TasteCamp 2009: An Interview with Rob Bralow
By Lenn Thompson, Editor and Publisher
All told, we had 30 bloggers and spouses/friends take part in this debut edition of TasteCamp EAST, each with different backgrounds, tastes and impressions of Long Island's wineries, people and wines.
Over the course of the next several weeks, in addition to my own posts about the weekend, I'll be asking some of the attendees for their honest impressions and experiences with Long Island wines both before and after TasteCamp.
We'll kick things off with Rob Bralow from the Wine Post blog, out of Manhattan.
working for multiple country image campaigns, including Wines of Chile,
Wines of Germany and Wines of Israel. Rob's first experiences with
wine stem from his parents, both of which had a great enthusiasm for
making wine part of daily life. In addition to the work he does, Rob
also has taken several wine courses and uses his blog to expand his
wine education.
Was this your first time to Long Island wine country?
It was my first time in Long Island wine country, although I had
been to Long Island a few times before. My mother originally grew up on
Long Island.
Really the only ones I tasted regularly were the Schneider Vineyards
wines, and that only because I knew and worked with the winemaker,
Bruce Schneider.
Island, however as a whole I think the region still has plenty of room
for improvement.
potential, and there were plenty of great examples of the wine and some
really cool nearly-sustainable practices (they're working on it) that I
thought made the wines not only unique, but very tasty.
Island Merlot Alliance has some great stuff going for them, but overall
there was too much hype about the merlot that never really impressed
me, especially for the price.
Was there a winery or tour stop that stands out in your mind as the "best"?
Winery. The winemaker there (Eric Fry) is quite possibly certifiably crazy,
but his wines are so pure and so delicious that I can only applaud his
work ethic. If I had the same zeal about tasting wine as he does about
making it, I would have tasted every wine in the world by July, just in
time for me to start tasting them all again.
There were so many great wines during the weekend. I think my
choice is going to surprise a few people when they read it, but I loved
the Channing Daughters Tocai Friulano 2007. It was so fresh and
aromatic and such a wonderful change from what I had tasted before.
Clearly the winemaker there is not afraid to experiment and not afraid
to go with his gut instinct of making the best wine the region can grow.
I love it when someone nails Eric Fry’s personality perfectly
Seriously, I just read Lyle Fass’s account of the weekend. Among his themes on it all is the price of L.I. wines, which he generally considers out of line, not so much with the wines (although there is that) as much as with the competition.
I’ve read this before, heard it before, and even said it before. It makes me wonder:
1. Do the wine people on the island hear it as often?
2. Do they answer the charge?
3. Is there an answer or solution?
Lyle hits an issue squarely on the head: that the wineries happen to nicely be placed within the moneyed class, the implication being, that they cater to the source of the dollars.
Whether true or not, is that the image that L.I. producers want?
If not, then are L.I. producers aware it is the one that comes to the fore quite often, and do they care about dealing with it or not?
Is someone in the L.I. wine business willing and able to address these questions for me?
Thomas: I’ve been working on a “pricing” post for a while now (perhaps it’s time that I sit down and FINISH it), but there are two things that I think TasteCampers need to remember from their weekend LI wine experience:
1. They didn’t taste anything blind.
2. The wineries pulled out all the stops, pouring their best (and most expensive) wines.
Now, that’s not to say that the thought that LI wine is overpriced doesn’t have some merit, because some of it IS overpriced.
FYI, I’m pulling together a link of TasteCamp-related posts today and will continue to do so for a few weeks until everyone is done
Thomas,
Our wines are priced between $14-$42.Currently we make 1500 cases at $14 and 225 at $42. Another 1000 cases are priced between $15 and $17. 750 cases are priced between $20 and $40.
The marketplace determines the price and QPR of our wines. We listen carefully to our customers. So far, so good…the bills are getting paid.
Cheers,
David Page
Shinn Estate Vineyards
David,
I’m not questioning any single winery’s policies. I’m pointing out the sweeping statements of critics, etc. and wondering how or what LI wineries do or say to address these seeming concerns.
It’s discouraging to me to read what starts out as a good report on the wines and then deteriorates into a slap at the pricing and marketing.
If I were producing wine, I’d be concerned about such information as a continuing drum beat.
Being in the Finger Lakes, I’m accustomed to the German Riesling drinkers who seem always to end their reluctant praise of Finger Lakes Rieslings with a negative note along the lines of ‘never reaching greatness,’ etc.
Those kinds of slaps prove to have staying power. Yes, I know that the wine is supposed to speak for itself, but if that were true, we probably wouldn’t have the number of critics that stalk the earth and the need for marketing.
Thomas,
Yes, you are right - criticism can effect the sustainability of a business. So we need to work harder, longer, and with more passion.
Cheers,
David Page
Shinn Estate Vineyards
Thomas - sounds like comments from typical Germans - (I can say that because I am one
) They generally like their own red wines much better than anything from Burgundy or Bordeaux. Don’t take them seriously. lol