Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/123973
MARKET WATCH TIM TEICHGRAEBER doesn't have anything to do with what's in the bottle. In the overprivileged part of Marin (County, Calif.) that I work in, people take offense at the waste," said Gillian Balance, a Master Sommelier and wine director at the Cavallo Point Lodge in Sausalito. "I would extend that to tête de cuvée Champagne," added David Glancy, also a Master Sommelier. "It's amazing when people make things that just won't fit into racks. I think some consumers go, 'Ooh, It must be good,' but others go, 'Ooh, what is the carbon footprint?'" "They obviously don't fit in racks," noted Greg Randle, a Certified Wine Educator, consultant and wine director at several restaurants in Austin, Texas. "It's like the 'Smokey and the Bandit' Trans Am – there's just no need for it." Not surprisingly, Forbes magazine recently dubbed the gas-guzzling Cadillac Escalade – a grand, hard-to-park vehicle by any measure – as one that loses resale value the fastest. Of course, an Escalade doesn't have a gold eagle painted on the hood, either. SERVER WEIGHS IN But these were professors of the wine world talking about big bottles. I figured I should probably ask a couple of people who work in the trenches about how impressed they are by massive wine bottles. I called a friend in Chicago, Ivar Johnson, who has been a server at highend restaurants for 21 years, and at Paul Kahan's Michelin-starred Blackbird for the past 11 years. "It's definitely a source of amusement," said Johnson. "You can tell what they're trying to do. It seems like winemakers who want a certain kind of heaviness in their wines also want to put it in a heavy bottle. If you pick up some bottles Oversized bottles often will not fit into wine racks designed for standard 750 mL bottles. Photo: Thinkstock YOUR ONLY SOURCE FOR CERAMIC BOTTLES!!! For more than 30 years Phoenix Packaging has designed and introduced new concepts to the wine industry. We work to produce distinctive, unique, and recognizable packaging. BE Creative, BE Bold, BE Different!!!! BUILD YOUR BRAND using what YOU think will be the PERFECT PACKAGE. DON'T be limited by someone's catalogue or stock. WWW.PHOENIXPACKAGING.COM Telephone: 514-487-6660 / 800-661-6481 26 V I N E YARD & WINERY MANAGEMENT | May - June 2013 w w w. v w m m e d i a . c o m