In these on-line pages, we have from time to time bemoaned the loss of a winery or the decision by some winemakers to discontinue making wines we used to love. This past year has seen a number of winery closures in California, notably including Paraduxx and Newton in Napa Valley. (Fortunately, new owners bought Newton and are re-opening it. Still, this is another example of change in Wine Country.)
For the wine tasting visitor, these losses – and to be fair, additions as well – are not novel events. Wine production has been changing as long as wine has been made. We can imagine some ancient Roman bemoaning that he couldn’t get his favorite wine from Pompeii anymore. But it does seem that the pace has picked up in recent years, driven by changes in wine drinkers’ tastes and the decline in sales of alcoholic beverages overall.
Photo courtesy of Cellar Tracker.
So how should you adapt to all this alteration, transformation and shift in the wineries they come to visit and taste?
- Buy up what’s still available. The fact that a winery has chosen not to make a particular wine indicates that that particular label didn’t sell very well. Yes, you loved it but not enough other people did (or at least not at that price) to make it economically feasible to continue making it. For that reason, there may be a lot left in inventory. When you visit the winery only to find that wine not on the list, just ask if you can still buy some. If so, take advantage of the winery’s misfortune while there’s still time and buy, buy, buy.
- The wine may come back. We remember when Joseph Phelps stopped making their Rhone blend, Vin du Mistral. It was one of our favorites and then, in 2021, they made it again for one vintage. Let’s hope that enough tasters ask for it at their St. Helena tasting room that they’ll bring it back again.
- Find out why the changes occurred. There may be other reasons why a certain wine may not be available, beyond market conditions. There may be new ownership or a new winemaker. If this is the case, the name on the label may be the the same name but it is no longer the same winery. In most cases though, the vineyard is still there, growing the same grapes. It may be a good idea to shrug off the differences in winemaking philosophy and see what the new winemaking team can do with what you were familiar with.
- Embrace change. Remember that every wine changes, from harvest to harvest and over time due to global warming, among other reasons. That’s one of the reasons to go wine tasting at all, to find novelty and development in the wines of a region that you’re already familiar with. For example, we often bought a premium Merlot from a Sonoma County winery. They decided to rip out the vines and plant Zinfandel as well. We regret that we’ll never taste that Merlot again, but we buy a whole lot of their Zins these days.
- Get over it. Nothing lasts forever, especially not wine.