I got the following email from a reader, and winemaker, in Virginia:

We have run into a problem that I suspect you are hearing about. We feel as though we have been "held captive" by our (mostly) statewide distributor. The distributors forced this law upon us, yet they are unwilling to fully represent us.

Here's the scenario. We signed on with this distributor in January (albeit reluctantly; pursuant to compliance) as we were offered a business partnership.........only to realize they would only distribute one third of our wines. We accepted this on the promise that they would carry more wines when we showed market success. Guess what? They never introduced our wines to the sales staff and it wasn't until I came along that they even knew they carried our wines. Do you see the problem here? NO INFORMATION LEADS TO.....NO SALES!

We have an array of former, favorite customers that we catered to before this law was enacted. How in the world can we sell our other wines to them when the distributor refuses their (special) orders? We are talking CASES here, not just a few bottles.....

I wonder how many other wineries are impacted by this? If you are dealing with a smaller distributorship, they probably know your wines inside and out. But, what about the larger ones?

I've spent some time talking with different sized distributers, and their employees, over the past few months. The smaller companies have a much better handle on their products and a depth of knowledge about all of the wineries they represent. But getting into stores or restaurants and meeting with the right people is a constant challenge. Larger distributors already have the name and the established sales channels/routes. The downside is the sales people only know those wines that are pushed on them, the ones that upper managements wants to sell.

I know I am generalizing here and there are smaller distributors that have great connections and larger distributors with a sales-force that has a depth of the knowledge about their catalogue. Its just that those are the exception.

I know a lot of Virginia winemakers read this blog, so if you have any suggestions to help out my reader I would love to pass them along.

Wine: 2005 Delfosse Ambrosia



Review: Another really nice summer wine. This late-harvest wine is 100% Viognier with 15% residual sugar...making it very sweet. The wine had hints of apricot, pear and honey it was briefly aged in oak, giving it some body, but nothing overpowering. It is a great wine to pair with cold fruits, or, in my case a chilled, open-faced blackberry pie.

Price: $26

Grade: 90

Wine: 2004 Altanuta Pinot Grigio



Review: Outside of the William Grant & Sons website there is not much information about this wine, or its origins. According to the bottle, the vineyard has been around since 1308 and is located in Alto Adige region of Italy, near the Austrian border.

The wine is a surprisingly full-bodied wine, with hints of citrus and pears. A crisp and refreshing summer wine, that went well with the grilled chicken with which it was served and was easy on the palette.

Price: $15

Grade: 90

For those of you in the Charlottesville area, next weekend (September 1st) is the Discover Virginia Food and Wine Festival. Advance tickets are only $15 and it looks like a lot of fun!

Wine: 2005 Nissley Niagara



Review: Its been a while since I reviewed a wine from Pennsylvania. Nissley Winery is one of the oldest wineries in Pennsylvania and Niagara is a grape that does well in the Pennsylvania terroir.

The Niagra grape produces a sweet wine and this was no exception. It is a light wine, by design (in fact they include a fruit punch recipe on the box) with little depth. It is nice on a hot day, or to drink with fruit and light cheeses.

Price: $9

Grade: 80

There is something about California wineries that inspires me. i think it is because so much of the area that surrounds San Francisco is so brown that the oasis-like lusciousness of Napa, Sonoma, Russian River Valley and Alexander Valley wineries stands in stark contrast to the surrounding area. Like this picture from Hanna Winery:



I spent a a weekend visiting wineries in Alexander Valley. Alexander Valley is famous primarily for its Zinfandel's, although Sauvignon Blanc does very there as well. I like Zinfandels because many of them pack a kick in the same manner that my beloved Cabernet Franc does. Finding a good, peppery Zinfandel is a real treat for me.

Hanna Winery had a great tasting room with a very knowledgeable staff. The highlights from this winery were their Sauvignon Blanc, which was much lighter both in taste and color than most Sauvignon Blancs I have tried, and the Two Ranch Red.

The Two Ranch Red is a blending of 8 different varietals, the current year is 2002 and after 5 years it has mellowed. The tannins are still present, but not overwhelming, a very enjoyable wine.





Next is Alexander Valley Vineyard, which is about 1/2 mile from Hanna Winery. Alexander Valley Vineyard is famous for their Zinfandels, they are, after all, the home of Sin Zin, Redemption Zin, and Temptation Zin.







The 3 Alexander Valley Vineyards Zinfandels serve as an interesting contrast of the different Zinfandel styles. Temptation Zin is a full-bodied fruity Zinfandel with hints of cocoa. Redemption Zin places more emphasis on the fruit, this creates a much more approachable Zinfandel, while still maintaining a full body. Finally, the most famous of the trio, the Sin Zin. This has a stong peppery taste, with a full-body that stays on your tongue for a long time.

Surprisingly, Alexander Valley also had a Viognier. It was good, but not remarkable, there are certainly better here in Virginia.

I spent the weekend in Alexander Valley visiting wineries around Healdsburg. Full updates will be posted this week, but I wanted to whine about airport security.

I shipped most of my wine back, usually buying three or four bottles per winery. There was one winery from which I only got one bottle. I didn't want to check my bag, so I wrapped the bottle up and tried to slip it past security...of course it got caught and I had to check.

All of which was fine, but I was at SFO, which has several places to buy wine. I asked the TSA reps what the difference is between my wine and the wine sold in the shops. Their response is that the wine in the airport shops is scanned.

I smelled BS, so I asked the owner of one of the wine shops if her wine is specially scanned before it is brought in...and, of course, the answer was no.

My final post on the Charlottesville brings us to DelFosse for a wine tasting and a fabulous dinner. The dinner started off smoked salmon and spinach and feta empanadas served with Chardonnay. The main course was a herb-crusted sirloin kebab served with Cuvee Laurent. Dinner was interspersed with soup, salad and rolls all served with an appropriate wine.

Post-dinner we had a chocolate hazelnut torte that they recommended a Merlot with, but most of us opted to substitute the Ambrosia instead.

Our hostess, Alex, was a lot of fun (and don't we make a cute couple ;)) and very knowledgeable about the wines and vineyard.

It was a great way to end a wonderful weekend. And I finished this post just in time for my next wine weekend...this one in Sonoma :).