Beverage Dynamics

Beverage Dynamics May-June 2016

Beverage Dynamics is the largest national business magazine devoted exclusively to the needs of off-premise beverage alcohol retailers, from single liquor stores to big box chains, through coverage of the latest trends in wine, beer and spirits.

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French & Italian Wine www.beveragedynamics.com May/June 2016• Beverage Dynamics 23 The wines are also very refreshing for summer. Dean Schlabowske, senior sales consultant for the Austin Wine Mer- chant in Austin, Texas, notes that it's hot much of the year in his town, and Muscadet's delicacy and thirst-quenching quality make it a good seller. One example he cites is the Domaine de L'Ecu Granite. ALSATIAN PINOT BLANC Pinot Blanc toils in the shadow of the Alsace region's more fa- mous grape varieties: Gewurztraminer, Riesling and even Pinot Gris. "People sort of forgot, along with dry Muscat, that it was even there," Goldstein says. People associate Alsace with "richer, headier" wines, Schlabowske adds. There's also the question of sweetness. Some Alsatian whites are noticeably sweet, even if there's no indication of that on the label, so they can be confusing for many consum- ers. Pinot Blanc, Nadel says, "More likely than not is going to be dry." Nadel, whose company has seven restaurants in New York and one in Miami Beach, adds that "Pinot Blanc is a lot more versatile than people give it credit for." He calls it a "not-scary introduction to the wines of Alsace–and people can pronounce it." Among the brands he sells are Domaine Weinbach and Al- bert Mann. Todd Johnston, wine bar manager at Hi-Time Wine Cellars in Costa Mesa, California, says Pinot Blancs are defi nitely a "hand sell." But "once I get them into people's hands, they come back for more." Pinot Blancs from Domaines Schlumberger and Al- bert Mann are among those listed for sale on the Hi-Time web- site. Schlabowske says his store does well with Trimbach wines, including Pinot Blanc, and also sells some Hugel. Goldstein likes Pinot Blanc with a lot of Asian food and with vegetable-based cuisines, citing the example of moussaka, in which the bitterness of the eggplant and the richness of the bé- chamel can be challenging for a red wine. He also thinks it pairs well with pickled foods, a popular culinary trend. "It really can go with anything," Nadel says. SOAVE For an older generation of wine drinkers, the reputation of Soave was sullied by an ocean of thin, cheap plonk shipped to the U.S. in the 1970s. The Soave zone — east of Verona in the Veneto region of northeastern Italy – had been expanded to the fertile plains to meet demand, and the result was higher quantity but lower quality. The wines were so heavily marketed that they surpassed Chianti in sales. Eventually, consumers looking for a white that's light and inexpensive abandoned Soave in favor of Pinot Grigio. Since then, Soave, made principally from the Garganega grape, has experienced something of a comeback. The best wines come from the Soave Classico zone, which consists mostly of hillside vineyards. The hillsides are rocky and less fertile than the plains, which limits yields, producing more distinctive and fl avorful wines with lively fruit and some minerality. As is the case with the other underappreciated whites, the key often is getting consumers to try it. Soave isn't something that his customers generally ask for, Nadel says, but "when I recommend it, people like it." Two of the brands he sells are Inama and Pieropan. Soave is "well-represented" at the Austin Wine Merchant, Schlabowske says. "Soave does quite well in our store." His best-selling producer is Inama. Soave sales are also good at Hi-Time. "We sell boatloads of Soave here," Johnston says. He credits its good value and its

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