After a long absence I am returning to the wine trade in New York City with a fabulous company named September Wines. Located in the Lower East Side, they are a great group of people with a real passion for their product. No one word describes the range of wines on offer at September, but 'exciting' scratches the surface.
Though I am overwhelmingly excited about returning to the US wine trade to work with an exciting and energetic company, I have my concerns about my newfound market. They are far from unique an in fact mirror the problems facing the UK wine trade.
One of my main reservations about wine consumption amongst both the casual drinker and the more curious wine-lovers around the world is that there is often a positive prejudice towards certain wines that leads to the neglect of a vast world of excellent produce. In my last establishment in Britain we were able to stock a selection of nearly a hundred Australian wines, fifty South Africans, and over one hundred Italians. That all pales in comparison with the quantity of French wines from across the major regions.
While there are token wines from Jura and Savoie and other minor appellations, the omission is in these examples. It's not that there are no wines from Cahors, it's just that there is so little demand for them in favour of Australian Cabernet or Argentine Malbec that the only Cahors on offer is a lonely little £10 bottle that is rarely in stock. Meanwhile in the US I have worked in three wine companies and saw a grand total of 6 wines from South Africa on offer. 5 of those are at September wines meaning one company completely neglected a country with some of the most historically revered wines in the world.
If the tastes of the UK and the US wine trades could somehow be combined, I feel that there would be no region left out in the cold. It is the demand for new experiences which lead to the surge in popularity among Prossecco, Sancerre and Riesling. The greatest danger to these gains is feeling like the customer's potential experience is maximised. The important thing to remember is that there is always more wine. New vines are cultivated every day, new regions will emerge on a yearly basis, old regions long dormant will resurge and the old favourites will fade into the past.
Its all about education and the most exciting thing about wine is that if a new experience is placed before you why not take it? There is so much to experience in the wine world (this goes for the rest of the world as well) and once you find a nice place to pick up a bottle of something new, I say go for it! It will be well worth your while.
Much Love,
G
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