, which is on the upper end. Like fine wine, consumers prefer the agricultural and heritage differences in the various brands of tequila. Tequila Partida is favored by many mixologists for our smoothness and unique brand characteristics. The other advantage Partida has is we are a well-balanced brand. When I introduced Partida, which we developed from scratch, I decided we would take a different approach and not go after other spirit categories, such as vodka. We developed our formula and process to be different, and we developed the best and smoothest, authentic heritage tequila we could. As a result we today enjoy a well balanced brand – approximately half in Blanco, and about even in Reposado than Anejo. What we’ve seen is it’s not the Mexican or Hispanic consumer in the United States, but the young adult moving more to cocktails and more towards sipping and savoring premium tequila like a fine wine. Our consumers, more than tequila brands, are moving a Reposado. We’ve seen a steady uptick in our Reposado depletions each year. It’s interesting because other premium brands like Patron and Don Julio continue to really feature their Silver/Blanco offering, while we emphasize all four types of tequila. This seems to resonate well with consumers discovering taste and quality on their own. The mixologists around the country support what we are doing as well. WSD: Are you happy with your line up or have you thought about entering another spirits category? GARY: I get that question frequently from executives in the industry. The predominant view today is that single brand companies have a very difficult time being successful. With the consolidation in the industry that has taken place with suppliers and distributors – bigness and power has become important. Large strategic wine and spirit companies, like Diageo, Pernod Ricard, Brown-Forman and Bacardi, have multiple brand offerings across numerous categories and can spread their costs across all their brands. A single brand company like Partida has higher SG&A costs and total operating costs as a percent of sales. I didn’t really develop Tequila Partida with size and the ultimate sale of the brand as my focus. I’m in my ’70s, and my focus was more on developing a really good brand, having fun, and seeing it grow steadily over time. I’ve felt that this is the sunset of my career, so Tequila Partida was more about a special quality and marketing challenge to me than a commercial enterprise. Attempting to expand into other spirit categories, at least right now, would be a mistake. What will likely happen over the next few years, as we enjoy continued success, is we’ll get a greater frequency of calls from larger spirit companies. At some point the right strategic partner will come and want a relationship with Tequila Partida. It would most likely be a larger strategic spirits company wanting an interest in or ownership of Tequila Partida. At that point it probably makes sense for Tequila Partida to join the fold with a company capable of taking our brand to a market leadership position. But I don’t know when that will occur and I’m not in any particular rush. WSD: You clearly have a lot of experience with building brands. What advice would you give to a young marketer looking to build a spirits brand? GARY: My first thought is entrepreneurs like me have the experience and drive to launch, nurture, invest in, and incubate new brands more easily and quickly than larger strategic spirit companies. Once these brands have reached some scale and have been accepted for their superior brand attributes, a larger strategic spirits company can grow the brands to substantial reach, size, and profitability given their strengths. With broader and larger sales organizations, marketing strength, and financial, logistical, and administrative ability, the larger companies can accomplish more sooner than an entrepreneur generally will. So it is important for those who want to be in the spirits industry to understand and accept the realities of the space. I think the spirits industry is a lot more fun than many others. There are several significant challenges in spirits I advise people to understand and consider. One, the distribution system is very, very different in this industry. The distributor companies have consolidated to the point where most major geographic markets have no more than two powerful distributors. Both of them have literally hundreds of brands, so getting attention in every market is more difficult than the food or cosmetics industry. What I have learned, and we work with Southern Wine & Spirits and Republic National for the most part, is they are really good at what they do. But they also represent some very big suppliers that are very demanding. So getting distributor attention as a small, single brand company attention takes more effort. It requires that the entrepreneur develop their own sales organization as well. This is costly and takes more time to develop than in many other industries. The second challenge is spirits and wines today takes more time and patience than entrepreneurs are sometimes prepared to endure. If you launch a brand like Vitamin Water or Famous Amos Cookies and you have a good marketing plan and people like it, you can market directly to the consumer much quicker. So when someone comes and tells me ‘I’m going to have the next hottest and biggest tequila, and will be a market leader in the next 5 years, my comment is ‘you better take a look in this industry because not many people have achieved that.’ Grey Goose may have achieved short term success, but Patron, for example, has been in the market approximately 20 years. They have been a remarkable success, but in their first 10 years growth wasn’t as fast as it was a few years later. So you need large quantities of tenacity and patience. The third reason I would add to that is that the consumer, particularly the younger consumer today, is much more demanding of characteristics in products they personally feel are better for them. For example, going back 10 years, you’d hear someone in a bar order a Grey Goose,’ and everyone would turn to see who was ordering Grey Goose. That doesn’t happen much anymore. Consumers have their own needs, their own likes and dislikes, and a high quality, consistent product meeting those needs is more important today than in the days when people tended to copy each other. So I discourage people in this industry from getting their hopes too high too quickly. If you push brands for quick commercial success, then what is the brands staying power over time? I believe it’s better to be discovered with reasonable growth plans, but that can be painful and expensive. Frequently brands that rise too quickly, descend quickly as well. There are very, very few overnight successes! It is important to take a good, hard look at the category of interest. Dozens jumped into tequila, but how many of those brands in the last 5 years have continued to do well? Very few of them. In the case of the vodka category, Grey Goose caught everyone’s attention because of their success, but now vodka is such a big and competitive category that it is very difficult for a new vodka brand to make it. I believe premium and ultra premium level is the better level to be in. And I think the company that has done the best with this is Pernod Ricard. Pernod Ricard has consistently stated their intentions, and then delivered on their promises. They didn’t make mistakes with quick promotions and price discounts during the recession, and they continuously supported their top premium brands with solid marketing. WSD: In your opinion, how is the spirit environment overall? How is pricing? Are consumers trading up? Are sales good? GARY: Spirits will have a very resilient growth cycle for a long time. Premium wine enjoyed enormous success over a long period, and now following the 2009 recession, consumers discovered they could enjoy a few glasses rather than full bottles, and they found excellent alternative wines from markets like Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, Chile, even South Africa. In spirits, some categories – tequila is obviously one -will prosper with long sustained growth rates. The growth in the ultra premium category will out pace the other tequila categories. True tested brands, like Tequila Partida, will rise to become market leaders. because our brand is truly unique, and has flavor as an agricultural product – where the characteristics come through. I also believe the importance of the professional mixologist will accelerate. Mixologists are important consumer influencers. I personally think there is a positive, genuine good feeling about spirits. Discounting and deals appear to be relaxing a bit, and when they do, the focus will be back on quality, consistency, and specific brand characteristics, not pricing and deals. Consumers will drink brands where they can taste the difference they personally prefer. The spirits business will continue healthy growth, and premium brands will clearly out distance the mid-priced and low-priced brands. Tequila Partida, because of our focus on quality and consistency, will rise to the top 2 or 3 premium brands in the next 5 years. Our growth rate compounded from the date of introduction in 2004, has been over 50% through last year per year, obviously from a small base. This year our depletions are up substantially and reorders from distributors are higher than they’ve been in the past. This is an indication of two things: one is the market is getting stronger, and secondly more people are discovering Tequila Partida. We are appreciative of our support from our distributors, influencers, and consumers. Our future, and the future for the entire spirits industry, should be bright indeed. WSD: Thank you for your time. Related posts:
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