Why the wine hunt can be so difficult

Jon Bonné Lifestyle editor • Profile

Here’s the wine wonk’s endless dilemma: Do I write about wines that interest and excite me, or do I write about wines that everyone can buy?

It’s nearly impossible to do both. The American system of wine distribution is constructed to create unequal markets: Wines available in Denver or Des Moines aren’t the same as those available in New York or Miami. You can argue forever about whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing (wholesalers who have the upper hand in this system vigorously argue the former, most wine aficionados believe the latter) but it doesn’t matter. Until a new one comes along, it’s the system we’ve got.

The most frequent question readers ask: Where can I buy the wines you recommend? I’ve tackled that question before, but there's simply no way to suggest specific retailers to readers in every state. Last year’s overhauls of wine shipping laws helped level the playing field, but little has changed for millions of consumers in states like Florida or Pennsylvania.

Which leaves two options: (1) Recommend only big-name, mass-produced wines that can be found nearly everywhere, or (2) Recommend special, distinctive wines and hope that you’ll be able to find them.

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Option 1 isn't an appealing prospect. The nation’s top 30 wine companies (here’s a recent list) represent 90 percent of the wine sold in the United States. You'll notice familiar names, like Gallo, and less familiar ones, like Constellation Brands, a wine superpower whose labels (Mondavi, Ravenswood, Vendange) are familiar to most drinkers. It includes vintners whose public image belies their impressive size (Bonny Doon, Niebaum-Coppola) and who nonetheless turn out interesting, unique wines. They have ad dollars and clout with wholesalers.

These companies produce plenty of decent wines, and I’ve recommended more than a few. Still, the majority of the wine under Option 1 is made to be generically pleasing. It is to good wine what McDonald’s is to fine dining.

Now, millions of people like McDonald’s, and millions of people like corporate wines. If you’re one of them and you enjoy what you drink, then you're way ahead of the game. Choosing wine is all about matching people to what gives them pleasure, and you’ve accomplished that.

But restaurant reviewers are tasked with sorting out the world of food beyond McDonald’s. Shouldn't wine writers be doing just the same?

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A few exceptions don't fit this mold, like high-end Bordeaux: expensive, often amazing wines produced in enough quantity that, with a bit of effort, you can buy some nearly anywhere. (Bordeaux’s biggest coup has been to create the appearance of scarcity. It’s not for nothing that Mouton Rothschild can make 250,000 bottles and sell each at over $150 retail. Top Champagne houses mastered this, too.) But they already have their share of cheerleaders.

Helping the little guys
How about Option 2?  Wine may be dominated by big names, but it’s still largely an industry of small businesses — little guys who employ a handful of people and produce perhaps a few thousand cases. Many of them make mediocre wine too, but they also are responsible for most of the world’s unique, interesting wines. The little guys need support. They face a tough battle to get their wines into new markets.

Unless you live in a big city, with access to wine superstores and niche boutiques, or somewhere that allows wine shipping, you’re at the mercy of whatever forces control your local market. And though many small retailers across the country relish in hunting down the obscure, here’s the frustrating truth: Alcohol distribution in this country is still mostly about spirits and beer. Wine is almost an afterthought.

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