tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-267873242024-03-05T14:05:58.412+01:00Wine economicsThis blog is concerned with the economics of wine.RAE Muellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09150916717493488144noreply@blogger.comBlogger34125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26787324.post-34618709305802311402011-11-28T16:36:00.000+01:002011-11-28T16:36:56.325+01:00Wines & Vines - Wine Industry News Headlines - Wine Scientists Focus On Sensors<div>Sensors - other than candles and thermometers - arrive in the cellar: </div><a href="http://www.winesandvines.com/template.cfm?section=news&content=94602&htitle=Wine+Scientists+Focus+On+Sensors#.TtOprEHr6ro.blogger">Wines & Vines - Wine Industry News Headlines - Wine Scientists Focus On Sensors</a>RAE Muellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09150916717493488144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26787324.post-90027546721867607622011-06-20T16:50:00.000+02:002011-06-20T16:50:27.877+02:00http://www.economist.com/node/18836894?story_id=18836894<a href="http://www.economist.com/node/18836894?story_id=18836894">http://www.economist.com/node/18836894?story_id=18836894</a>RAE Muellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09150916717493488144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26787324.post-66463034256299712732011-02-07T16:34:00.002+01:002011-02-07T16:43:11.007+01:00The Niersteiner Glöck and the sustainability of grapevine culture<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Dan Sumner of UC Davis has asked me to provide some information about the "Niersteiner Glöck", a plot of land where grapes have been grown continuously for 1270 years. Perhaps grapevine monoculture is sustainable.<br />
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The Glöck (~ "Glocke" ~ church bell) is a vineyard of 2.1 ha size located at the foot of St. Kilian church at Nierstein in the Rheinhessen wine region of Germany. Nierstein is located on the west bank of the Rhine river, not far from Mainz (20 km) and Frankfurt airport (35 km). The elevation of the Glöck ranges from 90 to 130 m above sea level and its slope is between 5-15% towards the southeast; the soil is Loess on top of "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotliegend">Rotliegendes</a>".<br />
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The Glöck produces excellent Riesling wines but is best known for being the vineyard in Germany that can be traced the farthest back in history. It is believed that wine has been grown continuously in this vineyard since the year 742. The belief is based on a document from that year that records the donation by the local ruler to the bishop of Würzbug of the church and the tithe consisting of fruit and wine that was attached to the church (Fuchß 1992). The donation was confirmed in documents from the years 822 and 993. The Glöck reappeared in historical records in the year 1141 under the name "Clegken", and again in the 16th and 18th century. Today it is owned and operated by the <a href="http://www.staatsweingueter.rlp.de/Internet/global/inetcntr.nsf/dlr_web_full.xsp?src=UW469X93KC&p1=P49F5J8C05&p2=6O440TL52Y&p3=D2023B2V5J&p4=11S44OCQ45">Staatliche Weinbaudomäne Oppenheim</a> which produces a "<a href="http://www.vdp.de/en/classification/">Grosses Gewächs</a>" from it, i.e. the highest quality level recognized by the <a href="http://www.vdp.de/en/vdp-praedikat-wine-estates/">VDP</a>.<br />
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The Glöck may not actually be the oldest vineyard in Germany. The Romans had introduced grapevine culture as early as 50 B.C. along the Rhine and Mosel valleys. After the Romans had left the area wine grape culture declined but was revived and encouraged by the Franks in the 8th century. It is therefore possible that some of the vineyards that were first planted in Roman times are still in use today but the Glöck is the oldest on record.<br />
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Location at Google Earth: 49°52'38.80" N; 8°20'16.59" O (East)<br />
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Photos:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiahkKNlX000nP3b3SgqkoLR6KRtVD4ALY5U_4KV4kdHW4Fwg6tf0FwlDaB5aTJye5T1ra_WuLvgk1-opdzNNWEdsZ8-pMcG7noUXf7tJBOl5njyJPtECU6EYAKIhy-Z3wg7cUM/s1600/St+Kilian+and+the+Gl%25C3%25B6ck.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiahkKNlX000nP3b3SgqkoLR6KRtVD4ALY5U_4KV4kdHW4Fwg6tf0FwlDaB5aTJye5T1ra_WuLvgk1-opdzNNWEdsZ8-pMcG7noUXf7tJBOl5njyJPtECU6EYAKIhy-Z3wg7cUM/s320/St+Kilian+and+the+Gl%25C3%25B6ck.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Source: http://www.dlr.rlp.de/Internet/dienststellen/oppenheim/web_domaene.nsf/f115be4a7c862a70c1256aa10050236c/ac256c098485f86cc1256c3600514c0f?OpenDocument<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBpX8-Sty8097zK1KkA3tkG60WcqEnUJbKjycCrinZD9jRkVbjl18wnpdI8YFk397xlDwizG63wLTwJrbpVB_A2ekDWGJP-eINcImbbJYcjKtCI2hP9TdUUtbvlqVsKDLHYecG/s1600/Niersteiner+Roter+Hang.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="182" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBpX8-Sty8097zK1KkA3tkG60WcqEnUJbKjycCrinZD9jRkVbjl18wnpdI8YFk397xlDwizG63wLTwJrbpVB_A2ekDWGJP-eINcImbbJYcjKtCI2hP9TdUUtbvlqVsKDLHYecG/s320/Niersteiner+Roter+Hang.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
St. Kilian church and "Glöck" in the center, "Roter Hang" in the middle background, river Rhine to the right<br />
Source: http://www.karriereplus.de/wein-zirkus/index.htm<br />
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More photos at: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:20060423-Nierstein-Kirche.jpg<br />
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Sources:<br />
Fuchß, P. 1992. Zur Geschichte der Niersteiner Glöck einer berühmten Weinlage am Rhein. Oppenheim: Eingenverlag der Landes- Lehr- und Versuchsanstalt für Landwirtschaft, Weinbau und Gartenbau, Oppenheim.<br />
Deutsches Weininstitut. <a href="http://www.deutscheweine.de/icc/Internet-DE/nav/d70/d70200bc-e791-0821-18eb-21f604c41ed8&_ic_uCon=d13300bc-e791-0821-18eb-21f604c41ed8">Niersteiner Glöck: Älteste Weinbergslage Deutschlands</a>. <br />
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RAEM</div>RAE Muellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09150916717493488144noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26787324.post-2925186808916142152010-04-05T19:55:00.000+02:002010-04-05T19:55:00.457+02:00Monkeys in the vineyard: Pests or thieves?The German-language SpiegelOnline has a little <a href="http://www.spiegel.de/wissenschaft/natur/0,1518,686225,00.html">story on monkeys plundering vineyards</a> in South Africa. The best part of the story are the <a href="http://www.spiegel.de/fotostrecke/fotostrecke-53309.html">pictures</a>.<br />
I sent the link to some friends and one, Jim Lapsley of UC Davis, responded with this email:<br />
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<blockquote>Many years ago my colleague Carole Meredith attended an OIV conference in South Africa and visited the vineyards. She was surprised to see vineyards protected by electric fences (and got a good picture of one) -- "to deter thieves?" she asked. "No," was the reply -- "for Baboons".<br />
Because of cost and availability, the fence wasn't always charged. The vineyard manager described a troop of baboons coming to the fence, looking at it, and then one of the older baboons took a young one and pushed him against the fence to see if it was on! An example of tool use in non-human species! Jim </blockquote><br />
RolfRAE Muellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09150916717493488144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26787324.post-12074285637918153172009-09-13T11:10:00.001+02:002009-09-13T11:10:08.985+02:00Book Review: Oceans of WineThe blog "The Wine Economist" has a short review of a new book on the history of the Madeira wine industry and trade.<br><br> <div style="margin: 0px 2px; padding-top: 1px; background-color: #c3d9ff; font-size: 1px !important; line-height: 0px !important;"> </div> <div style="margin: 0px 1px; padding-top: 1px; background-color: #c3d9ff; font-size: 1px !important; line-height: 0px !important;"> </div> <div style="padding: 4px; background-color: #c3d9ff;"><h3 style="margin:0px 3px;font-family:sans-serif">Diese Nachricht wurde Ihnen von RAEM via Google Reader gesendet.</h3></div> <div style="margin: 0px 1px; padding-top: 1px; background-color: #c3d9ff; font-size: 1px !important; line-height: 0px !important;"> </div> <div style="margin: 0px 2px; padding-top: 1px; background-color: #c3d9ff; font-size: 1px !important; line-height: 0px !important;"> </div> <div style="font-family:sans-serif;overflow:auto;width:100%;margin: 0px 10px"><h2 style="margin: 0.25em 0 0 0"><div class=""><a href="http://wineeconomist.com/2009/09/06/book-review-oceans-of-wine/">Book Review: Oceans of Wine</a></div></h2> <div style="margin-bottom: 0.5em">via <a href="http://wineeconomist.com" class="f">The Wine Economist</a> von Mike Veseth am 06.09.09</div><br style="display:none"> <div><br><p><img src="http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:sV5r5eZP7d3QKM:http://www.yalebooks.co.uk/yale/localjackets/l/9780300136050.jpg" alt="" width="92" height="140"></p> <p>David Hancock. <em> Oceans of Wine: Madeira and the Emergence of American Trade and Taste</em>. Yale University Press, 2009.</p> <p>As the author of a book called <em><a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=kDxO4op8aUEC&pg=PP7&lpg=PP7&dq=oxford+mountains+of+debt&source=bl&ots=gw9TD0-FvX&sig=7Hvy8HcoslsHRkrBUKbRHpj6HpI&hl=en&ei=r8OiSo-4BpintgfJ8OjSDw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1#v=onepage&q=oxford%20mountains%20of%20debt&f=false">Mountains of Debt</a></em> I am predisposed to like a book called <em> <a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=kDxO4op8aUEC&dq=oxford+mountains+of+debt&source=gbs_navlinks_s">Oceans of Wine</a></em> based on the title alone. In fact, it is a masterpiece. I wish I knew as much about anything as David Hancock clearly knows about the Madeira wine trade between 1640 and 1815. This serious social and economic history is filled with interesting facts, detailed analysis and thoughtful insights. What a delight!</p> <p>America's First Wine</p> <p>Madeira was America's wine in the 18th century, when we were a wine-drinking country but before a domestic industry had taken root. Wines from this small island found their way into shops, taverns and cellars throughout America, one element among many in what this book reveals to be a surprisingly complex network of trade connections that supported an unexpectedly cosmopolitan consumption culture.<img src="http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:7ZD_IVLDaBApcM:http://image05.webshots.com/5/5/68/22/65156822kTwzed_fs.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="104"></p> <p>Wine exports became a trade necessity when Madeira lost its comparative advantage in sugar production in the 17th Century and, unlikely as it may seem, its wines soon dominated the Atlantic trade. Madeira could be found just about everywhere in America, from the cellars of wealthy families in big cities to humble country taverns and shops.</p> <p>Although it would be nice to be able to say that its great success was the result of a unique terroir, in fact Madeira wine evolved into a highly manipulated manufactured product, blended, fortified, heated, agitated and tailored to the preferences of specific consumer markets. It was, in short, everything that wine snobs today hate and fear about wine, but it was treasured and enjoyed by the societies that created it. Give up romantic notions of wine's pure and glorious past all who enter here!</p> <p>Atlantic Commodity Chains</p> <p>The wine trade evolved, in Hancock's deft telling of the story, through complex formal and informal networks where information was successfully exchanged via "conversations" between buyer and seller and between and among network members at each stage of the complex production and distribution process.</p> <p>If you think that the interactive, diffused global commodity chain of today is a new thing, you need to read this account of how the Madeira trade worked 300 years ago!</p> <p>Hancock is not content to simply paint a landscape of Madeira trade. He uses each link in the commodity chain (from Madeira viticulture all the way to American country tavern) as an opportunity to drill down into detailed (and generously illustrated) essays on the economic and social institutions of the time. The result is a work of remarkable scope and depth — a noteworthy accomplishment.</p> <p>Seriously Interesting</p> <p>This is a great book of economic and social history told through the wine trade. It is a serious book of history that offers many lessons. Like Madeira itself, it will give much pleasure to many audiences, including historians, wine drinkers and economists. Bravo!</p> <p>Note: Thanks for Francine Graf, my editor at <a href="http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/acrl/publications/choice/index.cfm">CHOICE </a>magazine, for suggesting this book.</p> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gocomments/wineeconomist.wordpress.com/919/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/comments/wineeconomist.wordpress.com/919/"></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godelicious/wineeconomist.wordpress.com/919/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/delicious/wineeconomist.wordpress.com/919/"></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gostumble/wineeconomist.wordpress.com/919/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/stumble/wineeconomist.wordpress.com/919/"></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godigg/wineeconomist.wordpress.com/919/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/digg/wineeconomist.wordpress.com/919/"></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/goreddit/wineeconomist.wordpress.com/919/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/reddit/wineeconomist.wordpress.com/919/"></a> <img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=wineeconomist.com&blog=2600191&post=919&subd=wineeconomist&ref=&feed=1"></div></div> <br> <div style="margin: 0px 2px; padding-top: 1px; background-color: #c3d9ff; font-size: 1px !important; line-height: 0px !important;"> </div> <div style="margin: 0px 1px; padding-top: 1px; background-color: #c3d9ff; font-size: 1px !important; line-height: 0px !important;"> </div> <div style="padding: 4px; background-color: #c3d9ff;"><h3 style="margin:0px 3px;font-family:sans-serif">Optionen:</h3> <ul style="font-family:sans-serif"><li><a href="http://www.google.com/reader/view/feed%2Fhttp%3A%2F%2Fwineeconomist.com%2Ffeed%2F?source=email">Abonnieren von The Wine Economist</a> mit <b>Google Reader</b></li> <li><a href="http://www.google.com/reader/?source=email">Erste Schritte mit Google Reader</a> – Immer informiert über die <b>für Sie wichtigsten Websites</b></li></ul></div> <div style="margin: 0px 1px; padding-top: 1px; background-color: #c3d9ff; font-size: 1px !important; line-height: 0px !important;"> </div> <div style="margin: 0px 2px; padding-top: 1px; background-color: #c3d9ff; font-size: 1px !important; line-height: 0px !important;"> </div>RAE Muellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09150916717493488144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26787324.post-22013583747624839962009-09-09T17:28:00.002+02:002009-09-09T17:35:21.815+02:00Cal-wines in the old daysHere is a delightful characterization of winemaking in early 20th century California. A friend found it in a 1914 article, "Utilization of Grapes for Non-intoxicating wines: The Processes employed" which appeared in Outwest magazine.<br /><br />"The ways of the wine men, like the ways of the Chinese, are "peculiar." They make "pure California grape wine" out of decayed grape peelings, potato alcohol, dye stuff, sulphur, tartaric acid, saccharine matter, and other chemicals. They call this junk manipulation an "industry" and when their secrets leak out, they serenely deny everything with the abandon of a chicken thief when the feathers are sticking out of his pockets."<br /><br />This is my translation into German:<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">"Die Wege der Winzer sind, wie die der Chinesen wundersam. Sie machen "reinen kalifornischen Trauben-Wein" aus vergammelten Traubenschalen, Kartoffelalkohol, Farbstoff, Schwefel, Weinsäure, Saccharin und anderen Chemikalien. Sie nennen die Herstellung dieses Mists ein "Gewerbe" und wenn ihre Geheimnisse ans Licht kommen, denn leugnen sie ungerührt alles mit der Unverfrorenheit eines Hühnerdiebs ab, bei dem die Federn aus den Taschen herausgucken."</span><br /><br />RAEMRAE Muellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09150916717493488144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26787324.post-48254376320959719162008-12-21T13:43:00.005+01:002008-12-21T13:52:48.960+01:00Electricity improved wine: News or old hat?Last week a "news hog" was dricen through the media: Improving wine by means of an electric current. Among other media the New Scientist wrote:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20026873.500-how-to-make-cheap-wine-taste-like-a-fine-vintage.html">How to make cheap wine taste like a fine vintage <br /></a><br />"Researchers at the South China University of Technology in Guangzhou <br />treated wine with fields of different strengths for different periods of <br />time. ... The results were striking. With the gentlest treatment, the harsh, <br />astringent wine grew softer. ...."<br /><br />Jim Lapsley of UC Davis commented the news with:<br /><br />Dear All,<br /><br />This is fairly old news, although interesting that the Chinese are trying it. <br />During wine aging various oxidative reactions occur (slowly), as well as increased tannin polymerization, which reduces the perception of astringency as the new (larger) molecules no longer fit in the tongue receptors that signal "bitter" and don't react with proteins in the same way.<br /><br />Almost any method that will put energy into the system will speed these reactions. In the past heat has been tried, radio and micro waves, electricity in other forms, and radiation. (About 20 years ago University Extension and Food Science hosted a conference on food irradiation--"ion kissed"--and Manuel Lagunas-Solar irradiated some wine for the banquet. It did reduce tannin, but also gave a cooked taste to the wine). <br /><br />All these methods will speed aging, but they also lead to excessive oxidation and loss of wine complexity and aroma. <br /><br />I leave it to you economists: If a method that could increase the value of the wine more than the cost of the treatment existed, wouldn't it be in use? <br /><br />Anyway, old news.<br /><br />JimRAE Muellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09150916717493488144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26787324.post-27586825109785491552008-09-19T10:12:00.009+02:002008-09-20T08:23:29.875+02:00Aldi and the miracle of the loaves and fishSome readers of this blog will remember from their early days in bible school the miracle of the loaves and the fish: Jesus was preaching in the desert to five thousand people - not counting the women and children. Came lunchtime, there were only five loaves of bread and two fish - not enough to feed the crowd. Through some undisclosed and irreproducible technology (<span style="font-style: italic;">~ miracle</span>) the loaves and the fish were multiplied, all feasted on fish and chips, and after lunch twelve baskets full of leftovers were collected.</span><span lang="EN-US"><br /><br />The Gospels are mute about what the people had been given to drink to wash down their fish and chips. If Aldi Sued, the southern sibling of Germany's twin discounter chains, and its suppliers had been around at the time, it might easily have been a 2004 Rosso Piceno Superiore DOC "Naumachos", a wine that received two glasses - "due bicchieri" - from "<a href="http://www.gamberorosso.it/portaleEng/Homepage/homepage">Gambero Rosso</a>", an Italian equivalent to Robert Parker, of sorts. At one time, when the wine cost 9.80 € the bottle retail, the wine maker claimed to have only 4,000 bottles left. But suddenly Aldi Sued had 50,000 bottles on offer at 6,99 € a bottle. What a miracle – physical as well as economic!</span><span lang="EN-US"><br /><br />The miracle has been demystified by the German Frankfurter Allgemeine online service "<a href="http://www.faz.net/s/RubCD175863466D41BB9A6A93D460B81174/Doc%7EE0919DC8B811E4D3E9FB5C20B1087A3DA%7EATpl%7EEcommon%7EScontent.html">FAZ.Ne</a>t" on Sept. 16<sup>th</sup>, 2008. Giovanni Carminucci of <st1:city st="on">Grottamare</st1:city>, <st1:country-region st="on">Italy</st1:country-region>, the winemaker of the "Naumachos", was approached early in 2008 by Rino Frattesi of <st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">Essen</st1:city>, <st1:country-region st="on">Germany</st1:country-region></st1:place>. Frattesi is the owner of "<a href="http://www.la-grappa.de/">La Grappa</a>", an Italian restaurant which boasts a 1,000-items wine list ranging from a 1961 Chateaux Petrus for 8,000 € the bottle down to a 18 € Pignocco Verdicchio. The restaurant proudly advertises it having been recognized by Vinitaly in 2005 as the restaurant with the best wine list in the world.<br /></span><span lang="EN-US"><br />Whatever such awards may be worth, Fratessi apparently knows something about wine. But running the restaurant and maintaining its exquisite wine list does not exhaust Fratessi. He also supplies large retail chains with "Aktionsware", i.e. goods for special sales, and it was in this incarnation that he approached Carminucci asking him for 50,000 bottles "Naumachos". Carminucci agreed, bottled whatever wine he had on hand, labeled it the same way as the original "Naumachos", including the "due bichieri", and shipped. Fratteri passed the consignment on to Aldi Sued at € 3.50 the bottle. Aldi Sued had the wine tested by "<a href="http://www.caveco.de/">caveCo</a>", an accredited wine sensoric analysis laboratory at <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Essen</st1:place></st1:city>, headed by <a href="http://www.delmonego.de/index_e.html">Markus Del Monego</a>. The 1998 sommelier world champion was not fooled, rated the wine as "recommended" with 13.75 of 20 points (I don't know the lower end of the Del Markus scale.) The points are, according to FAZ, less than a "un bicchiere" from Gambero Rosso. That did not deter Aldi Sued from offering the wine as a "due bicheri" bargain. Miraculously, the Aldi-website announcing the sale of the "Naumachos" was no longer accessible when I checked on Sept. 18<sup>th</sup>, 2008, two days after FAZ.Net broke the story; the website <a href="http://www.aldi-sued.de/de/html/offers/58_7778.htm">was back on Sept 19th</a>, 2008 .</span><span lang="EN-US"><br /><br />Many wine lovers' likely reaction to this story is a jaded "What else is new?" In honesty ratings the wine trade has always competed with the horse trade for pride of place. In a way the jaded wine lovers are right. In spite of all the hype about trusted supply chains, the rabbit-like multiplication of accredited quality experts, mushrooming private ranking schemes, and strict labeling regulations imposed by government, the actors in the wine chains are just normal merchants, people "... engaged in a commercial pursuit. A commercial pursuit is one in which the thing pursued is a dollar." (<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/972">Bierce, A. 1958. The devil's dictionary</a>. <st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">Dover</st1:city></st1:place> Publications). The miraculous multiplication of the "Naumachos" has helped to remind us of this simple fact. If it also contributes towards immunizing us against the quality assurance and trust hype, the affair has served some good purpose after all.</span> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 2.8pt 0cm 5.65pt 19.85pt;"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">RAEM</span>RAE Muellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09150916717493488144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26787324.post-44868726672426551562008-07-27T18:18:00.002+02:002008-07-27T18:25:21.298+02:00Jancis Robinson & German dry winesJancis Robinson has good things to say on her <a href="http://www.jancisrobinson.com/articles/20080723_2">blog</a> about German dry wines.<br /><br />She also provides a list of recommended dry-wine wineries. Most are from the Pfalz, Mosel, Nahe, and Rheinhessen <a href="http://www.deutscheweine.de/icc/Internet-EN/nav/289/2892c412-768a-401b-e592-6461d7937aae">regions</a>. Rheingau, Baden and Wuerttemberg are not on the list.<br /><br />RAEMRAE Muellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09150916717493488144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26787324.post-20673468240837052482008-04-25T21:48:00.001+02:002008-04-25T21:50:15.233+02:00Wine Business InternationalRiesling apparently continues its remarkable expert market performance. RAEM<p><a href="http://wine-business-international.com/News_Riesling_renaissance_continues_unabated.html">http://wine-business-international.com/News_Riesling_renaissance_continues_unabated.html</a></p>RAE Muellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09150916717493488144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26787324.post-18418432391325907922007-12-11T17:11:00.000+01:002007-12-11T17:22:29.246+01:00Social Wine Network<h2 style="font-weight: normal; font-family: courier new;font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><a href="http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/content/dec2007/sb2007127_891227.htm?chan=top+news_top+news+index_small+business"> Building Facebook for Wine</a>: Wine enthusiasts are creating social-networking sites for fellow oenophiles, and they're doing more than just selling bottles, John Tozzi reports in Business Week, 07-12-10.</span></h2><h2 style="font-weight: normal; font-family: courier new;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">RAEM</span><!--/HEADLINE--> </h2>RAE Muellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09150916717493488144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26787324.post-38491105783553799352007-12-08T10:56:00.000+01:002007-12-08T11:03:21.016+01:00Are the Aussies going the way of the French?For a long time the French thought that there was no other red wine than French reds. Then came the Californians and Australians and the French got clobbered in the supermarkets, particularly in England.<br /><br />Now <a href="http://smallbusiness.theage.com.au/managing/sales/tesco-warns-on-wine-boom-crash--904342968.html">Tesco tells the Australian winemakers to shape up.</a> The reaction of some Australian winemakers is less than polite. Perhaps the Aussies have developed wine hubris more quickly than the French.<br />RAEMRAE Muellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09150916717493488144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26787324.post-68985236625768436672007-10-02T11:50:00.000+02:002007-10-02T11:52:01.177+02:00The Ashenfelter vs Parker boutYesterday I started reading <a href="http://islandia.law.yale.edu/ayers/">Ian Ayres' (2007) "Super cruncher"</a>. Ayres - he is an econometrician at Yale's law and management schools - starts his book with a 6-page account of the ruckus that Orley Ashenfelter of Princeton University caused in the late 80s with his price prediction formula for Bordeaux wines. For obvious reason, Robert Parker, the king of the "swishing and spitting" approach to wine appreciation, was not amused. I think Ashenfelter won the argument and Parker the money. It is a nice yarn.<br /><br />The magic formula, as reported by Ayres, is:<br /><br />Wine quality = 12.145 + 0.00117 winter rainfall<br /> + 0.0614 average growing season temperature<br /> - 0.00386 harvest rainfall<br /><br />Most people would probably agree that winter rainfall, growing season temp., and rain at harvest time would affect wine quality and prices. But Ashenfelter estimated the relationship using data from about 30 vintages. Based on this equation, Ashenfelter then estimated the wines' like future price.<br /><br />A quick check with Google led me to two websites at Princeton that are relevant:<br /><a href="http://www.pacpubserver.com/new/news/4-4-99/ashenfelter.html">"First crush the grapes, then crunch the numbers"</a>.<br /><a href="http://www.pacpubserver.com/new/news/4-14-98/wine.html">Princeton economist judges wine by the numbers </a><br /><br />RAEMRAE Muellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09150916717493488144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26787324.post-59920509926858999042007-07-17T12:29:00.000+02:002007-07-17T12:33:30.549+02:00Wine price and quality - an inverse realtionship?Bradford deLong reports about a surprising outcome of a wine competition at a California wine show:<br />"Charles Shaw Chardonnay, better known as "Two Buck Chuck," beat hundreds of other wines and was named the top prize in a prestigious tasting competition in California."RAE Muellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09150916717493488144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26787324.post-24011377568813474992007-03-27T20:25:00.000+02:002007-03-27T20:35:08.995+02:00Cork or Screwcap?Dr. Vino <a href="http://drvino.com/2007/03/26/bringing-closure-a-screwcap-cork-showdown/">reports in his blog</a> about the experience of a Chablis winemaker, <a href="http://www.larochewines.com/home.php">Michel Laroche</a>, who bottled the same wines with cork and with screwcaps: Sometimes the scewcapped wines were better than the ones with a cork, sometimes not. But none of the screwcapped wines were corky. Hence, screwcaps weakly dominate corks.<br /><br />RAEMRAE Muellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09150916717493488144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26787324.post-61079894435330376132007-03-26T20:16:00.000+02:002007-03-26T20:19:20.327+02:00Pinotblogger: Free Startup Winery Cash Flow SpreadsheetThis is a interesting & useful post: a spreadsheet with cost and returns calculations for a virtual US-winery.<br /><br />RAEMRAE Muellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09150916717493488144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26787324.post-62732326551813132862007-03-10T18:58:00.001+01:002007-03-10T18:58:38.457+01:00mueller.rae@gmail.com sent you a link to content of interestmueller.rae@gmail.com sent you a link to the following content:<p>Leaders and liters of wine: Angela Merkel<br><a href="http://drvino.blogspot.com/2007/03/leaders-and-liters-of-wine-angela.html">http://drvino.blogspot.com/2007/03/leaders-and-liters-of-wine-angela.html</a><p>The sender also included this note:<p>Angela works for the wine industry!<p>--<br>Sent via a FeedFlare link from a FeedBurner feed.<br><a href="http://www.feedburner.com/fb/a/publishers/feedflare">http://www.feedburner.com/fb/a/publishers/feedflare</a>RAE Muellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09150916717493488144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26787324.post-24285201708048976462007-02-24T10:19:00.000+01:002007-02-24T10:28:16.309+01:00Results from a US wine blog competition<a href="http://www.winebusiness.com/?ref=dn">Wine Business.com</a> reported on Feb 22nd in its daily news the results from the 1. American Wine Blogs Award competition. The overal winner is <a href="http://drvino.blogspot.com/">Dr. Vino's Wine Blog</a>. "Wine Economics" was not listed.<br />RAEMRAE Muellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09150916717493488144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26787324.post-20466934841294762372007-02-06T14:10:00.000+01:002007-02-06T14:20:20.071+01:001st Annual Meeting of the AAWE, Tier, May 24-25 2007The <a href="http://www.wine-economics.org/">American Assoc. of Wine Economists</a> is holding its 1st Annual Meeting at Trier, Germany.<br /><a href="http://redaktion.trier.de/praefectus/trier?tourist_en">Trier</a>, a city of 100,000, was a Roman outpost, is located on the Mosel river, and it is the birthplace of Karl Marx. It is worth a visit.<br /><br />RAEMRAE Muellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09150916717493488144noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26787324.post-1159794724202601082006-10-02T15:01:00.000+02:002006-12-10T18:04:02.970+01:00Compelling evidence of global warmingSome grape growers are worried that climate is changing to an extent where they would have to switch the varieties they grow. Others are exploring the potential for grape growing of areas which until now are not famous for grape growing; e.g. Randall Grahm of Bonny Doon reportedly visited the south of England looking for new vineyard locations.<br /><br />Others may still be unconvinced that climate change is actually happening. For doubters there is additional evidence of the change: knickers are getting shorter! For details see my blog "<a href="http://eas-age-oek.blogspot.com/">Evolution of agriculture</a>".<br /><br />RAEMRAE Muellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09150916717493488144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26787324.post-1159010941707783912006-09-23T13:12:00.000+02:002006-09-23T13:29:01.723+02:00Yet another "Paris tasting"The reputation of California wines was tremendously boosted, when, in a famous blind tasting that took place in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris_Wine_Tasting_of_1976">Paris in 1976</a>, California wines outshone French wines. The celebrate the 20th anniversary of the event a similar tasting was held again this year - and California wines again won the competition. Now some people organize another tasting, the <a href="http://www.decanter.com/news/95444.html">Decanter reports</a>.<br /><br />Such events are concerned with rating the top of the crop, or in <a href="http://www.thelongtail.com/">Chris Anderson's</a> world view, with finding the hits at the head of the wine quality curve. In a way, they are an old-style ritual. The wine quality curve has a long tail and the money probably is in the tail of the curve: the many wines that are both affordable and a pleasure to drink. Such events are no use in shedding light on the long tail of good wines.<br /><br />RAEMRAE Muellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09150916717493488144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26787324.post-1158743127742128052006-09-20T10:45:00.000+02:002006-09-20T11:07:42.570+02:00UNESCO Wine Chair at the University of Burgundy<a href="http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=29008&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html">UNESCO </a>has established a university chair in wine & culture, the Decanter Newsletter reports. It will be held by Jocelyne Pérard, a French climatologist and located at the University of Burgundy at Dijon.<br /><br />It is not entirely clear to me why UNESCO funds university chairs concerned with wine. On the UNESCO website I could not find anything about the chair. But perhaps we'll soon have a UNESCO Chair fo Canabis & Culture at the University of Rabat, and a Chair on Whiskey and Song at St. Andrews University in Scotland.<br /><br />RAEMRAE Muellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09150916717493488144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26787324.post-1158668215924280232006-09-19T14:06:00.000+02:002006-09-19T14:16:56.113+02:00No. of U.S. wineries: 4,740The number of U.S. wineries tops 4,740, <a href="http://www.winebusiness.com/">Wine Business Online</a> reports. Of these, 3,382 are "bonded" and 1,358 "unbonded"" or "virtual" wineries.<br /><br />Most wineries are located in California (2,445), followed by Washington (368), Oregon (281) , NewYork (218), Pennsylvania (106) , Virginia (110), and Texas (106). The rest of the states were home of less than 100 wineries in the state.<br /><br />Delaware holds the rear: 1 winery - even Alaska has 5!<br /><br />RAEMRAE Muellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09150916717493488144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26787324.post-1158654438670545722006-09-19T10:07:00.000+02:002006-09-19T10:27:18.726+02:00First estimates of Germany's wine grape area and must harvest releasedThe <a href="http://www.destatis.de/d_home.htm">Federal Statistics Office</a> of Germany has released its first<a href="http://www-ec.destatis.de/csp/shop/sfg/bpm.html.cms.cBroker.cls?cmspath=struktur,vollanzeige.csp&ID=1019154"> estimate of Germany's area under vinegrapes and must production in 2006</a>.<br /><br />Total vinegrape area is slightly up from 98,900 ha in 2005 to 99,000 ha in 2006. The area under white grapes has declined from 62,600 ha to 62,400 ha whereas the area under red varieties has grown by 100 ha to reach 36,500 ha in 2006.<br /><br />Average yield of white varieties is estimated to reach 101.7 hl/ha (10.2 t/ha), up from 92.1 hl/ha in 2005. Must yield of red varieties is estimated to reach 104.5 hl/ha, up from 102.8 hl/ha in 2005.<br /><br />RAEMRAE Muellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09150916717493488144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26787324.post-1157376067926207422006-09-04T15:08:00.000+02:002007-01-08T21:39:26.093+01:00Going wiki:Today, Mo., Sept 4th 2006, The New York Times had a story <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/04/technology/04wiki.html?oref=login">"New Web Sites Seeking Profit in Wiki Model"</a> where readers were informed about recent developments in the wiki-scene. There I learned that anybody can create a wiki at <a href="http://wiki.com/">Wiki.com</a> and quickly create a wine economics wiki is what I did: <a href="http://wine-economics.wiki.com/">wine-economics.wiki.com</a>.<br /><br />I don't know yet what I'll do with the wiki. I think initially I'll just experiment with the wiki and learn what can be done with it. I am curious where this will lead me.<br /><br />RAEMRAE Muellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09150916717493488144noreply@blogger.com0