Op-Ed: "Expectations for New York Wine Are Higher Than Ever – Are We Ready?" Jim Silver, GM, Peconic Bay Winery

By Jim Silver, General Manager, Peconic Bay Winery

In a 2004 speech on his educational programs, President Bush decried the “soft bigotry of low expectations” by the opposition party. The worthy phrase resonated with many. I wondered about such expectations in regard to New York wines, and how our wine industry would react if a mirror were held up to its wines and the reflection said “it’s great…for what it is…”

That stinging phrase, “for what it is…” is the comment that sinks and supplants the “world class” argument every time, and I’ve tried to count how often I’ve heard it over the years.

As if further explanation were even required at this point, let me posit the possibility of a Pauillac or a Volnay being described the same way -- not likely. But this malignant axiom gets attached to places like Chile and Argentina, though less so recently, and to more obscure places who exist in the shadow of more reputable neighbors. Minor appellations like the Cotes de Bourg, Languedoc, Anjou, Toro, Rufina, Michigan and Niagara...even whole grape varieties aren’t immune to similar treatment. 

Expectations are naturally lowered to meet the potential of these weaker communes, right?

What inspires a sommelier or other taste-making wine professional to put a Cheverny, Grüner Veltliner, Verdichio or a Navarra by the glass? Wines like this are obscure but of high quality they’ll tell you, and they are bringing their customers an experience and a value that they would certainly have little chance of otherwise finding. Correct on all counts. What do they see when they look at our home state’s truly fine wines?  I’m not going to dig up the old chestnut of Loire restaurants selling only Loire wines and Bordeaux restaurants selling only Bordeaux wine. We know that New York is cosmopolitan to the utmost, and not in the least bit provincial. Besides, I’d even be willing to suggest that our placement near to the Big Apple is an unfair advantage we haven’t even exploited fully.

So why are our wines termed “great...for what it is…” so often? Are expectations lowered for New York wines, like other minor regions?

I believe our circumstance is self-inflicted. We (often) fail to support our legitimate claims to greatness by failing to meet our customers’ expectations of quality versus price. Unstable and illogical pricing is further compounded by a varied, random mix of world-class wines with inferior wines. That is auxiliary to a difficult-to-fulfill and difficult-to-maintain supply chain. Further, we haven’t fully embraced the tools that bring us closer to the end-user of our product (like social media) and we’re not evolving as quickly as other industries.

By simply attempting to meet our customers’ expectations at a business level, fiscally and logistically, we start to market ourselves properly. Simple postures support this.

Availability is good for the reputation of an emerging region. Wineries (in New York) should commit to wholesale distribution. Self distribution is more profitable in the short term, but ignores long-term planning, diversification of sales and brand building. Availability of product in a wide area, and with regular delivery makes sales easier and ensures greater visibility of that product and the region. Wholesale should be an integrated part of the winery’s business plan. If the winery waits for folks to show up at the front door, they’ll wish for wholesale when gasoline hits five or six dollars a gallon. Professional retail and restaurant buyers demand variety, but they want fewer vendors too. Let your distributor do the driving, and put boots on the street to bring the message directly to the gatekeeper. 

All of that said, there will always be family farms of a small stature (and varying quality levels) that distribution means nothing to because they make a fine living for themselves. That works for them, but they are not part of the greater question of regional ascendancy. Quality leaders can be found everywhere but while these farms may lead locally, they will fail to gain reputations in the broad market.  Conversely, those who embrace a wider stance over the broad market dominate the message, regardless of their relative quality.

Resistance to small brands by the wholesale distributors is mitigated by a committed producer. That is, the winery who hires a salesperson to aid the distributors’ work, and sets pricing that delivers uniformity and fairness, all balanced with logical expectations.

If you aren’t over-delivering, you are under-delivering.  Wineries (in New York) must commit to pricing policies that are fair, consistent, logical and distinguish quality -- and by fair, I mean to the winery and to the consumer both. Resist the urge to raise prices, and instead, make more wine if you are selling all of it consistently. Regular price manipulations walk a very fine line between gouging and maximizing profits and one should err on the side of the end-user. Consistency of price builds loyalty in all corners of the marketplace, while fluctuations confuse even your biggest fans. Your pricing should have enough room in it to respond well to changing market conditions. The market always makes room for a wine that delivers fairly in quality and value regardless of its actual price.

Ultimately, we may find that producing less wine of better quality at higher prices is easier than taking on the world at $15 a bottle -- or even less.

Over-deliver on your packaging materials too. Too often our wines are packaged in sixty-five cent bottles of pale green glass and silicon closures. For just a couple of dollars more a case, punted glass, updated labels and real capsules show integrity and pride, and elevate the consumers’ experience from the point of purchase. There was a time, when cheap packaging meant some kind of authenticity because, after all, the proof was in the bottle. Those days are long gone. 

And over-delivering also means engaging the customer warmly, personally and consistently. If we learned anything from the NYCR's Brian Sedgwick experiment it’s that it’s possible to be too buried in work to realize that the customer is standing right there wanting to be recognized and welcomed. I’m afraid that too often it’s the coolness of the reception rather than the climate visitors remember, but we’re changing that -- and social media and healthy competition is pushing us in the right direction.

Improving the vineyard set. Simply wanting to be world-class doesn’t make it so. By continually striving to improve our wines and the vines that produce them we are making investments in the future of our state’s industry.

Hybrids -- which many agree are inferior to vinifera -- aren’t going to immediately go away, and when possible they should be replaced by superior varieties. Repackaging hybrid wines, as well as inferior vinifera wines, as proprietary wines makes a great deal of sense.

Cash-flow wines like these bring razor thin margins most of the time while damaging the region’s reputation; however they are often an important part of the economic landscape, for the small and large operators.  Repackage the hybrids into another Red Cat (a brilliant brand) or a Winter White and you can build a new business model and a new revenue stream that doesn’t make excuses and doesn’t pretend to be something it isn’t. A Traminette may get seven tons per acre but even a well-made one isn’t going to get a 90 in the Wine Spectator and it isn’t likely to be at the Modern by the glass. But the respectfully made, traditional, unique, and frankly spectacular riesling might.  It is a rare thing indeed to find a varietally labeled hybrid wine that is universally celebrated, aside from the now ever-present vidal ice wines -- although I can think of a baco noir or two. 

It is possible to produce hybrids for fun and profit, but it requires a much more honest assessment of the resulting wines. Great wine made next to generic hybrid wine is a high-wire act that requires expert branding and marketing. It is difficult work to say the least, and we should be working towards an all-vinifera New York as quickly as possible. 

Improving our vineyard set means improving our clones of vinifera too where applicable. Now is the time to start. Let it be said though that most Long Island producers do not struggle with questions relating to vinifera versus hybrids -- rather they struggle with the unique problem of presenting to the public older vintages. Here we walk the delicate line between inventory that doesn’t move quickly and selling the benefits of aged wines to the consumer, while knowing full well that the truth lies somewhere between the two.

Stop complaining about the Californians. It isn’t productive to publicly rail against high-alcohol and highly extracted California wines; it just sounds like an insubstantial argument for distinctiveness.  Worse, it may estrange customers who enjoy both New York wines and California wines, which is a lot of them. 

California, in production for about as long as New York, has managed to define its own style, create a massive domestic and global market for itself, and meet the world’s wine buyers at every level of quality and price. And they manage to do that, right in our front yards, and from 3,000 miles away. They are also forward thinking enough to replace Ruby Cabernet and other inferior varieties, set high standards for sustainability, elevate and innovate packaging materials, and more recently throttle back on new oak and high alcohols when they see the tide turning against that. 

Why are we floating in the tube while they drive the boat? A better idea is to stop making any comparisons to other regions. Let’s leave that to the spectators, enthusiasts and fans of our wines.  Let’s see what the world thinks they taste like before we urge them in one direction or another. 

Sometimes I wonder how many “average” consumers of New York rieslings and chardonnays can actually sit down and compare them to notable Germans and Burgundies. Probably not a lot. Just as most consumers can’t compare our merlots to Pomerol with much authority. They can, however, compare them to California merlots so perhaps our arguments should be made from the glass, not in ardent diatribes meant to embarrass our Left Coast peers and their warmer climate.

So, are we suffering the soft bigotry of low expectations? Are expectations lowered for New York wines? The answer is absolutely “no.” 

Expectations for New York wines are exactly the same as every other wine region in the world -- thankfully.  The sooner we realize that the better off we’ll be. It’s meeting the expectations of the world that will decide whether or not our reputation is defined by phrases like “for what it is…” sooner than “world-beating”, “great value”, “emerging region”, or “unique terroir.”  We don’t need to continue a futile search for identity, or worse, promote an ersatz identity invented by a PR firm. Rather, we need to let our improved reputation descend upon us organically in terms laid out by an appreciative world. 

The gatekeepers of the industry aren’t blind to our existence, nor are they bigoted against the local wine scene. And the best of them don’t need a PR firm to remind them where we are located. We will learn from them by examining what they do buy for their by-the-glass programs and their retailer case-stacks and we will adjust to meet them -- because so far, trying to make them change their course to meet us hasn’t entirely worked. 

Comments

[Paul Z]

Reminds me...I need more of those "The meal was fine, but where's the New York State Wine?" cards to leave at restaurants here in NYC...

[Mark Grimaldi]

So many good points here, Jim. Excellent piece. One thing I would have liked you to touch on was how winemakers/vineyard managers/owners hone their craft and their palates.

I know you mentioned to stop comparing to other wine regions, which is fine, but I think NY should never stop learning from them or strive to meet their quality. If a FLX winery is trying to produce great Riesling, have they visited Germany? Have they put themselves into the cellars of these wineries and vineyards that have been working for hundreds if not thousands of years to perfect their wines? If a winery is striving to make, and yes, even call their wine a "Bordeaux Blend", have they got down and dirty in Bordeaux and really immersed themselves and tried to learn how they have grown Merlot and the Cabs for centuries? I know for a fact that a lot have not. Do they drink German Riesling or Bordeaux even? I know there is a level of pride that one holds with regards to their own terroir and winemaking practices, but you can not go wrong or let pride get in the way of learning from a region that has been doing what you are trying to do for centuries or even millenniums longer. And no, if you are producing Riesling, having done a harvest in California or working as an assistant in Australia is not going to cut it. This may help your skills in the cellar, but it's not going to teach you anything about the the fickle Riesling grape that even the Germans are still figuring out.

Another point which may or may not have it's place in this article is how often do winemakers/growers/owners subject themselves to wines outside of their own? or their own region? I think one thing that can easily happen is that a winery will only drink their own wines, or only wines from their region, and their palates becomes desensitized to what quality is on a worldly level. They get "tunnel vision". Of course you are going to think your wine is amazing if it's all you drink! Of course to counter that you could ask, "Does the little farmer/winemaker in the Rheingau or the satellite towns of Bordeaux drink outside of their region? Probably not, but they are the ones with the centuries and generations of experience guiding them.

[Carlo DeVito]

Jim

Great post! Love a lot of it. I agree. We have too many wineries that are thinking too small. The more I see, it seems for many that complaining is easier than rising to the challenge.

I have long been an admirer of what you’ve accomplished at Peconic Bay. Very impressive. I think New York wine can look to you for a lot of good ideas.

Quality, value, and distribution all remain challenges. New York must not look at itself in a vacuum, but see itself compared to the larger market. If you expect your wine to sell in a shop, how does it compare to the wines of the world. What is its reason for being? Being local is a nice add-on sales point – but is it good wine? Is it fairly priced? By and large people don’t care about organic or local as a first rung of decision making – they want to taste it first. People who like wine, want to like the wine first, they want to feel better about themselves because its organic or local second.

Where we differ are the following:

1.We need more branding in New York City where the wine media congregate. We need to show the wine media that great wines are being made here. And we need to get in front of more stores and restaurants. Yes, each winery needs to do what they can, but we need to take that same look in the mirror that you’re talking about, and ask why aren’t we doing the same kinds of tasting France, Italy, Spain, and even Oregon and Washington are doing in the city. Why are we competing at the same level? Long Island holds tastings in the city, but other regions need to do the same. There should be a New York tasting event.

2. You come down pretty strongly against hybrids, but I would posit that new grapes are always being played with. In Rioja, for example, where many that make Tempranillo tinged with a few additional blenders, but heirloom varieties are being brought back in a big way there now.

And where would regions like Argentina be without Malbec, or Australia without Pinotage, or Niagara without Vidal ice wines? Washington is known for great Pinot Noir and also for great Baco Noir. I understand if you’re poking holes at sweet, syrupy concoctions, but there are those of us who are making lovely wines with things like Baco Noir. Benmarl and Hudson-Chatham’s wines are in many fine restaurants and stores in New York City and throughout the region. I would put those wines up against a lot of other wines. Benmarl sells it’s wine for $30 and sells out each run without problem.

What stuns me is that people will try Gruner Vetliner or Zweigelt before trying a quality Baco Noir or Chambourcin. It's ludicrous.

I would say the real issue is quality. If you’re making a stunning wine with a hybrid, there’s no problem. If you’re making a bad wine with a hybrid – that’s a problem. And that’s where you and I agree.

Over all, a great post! Like many of your “pull up you bootstrap” ideas.

Mark – Great points, all!

[Evan Dawson]

I'll have more to say later, but for now I'll just say: What Mark said. What. Mark. Said.

And Jim, wonderful insights.

[jim silver]

@Mark - it's exactly that reason you cite that so many struggle with pricing, or valuing, their products. Having less to do with the cost of production, and much more to knowing your place in the global market - or which place in that market you choose to confront.

[Mark Rizzolo]

Jim,

Very good article, the only thing that I don't agree with is the comment about hybrids. Although most tend to be sweeter and less exciting a well made hybrid wine can be just as interesting as vinifera. The Baco Noirs that I have had from the Hudson Valley seem to be very respectable and the Vignoles from Anthony Road and Keuka Lake Vineyards are both extremely good, I have surprised many friends when serving them Vignoles blind. Agree they have an image problem but it would be a mistake if a winery that makes a very good hybrid switches to vinifera just because it makes the region more appealing.

Great article though. Would really love to see NY Wines get more respect.

[Anon]

How is an issue of quality resolved by changing marketing strategies? Social media, wholesaling, and agritourism would seem to me to reduce quality. If you invest capital into marketing and events, and they provide return, what is the incentive to invest in labor, farming, and production changes over, say, a bigger tasting room or a petting zoo. It is a cyclic and compounding dilemma.

[Duncan Ross, Arrowhead Spring Vineyards]

Jim - great writing. Well thought out and complete.

Mark - I drink lots of wines from a variety of regions - I assume any winemaker does (at least all the ones I know do). I am a bit taken aback by the implication that many do not. Hopefully, this is just an assumption on your part about new world winemakers. I wouldn't exempt European winemakers from trying wine from outside their regions. There is nothing mystical or magical about the history of those regions. Nothing that would exempt them from trying a variety of wines or working a season or two in California or New Zealand

Carlo, I think the reason people will try a Gruner before a Baco is that there is a marketing buzz around Gruner. A buzz around Baco could accomplish the same thing.

[Rich Pisacano]

Good stuff Jim.
Mark, I agree with some of what you say. For one, you may be right on about “tunnel vision” and palate desensitization because I, for one, drink a good bit of NY wine and truly think many are as good as the best on earth but the belief that perfecting the art of winegrowing can somehow be best learned by looking to a region that’s been doing it for a long time is, IMO, a common misconception. I have the deepest respect for the vintners who came long before me but the fact is that the greater understanding of winegrowing has been learned in the last 40 years. What took place generations ago in the wine world is, for me, a source of great inspiration but certainly not where I turn to for knowledge.
Would a modern day surgeon look to learn from the Civil War surgeon who had little understanding of where a disease or infection came from or how to cure them? Would he share the same crude techniques to treat a wound? No, because the knowledge that a doctor possessed 150 years ago is not really applicable today.
The answers to why NY wines have been embraced by “cosmopolitan” NYer’s and the world at large in a slower than expected pace are complex and I believe the “for what it is” attitude is partly to blame and mostly voiced by those who get stuck on the opinion that a product must be better if it is made in a faraway place by people who have been doing it for a long time.

[Evan Dawson]

Rich - I take your point, but wine and surgery are hardly a fair comparison. One is a recreational product, the other, not so much.

Unfortunately, Mark is bang-on correct when it comes to the need to experience more of the world. It's no coincidence that the strongest winemakers in the Finger Lakes are often drinking wines from around the world. There is great value in having a broad understanding of wine. More than that, I'd think that folks who work in the industry would be passionate enough to explore the wider world of wine on their own. But I promise you there are plenty of cases where the doesn't happen. I won't name names here, but it's much more widespread than it should be. I wrote about this exact subject after TasteCamp last year.

Morten Hallgren and I have had this conversation before. And the notion that NY wine prices should be based on quality alone, or compared to other NY wines alone, is more than a little risky. Consumers have wine stores in which they're looking at wines from around the world, and they have too many good options to pay too high a premium for local wines.

[Jake Perdie]

Expectations for New York wine are higher then ever - thanks to what we have done thus far!

Looking back at even the last decade, we should be very proud of our accomplishments and accolades. The high profile restaurants in NYC whose doors we kept knocking on, are all of the sudden in our tasting rooms looking for product.

New York has been making some fine wine and we have to thank our customers for their support. Surely their
excitement is contagious and has been beneficial to us.

Are we ready? (for what exactly?) Business plans and goals surely vary from producer to producer. If there is someone who is happy to make 800 cases of wine only to be sold through their door step or waiting list, then more power to them! If there are other producers who are happy to take buses or limos with people demanding blush wine and sweet reds, then more power to them! After all, isn't the diversity what makes any area great? And it is up to the consumers to decide!

Successful businesses will prevail. There will always be New York wine thanks to this enterprise that has been created. Where it goes and how it develops will be decided by the consumers.

I just don't believe that this is a country/state/appellation where we can tell our neighbors that they should change how they are doing something, just to get the "for what it is" statement to disappear. (distribution, plantings, pricing)??

It's not Europe. It's America, we're in the game already and it's too late to change the rules.

@Mark, I know many nofo winery owners who travel extensively to learn, understand and appreciate quality and rich history of regions.
These same people enjoy drinking wines from many great areas from around the world, not just their own!

I feel bad for the little farmer in Rheingau or Bordeaux that may not taste other wine!

"The deed is everything, the glory naught"
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

[Lenn Thompson]

Thanks again for this post, Jim. I think there is a lot of great stuff here.

First, despite what some have said here, there are quite a few winemakers that I've spoken to in New York who seem to mostly drink their own wines and maybe some from their neighbors. I'm basing this on interviews that I've done and email discussions -- not assumptions or guesses. It seems to be less of a problem on Long Island, but regional palate is a challenge in every wine region.

Rich makes an interesting point -- it IS important to drink a lot of wine from your own region as well to fully understand what is possible today and what might be in the future -- but I agree that the winemaking-to-surgery comparison is a tough one to make.

Jake: I don't think that Jim is "telling his neighbors" anything. I think he is sharing his opinions (the op in op-ed) and I think he's leaving room for the mailing list/winery-door sales model. I've spoken to Jim about some of these issues extensively and he absolutely understands that not every business can or should run like Peconic Bay Winery or Jamesport Vineyards.

It's good to see some long-time readers chiming in with comments. I'd love to hear from some of our Finger Lakes readers on this topic as well.

[Alan J. Wax]

Jim, what you said has been oft repeated (except for hybrids) for the 20+ years thst I've watched the LI industry. There's a small biz mentality: we're small and we can't afford msrketing. As for distribution, many of your compadres would rather take the full mark-up in the tasting room than sell to a wholesaler, who they see overlooking their products in favor of bigger brands in their portfolios. Yes,they need dedicated sales people to call on accounts, but that, too, is reflected by watching the bottomline. Is it hopeless? I don't know.

[Thomas Pellechia]

Good piece, Jim, I disagree with one point and I'd add another.

I agree with Carlo that when produced into solid wine,m hybrids are every bit as drinkable as many of the European grape varieties beyond the well-known dozen or so. Either a winery produces solid, and well made wine, or it doesn't. No need to single out the grape itself.
As for the word "great": When someone defines it to my satisfaction, beyond personal subjectivity, I'll maybe relent. ;)

Finally, as Rich posted: "...those who get stuck on the opinion that a product must be better if it is made in a faraway place by people who have been doing it for a long time."

That's quite an uphill concept to overcome, especially when there is no definitive appellation system with agreed upon and established standards.

Besides, as a major port of entry, New York has always been subject to the idea that imports surpass local product quality--"It's Imported" is among the most vacuous yet established marketing phrases here. It must be overcome, but that takes stellar, pinpoint marketing--and money.

[Julia Burke]

Jim, always a treat to read your smart, no-BS, industry-savvy viewpoint.

I was glad you included "Stop Complaining About the Californians." I've been dismayed and not a little embarrassed lately that pride in our region has occasionally veered into anti-Cali mudslinging. Complaining that all Californian (and for that matter, Australian) wine is fat, overoaked, slutty, and unintelligent is ignorant, and it makes us look like a bunch of headgear-wearing third graders telling the high school seniors they're not allowed in our clubhouse.

Our wine quality should speak for itself without requiring us to put down established regions that have worked hard to deliver reliable value and quality. And customers shouldn't feel like they have to choose between California and New York for the rest of their lives. There's room for us in the market, but we have to acknowledge that there IS one.