What "US wine" means to the rest of the world

What does the rest of the world think when they hear "U.S. wine?" The answer is very different from what U.S. consumers think.

The Wine Institute announced last week that U.S. wine exports topped $1 billion in 2008. Congratulations to Gallo and Constellation Brands, far and away the drivers of this trend.

For the most part, foreign consumers see U.S. wines in the "premium" price range -- roughly $7 to $10. Shipping and grape costs keep U.S. wineries from competing below that, while there isn't all that much interest in wines priced higher, given competition from the luxury brands of France.

Pricey U.S. wines that do sell well overseas are completely different from wines that consumers flock to here.

Sometimes there's a country-specific explanation. For example, Calera and Ridge are both popular in Japan. Ridge has a Japanese pharmaceutical magnate for an owner, which eases distribution challenges. Calera was featured in a popular wine manga as a sommelier retold the story of owner/winemaker Josh Jensen smuggling cuttings from Domaine Romanee-Conti, and is often seen there as a prudent woman's DRC substitute.

But in Europe, where 48% of U.S. wines go, there's a clear verdict on which of our wines are good -- and it's a lot different from the domestic opinion.

I ran through all the 45 U.S. wines currently available at Tesco, the gigantic UK supermarket. With one exception, they were big company wines. That exception was a McManis Family Vineyards Chardonnay. Bully for the McManis family, longtime farmers who decided to make wine because they couldn't make profits selling their grapes.

Here's what the Tesco website says about U.S. wine (italics are mine):

"When we say USA, we’re really talking Californian wine. The Golden State is still in love with Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon where it dominates the vineyards - producers Robert Mondavi and Gallo show how could (sic) it can be. Merlot and Zinfandel are popular too, and winemakers are producing increasing amounts of Syrah, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc and Viognier. Zinfandel is California’s very own red grape variety and is often used for the refreshing off-dry white zinfandel rosé wines as displayed in Blossom Hill’s example."

Does that sound like an endorsement of Chardonnay and Cab as the best we have to offer? Not really, especially considering that this is PR copy meant to convince you to buy some wine. It might be a coincidence that the webmaster couldn't properly type in "good" -- or maybe it represented what she was thinking.

If you wanted to buy a non-Constellation, non-Gallo wine in the U.K., you might visit Berry Bros. & Rudd, whose Heathrow Airport shop was a pre-9/11 must-stop on the way out of the country.

BBR pays respect to U.S. wines with 77 labels online, the fifth most of any country (France 1864, Italy 149, Germany 102, Spain 86, USA 77, then Australia 67). More than half cost more than 20 quid, but keep in mind that London is now the world's center of prosperity.

BBR has great wine buyers and I found their selections fascinating, both for what they have and don't have.

They like wines that are iconoclastic here: Qupe, Bonny Doon Vineyards, Au Bon Climat, Frog's Leap, Tablas Creek, Ridge, Andrew Will. Almost their entire selection comes from these wineries.

What BBR noticeably does NOT have is the bulwark of every U.S. wine shop's pricey section: Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. They have a couple, including Dominus and Opus One. But the British wine buyers seem to be thinking that if someone wants a Cab (or Merlot, for that matter), they'll buy a Bordeaux.

Right now the rest of the world often changes its winemaking style to attract the U.S. palate. Wouldn't it be interesting if it were the other way around? Go exports!