S.W AND RICH HERMANSEN
Staff Writers
wine@lbknews.com
Gamblers on the ponies know that place and show tickets keep them in the game. They don’t have to pick a winner. The second or third best offers good value at a more reasonable price. The top horse in a stable lends it prestige. The next level horses come close, but fail to reach the heights of the top horses. But for the better, they offer good value for less.
The place and show wines on a wineries’ list have the same virtues as the show and place ponies. The grapes that don’t quite make the cut for premier wine make great wines for everyday drinking.
Premier French Chardonnay from Burgundy and Rhône white wine blends have price tags of $40 and up. A top California Chardonnay, say Shafer or Rombauer, sells
for only slightly less. The 2023 Famille Perrin Côtes du Rhône Réserve Blanc ($14), an intriguing blend of Viognier, Roussanne, Marsanne, and Grenache Blanc, delivers aromas and tastes that give more prestigious wines a run for their money. If the Perrin blend of Rhône grapes doesn’t match your preferences, the Rhône region has many other blends to try.
A building trend in winemaking in the USA is leading prestige brands to create new brands in a price tier below that of the prestige brand. The new brand has a distinct name, but the same grape varieties. Why? Because the producer of the prestige wine expects to sell only a limited quantity at a favorable wholesale price to retailers and restaurants. Putting a greater quantity on the market would either increase unsold inventory or force a lower wholesale price. Better to sell excess production of the prestige wine under another brand name to avoid undercutting the market for the prestige wine.
This tactic appears to be behind, for example, the creation of the Lyric brand of California Pinot Noir by the producer of the prestigious Etude Pinot Noir from the Carneros region in the Napa Valley. At twice the price, we buy Etude as a gift for a fellow wine aficionado or for a special dinner; for a more ordinary occasion, the Lyric tastes close enough to the Etude. We have to ask “Ïs it really Etude under a different label, or a close second?” Winemakers talk about the subtle differences in selection of grapes, skin contact during fermentation, and aging in oak, but these fineries don’t add much to the flavor profile of the wine.
S. W. Hermansen has used his expertise in econometrics, data science and epidemiology to help develop research databases for the Pentagon, the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Agriculture, and Health Resources and Services. He has visited premier vineyards and taste wines from major appellations in California, Oregon, New York State, and internationally from Tuscany and the Piedmont in Italy, the Ribera del Duero in Spain, the Barossa Valley and McLaren Vale in Australia, and the Otego Valley in New Zealand. Currently he splits time between residences in Chevy Chase, Maryland and St. Armand’s Circle in Florida.
Rich Hermansen selected has first wine list for a restaurant shortly after graduating from college with a degree in Mathematics. He has extensive service and management experience in the food and wine industry. Family and friends rate him as their favorite chef, bartender, and wine steward. He lives in Severna Park, Maryland.
